"Sir, is this really the best idea?" Sergeant Palus was the third of the original sergeants of this company and nearly as experienced as Bakur. "We haven’t even had the chance to get used to you as leader in the first place and now you plan to leave your former squad without its new sergeant as well by taking Rastei. You shouldn't be taking such risks, if I may say so
respectfully."
"Sergeant, I still plan on coming back to lead you many times more. As for the squad, they'll follow Corporal Halan as easily if need be. They're quite capable of doing their duty even without us, I assure you. Now if there are no further excuses, I'll go find out what the enemy is up to in there."
Gerid and Rastei entered Paxthos quietly. A town of thousands consisted of hundreds of buildings and covered quite a bit of land. It was the largest of Rhearden’s southern towns and second only to the city of Brahe in population. His sergeant’s dark hair and beard would blend in with the locals better than the giant, and the lieutenant knew that he could count on him as much as any man in the company. Clad in brown, peasant garb with hoods thrown up over their heads to hide their armor and carrying a simple sack cloth that concealed their weapons within, the two men hoped to blend into the shadows and if noticed they hoped to appear just like any other locals found in Paxthos. With that plan in mind, they figured that they could get the jump on almost anyone before they could decipher their true nature.
They found dozens of soldiers in the green armor of Enswere mixing with the townsfolk as soon as they entered the town. The new lieutenant hunched over as best he could as Gerid and Rastei sunk into the background with the frightened townspeople to try and gage the numbers of soldiers around them. They were nearly finished with their exploration when Rastei spotted a new worry.
Pulling Gerid back into the shadows of an empty tavern, he pointed out a new group of soldiers mingling among those of Enswere. "Look, sarge, uh, I mean, lieutenant. Aren't those men in the uniforms of Kloste?"
Nodding worriedly, he chewed his thumb before replying, "Unfortunately, you are right. It appears that Rhearden has more than just one country at work against it now. No matter what else happens, Rastei, we need to get word of this to Kolonus. He will have to send word to the king and the other generals immediately. All we need now is to have Tolmona join them as well and Rhearden's doom will be assured."
With worry echoed on the man's face, Rastei asked, "You don’t think that could happen as well, sir?"
"I sincerely hope not. I've grown rather attached to the people of Holtein's farms and if Tolmona does betray us, I'll fight my way to them and defend our people if need be. But let's not worry over that now, my friend. After all, we're only soldiers. Our place is to fight for king and country,” he said with a sigh. “We worry about the fighting and staying alive, while the kings and generals can deal with the rest. Come on. We'd better get back to the company. I want to send a messenger immediately to warn the generals."
"Wait, lieutenant, look," Rastei interrupted by pointing back to the mixture of soldiers. A new soldier from Enswere had arrived now. Speaking a few words sent the soldiers to checking their weapons hurriedly. "Do you think that our company was spotted already?"
"Let's not wait here and have them beat us back to the men before finding out. Come on, sergeant."
They started to hurry back down the street away from the soldiers in the northerly direction that would bring them back to their company. They were trying to stick to the shadows and walls of buildings to prevent being noticed when a pair of enemy soldiers spotted them from across the way. "Hey, you there!" one shouted.
Gerid gave a wistful look down the still dreadfully long street winding its way to the eventual outskirts of town. He sighed and turned to face the soldiers. The giant motioned discreetly to Rastei to step behind him. "Us?" Gerid finally asked even as he lowered his hands just enough to let slide a pair of hidden daggers into his hands without detection. The two soldiers moved within striking distance still thinking them to be just peasant farmers and Gerid released his bag with a metallic clunk.
"What are you carrying, peasant?" the soldier asked cautiously reaching for his sword and his companion did the same.
Gerid smiled. "The necessities of life," the youth answered as he lunged forward quickly. Lashing out with both daggers simultaneously, both men fell to their knees clutching at a large gash in each throat. Even as they fell forward still gurgling their last breaths, a shout, from further down the street and behind them, proved that their actions had obviously been noticed. "Damn," he whispered harshly at himself and looked to see a mob of men starting for them.
"That may have been a bad idea, sir," Rastei observed worriedly as he fumbled for the ties of his sack holding his weapons.
"A little late for that warning, Rastei. Run! Don't worry about your weapons, just run!" the lieutenant ordered as he stopped to catch up his pack on the run. The two fled down the street as swiftly as they could manage, but, by the time they had found the town's limit, the soldiers of both countries were closing in on them from three sides. Only the path immediately before them remained remarkably free and it would close in on them before they could get clear.
