It had been some days since returning from the south and Jacob had kept himself distant from the king, and from Elysabeth as well. He had an unmoving sense of both how insignificant he was in the universe and yet how important his actions were and the repercussions they could have. He refused to put aside Elysabeth but was doubting his reasons. Was it purely out of a refusal to give over more of his life to the control of others or was it he simply could not live without her? His mind was awash with thought after thought so he spent hour upon hour training with his bodyguard, reducing their shields to mangled scraps of metal with his punishing blows and twice reducing his friends to unconsciousness with his half-swung blows. Eventually he would become too infuriated to continue to pull back his strength and would remove himself to the forests alone with a great axe for felling great oaks with his prodigious strength and ceaseless energy. When he returned to his chambers with bleeding blisters on his hands and drenched in sweat Elysabeth would gently question him. His response was curt, yet quiet, and after a few attempts she settled for simply being with him.
It was two weeks since he had returned when he was summoned to the king. And with the help of Elysabeth and several grooms Jacob, Askia, Brondolf and Zachary dressed for war.
Full suits of plate armour had been made for each of the warriors of Jacob’s guard. Made with a technology known only to whomever the order had commissioned to make the armour who infused minerals into the steel while it was heated, allowing it to be hammered much thinner yet retaining more strength than those twice as thick, leaving the plates much lighter and easier to move in. The minerals also contained colour pigments that turned the steel a glossy black yet when the sun caught the suit at certain angles the suit would twinkle with silver spots like pin pricks, giving the impression that the brightest of lights shone from within the suit itself, but in the shade or indoors as they were now they were simply as black as a shadow in a moonless sky. Hinges made of multiple overlapping pieces at the elbow and knee joints allowed for much more movement than the traditional plate armour suit and Askia joked that he could dance a nimble jig upon the bodies of his enemies, although Jacob felt no humour as the last of the buckles was tightened and Elysabeth handed him his helmet. ‘You look incredible, my prince, like He who is Greatest of them all come to life. But do you think it wise to provoke the king and his lords by arriving at council in your war glory?’
Jacob brindled at the resemblance to the great God but made no comment on it stating simply, ‘It is a council for war.’ He took the helmet in his hands and marvelled at the detail; each face plate showed a mirror image of the man within in perfect detail. Once the face plate was brought down the exact features of the face beneath were shown in expressionless, cold steel. Jacob looked upon the single most noticeable feature of his own armour the single band of pure gold about the helmets crown, polished to a brilliant shine he looked into the reflection of his own face in its surface and thought with worry that his own face was becoming as hard and cold as the image upon the face plate of his helm.
The four men stalked through the hallways like warriors through a conquered land. Even though their face plates were raised they nevertheless wore faces masked in cold determination. Servants and guardsmen alike dropped to a knee and bowed in supplication as their prince walked by, Brondolf at his side and Askia and Zachary a step behind. They all wore the great broadsword, worn by the men-at-arms of the brotherhood, the giant two-handed hilt raised high above the helm. After walking the length of the keep in silence they came to the closed doors of the keep’s war room, guarded by two guards dressed in the blue of the king’s livery who came to an anxious on guard position as the four men came in to view. Open shock and confusion almost caused Jacob to smile as he stopped before the lowered spears of the guards.
‘Who dares bear his weapon before the prince?’ Brondolf growled as he took hold of one spear at the shaft just below the blade. He gave a short sharp tug, and the guard was pulled forward off balance, but rather than continue pulling Brondolf pushed back on the spear and using the guards own momentum, as he sought to right himself, Brondolf pushed the guard with enough force that he crashed into the doors with a loud thud as his unprotected head smashed into the hardened, mature oak. With one guard now dazed and in a heap on the floor, Brondolf turned his quiet rage upon the second. ‘You!’ he pointed at the guard who had raised the spear either to show he offered no threat or disrespect or to keep the shaft away from Brondolf’s grip, ‘will open the door and announce that the prince and heir to the kingdom of men has come as summoned by his uncle, the king. Then you will take that useless turd of a guardsman over there’. He pointed to a far corner thirty yards from the door, but in clear view. ‘And there you will wait in that corner until I have commanded otherwise.’
