Tanner smiled as his quip about Mary had stunned them into silence. Even Diamond seemed a little taken aback at first but slowly a smile crept to his face as Mary walked out with two plates piled high with food. Tanner and Golden ate quickly; men were out in the streets yelling that it was close to the time of movement. The meal lasted far too short for Tanner’s taste. He could have hid in Golden’s house all year and told the king to sod off but knew he would get caught one way or another. Tanner and Golden got to their feet as one and started saying their good byes, giving and getting hugs before they walked out the door. Mary seemed a little reserved, at first Tanner thought Golden had told him wrong but could see the girl was blushing profusely. With a sigh the two friends climbed on their horses and began to gather at the meeting place.
When Golden and Tanner arrived he they were amazed. The Baronet’s men, whom they were sure were not joining the army since they had wives had the men arrayed neatly. Those with horses were upfront, which wasn’t a lot of people since horses were damned expensive. Including Tanner and Golden there was only about 10 cavalry. There still had to be at least 60 men in neat rows five abreast behind the cavalry, as Tanner had gotten near he could see each man had a blue sash of some kind draped across their clothing. The Baronet must have had these things for years though why he would think to need them again was beyond Tanner. Tanner was ushered up front where a guardsman gave him his own sash and told him and Golden to put it on. Before long Tanner spotted Todd Greenley along with his cousins riding war chargers, the three best horses the Baronet had Tanner was sure. They were all dressed like nobles, fine silk shirts with fancy leather riding pants. Todd took his place at the front of the formation while his cousins flanked him, each holding up a war banner proudly displaying the Greenley coat of arms. Tanner hated to admit it but Greenley as fat as he was looked the part of a leader, his presence had sent a noticeable calm over everyone as Todd turned around and addressed everyone.
“We all know what we are here for and what we must do, pretend you are of higher birth and follow my lead,” Todd said sounding like the twit Tanner knew he was, so long for calming effects. “Those of you on horseback are to be my personal guard until we reach Daum and get sorted. I hope you all brought supplies because you will be getting none of mine.”
Tanner shook his head as the fat noble turned around and began the trip towards Daum. At first the idiot sped up too much before realizing he had men walking behind him. Tanner could see he wanted the men to hurry up and match his pace while his fat ass was on horseback, but luckily he kept his mouth shut. The rest of the day went by slowly, someone smart must have told Todd to stop for breaks because he did so every two hours. Tanner was hoping Todd would try to push his luck too far. Tanner was sure the men would most likely tell him to bugger off and get to Daum at their own pace. Before long, night was approaching and Todd called a halt to the day’s march. Tanner and Golden found a nice spot by the side of the road. They were lucky the road into Daum followed a small stream, they set their horses to roam after watering and taking their saddle bags off them and Tanner went to work.
Unlike most of the men around him, Golden included, Tanner was used to living off of the land. Sometimes he would have to trek deep into the wilderness and be gone for days when trying to hunt a difficult animal. Tanner had his fire roaring in no time while it looked like most of the men were struggling. It was likely their mothers had done the cooking so they didn’t know what they were doing. Golden himself should be adequate at this task Tanner thought, he was a blacksmith. Before long faces came out of the dark holding branches which they stuck in Tanner’s fire so they could light their own. Even one of Greenley’s cousins had come forward and did the same albeit unlike the rest he didn’t ask permission. Tanner pulled out everything he knew he would need, his small pot, some potatoes, some other vegetables and put three different kinds of smoked meat into the pot with water from the stream. It would most likely take two hours for some good stew. Tanner was happy he had brought more than enough and could chew on the jerky also brought along and talk to Golden while he waited on their meal to be done.
“You seem like you have done this before Tanner,” Golden said as he looked around at all the work Tanner had done, right down to making a place for the pot to hang over the fire.
“Well this is sort of my job Blessed One,” Tanner said as he offered Golden some jerky. “We all can’t be the mutt’s nutts and get by on our pretty looks. Some of us actually have to learn to do for ourselves since we can’t just snap our fingers and have a willing lass present herself willing to cook for us.”
