The Exodus Sagas: Book II - Of Dragons And Crowns

by Jason R Jones

  “You killed the dwarf moneylender I see. That was quiet, didn’t even hear him scream once he left the room. Would you like to inspect and make sure I got everyone on the-“

  “No! I am certain you took care of everyone inside, I am more than certain.” Kaya backed away from the doors, and from her partner here in Devonmir. Not that she had any choice in the matter; for if she did, this beast would not even be alive let alone be a branded member of the White Spider.

  “You are weak, woman. You kill, you lay with men and then murder them, women too. So do I, the only difference is I enjoy it and you do it as a means to an end you will never find.” Chalas laughed deep and heavy, his voice like a demon in a cold cave.

  “I do it cleanly, quickly, quietly, and with a degree of decency. You are a sick creature who revels in ripping things to pieces. You belong in a cage, not in a city. You disgust me.” Kaya knew they only had moments before someone came out of one of the other suites above the arena. She did not fear anyone finding them, only what the minotaur would do that she might witness. “Now get some water or bedsheets and wipe yourself off before we head underground.”

  “As you wish, lady whore. At least I enjoy what I do, and take pleasure in it.” he walked heavy steps into his mess of gore, ripped a curtain off the window, and proceeded to wipe the telltale blood off of himself. “You cry yourself to sleep at night, wishing you had not done the things you have. I hear you. Yet, you don’t kill yourself and you do it again the next night. Who is the sick coward now? If I were you, I would have killed myself out of disgust a long time ago.”

  “Go to hell you horned focking bastard. At least I have a soul to fight for.” Kaya marched down the hall toward the stairs, knowing they had to get to the lower arena to meet the domenarch before the nights’ games began. They had to send word to Johnas via the warlock mirrors that Rinicus “three blades” and Cadius certainly held in their private viewing chamber over the pit.

  “Regardless of what your little human brain might tell you, you will be going to the same place I go when life is at an end. Anyone that tells you different is just trying to get some of that rotten crotch of yours for free.” his laughter was devious, for he did not care for anyone or anything. Chalas Kalaza was further from anything moral than could be found, and he tried to keep it that way.

  “Get moving minotaur, we have little time to waste here.” Kaya thought of killing him in his sleep, but Johnas had made it clear to her that he wanted him for many reasons and that he would suspect her first if anything were to happen. His words were like reviling vomit to her, and he was the devil. She knew she had earned enough to send her to hell, she just hadn’t realized that it would begin while she still lived and with company such as this.

  “Once we kill this, Rinicus person, I want to start looking for Saberrak. We have heard nothing in weeks besides that he is east of here. Tell Johnas I might start killing his men here, just for fun if he does not reveal what he knows of the gray one.” he became very reserved and focused at the thought of the fugitive he wanted to hunt and kill so desperately, the only undefeated minotaur in Unlinn besides himself. Chalas walked behind the deadly female assassin, his mind on more blood, and then some food.

  “I will inform the patriarch of the White Spider in Valhirst of your wishes, minotaur. And we are not killing Rinicus, we are meeting him. I hope Johnas orders your death for demanding such things.” Kaya hoped she would be the one to do it as well. She would have to do it while he slept, but she was more than happy to do it either way.

  “He won’t kill me. I will spill more blood for him than his ten best killers, and he knows it. Now shut your woman mouth before I rip your tongue out and eat it.” he stated in perfect calm, since he had done it many times before. Chalas sheathed his greatsword over his shoulder and continued to follow her quickly down the spiral stone stairs. Unlike Kaya, his threats were just recitations of previous experiences. The brown minotaur breathed deep, smelling the faint traces of blood off of his body and hearing distant sounds of the arenas below. He felt at home here, and could not wait to get into the middle of the arena floor, upper or lower he cared not, and show these surface dwellers how killing is done.

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  Kaya approached the two massive human men, clean shaven and tattooed all over and wearing nothing but cloth around their waists and three bladed longspears in their hands. They stood motionless in front of the double doored entrance to the private rooms above the upper arena. They lowered the spears in unison. “Stop woman. What is your business here?”

