Pelekarr took two sergeants, Bivar and Deltan, with him to the keep, where Lord Dectros welcomed them eagerly—and, all three mercenaries noticed, with more than a little amazement. The baron’s brother had clearly given up on them and despaired of their return.
Dectros had finished his supper and received them in a smaller chamber, richly furnished, where his exchequer sat going over some accounts. He pushed goblets of wine on the three and sank into a chair, massaging his temples.
“The news is bad, I can feel it! Out with it! Tell me, tell me quickly. By all the gods, what have I done to deserve my misfortunes?”
The exchequer raised an eyebrow at that question, but no one paid him any heed.
“Your lumber workers are gone, Milord,” Pelekarr said with just the right amount of professional detachment. “Your operation has been abandoned. I offer my sympathy, and regrets.” He sipped his drink.
The pale face of the baron’s brother grew paler and his eyes fluttered. “All of them? All? Gone where?”
“Take a bit of your wine with this news, Milord Dectros. It seems you built your lumber encampment directly on top of a mekkilak’s egg den.”
There was a sharp intake of breath from the exchequer—the one with the barbarian lover, as Pelekarr recalled from the baron’s earlier outraged telling. But Dectros didn’t understand. “What? Speak Kerathi, man!”
“A giant centipede, Milord, nearly a hundred cubits long. Even the barbarians flee in fear from this creature. Your garrison was slaughtered, and the woodcutters fled into the wilderness. We followed as far as we could, but a war-horde of savage tribesmen fell upon us. We fought desperately, lost many good men. In the end we conquered, thanks in part to the devastating arrival of the centipede itself, which had stalked us from the fort.”
“A centipede! What of it now?”
“Destroyed, along with all of its eggs. It will trouble you no more. But the upshot is that you will need to repopulate your labor force entirely. Your fort still stands. May I suggest that you see to the needs of this new encampment with greater attention? Start with a larger garrison. We may be able to help you there.”
“Yes. Yes, of course. I’ll have to do that. But this is a disaster. This is terrible!”
“It was terrible, yes. The fighting was intense.” Pelekarr sipped some more wine, and Dectros greedily followed suit to calm his nerves. Then Pelekarr set his goblet down and withdrew from his glove a small wax tablet.
“There remains the conclusion of our agreement.” He set the contract down on a low table. “You owe us a quarter of all proceeds for the next three years, at a minimum. We are interested in helping you get production going as soon as possible. Please advise us on the progress of your efforts, and do let us know when you need guards to help in reestablishing the fort.”
He cleared his throat. “Also, there is the matter of casualty reparations. We lost… let me see… thirty men, all told. At ten silver apiece, that comes to—”
“Three hundred silver?!” Dectros shrieked, jumping to his feet. “You’ll beggar me, Captain! I cannot pay that!”
Pelekarr spread his hands helplessly. “It is in the contract, Milord. You agreed to this when you sent us out. If you cannot pay, we will be taking full control of all assets in question and hold you liable for the debt. Also, we will need to speak to my lord the Baron Bax about the matter.”
“How do I know you lost these men? Where is the proof?”
Pelekarr grew stern. “My word is good here and across the sea, as all men know. If Milord sees fit to doubt it nonetheless, I can provide the dented and bloodstained armor of the fallen. If this does not suffice, I can lead Milord’s men to the graves we dug in the wilderness, and unearth the rotting corpses!”
Dectros, thoroughly cowed, waved a hand and reached for his goblet. “No, I believe you, Captain. Forgive me, forgive me. I just… this is a shock, a grave shock.” He gulped and then put his face in his hands. “Beggared. Why do the gods hate me so?”
“Hardly beggared, Milord,” Pelekarr soothed. “If you move quickly you can have lumber moving before the leaves start to fall. Rebuild these losses. Show the gods how a mortal man surmounts obstacles.”
Dectros, biting his lip and eyes shining with unshed tears, nodded. The exchequer rose from his seat and brought forth a heavy leather bag, which he dumped upon the table and began to count swiftly, dropping each counted coin back into the bag.
The sergeants grinned broadly, but Dectros flinched each time a coin clinked in the bottom of the sack.
“Perhaps you’re right, Captain,” the noble rallied at last, pouring himself another large goblet. “Lumber prices are rising. What trees this land grows! My dear brother says that lumber orders have tripled in the past year.”
“So good to hear,” Pelekarr murmured. “All the more reason to expedite your venture.”
“Well spoken! Just between ourselves, the king is going through ships like swine through slop.” The wine was having its effect, and the man rubbed his hands in glee. “War is good for business, gentlemen!”
“Indeed it is,” Pelekarr drawled, and the exchequer, still counting coins, gave a rueful smile.
It was a perfect evening back in Dura.