“Really, then what were you talking about, asking my father to keep Mary single?” Golden said as he gave Tanner a side eyed glance.
“I just wanted to stop all of the squawking about war and us going off is all,” Tanner replied.
“Then why did Mary look all flushed when you said your good byes?” Golden replied with a hint of a smile in his voice. “You trying to get on with my little sister, what was that talk about me being your friend?”
Tanner was stuck for a reply but luckily he didn’t need to as Thomas, one of the men who worked the Baronet’s fields came up with his brother Patrick and another man Tanner knew was named Jack. They were all older than he and Golden by a couple of summers. Patrick was the youngest and even he was two summers older than Golden. They all came over and sat down by the fire and were eating bread and some type of meat.
“I bet you all are thinking the same thing we are, why didn’t we make Gwendolyn Banks an honest woman?” Thomas said eliciting laughs from everyone gathered including Golden who tried his best to stifle it. Thomas was almost 25 and it was somewhat puzzling why he had not found a bride yet. He was not a bad looking man although he was short like his father, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. “So what do you think of all this war business Golden? I heard you and the tanner here threatened a Mage and were ready to kill the lot that came recruiting.”
“He was acting like an arse and I treated him as such” Tanner chimed in. “Told the stuffy bastard I would run him through like a rich man on a whore before he gets any of those fancy spells off.”
“The tanner better be watching his manners” Jack said as he moved a strand of long brown hair out of his face. “Those Mages can enact the old law, they can challenge you to trial by combat. My Da told me about five years ago when he was in Totterdam he saw a mage roast three men alive who were accused of theft. From the whispers in the crowd those men were innocent. You’d be best to keep your head down from here on out. I couldn’t imagine that mage would forget your face. We are marching under the Baronet’s colors, he might be looking for you.”
“We let that dandy come meet his maker, my bow will take him in the throat,” Tanner stated like he was trying to convince himself.
“Well on to the real reason we are here” Thomas said. “Golden you are the best swordsman in Kol, but we know you going to learn your spells. Tanner you are a great blade yourself, I think only my Da and Gwen’s father bested you. I think we should try to stick together, all of us from Kol when we get there if we can. All of us want to go home, if one of us falls at least our things and last words will get back to our loved ones. I hear my Da talk all the time about people who never heard any word of what happened to their sons and husbands.”
“Just as long as that idiot Todd Greenley is not in charge,” Tanner said as he spat in the fire. “That tosser is likely to get us all sent to the pit following behind him.”
That elicited some laughs as the group got up and walked over to the next fire, apparently saying the same things to the men all over the makeshift campground. Tanner and Golden sat in silence until the stew was done, lost in their own thoughts about what was to come next. After finishing the stew they laid down their bed rolls and went to sleep.
CHAPTER 2
The next morning came too fast for Tanner, he spent the night having horrible dreams about war and dying. He had pic
tured Mary crying over his body for a young love lost. How or why she was on the battlefield made no sense now he was awake but it was as real as could be while he was dreaming. Tanner shook the fleeting memories away and jostled Golden awake, their fire’s dying embers provided some direct light the lightening sky didn’t.
“What time is it?” Golden asked, his blond hair all over his face.
“Time to get up. I know you haven’t swung any sword for a bit at least you could go through the morning’s practices with me.” Tanner said as he had both the two handed sword along with his own.