  “Seven and one, and far from black. Both of us, here to see Rinicus “three blades” and Cadius.” Kaya spoke in simple code to denote her as a member of the guild with some high rank. Anyone who gets orders directly from Johnas Valhera has some pull, Kaya knew not to use it too much or for personal gain however. She was one of his assassins, a lone agent for the most part and one of the Emerald Eight; the highest trained agents on the political, merchant, murderous spy, and domenarch echelons, and trained only by Johnas himself. Should the patriarch of the White Spider be killed, these eight that knew not of each other at all would convene and maintain the deadly organization. That is, if they did not kill each other upon sight first.

  “One moment.” the hulking guard on the left opened the door enough for himself to enter, then closed it, leaving the uncomfortable stare between Chalas and the remaining guard. Having seen years of strange creatures and thousands of deaths himself, the gladiatoral guard of the White Spider merely stared back at the minotaur and showed no fear at all. The door opened again, then the other, followed by clamoring sounds of twenty thousand cheering and yelling at whatever was going on in the arena below.

  Kaya noticed the spider brand on the back shoulder of the slave guards, on the left side behind the heart as it should be. She stopped, allowing them to inspect Chalas for his brand. They needed not to inspect her, for the code she spoke was more than enough to gain entry here in Devonmir. In Valhirst, it would not be and she would be thoroughly inspected with an arcane spider wand before being received into the underchamber of the guild. This place is far too easy and disorganized, she thought.

  The room was open on the left side completely, showing the upper arena from a high vantage some six stories above the ground. Sofas, chairs, tables, serving maids and black clad guards in the shadows lined the private coliseum suite where two men sat comfortably in the center. Kaya looked left, seeing the gray stone pillars that held the domed building up, the stone seats holding thousands of humans from most every kingdom, some dwarves and elven merchants of less than reputable names, and the black thrones across the other side of the arena above the western entrance. Three thrones of the Lords of Devonmir, all empty as the preliminary games went on, but sure to be filled for this night’s main bloodbath. Hundreds of lanterns and torches of magical flame and orange arcane light filled the warm, sweat reeking, musty Tre’hahdim arena.

  The lady assassin stepped forward into the center of the room, and nodded to the two men that sat comfortably on leather chairs; obvious by their position and guards that surrounded them that they were the most important men here. The man on the right was wearing black robes with several gold symbols and arcane glyphs that Kaya was not familiar with. He was human, Harlian by the looks of his brown eyes and dark brown wavy hair and beard. She had expected him to be a bit older for his position and reputed power of the magical arts, but he appeared to be younger than she, perhaps twenty five seasons or so. Cadius clutched his gnarled banyan root staff tight, but smiled and nodded at the beautiful woman. The man on the left, Rinicus “three blades”, had some more age on him, but was not of Harlaheim descent. His black tight and greasy curls of hair, long black mustache and trimmed beard, deep tan skin, and dark spots rather than freckles gave him away as being Caberran. He wore fine blue silks and leather armor of intricate engraving underneath; and she noticed that in fact he did carry three blades on his belt. Two of them lar
ge fighting knives and one a rapier with a golden hilt adorned with diamonds. Kaya nodded to the domenarch of Devonmir a bit longer than the wizard, showing respect to the master of the house, in this city anyway.

  “And you are?” the snyde Caberran man tapped his hilt with his fingernails rhythmically and squinted at the woman with a horned minotaur of fearsome disposition behind her. Rinicus felt no fear here, having four assassin guards, two gladiators outside the doors, and the dark mage Cadius beside him.

  “Jade of the West.” Kaya stared back at him, and watched his overconfident smile turn to a serious straight set of pursed lips, as did the rest of the men in the room as all eyes were now on her much more closely.

  “One of the Eight? Here in Devonmir? Welcome then, please sit and have some-“

  “The warlock mirrors please, have them brought now. We must make contact with the patriarch.” her stern composure was backed by the hot breath of Chalas Kalaza over her head.

