My Father's Swords (Warriors, Heroes, and Demons Book 1)

by Dave Skinner

  Bray was not going to mention that the mayor and the guard captain had known about the possibility of an attack. The captain was dead, his body lying out there on the cart, his blood seeping into the grain sacks, and the mayor needed to maintain his authority to handle this situation no matter how much of a fool he was. Hopefully there were some good officers in the city guards who could handle the city’s defenses. He asked the sergeant about it.

  “Most of the good ones are gone, sent to guard prisoners at the mine, so the mayor could promote his nephew. The old captain was good, but he was killed—”

  He was interrupted by the return of the runner he had sent to the harbour gate. “Gates closed, Sarg. They had it closed by the time I got there. The harbour is full of pirates. They are attacking any ships still there.”

  Bray looked out across the top of the city. “And burning them.” He pointed to the smoke billowing up from the direction of the harbour.

  There was commotion and yelling as a squad of guards came into view running towards the gate. “Finally, reinforcements,” the sergeant said with relief. Bray understood his feeling. Defending the gate with only six guards would have been impossible.

  “About time,” Ran stated as he turned back from watching the killing ground. “When you get them positioned, we will be off. We have to find our weapons.”

  The guards were led by a young lieutenant whose voice had not yet reached maturity, evidenced when it cracked as he called up to the sergeant. “Reinforcements for you, sergeant. Are the prisoners alive?”

  “They are here, sir.” He indicated Bray and Ran beside him. “The third one …” he looked around and saw Mearisdeana walk into view below, “is there.” He pointed towards her.

  “I am to escort them to the mayor’s office.”

  The sergeant made his way crablike to the top of the stairs and started down. Ran turned to look out across the killing ground again. With his back to everyone, he whispered to Bray. “Play along. We will kill him once we are away from the gate.”

  Bray nodded his understanding. They waited as six guards made their way up the stairs and positioned themselves around the gatehouse before he and Ran slipped down.

  The young lieutenant swallowed nervously as they came up to him. “The mayor asks if you will kindly meet with him at his office. Your possessions and weapons await you there. He has a proposition for you.” He blushed when his voice broke as he said proposition, but he continued bravely.

  ***

  Ran had been feeling hungry when they left the Woodland Gate. Now he was not. People had been giving them food and drink as the three of them followed the young lieutenant through the city. Well, not exactly giving food to all of them, rather, they gave it to him. He passed some to the others when he realized his companions were not receiving any.

  “Why are they giving food just to me?”

  “Because you stand out for them, I think they are unaware of us.”

  “That is ridiculous. We are walking side by side.”

  “She is right,” Bray told him. “I have watched their eyes. They are drawn to you and only you.”

  Ran wanted to ask more, but he detected a sound ahead. As they entered the central square, he realized it was a chant. A large crowd of people had gathered in front of an impressive, newly built, manor house. They were calling ‘hero’ over and over.

  “Make way,” the lieutenant called and then louder “Make way.” The crowd parted enough for them to walk a narrow opening. The chant was replaced by cheers. People were reaching out and touching Ran as he walked the pathway. The ‘hero’ chant started up again as they entered the building. An older man ushered them directly into a large room where a small plump man sat behind a large desk. The room’s rich trappings were made inconsequential by the odour of fear emanating from the man. Andoo Toran, the Wizard of Waysley, reclined in a large over-padded chair, a glass of wine in one hand. Bentback stood in shadow beside a large window. The mayor jumped to his feet as they entered.

  “Thank the Mother you are alive,” the little man cried. “You have to save me … us … the city. We are under attack.” He stopped talking and looked around. “Is my nephew with you?” he asked.

  “Your nephew is dead,” Ran told him bluntly before turning to the wizard. “What is happening outside, and what is this proposition?”

  “The mayor and the people want you to take over the city’s defenses.”

  Ran was sure his reluctance showed on his face. A few months ago he would have jumped at the chance, thinking it a natural match for his abilities, but that was before. Stalling for time, he walked to where his weapons rested on a table. Bray and Mearisdeana had already collected theirs. He strapped his on.

  “I will fight, but I do not wish command. Pick someone from among the guards. Men always fight better for someone they know.”

  “There is no one else,” Andoo Toran informed him. “The mayor and the magistrate got rid of many experienced men to make way for their own family members.”

  “Well, scour the city, find them, and get them back.”

  “They are no longer in the city,” the wizard explained. “They and half the garrison were sent to the mines to manage the prisoners. It seems there have been many more prisoners recently. Our mayor and magistrate were getting rich, it seems.”

  “I get the picture,” Ran admitted.

  “It sounds like a challenge made for you, Ran,” Bray told him.

  Ran considered the situation. Andoo needed time to find a solution to Mearisdeana’s problem. And then there was Manda. How could he ever face her again, or himself for that matter if he turned his back on this? His reluctance faded. Ran, the ultimate Tawshe warrior straightened his back.

  “Is there a map of the city?”

  “Yes,” answered the mayor, pointing it out.