Golden grumbled but had gotten up, Tanner thought he must have seen the wisdom in training. Most mages relied on their spell flinging or magic charms and such. It took a little bit of time to fling a spell, an up close opponent would gut you before the spell left your lips. Tanner couldn’t imagine anyone being stupid enough to run up on Golden swinging a sword unless he was daft or wanted to die. Tanner gathered himself some space and went through the forms he had known by heart. Tanner could tell Golden was a bit rusty but that didn’t mean Golden wasn’t still a danger with it. Golden was big, fast and had a lot of reach which made him a hard target. Tanner could score a hit on him eventually but more often than not Golden would score first. Tanner thought if he had Golden’s size and reach he could beat the blacksmith, but that was stupid talk. Tanner knew he should focus on what he had, not what he wish he had. The two went on at it for about 30 minutes. Tanner could see Golden was slower with the two hander but the extra foot and a half of reach could be hard to compensate for if you were an enemy. Once other men began to stir, Tanner and Golden stopped their exercises and began to close up camp and break their fast.
It didn’t take long for the men of Kol to pack up and begin their march again. The sounds of their footsteps sounded like what Tanner thought an army should. Tanner gazed behind them and could see they really did look the part, men destined to fight. They reached the outskirts of Daum a little after the sun was at its apex, even from the distance Tanner could see people running about. Tanner noticed up ahead of him Greenley had stiffened his stance as he rode proudly into town, Tanner couldn’t help but emulate the man. As they got closer to the town they could see people point and wave at them. Tanner felt like a hero even though he had done nothing heroic. They had marched up to the town gates where Tanner could see soldiers were stationed at the gates, along with a certain sour faced mage.
“Where are you men from” the Mage demanded as Greenley stopped in front of him.
“Where does it look like we are from” Greenley said with a snarl looking down upon the Mage from horseback.
“Don’t you get snobby with me boy, answer my question,” the Mage replied.
“Who are you calling a boy peasant?” Greenley snarled back. “You are barely older than I am, now respect your betters and point me to the people in charge, it is doubtful they would let an idiot like you run anything important.”
“Milord” one of the soldiers spoke up addressing Todd. “You need to present yourself to the town square.”
“Are these the men from that backwater hovel we were at yesterday?” the Mage asked the soldier.
“These are the men from Kol Your Greatness” the soldier replied. “The one at the front is the future Baronet Greenley.”
“Ah the magic user,” the Mage said with a smile. “Your so called title won’t protect you from war, the Tavorians will make you the first prisoner they execute, now get a move on.”
Tanner saw Todd glare at the mage but continued through the gate to the town square. Daum wasn’t anyplace new to Tanner, the only difference between it and Kol was that Daum was much bigger and had a lot more businesses, one of which resold the skins and furs they bought off Tanner. Once the group had reached the town square they could see a lot of men in uniform giving orders. One of them had a bunch of lines and designs on his tunic which signified rank walked up to Todd along with a much older man with a beard and mage robes.
The man in the uniform looked the part of a grizzled soldier Tanner thought. He had close cropped gray hair and a face marred by age lines and various scars. He was still fit Tanner could tell, the belly most men had gotten at his age was not visible. The mage on the other hand was different, he was a fat man, Tanner doubted the man could run down the street without being winded. He had gray hair and looked like a noble, his clothes were finely made and only nobles could get fat really, peasants had to work for a living and rarely had enough food to get fat on.
“Alright you lot, first thing is first” the veteran said in a gravelly voice. “Your titles mean squat here, whatever you were back in the town you came from doesn’t apply here. Now everyone here has to be screened by Mage Cassock for magical ability, I don’t care if you were screened prior or what the results said. Now off them horses and line up so we can get this over with.”
Tanner climbed down from his horse and stood in line, he could see the mage touch some type of glass ball to Todd’s forehead and it turned blue. The mage smiled and said something to Todd Tanner could not hear. Todd stepped out of line and stood to the side as one of his cousins went next. The ball shone red for him and he was instructed by the veteran to walk to a man sitting at a table. The mage went through most of the testing and everyone had shone red except for Golden who was in front of Tanner, the ball shone blue again. The old Mage let out a smile.
“Ah another magic user and this one is a peasant, a big one for sure but still a peasant,” the old Mage said excitedly. “You stand over there next to your Lord, you have elevated your station Well if you could make it out the war you would. Now you come on then” the Mage said looking at Tanner.
