Kingshold

by D P Woolliscroft

  Clapping his hands at a job well done, Jyuth walked back to his boat and set about the business of sailing off into the wild blue yonder.

  Call to Action

  Thanks for reading the adventures of Mareth, Alana, Neenahwi and Motega. I hope you enjoyed it. I would appreciate you leaving a few remarks or comments on Amazon or Goodreads, and of course, telling your friends the good old fashioned way. It’s this reader led communication that helps to spread the word and get others interested in trying this book.

  You can sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future releases, opportunities to become a beta reader, and behind-the-scenes discussion of what went into the making of Kingshold. Also, if you want to drop me a line, please do. My email address is dave@dpwoolliscroft.com.

  Glossary

  Groups

  Higher Guilds:

  Engineers

  Law

  Merchants

  Moneychangers

  Shipwrights

  Weavers

  Hollow Syndicate (Unofficial Status)

  Lower Guilds:

  Artists

  Bakers

  Brewers

  Butchers

  Craftsmen

  Doctors and Druggists

  Ironworkers

  Saddle Makers and Tanners

  Stonemasons

  Twilight Exiles (Unofficial Status)

  Kingshold Districts and Supervisors

  Fishtown - Eldrida

  Warehouse - Gonal

  Central Market - Aldo

  Docks - Colbert

  Garden - Hertha

  Cherry Tree - Jules

  Fourwells - Win

  Golden - Geary

  Lance - Row

  Redguard - Ifig

  Whiteguard - Garet

  Inner Narrows - Dyer

  Outer Narrows - Lud

  Four Points - Lowell

  Garmond - Yetta

  Bottom Run - Denley

  Woodton - Odam

  Randall’s Addition - Nara

  Arloth’s Acre - Paine

  Beggar’s Point - Medwyn

  Cast of Characters

  AEBUR: Spymaster General

  AGNES: Old lady, lives on the Farm Road

  ALANA: Palace maid, sister to Petra

  ARTUR DANWEAZEL: Merchant, dealer of under-the-table wares and giver of extraction jobs to Motega, Trypp, and Florian

  BALES: Lord Hoxteth’s steward

  BALLARD: Guild master of the Stonemasons’ Guild

  BARAX: Demon queen, trapped in the mortal world by Neenahwi

  BARTHOLOMEW: Artisan of the subtle arts of persuasion and inquisition

  BASHARAAT: Demon king of the pyxies

  BENEVAL (Lord): Commander of the palace guard

  BERTHA: Head maid at the palace

  BOLLINGSMEAD (Lord): Father of Mareth

  CADAWA: Childhood playmate of Neenahwi

  CARNEY: Resident minstrel of the Griffon’s Beak Inn

  CHALICE (lady): Managing partner of the Hollow Syndicate, rescuer of Neenahwi and Motega

  CREWS: Naval commander under Sea Marshall Ridgton

  DAVITH: Urchin, pickpocket

  DOLPH: Bodyguard to Mareth, employee of Lord Hoxteth

  DUKE OF NORTHFIELD: Brother of King Roland, Pienzan duke

  DYER: District supervisor for the Inner Narrows

  EDEN (Lord): Savior of Redsmoke, war hero, richest man in Edland

  EGYED: Dwarf, ambassador of the deep people, Keybearer of Unedar Halt

  ELDRIDA: District supervisor for Fishtown

  ELKIN: Former chief of the Wolfclaw tribe, Motega and Neenahwi’s great grandfather

  FISKE (Lord): Guild master of the Law Guild, head judge of the realm, candidate

  FLORIAN: Friend to Motega and Trypp, originally introduced by Jyuth. Veteran of foreign wars, including the liberation of Redpool, mercenary for hire

  FOLSTENCROFT: Administrator, employed by Lady Grey

  FORGER: Elected leader of the dwarves of Unedar Halt

  FREDERICK (Sir): Knight, bodyguard to Lord Eden

  GARLICK: Smith in the Four Points District

  GAWL TEGYR: Bearer of Light, Bringer of Peace, Ambassador of Pyrfew

  GNEEF: A thief in need of a dentist

  GONAL: Merchant, friend of Mareth and connection to Hoxteth

  GREY (Lady): Lord Hoxteth’s wife

  GREYTOOTH: Shaman of the Wolfclaw clan

  GRIMES: Captain of the palace guard under Beneval, but everyone knows who to go to if there is a problem

  HOSKIN: Lord Chancellor of Edland

  HOXTETH: Lord Treasurer, merchant, Merchants’ Guild leader

  HUTH: Hoskin’s deceased father, former Lord Chancellor

  JULES: Owner and landlady of the Royal Oak

  JYUTH: Wizard, founder of Edland, adopted father of Neenahwi

  KANAVEEN: Wolfclaw champion and protector of Neenahwi and Motega after the flight. Lives in the wilderness of Edland