  “Then let us make a start. Bray, round up any Travellers who are in town. Lieutenant, I need the numbers of guards and anyone else who can fight. I also want to meet with everyone who has experience. Rank is irrelevant. Mearisdeana, organize places and supplies for the wounded. Oh, and food. The mayor will help you.” The mayor retreated from his desk as Ran walked up to it. With a sweep of his arm he swept everything from its surface before setting down the map. The room was soon almost empty as people took up their tasks.

  “Bentback, if you have something to offer, speak up. Otherwise leave.”

  The Master of Thieves moved up beside the desk. He explained his suspicions about the death of the guard captain and his supposed killer. “I have had men watching the smuggler’s holes since yesterday, and I have my boys keeping a lookout for strangers. We may have been late getting the watchers in place.”

  “Good man,” Ran said.

  “Not something I usually hear,” Bentback replied smiling.

  “Now, show me everything I must know to defend this city.” Bentback, Ran, and Andoo crowded around the desk to study the map.

  Chapter 55

  Bray heard the door open. “He said to get you. Something is happening.” The voice was that of the young lieutenant. Bray could not recall his name if he had ever heard it. They had worked late into the night attempting to understand the city, and the situation that had been forced upon them. Bray pushed himself up off his makeshift bed of blankets on the floor. He heard Mearisdeana stirring in the bed as she mumbled words in a language he assumed was her own. They both splashed water on their faces at a washbasin in the corner, strapped on weapons, and left.

  Ran was waiting for them by the main doorway. Bray expected him to look tired, but instead he looked … heroic. Leave it to Ran to come out of this with some advantage.

  “Someone wants to talk at the Woodland Gate,” he informed them “Care for a stroll?”

  The walk to the gate did not take long. The streets were deserted and all the shops and houses were locked and shuttered.

  “Two of them came out of the woods,” the gate sergeant told
them. “They are behind a large wooden shield of some type which the big one … a real brute … carried forward. They asked for the man in charge.”

  “Any bows to be seen?” Ran asked.

  “No. The smaller one carries two swords. That is all.”

  From the top of the stairs Bray confirmed his suspicion. It had been ten years, but he recognized the countenance of the man who had shot his father in the back. That face was burned into his memory. He seemed to remember the brute also, by logic rather than features. The Mother had offered him a route to revenge. All they had to do was kill about three hundred pirates with fifty or so of their own fighters. Reasonable odds if they were all Tawshe. Unfortunately they were not.

  Bray had found six Travellers when he scoured the town. They had come willingly as was the Tawshe way. Mearisdeana had managed to procure supplies and a location for the treatment of the wounded. The rest of the situation was dismal. Their fighters numbered close to fifty, but less than half had experience. The mayor had said nothing when Ran learned those figures, preferring to stay out of the warrior’s sight. The man was not a fool when his own life was in jeopardy, and it was. Bray could tell that Ran would willingly have slit his throat, but they needed every person they could find, for now. In addition to the two gates, they had to man four towers located along the expanse of timber walls that surrounded the town. Like the gate structures, the towers were made of stone. They could accommodate ten archers each. Ran had set one Tawshe and a bowman from the guards in each, with plenty of preloaded cross bows—there was an abundance of unclaimed weapons in the guard’s arsenal. The two remaining Tawshe formed the reserve for the towers. Their remaining fighters were assigned to the gates—fifteen active, five in reserve. It was an abysmal defense, but it was all they had.

  “State your business,” Ran bellowed at the two men.

  “I’m here to offer you terms,” the smaller man called back. “Surrender the city. The people will not be hurt, but the guards must leave. I guarantee their safe passage.”

  “And who are you to guarantee passage?” Bray broke in.

  “I be Yucan Vee, leader of this army. My men do what I tell em, or feel the bite of my Nadian swords.”

  Ran looked to Bray. “Satisfied?” he asked.

  Bray smiled. “He is mine.”

  “Should we invite him in?”

  “I do not believe an invitation is required. He seems determined to find his own death.”

  “Your terms are not accepted.” Ran called back. “Leave with your men, or die.”

  “Foolish,” they heard Vee comment before the two pirates started back towards the woods.

  “Harbour gate or this one?” Ran asked him.

  “I will stay here.”

  “Then I will command from the harbour gate. Where do you want to be, Scales?”

  “I will stay here with Bray.”

  Ran put his arm around their shoulders—more a display of comradery, than emotion. “May the Mother be with us. Fight well.”

  ***

  Vee walked in front of Cracker as they made their way back to the woods. Cracker still carried the large shield he had constructed, not that Vee expected the city defenders to fire on them after the negotiations. They were two honourable for that. He would do it, but he was special. The safety of the woods closed around them.

  “Make your ways through the woods to the harbour, Cracker. You’ll motivate our brothers from there. I’ll lead from here. Tomorrow morning, keep watch for food being delivered to the walls. Attack when ye sees it happenin. I will attack at the same time. Needles’ll wait until the defenders be fully engaged afore rushing the gates from the inside. Let the guards spend another sleepless night on them walls.

  “What if they be changen their minds and accept the offer?” Cracker asked.