  “Surely, I can have Cadius perform all that you need. Is there something the matter, my lady?” the eye contact was playful and seductive. His charms and winks were natural of men from Caberra, as passion, deception, and romance all played part of the upbringing in most well-to-do males of his country. Charming women was second nature to him.

  “I can operate them fine myself. And the matter, well let’s just say now that your payments have been off a bit.” Kaya stood and waited as one of the servant guards was motioned by Rinicus and Cadius to bring the heavy marble tablets of arcane scribing to the private arena suite.

  “I assure you that our accounting is not off by much, my lady. I perhaps could introduce you to some of my agents and since it is your first night here, you and your bodyguard would like to-“

  “Your accounting is far from true, and I have already spoken to some of your agents that handle the counting of coin.” Kaya paused, hearing the voice of Chalas speak from behind her.

  “If speaking is what you would like to call what we did to them, that is.” the minotaur smiled a sinister grin from behind the lady assassin.

  “And also, we have been here three weeks as of yesterday, Rinicus.”

  “You have? Well then I would gesture we have a deal to strike between us then. Let us say, you are put up in the finest manorhome for your time here and we start this anew. You could show me exactly what Johnas would like from us here in Devonmir, and those that have been acting incorrectly will end up in the Karnassos Marsh. Agreed?” as rinicus gulped his saliva with much strain and trembling eyes, his servant returned with two others carrying a heavy chest. The young man whispered in the ear of his master for a good length, and the news brought his tan complexion to a pale visage of one struck with terror and shock.

  “There will be no deal, Rinicus. You know exactly what percentage you should be sending to the web in Valhirst. I know there is an underground arena, right beneath this one. And down there is where the real money changes hands, where the nobles and sorcerers from many kingdoms spend their coin on fights with magically altered men and beasts from all over this and other continents. You have been stealing from Johnas and living well. Let us hope, for your sake, that he allows at least the living part to continue.” Kaya walked over to the chest, many eyes and blades were honed in on her every movement, and those eyes and blades were watched by the savage horned killer behind her.

  “You know how to use them, my lady Jade of the West? It requires much training in the arcane to activate the glyphs and symbols in order to make contact with the other warlock mirrors, in addition to knowing the secret key language to decipher what is to be read.” Cadius made a gesture to assist her, seeing she appeared to be more of a soldier than anything else.

  “I am one of the Emerald Eight, Cadius. I am well trained in the arcane arts in as much is needed here, and I know the secret language by heart. If I were you, I would concern myself with Chalas here behind me. Should your men get any ideas, this room will look like the penthouse suites a few floors up from here. If there is one thing I have trouble with, it is keeping him from spilling blood.” Kaya T’Vellon opened the chest and began to place the black and white marble slabs out on a table, inspecting the gold inlays of runes and arcane language etched upon them.

  Chalas Kalaza drew his two-handed serrated blade and leaned both hands upon it, then rested his chin upon his knuckles. He stared at down at Rinicus with his eyes fierce and his grin wide. “You should go and see for yourself. Your servant’s words cannot begin to describe the beauty of that room. I am overcome with pride at that one for sure.”

  “Where did you find this demon and why is he here?” Rinicus, the domenarch of Devonmir for the White Spider, had to look away from the minotaur that had slaughtered and hacked apart six of his men and women on the eighth floor. His servant had told him that the heads were all lined in a row on the vanity, and that the entrails were in a pile on the bed. He had nearly vomited into his goblet after hearing that the arms and legs were torn and cut from the bodies and arranged to appear as a smiling mouth on the stone floor.

  “Only he and Johnas know the answers to those questions, Rinicus. I will try and keep a closer eye on him, but your corrupt agents will have to be punished somehow. I will leave that up to you from here on. I think we have made our point, yes?” Kaya smiled as the runes and symbols glowed after her tracing them in the proper order.

  “Yes. Your point is very clear, my lady. Very clear indeed.”