The guard quickly obeyed in the face of such authoritative action, even though the king’s guard took orders only from the king. Jacob nodded once and Askia and Zachary dropped their face plates and took a place at guard either side of the great doors. Brondolf placed a huge, gauntleted hand on each of the doors and pushed with his formidable strength, opening the doors and silencing those within.
The king smiled when he saw Jacob is his war glory, but that brief moment of pride was short-lived as he realised the strength his nephew now possessed and the threat that brought to the king. Lords Godwin the Elder and Younger both looked in muted awe and surprise as did Lord Rowland, Lord Lichenton and Lord Aelinor. Each of the great lords of the north stood in council with their king. Each lord had his closest advisors with him and every one of the thirty or so gathered men now stood with slack jawed expressions as the prince of the realm strode into the council room and glanced around like a wolf in amongst the sheep. Only Colburn met the prince’s gaze with anything akin to defiance, as his hand came to rest upon his sword’s hilt, and Jacob noted that of the thirty men in this room only Colburn could stand for more than mere seconds if Jacob drew his blade and truly released his power.
Jacob allowed the silence to linger, utilising the impression his God-given power held over these men who presumed to have power through their status as lords and retainers of the lords. Jacob broke the hold, beaming an enormous smile. As he brought his gaze upon his uncle and as if only just noticing the king’s presence he called out in a clear and strong voice, ‘My king! I am here at your command and ready to lead men to the glories of war in your name!’ Jacob walked to stand before the king, every pace exuding power. He dropped to both knees and took the king’s hand in his own kissing the signet ring then bowing his head.
The king was silenced before he could reprove Jacob for his hostile display and stated. ‘My nephew, it is good to see you so well and ready to do your duty. Rise.’
Jacob rose, and without the king’s leave to speak, he pointed at Brondolf. ‘My king and great lords of the north, allow me to present my chief of staff Brondolf. He is a veteran of many battles and a more honourable warrior you will not find.’ Colburn’s gaze moved from Brondolf to Jacob and his eyes betrayed a slight at the remark of ‘honourable warrior’. ‘He is captain of my guard and my military advisor and accountable to me and me alone.’
‘Very well’, the king said dismissively. ‘We have duties for you nephew and how fitting you have dressed appropriately, for you will leave shortly to do your king’s will.’
Jacob bowed his head slightly and said, ‘And where does my king wish me to go?’
‘You will go to Iron Guard, the greatest of the border forts.’ The king allowed the statement to linger in the air, and Jacob noticed that a few of the lords and their advisors were taking pleasure from the discomfort they thought the order would give the young prince. ‘And there you will inform the knight-captain that a third of all the men-at-arms will be removed from the borderlands and journey south, where they will make ready to depart on a grand quest in the name of their king. You will also inform them that the Lord Audemar will supply two hundred warriors armed with the war bow and they are
to be given respect.’
‘Your will, my king. I expect the warriors of the brotherhood will be reluctant to change their traditions. They are men with the strictest of codes.’ Jacob noticed the hardening of Colburn’s eyes and judged correctly that the man who was said to have forfeited all honour and pride was merely playing a part that he was forced to play.
‘I do not doubt it, nephew, which is why I am sending my heir.’ The king became enraged instantly, his arms flailing and his voice becoming a high-pitched wail. ‘They are sworn to obey the king and they will do as I command, or I shall travel to the north myself and hang them for treason!’ The king became calm as quickly as he had become enraged. ‘You will use diplomacy. You give them their orders and stay at the front, tour the fortresses, speak to the men and fight alongside them if the opportunity arises.’