  “I wish they would. Sure make killing them easier. If that happens, we will disarm the fighters as part of the surrender and then kill them. But that warrior sounded firm in his decision. I don’t believe we’ll see them surrender.”

  “We could starve em out. Wait until their food be all eatin,” Cracker offered.

  “No, we must take the town before they get them reinforcements from the mines. We attack tomorrow morning.”

  Chapter 56

  “Are you ready?” Neventay asked.

  “We are, Uncle.”

  “Then I will prepare the spell. Be at my lab tomorrow morning before sunrise. I have cleared enough room to accommodate all six of you.”

  “Thank you, Uncle. I appreciate how much inconvenience you have suffered to accomplish this.” Although he said nothing, the Court Wizard seemed to agree that he was being inconvenienced. He left muttering to himself although that was normal behavior in Adamtay’s memory.

  When he and his father were alone, he added, “Probably the first time that lab has been cleaned in years.”

  “More like decades,” his father admitted. “How did the training go?”

  “We have worked out a number of different tactics depending on what we encounter. The men have learned to stay clear of the Sword of Sacrifice. That lesson was learned quickly once a few of them were slashed, but it is difficult to overcome years of experience. I had never thought about how much we depend on the protection of our dayskin, especially while fighting in a group.”

  “How did you manage it?”

  “We start in the usual double line formation. I am in the centre of the front line. We found it worked better if I was slightly forward of the other two, less chance of cutting them with my strokes. The second line is a reverse of the first. Nailmoe is at my back, as he usually is, but he is a few steps behind his side men. If we have to fight our way out with Mearisdeana, she will be in the centre of the formation.”

  “Do you think that will be necessary?”

  “It is an unknown, Father. I plan to kill the wizard she is travelling with. That may cause some problems with the locals.”

  “Well, remember what your uncle said. Kill him before he can say anything, or build a protective spell. Do not look into his eyes and, whatever you do, stay away from his touch.”

  “I remember, Father.”

  Chapter 57

  Ran patrolled along the walls of the gatehouse many times during the night, speaking with the men in a comforting tone, relating wisdom and tales to keep their spirits up. It also allowed him to evaluate the men he would be fighting alongside. They were an unknown. He had talked to a few when he was planning the city’s defenses, but not enough to form an opinion of their backbone. Now he evaluated and paired the strong with the questionable.

  The young lieutenant with the cracking voice followed him like a shadow until Ran forced him to get some sleep. When he was sure the pirates would not attack this night, he settled himself beneath the crenellation, wrapped his cloak around his body, and slept for a few hours. The smell of food being cooked awoke him. The light of a new day was creeping into the sky. The young lieutenant was already awake and seated beside him.

  “Did you sleep?” Ran asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good, a soldier must find sleep when he can.”

  “Will they attack today, sir?”

  “I think we can count on it. Have you fought in a battle before?”

  “No.”

  “Scared?”

  “Yes.”

  “It is normal.” He stopped and considered the glow starting on the horizon. “There are times I wish I had been scared instead of over-confident,” he admitted quietly before giving his head a shake. “Not a time to get sentimental. What is your name, lad?”

  “Ivo, sir.”

  “Well, Ivo, let us do another tour before the food gets here.”

  “Yes, sir. Where would you like me positioned when the fighting begins?”

  “How about at my side. Would that suit you?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  They made their way around the gateho
use and then down the steps to the gate itself. They were starting back up to the wall when Bentback arrived. He was bloody.

  “We stopped men at the two sneak holes closest to here. This gate should be safe, but I have not heard from my men at the third location. I am on my way there now.”

  “Grab some food first,” Ran suggested indicating a cart which had just arrived. They stood by the cart and ate while food was carried up the stairs to the men in the gatehouse. Bentback gobbled some bread and cheese before he left. Ran and Ivo returned to the gatehouse just as a guard sang out, “Here they come.”

  Men were rushing across the killing ground between the last of the dock-related structures and the city walls. They carried ladders. Crude things with rungs tied with rope to saplings. Crude yes, but they would do the job. An arrow soared in from the right and struck a man carrying the front of a ladder. He went down, spilling his carrying partners as well. The shot was too long for a crossbow. It had to have come from one of the Tawshe he had placed on the towers to left and right of this gate. Two more pirates were taken down by the same tower occupant before Ran saw a flight of arrows directed towards the tower from between two warehouses. The pirates had longbows also.

  Ran took up a crossbow and fired as soon as the attackers were within range. He fired his remaining four crossbows and managed the reload of one before the ladders came slamming into the wall. He toppled every ladder on his area of the wall before the attackers could reach the top. Others were not as quick. Ran pulled his sword as pirates clambered over the crenellation. They lost three guards before they managed to clear the attackers from the ramparts.

  The pirates fell back to regroup. Ran was surprised to see how much the sun had risen. The sands flow quickly when your life is at risk.

  “Destroyer,” Ivo swore from beside him. “As if they do not outnumber us enough, more ships are entering the harbour, and look at the size of that man.”

  He pointed to a pirate who was leading a new attack. Not the biggest combatant Ran had ever faced, but definitely the ugliest.