Tanner stepped forward as the mage placed the glass ball against his head and chanted something, Tanner looked up to see the ball did not turn any color. Tanner waited as the mage began his chant again and still nothing. The mage tried one more time before ushering Tanner to the line where the non-magical were. Tanner looked back and could see the man try the ball again on Thomas, this time it turned red. The mage looked puzzled as it had not shone any color for Tanner but went about his business.
“Are you from Kol too?” said the man behind the desk.
“Yes I am,” Tanner replied.
“Have you any skills?” The man asked.
“I am a hunter and I tan hides,” Tanner replied.
“Well we got plenty of hunters and clothes for you lot, do you own a horse?” the man asked.
“I do,” Tanner replied.
“Great, then you will be cavalry after you train in infantry tactics,” The man said as he checked a box on his paper. “Grab your belongings and meet with the rest of the horsemen over there by that bakery. The man in charge is going to want to know your name and all that other good stuff about you so when you die we know who to send your belongings to.”
Tanner went over by the bakery after collecting Winny and filling out some paperwork. He wasn’t sure who he should put down as his next of kin but decided to put Mary. Whether or not they had a romance was besides the point, whoever her new beau was after Tanner had died would appreciate whatever Tanner had on him. Especially the 50 gold he carried in a secret pouch in his small clothes.
“Looks like this is for real,” said one of Todd’s cousins Tanner now knew was named Paddy. “Look lively here comes that fucking mage from the gate.”
Tanner looked as the mage stepped up to the infantry from Kol and looked them over one at a time. Someone pointed in the direction Tanner was as the mage walked over with a sneer on his face.
“You’re the one who threatened to stab me,” the mage said pointing an accusing finger.
“You have me at a disadvantage, I threaten to stab a lot of people.” Tanner said nonchalantly. “You are going to have to be more specific, was this last year sometime or something recent, where were we at the time?”
“You think you are real funny don’t you boy?” the mage replied. “We are going to see how funny you
are later on tonight. I enact the King’s justice upon you, for threatening to kill one of His Majesty’s Mages. You are to undergo trial by combat, pick one weapon and nothing else. Your execution will happen later on tonight in front of the King. He will be here later on tonight. Not so mouthy now are you?”
“I’m only mouthy when I’m with your marm,” Tanner said smiling. “Her mouth is usually busy with my cock so I have to do the talking for both of us.”
Tanner looked at the mage turned away and was scared to death. A fight to the death with a mage? How in the pit did he get himself into this predicament Tanner thought. He had never seen real magic before other than the ball of glass but many had and they were known to be truthful.
“That’s a tough break there” Jack said as he patted Tanner on the shoulder. “You are good with a blade and you have to have some knowledge of the bow but it is a mage you are to be going against.”
“I am the best shot with a bow I know,” Tanner said with bravado he really did not feel. “If that jinx flinger wants to come see for himself then he will. He’s probably gutted that no one has the bollocks to talk to that twit the way he should be talked to.”
The rest of the day went by slowly for Tanner, his only solace was the fact he saw Golden again and he had heard about the upcoming duel. Apparently the mage was named Korvan and gained fame executing prisoners since he was only 11 summers. He was raised by Tavorians and had been practicing magic ever since he could walk. Golden had also heard Korvan wasn’t anything special when it came to magic, he was just cruel and loved to kill. His family came over with other Tavorians who were looking for a place to settle after the war. Korvan was soon to be promoted again in the mage ranks, he could soon command a group of 100 men instead of the dozen or so he now did.
“What weapon are you going to use “Golden asked worriedly. “He needs a little distance to use his spells; I doubt he will give you enough chance to use your sword. Mages need some kind of focus to use their magic; it is normally a wooden instrument of some type. I heard Korvan favors a small wooden stick called a wand; somehow you have to get that away from him. He has been bragging on how he plans to kill each accused with their own weapon in front of the king.”
The Mage Breaker Page 3