Commander Boris stood in the dressing room as he was dressed in fine leather. It was similar in style to the leather he wore under his armor, except thinner. It wouldn’t protect him, but it looked good. It was just for show. He had been forced into quite a few just-for-show situations that he did not like already. There were procedures to be followed, and the show was important to a lot of people, so he reluctantly went along with it. Kauffman had explained to him how important it was to play the political part of all of this. There were fights to be fought, but this wasn’t one of them. When he took a stand, he needed to make sure that it meant something. If he constantly fought ceremony, then the people of power would attempt to circumvent him as often as possible. With that in mind, he stood there while the couturiers bent him back and forth. Poked and prodded. When they were finally done, he walked out of the room in perfectly fitted light tan leather armor with black leather stitching.
“Now you look like a king,” Master Kauffman said with a smile.
“I feel more like a jester,” Boris said.
“Would you rather they fit you with colorful robes with gold and silver borders, or maybe we could get them to add some ruffles?” Kauffman joked.
Boris just shook his head and walked down the hall. Kauffman followed. When they reached the entrance of the palace, there were two-dozen of the King’s Guard standing in formation in their polished armor. Standing at their head were two men. The first was Captain Foringi, and the second was the guard who had stood between him and King Merwein. Captain Foringi stepped forward. “I am honored to serve you, Commander. Before we go, I wanted to let you know that after you are nominated, you will have the opportunity to replace any or all members of your guard. After what happened with King Merwein, we will all understand if you choose all of us.”
Boris stopped him with an upraised hand. “Captain Foringi, you will lead my guard. You will make the choices on who is in my guard. I have known you long enough to trust your judgment. We will have to train some of these men better though. This one is smart,” he said nodding to the soldier he had fought when they had ambushed the Merwein. “But he needs more training. His first real fight was with me, and he didn’t do badly. He was alone, and Merwein distracted him. Foringi, you will have the additional duty of training with me. I need to hone my skill fighting with one arm. What is your name?”
“I am Private Tapsig, sir.”
“How long have you been with the guard private?” Boris asked.
“I have been with the guard almost one year, sir.”
“Private, I have fought you personally. You are brave, but you’re not foolish. Captain Foringi’s responsibility is to help me maintain mine. You will train with me or Captain Foringi every day until you can hold your own in one on one combat with us. That is what I expect of you. When you can beat one of us in a fight, I will make you an officer in my guard,” Boris told the young private.
“Yes, Your Highness. Thank you, Your Highness.”
Boris turned to Captain Foringi. “I am not Highness yet. Captain, form your men up. Let’s get this over with.”
Commander Boris walked out of the palace with a rank of guards on either side of him. The guards led him through the streets to the city square. On a large platform in the center of the square sat the twelve most powerful men in Portwein. The guards formed up around the platform as Boris made his way up the stairs. The square was filled with thousands of people. Boris took his seat on the platform and stared out at the crowd. Maybe they would select someone better suited.
Master Kauffman made his way up the platform to a podium. Most of the people would not be able to hear, but they would spread the word back to the people behind them. “People of Portwein. I am Lyle Kauffman. For those of you who don’t know, I am the head of the Merchant’s Guild. I have been designated as the executor of ceremony.” He paused for the people to spread the word through the crowd. After a few moments, he raised his voice again. “As you all know, King Merwein is dead. Commander Boris has been nominated as the new King of Portwein. If the people would like to raise another to be nominated, you may do so now.”
After a few moments, the general rumble of the crowd became a consolidated uproar in a small group. That group began to push its way through the crowd toward the platform. Boris watched as the sea of people was forced to spread as the group moved closer. He couldn’t help but hope that it was some noble whose family had fallen over the years, but held a strong claim to the throne. He had already spent days trying to think of someone who would have a claim that would be honorable and fair. He hadn’t been able to do so. As the group approached the platform, he began to realize that this wasn’t going to be the man to take this responsibility from him. The crowd moved out of fear, but hateful unapproving shouts followed them. When the group made the platform, the guards stopped them. After a few moments of questioning, Master Kauffman led a very large man onto the platform. Boris instantly recognized him.
Blake Morder was a massive man. He was a leader in the underworld of the city. People who crossed him were found dead or went missing, but nothing could ever be directly linked to the man. He had hundreds of men who murdered for him. He was nearly as intelligent as he was strong, which is why he had remained alive as long as he had. Morder moved up next to Boris on the platform and Kauffman spoke. “People of Portwein, Blake Morder has been nominated. Will you support his nomination?”
The crowd began to boo. The small group that had led Morder to the stage began to move through the crowd, and little pockets of the crowd would begin cheering. As the men moved past, they would begin booing again. You could follow the men by the crowd as the cheering moved out and the cheerers would raise their arms, only to lower them again moments later.
Kauffman began to shout again, “The majority does not support the nomination. People of Portwein, do you support the nomination of Commander Boris as your new king?”