  “Good. I was hoping this would be civil and easy. The changes necessary to your operations here will require your complete cooperation.” the lady assassin pulled up a chair next to the two glowing warlock mirrors.

  “I was hoping you would make it difficult. Difficult is much more enjoyable for me.” the minotaur gladiator rubbed his horns and laughed. He laughed harder seeing the men squirm and whisper in his presence. He watched the arena from the wealthy balcony room, and felt that old lust for the crowd and for blood. Chalas wanted nothing more than to be in front of these twenty thousand in the stands, and rip the horns off of Saberrak the gray. His mind wandered to the fantasy of it, envisioning every cut of his sword into his most hated enemy.

  Exodus II:VIII

  Soujan Mountain, Harlaheim

  Lord Cristoff stood still in the night sky on the side of the mountain, his eyes fighting to stay open from hours of labor and battle. He heard Azenairk whispering prayers over the ten graves he, the dwarf, Sir James, and Saberrak had dug for his men. Gwenneth watched over them with her dark wooden staff aglow to provide them light, as the sun had set behind the mountain in the east some time ago. Lady Shinayne, he knew, was scouting the slopes for surviving salisans or anything else that may have followed them here. The veteran lord bowed his head as Saberrak laid the last stone at the head of the tenth burial pile. It had been many years since he and his men had faced anything besides the hordes of mindless and slow vagabond undead from the swamps of Karnassos. He was rarely outnumbered and always had time to plan the attack, organize the archers, and lead the cavalry. This time was different, he had been the outnumbered one and time gave him nothing to plan with.

  “May Alden bless you and keep you my brave men. I pray that your brothers fare better with Savanno than we did here this day. Amen.” he lowered his head and stood silent. His hand held tight the golden feathered cross of Alden that Savanno had sent to him.

  “They fought hard Cristoff, you should be proud. They killed many enemies and not one ran or surrendered. You trained them well.” the gray minotaur huffed as he climbed up the slope to stand next to the armored lord.

  “And what did they die for Saberrak? A holy relic? My cousin’s love affair with the queen of our kingdom?”

  “If we were meant to know it now, we would. No soldier dies for nothing, not out here. Where I am from, man and beast die for entertainment and money every hour. If I were to die, I would want it here, on this mountain, facing a wicked enemy just like your men did. That is far better than what I was raised to believ
e death was. I thank you and them for fighting with us. You should honor them.” Saberrak walked to the pool on the plateau by the entrance and washed his hands and face from the dirt and blood.

  Azenairk and James put their hands on Cristoff’s shoulder guards for a moment in silent respect to the lord of the men who had given their lives to save them. Neither could have said anything better than what the minotaur had just told Cristoff. James thought of his days fighting alongside noble lords and knights in Southwind. Zen thought of poetic phrases and eulogies in dwarven that probably were less than poetic in Agarian. Both of them left the Lord of Saint Erinsburg to his time alone with those that he had lost, and then followed the horned warrior’s lead to clean up at the pool.

  “You men do realize that you may be washing yourselves in a sacred pool of an ancient dragon, right?” Gwenneth had her staff propped up next to one of the strange tall trees next to the water on top of the mountain. She was examining the ring that Kalzarius had given her, memorizing and repeating the words of arcane power that would activate it, and wondering how much energy she could absorb with it. She had glanced over into the treasure piles, before Ansharr had asked to be left with the scroll alone, and saw that the dragon had several staves that could be of a magically empowered nature. Gwenne hoped she might be able to trade or purchase one from the dragon, and hoped that it contained mighty energies or strange enchantments.

  “If this pool is sacred or something, I am sure the dragon would have told us, wizard.” Saberrak snorted his reply back to Gwenne.

  “If you start feeling like her mindless and helpless servant, don’t say I did not warn the three of you.” Gwenneth turned away from them, admiring the closeness of the moons and the stars up this high in the night. “Minotaur, you are already mindless, nevermind.” she said the last part under her breath where no one could hear, since she was being ignored anyway.