"Gods! We'll never make it to tell them, sir!" Rastei puffed as he tried to push his straining legs even faster.
Gerid knew that the sergeant was right. Before the other man could notice, he had his pack untied and threw it a few steps before him. Rolling in a tumble alongside the sack, Gerid came up in a crouch with both of his swords bared. Rastei stumbled to a halt and started to turn to face the oncoming soldiers. Gerid snarled furiously, "Get out of here! Go warn Bakur and have him send a messenger immediately to Kolonus. Then have him bring the company here to avenge me."
"You can't face them alone! It's suicide!"
"Go!" Gerid growled as he attempted to tug his shield of blackened steel free of its covering. Seeing the men bearing down on him, he gave up the thought of freeing it and slid his forearm through the straps. He lifted it still trailing the sack cloth and the first soldiers were upon him in a rush.
Knowing that Rastei would obey him and be on his way now, the lieutenant set his mind to the task of killing. With a roar of challenge to echo the onrush of his bloodlust, Gerid met the charge with both swords and the shield covering his left arm. Like a lion with four foot claws, he tore through the first dozen men savagely and still they came on determined to overwhelm him.
A few minutes seemed to pass like a lifetime. The Enswere and Klosten soldiers circled and fought as a unit trying to tear down the force of nature unleashed into their midst. He had killed or wounded too many to be left alive and still they fell. Gerid hardly noticed their attacks. It was if he were being attacked by mosquitoes, but moment by moment new cuts continued to draw blood as their sheer numbers began to take their toll on the lion among them. Men tried to pin back his arms even as his swords sought to tear through more flesh.
Then he lost a sword as it shattered across a shield. Switching his left blade to the right, he used his shield alone as defense and weapon on the left. Valiantly he fought to survive until help could come. Without the second cutting edge, however, Gerid quickly found his defense pulled at from beyond his shield. He abruptly lost his grip on the blackened steel and had it torn from him and, even as he lost it, a sword pierced his armor protecting his chest. It took only moments before his body realized that the blow was fatal this time. To ensure death, however, two more enemy blades were driven through the carapace deep into his lungs and heart.
Even as the man fell, the mercenary company leapt into the chaos of soldiers surrounding him. The enemy had been focused solely on him. Even as the world darkened around him, Gerid knew that it would be a slaughter now. He never even felt the ground as he crashed lifeless to the earth.
Chapter 16- Changes
Vizier Krulir began his day, as he always did, with a walk through the key areas of the castle. With Merrick away at battle in Cadmene, he was essentially ruler in his lor
d's place at least in the castle. As such, the vizier made sure that everything remained in the most perfect of working order. He would make his way through most of the castle by the end of early morning just to assure as much. As the man stopped in the kitchen for his morning brunch, the vizier noticed a young girl, blond and lean, working in one corner on the floor. She seemed to hold a certain air of dignity despite the dreary labor. It was an unusual trait for one so young, especially since she was but a servant girl.
"Here you are, Vizier, I hope that it meets with your approval," the woman who ran the kitchen brought over a healthy meal of sear cakes, Shala syrup, fried eggs and Marshallan milk with its regional addition of spices. It smelled very good after the long morning's walk of the drafty halls of the castle.
Laying the food on the table before him, the woman, brushed back a dark lock of hair loosed from her green, head scarf and prepared to leave. "Kleda," he interrupted her retreat, "who is that girl in the corner?"
Turning in the direction that he pointed, she asked, "You mean, Serra?"
"If that is the servant girl in the corner, then yes, that is who I mean. How come I have never noticed this young woman before?"
"I do not know, vizier. Serra's been with us for nearly two years now. Of course," the woman added with a sly wink, "she has fully blossomed into a young woman now. Even with all the grime covering her face, men will tend to start noticing her more and more."
"I haven't seen her face actually. I am curious does she do more than clean floors?"
"I'm sure that she could, sir, but that is all that I have for her here. She is an intelligent girl though. I think that she may have even been taught to read and write. When I have a new task for her, it takes little coaching from me."
"You sound as if you are trying to get rid of her, Kleda," Krulir remarked as he continued to watch Serra work. The girl tried to ignore them though he believed that she could hear them well enough where she was.
