Portals of Infinity: Book One: Champion for Hire

by John Van Stry

  “We’ve carried the day, Will,” he said to me looking around, “and for a lot less of a cost than I had thought. Your idea’s worked and your presence seems to have had a great effect on our fighters.”

  “People fight better when they know their god is with them and helping,” I said taking another drink.

  “Well I’m grateful, that’s for sure. Guess I’ll have to go pay my respects tomorrow at the temple.”

  I shook my head, “It’ll have to wait. Gather everyone that can march, we’re going after them.”

  “What? Are you sure?”

  I nodded; we had routed them, now it was time to really drive it home. My blood was singing in my ears and I wanted to kill a lot more of them. I realized suddenly that I’d enjoyed the fight, and I’d enjoyed winning even more. Well there was more to be won and I was going to go take it. Every last piece.

  “How far are we going to chase them?” He asked.

  “All the way to their gates and inside if we can. I mean to take their city. They came to conquer us? Well, let’s turn it back on them!”

  General Holse’s face lit up then like a child’s at Christmas, I could see why he was in charge. “By god you’re right man! We can put an end to their constant attacks once and for all! Grab a company and keep them running, I’ll get the army together and we’ll be on the march behind you within the hour!”

  I gathered a few officers and they got their men together in record time and we were off. We chased them all the way back to their base camp, and attacked without warning. The battle was short and fierce and then they abandoned their camp and were on the run again. But not before we’d killed their king. Or rather, I had killed their king.

  “Try to kill my queen will you?” I growled when I hacked his head off as he went down from a stomach wound I’d just given him. I doubted he had any idea what I was saying; the stomach wound had pretty much finished him. But the others around him heard me and that was when they broke and ran.

  “Kill their priests first!” I yelled and we took off after them with a vengeance, cutting them down with the soldiers, and in much greater numbers.

  I started to get a bad feeling from that part that I knew was Fel’s influencing me.

  “Not now, Fel, I’ve got fighting to do!” I growled under my breath.

  The feeling receded, but there was a lingering aftertaste to it. I got the distinct impression that he disapproved of my plans. But the more I turned the idea over, the more I liked it. That city was going to be mine!

  By the time morning came, we were all dead on our feet, but the enemy was still running before us, and they were in just as bad a shape as we were. General Holse came up behind us though with fresh troops shortly after sunrise and we fell out to take a few hours break as he took up the chase.

  “How far is it to their city?” I asked him.

  “We should be there by tomorrow morning at this rate.”

  I nodded. “Good.”

  Behind his troops was the supply train. Person drawn carts with food and other supplies. We ate then lay down on the ground to sleep.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Fel was thundering at me across the table.

  “Wiping out the enemy, what do you think I’m doing?” I said shocked.

  “I brought you here to win a battle, not to wipe them out!”

  “You said they were going to wipe you out. That if you lost they were going to eradicate you and your followers. Did you lie to me?” I growled at him.

  “No, I didn’t lie to you. But you can’t do this!”

  “Turn about is fair play! When I’m done here there isn’t going to be a temple, priest, or follower of their god left! And that city will belong to Rachel and your priests will have a temple there.”

  “You’re going to do this no matter what I say, aren’t you?”

  “It’s too late, Fel. Even if you killed me where I stand, the horse has the bit in its teeth now. Maybe I could stop Holse if I pressured him, but I’m not going to do that no matter what you say or do.”

  Fel sighed, “I should never have upped your aggression levels.”

  “What?” I looked at him.

  “Oh come on, you don’t think that the only thing I changed was your size and species when you came here, do you? I upped your aggression, that’s why you were all over the queen when you saw her. You’re a lot more aggressive than you were, and you’ll fight for what you want and take it.”

  I thought about that, I wondered what other things in me were now changed?

  “So why are you upset? You’re about to gain a lot of people when we convert them. Plus the extra temples and the larger population base.”

  “Because the other gods are going to have a fit when you wipe out this one. Right now I’m the only one who knows your mind, but once it’s done, there will be trouble.”

  I smiled at him rather evilly, “Then I’ll kill them for you too.”

  “I’ve created a monster,” He sighed. “When this is over, we’re going to have words. I can’t afford to have you quit on me. I still need you too much.”

  “You need me still?” I grinned again. “No more human sacrifice!”

  “Do you have any idea how many you’ve killed in the last twenty-four hours?”

  “Don’t know, don’t care. It’s war. But you know my mind and you know my reasons. I know it hurts more than it helps in the long run.”

  “I should know better than to talk with you in the midst of a campaign, your aggression is peaked. But yes, it’s gone and won’t be back. I happen to feel you’re right, and this was a good time to end it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now go.”