Far to the west, the sun was sinking behind the Atacanthian Mountains, a fiery wonder rendered hazy-soft by distance. East of the range, evening shadows grew long in deep purples and blues. The air was clear and still, save for a riot of birdsong. From inside the inn came the sounds of revelry—the company was spending some of its hard-earned money on liquid refreshment.
Keltos leaned against a doorpost of the Tooth and Blade Inn, letting the sounds of revelry within wash over him. Over his right shoulder, in a corner by the fire, Captain Pelekarr sat deep in conversation with the young blacksmith they had brought out of the forest with them. Perian sat next to the captain, sharpening her silver dagger on a smooth stone with a soft wheet wheet.
The young cavalryman drew a deep breath, eyes fixed on the far western mountains. They were working their usual spell on him and he smiled at their invitation. He sat down on the broad steps of the inn’s front porch, leaning his elbows back on the steps and filling his lungs with the smell of summer grass.
“Lucky spear-pushers,” he said, under his breath. “Someday I’ll make it out there myself.”
“Who’re you talking to?” Makos plopped down beside him with a groan. “Mishtan above! I’m sore.”
“Told you that saddle girth was worn. You should have replaced it.”
“The day I need a sorry guttershink like you to tell me about saddles,” Makos began, but trailed off. “This sun feels nice on my aching bones. It wouldn’t be so bad if we weren’t bending over all day, mucking out the stable-yard and cutting hay. Why haven’t we hired some stable boys by now? We’re soldiers, not dung haulers. I noticed a few of those idiots in second troop got a lad from town to do their chores.”
“Stable boys cost money.”
“Not much. If we pool with Somber and Arco and a few others, it will come to nothing at all.”
“Arco’s gone, Mak.” They both frowned at the memory, still fresh. Their tent-mate hadn’t been the only comrade lost in the latest campaign, though. Keltos continued, unwilling to spoil the evening with too much talk of the dead. “Anyway, we’ll need better pay than we got from Bax’s brother if we’re to be hiring servants.”
“Speak for yourself. My marvelous body needs its rest. I say we hire a stable boy, and if you won’t, then Somber will.”
“Got to save my pay, Mak.”
“Well, if all goes well you’ll be able to bring your mother and Nealtha over by next summer. You should let me help. I could write to my father, and he’d send me the coin for it whenever—”
“No, Mak. Thanks, but no.” Though Keltos missed his family fiercely, he had to be the one to pay for passage. It was personal. He was already in debt to Makos’ family, more than he could ever repay, for taking in his mother and sister
after his father’s execution. Makos’ father was so rich he could send half the province across the sea, but the Kuron family had already burdened the Vipirion family enough. And anyway, Keltos wanted a place for them to live when they got to Ostora.
“Hell’s onion’s, Kel. In a couple of weeks, Damicos will be marching out of the mountains with saddlebags stuffed full of loot. There’s nothing to worry about. And then I hear that the pale apes are running amok down south, overwhelming the settlements. Any day now we’ll get word from some baron screaming for help and willing to pay in gold for easy killing.”
“Nothing easy about killing apes, Mak.”
“We’ve learned. Next time will be different.”
Keltos grinned. “They’ll smell you coming.”
Makos eyed his manure-encrusted boots sourly. “You see? We need a stable boy.”
“I thought you liked that smell, Mak.”
“That’s because you’re an addlepate.”
“And you’re a bumbledunce.”
“You’re an insolent pup. I would get up and bloody your lip if I weren’t so tired,” Makos said, yawning. “When do we eat?”
“Just been waiting for you.”
“Wait’s over. Let’s go.”
Makos rose and they stepped inside the inn with the tired but contented slouch of hardy young men after a long day of labor. Makos entered first, and for a moment Keltos paused on the doorstep.
He glanced back at the distant glow beyond the mountains for a moment, and it reflected in his westering eyes briefly before he, too, disappeared inside.
Here ends Red Valor
Book Two of Tooth and Blade
Read on for the appendix material, and sign up to be notified of the release of Book 3: Wrack and Ruin. You’ll also be able to download the Tooth and Blade Fan Pack, which includes a short story starring Tibion and Sojac, and a sneak peek at the cover for Book 3.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shad grew up on Tolkien, Narnia, Star Wars, and the rest but never quite got enough. Now he writes to satisfy that urge for more epic stories.
He writes sci-fi and fantasy from his home in the western US, and welcomes suggestions and questions at [email protected].
“Thanks for reading– it means a lot.”
Find out more about this and other Barde Press titles at bardepress.com.