The people in the front began to cheer. The waves began to move again, but this time it was Morder’s men forcing people to lower their arms and boo. Morder stepped up next to Kauffman. “As a nominee, I execute my right of challenge.” Morder’s deep booming voice carried over the crowd much further than Kauffman’s. The people at the front all went silent as others began to spread the word to the back of the crowd.
Kauffman stared at Morder for a few seconds before finally turning back toward the crowd. “A challenge has been made.” He turned to Commander Boris. “By the law of nomination, you may accept or deny the challenge. The challenge can only end once one of the nominees is dead. If you choose to accept the challenge, you are allowed a champion. That champion must be a volunteer, and if your champion is defeated, you too will be executed in order to prevent a future challenges of authority.”
The crowd spread the word and then went silent for the first time.
Commander Boris looked over at the huge man. He had heard of the man’s prowess in battle. He was a street fighter. He didn’t follow rules or fight nobly. He would have to fight this man on his own terms. It would have been a good fight when he had both arms. Now, with only one, he wasn’t sure he could win.
“I will be your champion,” Captain Foringi shouted from the base of the platform.
Boris waved him off and turned to Morder. “I accept your challenge. State your terms.”
Chapter Ten
Jerrie
Jerrie woke up on a low, lightly padded cot in a small room. The single candle on the table in the center of the room gave just enough light for him to see. A sharp pain in his lower leg immediately grabbed hold of his attention. When he looked down, he saw that it was only a small cut. It must have been infected because the area around the cut was very inflamed. He heard someone coming his way from the next room. He reached for his knife and realized he was naked under the thin blanket. He struggled to his feet and waited. He could feel how weak his body was. He had barely gained his balance when a woman walked through the door into the candlelight.
Jerrie sat on the cot and stared at the woman. She didn’t have looks that would be normally considered beautiful, but she was still pleasant to look at. She was very pleasant to look at. She had dark brown hair that turned in tight curls down her back. Her eyes were green, and her face was narrow. She didn’t have much fat in her face, but her face wasn’t bony either. After a moment, he realized he was staring and he came to his senses. “Where are my things?”
The woman smiled. “Your weapons are over there in the corner. I washed your clothing, and it is drying on a line. How are you feeling?”
“I’m all right. Who are you?” Jerrie asked.
“I am Crissy. I am the local healer. I mostly take care of men who are injured on ships. I get them healthy so they can get back to work.”
“Why did you help me?” Jerrie asked.
“Those men have been luring people here to take advantage of them for too long. They tell them they are bringing them to me and then they ambush them. Everyone who has ever stood up to them has been killed. Many of the men who handed over their money were killed also. You killed them all. You would have died if I hadn’t helped you. One of them cut your leg. It was a very small cut, but the dagger was poisoned. Your body is very strong, and you might have been able to fight off the poison, but you were suffering withdrawals.”
“You said that before. What does that mean?” Jerrie asked.
“You were taking a lot of poppy for an extended period of time. Your body began to become dependent on the poppy. When you didn’t have it, you became weak. You should be over the worst of the sickness now, but the next couple of days will be difficult.”
“How long was I asleep?” Jerrie asked.
“You were attacked three nights ago. The first couple of days without poppy are very difficult. The concoctions I gave you to fight the poison have kept you asleep and allowed your body to heal. You should be mostly recovered in a couple of days. It will still take some more time for you to fully recover, but you will be able to get up and move around.”
Jerrie stood back up, but everything started to get blurry and he sat back down. “My friends will be looking for me. I need to get back.”
“I can send them a message and let them know where you are. Where do I take it?”
Jerrie thought about it for a minute, but he couldn’t remember where they were staying. “If you get word to Commander Boris, he will make sure my friends come for me. I will make sure you are repaid for your kindness.”
The woman straightened when he said Commander Boris.
“What happened to Boris?” he asked.
“Nothing yet, but he is supposed to be fighting one of the city;s meanest and most feared ruffians. The man was nominated and was not going to win, so he challenged Commander Boris. Most people think that Boris can’t win. I don’t know how he could win with only one arm.”
“I need to get to him. Can you take me to him?”
Crissy stared at him. “You came with the dwarves, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
Crissy walked toward him until she was only a step away. “Did you help him kill the king?”
Jerrie stared at her, trying to figure out how to answer her.
“Its okay, he was an evil man. Now that I know that you know Commander Boris, it makes perfect sense. After seeing you fight, I can’t imagine how I wouldn’t have heard of you before.”
“Now that you mentioned it, what happened to the men who attacked me?”
Crissy shifted uncomfortably. “I sent word to the local necromancer. He sent someone to come collect them.”
Jerrie stood up quickly. “You know—” He started to sway.
Crissy wrapped her arms around him. He could smell the flower scent of whatever she used to wash with. He could feel her pressing against him as she helped him back down onto the cot. “You smell like flowers,” he said.
He thought he saw her smiling, but his vision was going blurry, so he couldn’t be sure. She sat at the edge of the cot with one hand on his arm. “Get some rest. I’ll send word to your friends, and we can talk about why you are so interested in the necromancer when you wake up.”
Jerrie could only nod before sleep came for him.