  It was noon when I awoke. I must have slept four hours, which was the longest I’d slept since I got here. I wondered if that was just me, or if the people here all had a different sleep cycle. I got the men together and we started off at a fast pace. Our plan was to get there at sunrise, which was when the general thought they would get there. I could still feel some unease from that part in my mind that was Fel, but I could tell he wasn’t going to make an issue of it. The part that floored me the most was that I was completely ready to get in his face about this. I wanted that city! I wanted to destroy their god. I wanted to do to them what had been done to Josh. Up until that moment in my life I had no idea that I could be so cruel.

  I wondered if it was because I had laid claim to Rachel, at least in my own mind, and this was because of what they’d tried to do to her. Or if by increasing my aggressive nature if he’d increased my vindictiveness as well. I was also surprised to find out that the carnage of the night and day before hadn’t bothered me in the slightest. I know I killed over a hundred easily, once I got the hang of it with my increased speed and self-healing abilities I was a juggernaut. I could see how a champion could have a major impact on a battle. I could also imagine what would happen if I ever came up against another one.

  We came across a lot of bodies, and a few small groups of our soldiers who were either keeping an eye on things, or working on building funeral pyres. When we finally did catch up with the main body General Holse told me that he didn’t believe any of the army had made it back to the city.

  “I cut the last group down an hour ago.” He said as we both stood just inside the tree line and looked out at the city.

  I only had one city to judge by since I got here, but Rivervail was a big one. It was larger than Highland, and looked richer too. Part of that was because it was on a river, the other part probably because of the falls there and the natural defenses. There was a river on one side and a cliff on another. Because of the cliff there was a falls on the river at that point, so if you wanted to go up or down the river you had to take the portage through the city. The river and the cliff defended the city on three of its sides, which only left one side open. The side we were on. There was a low wall, but it wasn’t much. I suspected they thought it would be easier to conquer us than to fortify this
side. That or they thought we’d never be able to mount an attack.

  “Okay,” I said to General Holse and the rest of the senior commanders. “Make sure everyone, and I mean everyone understands this: No fire.” I looked at all of them, and some of them looked surprised.

  “Gentlemen, this is now our city. We are going to go in there and eliminate every male old enough to know what a sword is, or older. Every priest, every priestess, and we will tear down, but not burn! We will tear down every temple. Every sign of their god is to be erased, broken, and destroyed. We are going to give this city to our queen as a gift for their attempt to murder her. Understood?”

  They pondered that a few moments, but did seem to like the idea. Rachel was popular after all.

  “What about the women?” One of them asked.

  I smiled, “Well you see, it’s like this. We’re kind of short on citizens what with this war and suddenly having this new city with no men left in it at all. So I got to thinking that every man on this campaign, and that includes those who only fought at the first battle that started this war, could probably use a second wife or concubine. And of course each man stands to take over whatever property his new wife or concubine had once he takes her. Okay?”

  “Umm, what if she’s not interested?”

  “That’s your problem,” I said with a smile and the others all laughed.

  “We still have a lot of the men from the city that came out to help,” the general’s aide said. “A good deal of the married men went home, but all the single men came, I think a lot of them will be interested in this.”

  I nodded, “Good. Again, make sure everyone understands this is our city now, kill the priests, priestesses, men, and tear down the temples and holy symbols. No fires.”

  Two hours later, we attacked.

  They knew we were coming, though I don’t think they believed we would actually attack. The city guard was overwhelmed shortly after we broke down the gates, and that only took a few hours. The promise of women and their property kept everyone from wanting to destroy that property, so there were no fires.

  But it was another slaughter. Some women fought, they died with the men of course. The priests holed up in their temple and that was another fight. We ended up burning them out of the main temple and one other. They were set apart enough that we could do so without fear. The smaller temples weren’t that hard to overwhelm, and I made sure each was destroyed. Securing the city took two days and I hardly slept at all during that time except for a few breaks here and there. Fel didn’t bother me during that time, but I got the impression he was busy with whatever it is that keeps gods busy.

  I took the royal palace and turned it over to the clerics in our own army. I figured we could build something for the queen on the grounds the main temple had occupied once it was suitably cleared. But right now I wanted an obvious sign of Feliogustus here in a prominent place. I made sure the queen’s flag was flying over every barracks, guardhouse and gate. I was putting both his and her stamp on this town in very large ways. Once the town had been pacified General Holse sent half the army home, and set the other half up here.

  There were marriages going on a round the clock after that, and I know most of the women weren’t happy but I didn’t care. I looked at one who was crying and told her rather bluntly that if she made her new man happy he would undoubtedly do the same for her, and wasn’t that a whole lot better than being dead? She got to keep her house, she wouldn’t be a slave, and she wouldn’t be a whore. She looked at the man who had her, he was a rather plain average guy, one of those from the city who had not only volunteered for the first fight when asked, but had endured the forced march and from the obviously recently healed wounds had actually done some fighting. He looked at her and nodded, “If you treat me right I will do right by you, I promise!”

  She quieted down a bit after that, and as I watched, he put an arm around her and escorted her off, showing her some genuine affection.