‘It will be an honour to share some time with the brotherhood. My own honour guard are hand-picked from their ranks and they are the finest company.’ Jacob tried to look pleased at the prospect of travelling to the borders and in many ways he relished journeying through the kingdom and meeting men of such renown, yet he had a growing feeling of being in perpetual bondage, ordered about at the whim of a deranged king.
‘Your whore will stay’, the king said in a tone that suggested this was of no importance.
‘Elysabeth will be by my side. She is my woman, and I would have her close by’, Jacob said in the same casual tone.
Lord Rowland cleared his throat, and Jacob and the king both turned to look at him. ‘My prince, I fear it would send the wrong message if a lowborn whore accompanied the Royal Highness…’ Jacob’s blade hissed out of its scabbard with supernatural speed and the point came to rest an inch from the startled lord’s throat.
‘The king may say whatever he wishes. He is the king, anointed in the sight of God and man. But you, Lord of fucking Rowland, are but a man! A weak little man whom I could split like rotten fruit. If my king would but give me leave?’ Jacob spat with venom but directed the last at the king and spoke with courtesy, as if he were asking the king’s leave to be about some simple errand rather than brutally hack one of his great lords to pieces.
Jacob saw the lust for blood in his uncle’s eyes and the satisfaction at the terror of another. But the king’s need for suffering passed, and he pacified Jacob. ‘Stay your temper nephew, I have need of Lord Rowland unsplit.’ The king’s smile towards the terrified lord was almost as frightening as Jacobs rage. ‘You will go to brave men who protect our lands to the north and inform them of their king’s wishes.’ The king stared long and hard at Brondolf, who begrudgingly bowed his head. ‘I hear the Brotherhood of the Order of Light has a keen love for you. You may take whomever you wish from your odd little collection of misfits, be they fat priests, peasant girls or warriors. But prince, know this, you will ride under my banner and with my seal to speak with my voice. You will take no negotiation! No terms! And no disobedience!’
Jacob bowed low to his king, his sword now sheathed. He turned without a word and strolled through the door, with his men moving in step behind him.
The king turned to Colburn whose face held as little emotion as carved stone whilst his eyes stared longingly at the backs of the departing men, going about their orders dressed in their war glory. ‘You yearn to be with them, Colburn? To carry your blade against the enemy of Man with your fellows?’
‘I yearn for nothing, master.’
‘Indeed’, the king said with his cruel smile.
The summer was turning to autumn and a weak and feeble sun attempted to burn the mist from the early morning. Jacob sat astride Frostbite and relished the chance to be away from Sprettaman, and the proximity of the king. Next to him, Elysabeth sat upon a white mare that seemed dwarfed by the great warhorse as Jacob dwarfed Elysabeth. He looked down upon his love and smiled with genuine amusement at the young woman who was so swathed in cloaks and blankets that only her eyes shone through the gap in the mass of fabric.
‘That is the first smile I have seen since your return, my love’, she said to him happily, her voice muffled by the cloth.
‘Ah, well, we have a great journey ahead of us, my sweet Beth. We shall ride through the land and speak with the people who live within. They will see their future rulers and in turn we shall see the wrongs we must right when it is we who rule over them. But greatest of all, we shall be amongst men of honour and away from the decadent foulness that lingers within that monstrosity.’ He signalled the great keep outside, where they now gathered. All of Jacob’s personal guard were present, mounted and armoured, and the first morning’s rays of sunlight were giving birth to the colour in their resplendent armour.
It would be a small group that journeyed north compared to the king’s procession that had recently returned from the south, but it was composed of every person Jacob cared about and considered a friend. Red Rob was sitting at the reins of a great wagon whilst grooms made last-minute adjustments to the harnesses of the team of six horses and the cargo the wagon held. A dozen servants accompanied the six warriors of Jacob’s guard, Elysabeth, the prince, Red Rob and the two priest’s Stephen and Michael, who had followed Jacob back from the south.
The wagon was laden with ale, food and silver and there were two more wagons carrying the same as Jacob planned on speaking to as many people as he could on the journey to the borders of the forbidden forest, and at the frontier itself. And he would do so over the food and ale he would give and he would be generous with silver to let his largess and charity be known over the lands.