Chapter Eleven
Tiefes Loch
Fuhrung stood at the base of Tiefes Loch, which was not nearly as tall as Shinestone or Evermount, but much steeper. As he looked up the stairs that led to the entrance, he stared at the huge sword on the landing. He had seen the sun reflecting off of the mountain as they approached, and now he stood in amazement at the magnificent monument.
The dwarves from Tiefes Loch who had led him from Shinestone, now led him up the stairs into Tiefes Loch. They were nearly to the landing when a dwarf came down the steps toward them. One of the dwarfs moved up to speak with the approaching dwarf. Without warning, the dwarf coming down the stairs drew his sword and drove it through the other dwarf’s neck. The dwarf then pushed Fuhrung’s dying escort over the edge of the stairs and charged toward Fuhrung.
Fuhrung drew his sword as he ducked under the sword swipe that would have decapitated him. As he stood, he drove his sword into the dwarf’s chest. Fuhrung’s old sword would have been deflected by the dwarven breastplate, but the sword he had taken off the fallen Chaos Dwarf cut through the armor with nearly no effort.
The dwarf who had been behind him on the stairs came up beside him and brought his axe down on the dwarf’s neck. When Fuhrung looked from the dead dwarf to the dwarf standing next to him, something happened. All of a sudden there was another set of thoughts inside his head. A voice in his head told him to let go. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but he knew that whatever it was in his head he had to resist. Something was trying to take control of his body. He pushed back. “You can’t have my body!”
“What?” the other dwarf asked outside of his mind.
“Some kind of magic. There is someone in my head trying to take control of my body,” Fuhrung managed to explain.
The other dwarf had turned on him and was in a defensive position with his weapon between them.
He couldn’t even think about that. It was taking every bit of his concentration to hold off the mental assault. After a few moments of fighting, the mental assault ended. He looked up at the dwarf next to him. “I think it’s over.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when the dwarf raised his axe. Fuhrung dove out of the way as the dwarf attacked. Whatever had been trying to take control of his body must have taken control of the other dwarf. He was lying on the stone steps, looking up at the dwarf as the axe came at him again. He brought his sword across. The blade connected with the shaft of the axe and cut through the steel handle. The head of the axe continued harmlessly over his head. The dwarf paused to look at what had happened to the weapon, and Fuhrung took advantage of the reprieve. He didn’t want to kill the dwarf, so he lopped off his hand. The hand and the axe handle fell to the steps. The dwarf didn’t even seem to notice the missing hand; he simple grabbed hold of Fuhrung with his other hand and tried to roll over the edge, pulling Fuhrung with him. Fuhrung had no choice but to break free of the dwarf. He brought his sword across, cutting through the dwarf’s remaining arm and allowing him to fall to his death alone.
Fuhrung was most disturbed by hearing the dwarf laugh violently all the way down. Fuhrung made his way up the stairs to the entrance of Tiefes Loch. There were two dwarves standing there with weapons drawn.
One of them stepped forward. “Put your weapon away.”
Fuhrung was hesitant to do so, but he had to accept that this dwarf was guarding Tiefes Loch. He slid his sword into its scabbard. The dwarf put his weapon away, but the other dwarf behind him kept his sword out.
“Who are you?” the dwarf a
sked.
“I am Fuhrung. I am the advisor to Queen Frau Gemcutter of Shinestone.”
“Why did those dwarves attack you?”
“I don’t know what happened. It was some kind of magic. A dwarf came down the steps and attacked us. After we defeated him, some kind of magic tried to take control of my body. I fought the magic and then the other dwarf with me attacked me,” Fuhrung explained.
The dwarves didn’t seem surprised by the completely unbelievable story. “Follow me. I will lead you to Queen Gemcutter.”
“What is going on?” Fuhrung asked.
“Queen Gemcutter will answer your questions,” the dwarf answered, turning and entering Tiefes Loch.
Fuhrung followed the dwarf. The other dwarf fell in behind him, keeping his sword drawn. After moving down the tunnel for about one hundred paces, they passed two dwarves who were waiting there. When they saw them coming down the passage, the two dwarves rose and made their way up the tunnel toward the entrance. They were obviously the dwarves who would replace the guards who were taking him to Frau.
As he made his way through Tiefes Loch, he saw a number of dwarves. They all seemed uncomfortable when they saw him. The dwarves of Tiefes Loch did not carry themselves with the confidence he was accustomed to. Most of the dwarves he saw walked with slumped shoulders and eyes toward the ground. The only way he could think of to describe it was defeat. The only hope he saw in them was their eyes. Their bodies showed defeat and uncertainty, but he caught a couple of them looking up at him as he passed and there he saw hope. He realized then that they were not defeated; they were lost.
The dwarves who were leading him finally stopped. The one walking behind him kept his sword out. The other put his sword away and banged three times on the heavy oak door. That was one thing he had seen a lot of as they walked through the tunnels. Tiefes Loch used wood for many of their doors where the other kingdoms would have used steel or stone. Unlike most of the doors he had seen rotting off of their hinges as he walked through Tiefes Loch, this door was in very good shape. After a moment, the door opened and Frau turned toward him.
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