Derek was a slightly built man; most would say non-descript. He was possessed of a burning ambition, ego, intelligence and ruthlessness. Prior to starting his own band, he was one of Bart’s men. He’d been on the successful, yet very expensive, in terms of lives lost, raid into Nordia. On that raid he learned the value of intelligence. Have somebody scout the caravans and hit the most lucrative and easiest target. Hit only one caravan quickly and then leave. And finally leave nobody in the caravan to go for help. Once he absorbed those lessons, he felt that he was ready to lead his own band. He took his money and left Bart. He knew that he shouldn’t become a direct competitor of Bart, that was too dangerous. So, he traveled over the Sud to the north looking for a suitable place to establish himself.
He found a good valley with water and grazing. It wasn’t nearly as secure as the one Bart occupied, but it had several points of egress. Derek started off being a highwayman. Attacking people traveling singularly or in small groups. Over the next few years he gathered a band of over thirty men around him.
His one problem was that he was greedy as well as sure of himself. He didn’t think that any of the kingdoms he hit would be able to track him down and eliminate him. He possessed cunning. He either attacked caravans that were camped for the night. Hitting them at first light before they could get organized or attacking them near the end of the day when they were tired and less alert.
This caravan had been well scouted, and they would soon be looking for a place to camp after a long day on the road. This was a sparsely settled area of Tandor so there were no villages or inns to stop at. The next such place was a village a half a day’s travel for a caravan.
Derek waited for the caravan to be in the middle of the ambush before he gave the signal. His men charged out of the trees on horseback. A couple rode to the front of the caravan and another three rode towards the back. There was no way for anyone to escape, except to flee towards the river. Derek was sure they could be ridden down. Nobody in the caravan even got off a shot before Derek’s men were into them. It was a short, one-side fight. The few guards were quickly disposed of and then the merchants cut down. Derek’s men took three women captive, who were quickly bound and thrown over horses. The horses and mules carrying the goods were collected and they took off back towards the south. The bodies were left where they fell.
Derek had established a cold camp two hours ride from the site of the attack. They fed and watered the horses and made sure that the women were secured. Nothing would be done with them until they reached the valley and then they would join the communal harem. There were guards set around the camp and they were relieved twice before dawn. Derek was not taking any chances on sleeping guards.
They left after first light. It would take them almost a week to reach the valley where they lived. The normal trip was a little over two days, but horses and mules carrying heavy loads of goods made the going slow, especially over the rough tracks they followed through the mountains. In many cases they were little more than game trails. The ones that Derek liked were hard baked clay and rock. They left fewer marks from the horses. He hoped that a rain would come along and erase any tracks that they left.
Each camp they made was carefully cleaned up prior to leaving. They couldn’t do much about the horse manure that was left behind, but that was part of the thing with horses, they shit – a lot. Once they reached the valley all the men peeled off, and the couple of men they’d left behind directed the women they had in camp to take care of the horses.
As Derek dismounted, Moria, the woman who ran the communal harem and truth be told ran the logistics of the camp, came up to him. “Derek, you smell like shit. You and the men need to get cleaned up and clothes changed before you get anywhere near my girls.”
Derek smiled. “Sure, that’s not a problem, I want to get clean as soon as I can. Even I can tell I stink. The girls are ready? We’ve got some celebrating to do tonight. Oh, I’ve got three more for you to add to your collection.”
“As soon as you were spotted, I made sure that all the girls were given something to get them in the mood. When you and the boys are ready, they should be already to go as well. You want me to take care of you tonight. I know all the things you like.”
“I’d love to have you for the night Moria, now I’ve got to go get cleaned up.”
As Derek left, Moria took charge of the women and led them into the women’s quarters. Each of the women had their own private room and bed. There was a communal dining space that also served as a party area. Some of the women were already getting ready and were dressed for the party. That meant that they were showing a lot of skin and more than a few bare breasts. They hooted at the new women and few grabbed various parts of their anatomy.
The captives were scared out of their minds. Moria addressed them. “First get the hell out of those clothes, I need to see what I’m working with.” When they hesitated, Moria backhanded one of them and soon the three women were naked.
Moria looked them over, handling their breasts and their privates. “Not bad. Let me explain things. You’re here. I run things, the happier I am with you, the better off you’ll be. You’re here to do two things – fuck and work. You’ll be fucking any of the men who wants you as well as any of the women. You may think you know how to please a man or a woman, but in three months you’ll be experts. Tonight, you’re going to get cleaned up and fed. Then you’ll be given a room and you’ll take something to make you sleep through the night. Don’t worry about being in the mood to screw anybody. When you’re wanted, you’ll be given a little something to get you in the mood. Be good and you’ll be fine. Give me trouble and I’ll give you so much feel good juice that you’ll fuck anything and everything and be begging to do so. Then you’ll be the entertainment for the night. And the nice thing is you’ll remember most of it. Now go get cleaned up.” The three women left in tears, totally cowed by Moria.
Nordia.