Askia approached on foot and bowed before the prince and Elysabeth. ‘We have too few guards for this amount of silver and such a far journey.’ Askia leaned forward as if to prevent his next words being overheard. ‘I hear tales of a countryside filled with fear and suspicion and the ravages of the slavers.’ Askia spat the word slavers with a venom that took Jacob by surprise. ‘There is anger towards those who ride under banners, and outlaws hide in the shadows.’
‘I understand your trepidation Askia, but what are the other options. Are there more men you know of who we can trust?’
‘As I trust those here? No, my lord.’
‘So, we must ride as we are or take with us men loyal to the king. No, we shall go in the company of those we trust and be safer for it.’ Jacob looked towards the north and became quiet and thoughtful for a moment. He pointed towards a smear, a barely visible grey smudge rising far in the distance. ‘But we shall remain vigilant at all times. This is not enemy country that we ride through, but that does not mean we shall not be seen as the enemy.’
‘Why would they run and hide from us, Rob? Have we offered any threat?’ Jacob said after entering the third abandoned township in as many days. ‘Hello!’ he bellowed with his hands cupped to his mouth. Nothing. Not a living soul in a town where a thousand people might live and work. Jacob was frustrated to the point of despair. In the last town they had come too, Jacob had stood in the square and threw silver in the air declaring it a gift to his people, and yet not a single man, woman or child had come forth to take what was freely given.
‘These are wilder lands, Jacob, on the edges of ownership and with many deep woods. The law is scantly seen here and when it is, I suspect it is no friend to the lowborn. More so in recent times I fear’, Red Rob said softly, trying his best to ease the prince’s discomfort.
‘Yet we have taken nothing from their towns. We do not plunder, threat or hunt them. So, what cause do we give them to fear us?’
Robert was about to answer that the people in these parts of the kingdom have cause to fear any mounted, armoured men as they would surely not be one of them when Gulkin stormed up to Jacob and stated loudly, ‘It’s because of that symbol of oppression, slavery and cruelty.’ Gulkin shouted as he pointed to the banner of the king that flew high above the wagons. As an afterthought, he remembered who he was addressing and added, ‘My prince.’
Brondolf glared at Gulkin as though he would tear him limb
from limb by thought alone but instead said, ‘He is right, my prince, although who asked him his opinion I did not hear.’ His eyes still glared at Gulkin and Gulkin shied away from them, imagining the punishment Brondolf would have for his too bold and too forthright addressing of the prince.
‘Then what would you have me do? Tear down the sigil of the crown of the kingdom? I cannot. It was the sigil of my father and his fathers before him. That it is now a symbol of oppression is not of my doing, but my responsibility to undo.’ Jacob said proudly.
‘I would not have us do anything, my prince’, Brondolf replied. ‘If we had ridden through land closer to the great holdings of the nobility, then we would have seen many folk and we would have found daggers between our luxurious sheeted beds. So, we rode through the lands further from the reach of your noble enemies and the folk here run from us. It is what I suspected. I would have us continue as planned, and if I may be so bold, my prince?’ Brondolf shot a look towards Gulkin as he demonstrated the proper way to address the prince freely.
‘Speak freely Brondolf, I did not give you position to have you let me walk blindly’, Jacob said impatiently.
‘We are about important business, and while my prince would have enjoyed the chance to show his people that there will be brighter days ahead, it is of little import what we do today if what we do today has no bearing upon the morrow.’
The prince looked thoughtful for a moment, then conceded the truth with a slight nod of his head.
‘Ah’, bellowed Red Rob loudly and sharply as he slapped a hand upon his ample girth. ‘Then let us retire to the hilltop and eat and drink.’ He gave Elysabeth a wink and added, ‘I am wasting away, my dear.’
The Banner of the Broken Orc: The Call of the Darkness Saga: Book One Page 29