  KARR: Pirate

  KARKEN: Captain in the Unedar Halt guard

  KING RANDOLPH: Father of Roland

  KING ROLAND: Final King of Edland, husband to Queen Tulip

  KINGSLEY (Lady): Candidate

  KOLSEN: Pirate King

  LLEWDON: Emperor of Pyrfew, wizard, ancient

  LUD: District supervisor for the Outer Narrows

  MAMA BATTY: Producer of world famous blood pies

  MARETH: Son of Bollingsmead, bard, former adventurer, former pirate

  MOTEGA: Warrior and archer of renown from the wild continent, brother to Neenahwi, mercenary for hire

  MRS. SKRUD: Neighbor to Alana and Petra, busybody, gossip, heart of gold

  NEENAHWI: Of the Wolfclaw clan, wizard, adopted daughter of Jyuth and older sister to Motega

  ORLAN (Lady): Chair of Kingshold University, candidate

  PENSHEAD (Sir): Knight and Commander of the City Guard

  PERCIVAL: Personal assistant to Lord Hoskin

  PETRA: Bar maid at the Royal Oak, sister to Alana

  QUEEN TULIP: Final Queen of Edland, wife to King Roland

  RIDGTON: Sea Marshall of Edland

  SHARAVIN: Mother of the Twilight Exiles

  SHAREF: Former chief of the Wolfclaw tribe, Motega and Neenahwi’s father

  SILAS: Former father of the Twilight Exiles

  SPINNET: Master of wardrobes for Lady Grey

  THORLEY: Owner and landlord of the Salty Hull

  TRYPP: Friend to Motega and Florian, former thief with the Twilight Exiles

  TUFT: Neenahwi’s cat

  UTHRIDGE: Lord General of Edland

  WHITE: Guild master of the Bakers’ Guild

  WIN: District supervisor for Fourwells

  WREN: Guild master of the Moneychangers’ Guild

  ZAFF: A minstrel

  Acknowledgments

  Writing Kingshold has been a labor of love, and it would not have been possible without the love and support of my wife, Haneen and daughter Liberty.

  I’d also like to thank Jaya Balasubramaniam, Robby Craig, Erin Duncan-O’Neill, Ryan Ehrlich, Joe Smith and Bernie Zimmermann for their immense help as beta readers. They were the first to read any of this writing and their positive feedback and great suggestions have been invaluable. It is not an exaggeration to say that had they not liked the book, my writing career would likely have proved very short.

  Thanks to Ronesa Aveela, Tim Marquitz and Therin Knite for their editing assistance and for helping a first time author with the things that he’s long forgotten from secondary school.

  And last but not least, Jeff Brown, the illustrator and cover designer, produced stunning work that really brought the city to life for me.

  Thanks again to everyone.

  D.P. Woolliscroft

  April 2018

  About the Author

  Born in Derby in England on the day before mid summers day, David Peter Woolliscroft was very nearly magical. If only his dear old mum could have held on fo
r another day. But magic called out to him over the intervening years, with many a book being devoured for its arcane properties. David studied Accounting at Cardiff University where numbers weaved their own kind of magic and he has since been a successful business leader in the intervening twenty years.

  Adventures were had. More books were devoured and then one day David had read enough that the ideas he had kept bottled up needed a release valve. And thus, rising out of the self-doubt like a phoenix at a clicky keyboard, a writer was born.

  Kingshold is David’s debut novel and Tales of Kingshold, a series of companion short stories are flooding onto the page as fast as David can write them. You can keep up-to-date on all new releases at www.dpwoolliscroft.com.

  David, his wife Haneen, and daughter Liberty all live with their mini goldendoodle Rosie in Princeton, NJ. David is one of the few crabs to escape the crabpot.

  Also by D.P. Woolliscroft

  Tales of Kingshold

  I am Mareth and I collect tales - tales that do not make the official histories. Join me and learn the secret stories of those who sparked the wildfire. Stories from our past, from that fateful summer and its aftermath.

  If you loved Kingshold, discover the next installment in the epic Wildfire Cycle.

  Tales of Kingshold, Book 1.5 of the Wildfire Cycle, includes four novelettes and six short stories.

  NOVELETTES:

  Of Buccaneers and Bards (previously published separately)

  All That Shimmers

  Hollow Inside

  Visions

  SHORT STORIES:

  Twin Lies

  Narrowing It Down

  The Working Dead

  From Father to Daughter

  Jyuth on Magic