Randall, his father, King Fredricke, and the foreign minister were reviewing a map of Landia. Randall had asked his wives to join them. When they arrived, Juliana asked “What do you want dear?”
“There’s been another raid.” He pointed to a colored pin that he’d stuck into the map. “It’s the tenth in the last two years. Another trading caravan, struck. Everyone killed and the goods stolen. Just like the all the others.”
“What do you plan to do about this? The merchants will be alarmed. One or two raids a year is acceptable, but his. No, it hurts business and is too dangerous.” Said Severna. She was a merchant’s daughter and would have a good idea of this.
Both women and the men all looked at the map. Randall summed up what had been going on. “The raids are all the same, somewhere between thirty and forty men ambush a caravan, kill everyone and then take off with the goods. The raids have mostly been in Tandor and Sorbia, but two have been in the western part of Nordia. We need to do two things. Protect the caravans and find these bandits and kill them. I guessing they have some place to hid on this side of the Sud, near the border with Tandor and Sorbia.”
The foreign minister spoke up. “First, I think we need to group the caravans together and then provide a heavy escort of at least one hundred men, one hundred and fifty would be better. They would be escorted to the next big city. Say from Midport to Great Falls. The escort would wait in Great Falls for the next set of caravans going back to Midport. A similar force would escort them into Tandor, where an escort of the Tandor Royal Guards would take over. This would be done all the way to the western borders of Sorbia. What do you think my lady?” The minister asked looking at Severin.
“I agree your grace. The merchants will complain at first. But this is better than going with fewer guards and losing both goods and people. I believe it’s time for Juliana and me to take the children to see my parents and I’ll talk with my father and make sure some of the other key merchants are there as well. Besides it’s past time to let the other set of grandparents spoil them.”
R
andall noticed that Fredricke did not even protest that he and his wives spoiled the girls. Fredricke went right on. “All right that provides the protection. That’s what everybody pays taxes for anyway. But we need to find these people and eliminate them.”
Randall spoke up. “I’ll send a group of twenty of the rangers we added to the guard after the attack by that Bart. They’re all experienced hunters and trappers. They can probably find out where they are. Once that’s done, they can be dug out and killed.”
“I’ll let my father know. He’ll detail a strong enough force to do the deed. I’m sure my brother will go along. He’s old enough and smart enough to listen to whoever my father puts in command. They’ll also listen to what our rangers say. My brother needs the experience; he’ll be my sister’s sword arm when she ascends the throne. This will probably convince my sister at least that they need a group of people like our rangers. Of course, I’ll suggest that.”
Once Juliana was done speaking, the group discussed some details. When that wrapped up the two wives excused themselves and left. Fredricke was smiling. The foreign minister turned to Randall. “My prince, your wives are not only beautiful; they are a formidable pair. You and the kingdom are lucky.”
“Thank you, your grace. Father, foreign minister, I’ll go get the escorts organized and arrange for the rangers to track these brigands down.”
Once Randall had left the king turned to the foreign minister. “Are these just brigands or do you see the hand of someone else in this.”
The foreign minister thought for a moment. “I don’t see any of the other kingdoms in this. If there were my first thought would be Porfia or one of the other southern kingdoms like her.”
“The royal houses there are degenerate. They have harems were the women are there only to pleasure the ruler and bear children. The sons kill each other off until the last one standing becomes the heir. He starts a harem that includes his own mother and he sleeps with her! Degenerate.”
“Your right, your highness. We should be glad that they don’t have wives like you have or like your daughters-in-law. The only time they become a problem is when one of the harems produces strong advisors and there is a ruler to listen to them. Otherwise, all of the palace intrigue keeps them looking for danger within the palace and they don’t have time to cause trouble outside it.”
Sorbia.
King Leo read the letter from King Fredricke and the one from his daughter Juliana. He put the letters down and then read them again. They made sense, the loses from this bandit were simply getting intolerable. He summoned a servant. “Please ask my daughter, her husband, the prince and the head of the guard to meet with me in an hour. We’ll hold the meeting here in my study. Please make sure that there are some refreshments. Thank you.”
The servant bowed and left the king’s study and went to summon the requested people. An hour later, his daughter and heir Estridia and her husband Yorkin, were the first to arrive. His son Prince Arken and the head of the guard, Colonel Graves arrived shortly afterwards. King Leo let them get settled and then he started. “We’ve got a serious situation facing us. There has been another attack on a caravan just over the board in Tandor. Like all the others, everyone was killed, and the goods stolen. There were four women, with the caravan and we found only one body. We can only assume that those women have now been enslaved. This is the tenth caravan that has been attacked in the last two years. The losses are starting to become too much. I’ve got a letter from King Fredricke and another from my daughter Juliana. I’ll let you read them and then we can discuss them.”
The king had two copies of the letters made before the meeting. He handed one set to his daughter and her husband and the second to his son and the colonel. He waited while they read them. When they were done, he asked. “What do you think?”
Estridia as the heir spoke first. “You’re right the losses can’t go on at this rate, we’ve got to do something. The idea of bunching the caravans together and then providing strong escorts seems to be a very good idea. Severna and my sister have already convinced the major merchant houses in Nordia. We should be able to do the same here. You know Yorkin, an alliance with a prominent merchant family is a very good idea.” Her husband nodded.