Appendix
Heroes and Villains in order of appearance:
Loku: an exiled shaman of the Wolfsbane clan, bent on dark vengeance
Leisha: queen of a lost city in the Ostoran hinterland
Damicos: infantry commander of the Tooth and Blade mercenary company
Pelekarr: cavalry commander of the Tooth and Blade
Dectros: younger brother of Baron Bax, owner of a lumber operation in the interior
Jamson: wealthy explorer and impresario who wants to discover the lost city
Kairm: Ostoran trapper who claims to have seen Leitra, the lost city
Keltos: young cavalryman serving as bannerman to Captain Pelekarr
Makos: noble young cavalryman, best friend of Keltos and fellow bannerman
Leon: Damicos’ infantry lieutenant and right-hand man
Cormoran: a veteran infantryman in the Tooth and Blade
Tibion: the company cook, known to the men as Crumbly Tib
Perian: female shaman of the White River barbarian clan, acting as guide to the Tooth and Blade
Ashon: aging leader of the lumber settlement of Ashtown
Gladwin: guardian of Leitra, right-hand man to Queen Leisha, a beast-rider
Humexes: a young blacksmith who seems to have found a surprising secret
Harnwe: a young Ostoran archer who joined the company as a skirmisher
Redtusk: the god of the Ostoran wilderness, a gigantic red-furred mammoth that controls other beasts
Pantheon of Kerathi Gods
Mishtan – King God, God of Heaven
Kera – Queen God, Goddess of Wisdom
Rukhal – God of Hell
Yillitha – Goddess of Death
Khoris – Goddess of Mercy
Mokar – God of Justice
Kif – God of Thieves
Meru – Goddess of the Hearth
Beqissa – Goddess of Pleasure and Love
Quel – Goddess of the Hunt
Telion – God of War
Taxases – God of the Forge
Drasss – God of Wealth
Hemela – Goddess of Peace
Yaff – God of the Harvest
Isoba – Goddess of the Sea
Jequinia – Goddess of Marriage and Family
Pellia – God of Health
Felevus – God of Weather
Kyrasha, Tova, and Dalica – The Three Fates
Tooth and Blade Troop Structure
Captain Ios Pelekarr (over the Cavalry)
Captain Dalcon Damicos (over the Infantry)
Lieutenant Leon Stonehand
Troop 1 (cavalry)
Sergeant Bivar
Keltos
Makos
Arco
Domnos
Kibrantes
Reln Osla
Troop 2 (cavalry)
Sergeant Deltan
Boros
Tolanos
Tall Wikios
Short Wikios
Mellibax
Beetleboy
Troop 3 (cavalry)
Sergeant Keresh
Lazuli
Pelios
Umbas
Tekon
Tanos
Havinch
Troop 4 (cavalry)
Sergeant Caspar
Myro
Roxos
Scathos
Atalecto
Wender
Machaon
Troop 5 (infantry)
Sergeant Urcan
Meeks
Tumos
Thalides
Hobban
Fieron
Indymios
Troop 6 (infantry)
Sergeant Copper
Mirion
Corba
Scuthos
Scorchy
Mast
The Yak
Troop 7 (infantry)
Sergeant Hocano
Chendos
Cormoran
Kidon
Tolon
Korintio
Tethios
Troop 8 (infantry)
Sergeant Kalabax
Andion
Lobo
Rictan
Tamwrit
Pevos
Sandshark
Troop 9 (infantry)
Sergeant Hundos
Driccan
Sephemes
Octos
Leorda
Tern
Iperion
Troop 10 (skirmishers)
Sergeant Grutt (archers)
Elantos
Taff
Mingo
Jimba
Harnwe
Kaecha
Corporals Lopontes and Quelos Ukan (slingers)
Ascalos
Jascos
Omu
Darco
Corbos
Shadder
Corporals Stevos “The Sickle” Adda and Sojac (javelins)
Alakkon
Gorantha
Orcu
Kadifos
Bastamesh
The Asp
Calendars
Kerathi Calendar:
(twelve-year repeating cycle)
Year of the:
Elephant
Goat
Bull
Camel
Jackal
Serpent (current year)
Horse
Lion
Leopard
Gazelle
Monkey
Swine
Month of the:
Oak
Cypress
Cedar
Myrrh
Chestnut
Tamarind
Olive
Date
Pomegranate
Fig
Pistachio
Mulberry
Ostoran calendar:
1 – The Moon of Great Cold
2 – The Hunger Moon
3 – The Moon of the Breaking Ice
4 – The Moon When the Sap Runs
5 – The Moon of the Green Leaves
6 – The Egg Moon
7 – The Moon When the Birds Cast Their Feathers
8 – The Moon of the Ripe Plums
9 – The Moon When the Birds Fly Away
10 – The Moon of the Falling Leaves
11 – The Moon of New Snow
12 – The Ice Moon
Current Ostoran year: The Year of the Howling Claw-rat
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Red Valor Page 37