  “Who is that?” I asked the priestess next to me who had just married them.

  “He’s the local tanner’s son. A rather plain looking lad but he’s got a way with the suhzen. I thought he was going to end up a herder, but I guess not now.”

  The suhzen were something like sheep from earth, only larger and meaner. You could either shear them or skin them. The nastier one’s usually got skinned.

  “Why not?”

  “Cause that’s the oldest daughter of the leading merchant in town. Who is now dead, and whose wife apparently had died some time ago. So he just married a fortune. He’s a smart lad; I bet she’s in love with him by year’s end.”

  “Huh,” was all I said. By the end, it turned out that comparatively few of the marriages were forced. As soon as a lot of the women figured out the score, a bunch killed themselves and the rest decided to do the picking before they themselves got picked. Women are far more practical and realistic than men. Or maybe I was just feeling rather cynical after all of the carnage I’d released. I didn’t know.

  The next day found me inspecting the city’s defenses, and in general just buoying the general morale. Fel still hadn’t visited any of my dreams, but order was quickly being restored.

  “Ah, Will, just the man I was looking for,” General Holse came up to me. “Seems I just got a message from the queen. She requests the honor of your presence.”

  “Or?” I asked smiling.

  “What makes you think there is an ‘or’?”

  “I know my woman.”

  He laughed, “Or she’s coming here to find you.”

  I nodded, “I might as well head back now.”

  “I have a few carts of captured loot and the more seriously wounded heading back, why don’t you ride with them?”

  “Thanks.”

  The cart I ended up in wasn’t very fast, oxen pulled it, the cattle here in the lowlands were rather earthlike and even had the same names, or at least they translated the same in my head. I noticed however that there were no horses or horse analogs. I suspected there were some around someplace, and with the rolling fields off to the east below the cliffs it would be wise to try and raise a Cavalry.

  As soon as I got in the cart I stretched out and fell asleep, my dreams were fairly nondescript until eventually I ended up in that inn again.

  “Gee, you’re looking good,” I said looking at Fel, who really did look better than the last time I’d seen him.

  “Yes well, apparently quite a few of those brides have effectively converted, so I got a large shot of new followers, plus there are the new temples. I’ve gained some power.”

  I smiled, “Good.”

  “I’m still however a bit upset with you,” He warned, “the other gods are wary of me now; with this new city and population I’m going to grow in power a lot the next decade or two.”

  “And that’s bad because?”

  “Because I’m one of the newer gods here. Roth was an older god and he’s all but dead now. Once the last of the women who believe in him forget him, that’s it, he’s gone. At this point he’s completely powerless; you got all of his clerics by the way congratulations on that, so there is nothing he can do. Soon I’ll be as powerful as some of the older gods and more powerful than any of the other newer ones.”

  “I still don’t see how that’s bad.” I said.

  “Because if enough of them team up and attack us, I could lose everything.”

  “Yes, but Roth’s people did start this.”

  “I know, and they know. Plus he wasn’t popular among the gods anyway. But I need to play it safe for a while. They know you took the city against my wishes, so as long as you behave, I’m okay.”

  “Who told them that?” I asked surprised.

  “I did, who else? If they thought this was my idea they’d be building an army as we speak!”

  I sighed, he smiled. “Get used to it. Serving means I get to blame things on you, even if I am happy with the outcome. Besides, I did tell you not to.”

&
nbsp; “I see.” I said, and wondered if his telling me not to was sincere, or just what he had to say to protect himself? I decided I did not want to know the answer to that question. If I was going to serve, then I had to take the bad with the good.

  “So how long before you can leave?”

  “Leave? Leave for where? Now what do you want me to take care of?”

  “Darlene? Your Son? Your Inn? Remember?”

  “Oh!” I said abashed. I hadn’t thought of either of them for some time now, all I’d really been thinking of lately was Rachel and parting her thighs.

  “Well, a few more months won’t hurt I guess. I do owe Rachel some time before I up and leave her. Which reminds me, I can come back, right?”

  “Of course you can. Are you sure you want to keep your relationship going with the Queen though?”

  I growled low in my throat, “Yes.”

  Fel sighed, “Definitely too much aggression. Well, you earned it. Try not to knock up my high priestess, up while you’re back in town.”

  I looked at him, “What?”

  “She’s been praying every night since you left for me to ask you to pay her a ‘visit’.”

  “Ooookay. And of course you want me to get her pregnant.”

  “Didn’t I just ask you to do otherwise?” Fel asked raising an eyebrow.

  “In a manner that has gotten me most interested in doing just that.” I grinned. “We’ll see.”

  “Go, have fun, you earned it.”

  I went.

  It was a two-day trip. I slept the first day through, enjoying the experience immensely, but I got off and jogged the rest of the way, otherwise it would have been a three-day trip and I was getting anxious to see Rachel.

  Six