Prince Arken spoke next. “My sister is right. We’ll need to do this. A strong enough escort should discourage the bandits. The problem is Turkania, our neighbor to the west. The royal family there may well be opposed to this.”
Leo replied. “Are you saying that the royal family of Turkania is a bit on the dull side son?” This brought some smiles from all the participants. “You know that they hoped you would find one of the daughters to be suitable for marriage.”
“Father, if I wanted someone like that I would have looked to the southern kingdoms. They have plenty of royal daughters, who if the rumors are true are at least expert in one thing.” That brought some chuckles all around.
Arken turned to the colonel. “Colonel what do you think.”
“I think we have an escort of one hundred men. We meet the caravans at the border and escort them to the next city. There another hundred men take over and bring them on to the next city. A different hundred men head back to the border for the next group. That will keep the duty from falling on the same men and keep them fresh.”
The king, his daughter and the prince all agreed. The king then went on to the next item. “My son-in-law, Randall, seems to think that the bandits have their base in the Sud somewhere near the border of Tandor and Sorbia. They’ve offered to send us some of their ‘Rangers’ to help track down the bandits. Once we’ve got them located, we’ll send in a large enough force to wipe them out. No mercy. What do you think?”
“Excuse us for a moment father” asked Arken as he and the Colonel had a whispered conversation. After a couple of minutes, they seemed to come to agreement. Arken spoke for the pair. “Father, these ‘Rangers’ seem like an excellent idea. If we waited for them to arrive from Nordia, it would be far too late. It’s already been two weeks. We may be able to find something if we hurry. The colonel knows of a couple of hunters we can recruit. If we move quickly, we can be at the ambush site in five days. We should send a bird to Keen, I’m sure the duchess won’t object, and she may even send her husband and some guards to join us. Her husband Charlton is a good man.”
The king was pleased with his son’s analysis. “That’s good, let’s do that. And when you get back, we should work on getting our own group of ‘Rangers’. One thought occurred to me. What if the bandits hit in Turkania?”
Arken smiled. “Well, I’d just have to visit the kingdom. I would of course be fascinated by the ambush site and have to explore it. After all I am an eligible royal with no wife.”
Yorkin laughed and slapped his brother-in-law on the shoulder.
King Leo wrapped up the meeting. “Arken you and the Colonel have the most work to do. Colonel I’d like the extra escorts implemented within the week. Tandor and Nordia are already in agreement. You should communicate with your counterparts in the two kingdoms to get this under way. Arken, you gather the hunters and a small guard force and head out to the ambush site. I’ll send off the birds to Keen. Oh Arken, I agree with your sister you should spend the winter in Nordia, especially at the research station. It’s getting to be very important to our economy.”
As everyone left Yorkin whispered to his brother-in-law. “Arken, I’m sure that Juliana and Severna have some nice young ladies they’d like you to meet.”
“Well Yorkin, when you are a handsome eligible prince it just goes with the territory.” Both men enjoyed a small laugh.
The Ambush Site.
Arken arrived at the ambush site a week later accompanied by twenty guards and four hunters. A couple of hours later, Charlton arrived with ten guards and two hunters. Arken greeted Charlton. “Charlton good to see you, sorry for the circumstances. I don’t know what we’ll find because it has been almost four weeks since the attack.”
“I k
now, I feel almost stupid. I should have thought about bringing hunters out here to track them first thing. We arrived and just buried the bodies, but we didn’t have the skills to track them. I’m afraid your correct. But let’s see what they can find. We can set up camp and wait for them.”
The hunters set out on foot. After conferring, they broke up into two groups. The four from Sorbia in one and the two from Tandor in the other. They carefully went over the ground. They didn’t find anything at the ambush site, nor had they expected to. What they were looking for was where the bandits had camped. It took a full two days for them to find the site. Once they found it, they were able to follow the trail to the west for just a few miles before they lost it.
They reported back to Arken and Charlton. “Your graces, we found where we think they camped. It’s about two hours back from the ambush site. We were just able to follow their trail out of it for a few miles. It was just too long. These people are good, they don’t make it easy to track them. The best we can tell is that they were headed someplace to the west and higher up in the Sud.”
They thanked the men and Arken turned to Charlton. “I’m afraid, we missed them. The stronger escorts will deter them. I think we’ll see them move farther west and leave us alone. We won’t be able to stop the escorts anytime soon.”
“I agree. This a smart one. Well best of luck, we’ll see each other again soon, I’m sure.”
With that the two men gathered up their escorts and headed home.
The Plot
Porfia.
Bartrum’s father started to groom him for eventually taking the throne. He attended all the meetings of his father’s council. For the first few years, he kept his silence and listened. He often talked to his mother about this. This was usually done after they’d finished having sex. That way the number of people likely to overhear them was very few. His mother pointed out that this was one of the reasons that she was included in his harem.
Through the Gate: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 1 Page 21