"Only if the master wishes," the woman used the usual words of respect. "I've actually grown fond of her myself, Vizier. She is a good girl."
The old man continued with his eating a moment, before deciding, "I have been in need of a new servant girl, since Pullah died last winter of that dreadful influenza thing. If I took the girl would it impair your kitchen's duties?"
"No, Vizier. As I've said, I have only needed her for cleaning duties, which any of my other women can do as well."
"Hmm," he thought and his chin settled onto his balled fist. "Call her over, Kleda, so that I may have a good look at her a moment."
"Serra!" the woman called abruptly. The girl sat up and turned around at her name. "Come over here a minute, girl."
"Yes, ma'am," the servant girl answered softly and crossed quickly to the table. Krulir noticed her eyes fixed intently on him as she approached.
The girl seemed unafraid of him though deferential at the same time. Krulir nodded with approval, "Even her voice is pleasant. I would've turned away even the best of servant girl's if her voice grated on my nerves. Send her up to my rooms where my other servants can teach her what I require." He rose then wiping his mouth from his finished meal. The vizier started to turn away when he paused to say, "Oh, and make sure that they clean her up before I arrive there. It's one thing to be dirty in the kitchen on the floor, but I won't have such slovenliness in my household."
With that, the vizier swept away on the final leg to the throne room, where the man would have to sit at a lower chair of power as he attended the affairs of state.
It was late in the same afternoon that a messenger arrived in the throne room wearing the armor of one of Lord Merrick's personal guards, the black and gold armor marked with a bronze rose made it quite obvious to the vizier. He was also covered with a thick layer of road dust. Krulir nearly lost his breath as the soldier patted himself free of some the dirt before him.
Coughing slightly, the vizier asked, "What news do you bring on the battle?"
"It goes well enough, but I do not bring news of our battle to you. His highness, the High Lord Merrick of Marshalla and Caldor, comes even now to his castle this very day."
"High Lord?" Krulir mumbled quietly, "I see that our king has changed titles yet again. A lucky warning for me, I think." In a louder voice, he asked, "How far off is his highness now, soldier?"
"He will arrive by the end of day. His Highness would have you prepare his quarters for him and have his maidens ready to attend his presence as well."
Krulir started to shake his head slightly and would have smiled, if not for his place before those assembled near to him. Even so he chuckled softly to himself, "The wolf has been away from his den too long without female company again it seems. Just as in last year's campaign." Proclaiming in a louder voice, however, the vizier announced, "All right, we'll need the horn players at the gate in their dress uniforms. Have the population know that our lord returns and have them come out to cheer. Drier," he said turning to one of his assistants, a rather plain man except for his long, pointed nose, "prepare his highness' quarters and have his maidens ready themselves as requested."
"Yes, Vizier," the man answered and ran off to fulfill his orders.
Letting the messenger go, Krulir continued with the petitioners during the early afternoon. Growing hungry again, the man turned away the last of the people outside and took a late lunch. It wasn't long afterwards that word reached him of Merrick's return. Going to the castle's interior gates to await the High Lord's return, Krulir soon heard the sound of the trumpets heralding the king. The people could be heard cheering as he rode through the city to his keep as Krulir had ordered.
Merrick entered the castle and stopped his entourage before Krulir, the servants and guards assembled in the front entry courtyard between the high walls of the protective castle. "Hello, Vizier," the high king greeted tonelessly.
"Greetings, your highness. I hope that the battle goes well," he returned with a deep bow.
"Well enough, since the first skirmish with their knights sent Cadmene's vaunted cavalry fleeing. For some reason, their horses turned skittish at the arrival of the gargoyles. I left the generals to solidify our position before continuing deeper into Cadmene. I'll return to them in a few nights, after I've had a little time to rest. Are my quarters prepared?"
"As you requested, my lord."
"Good. We can talk more tomorrow. Meanwhile, I think that I shall retire to my chambers. I'll send for you, if I need something else." Merrick dismissed his guards and Krulir before disappearing into his castle.
After a dinner in the main dining hall where he was once again required to preside over the activity at the head table in Merrick's absence, even though the lord was present. He was taking his meal in his chambers this night.
After dinner, Krulir returned to his own suite of rooms. Seeing his head servant woman, a graying dark haired beauty, as Krulir entered his rooms, he said tiredly, "I hope that you have taken the liberty to draw me my bath, Alia."
"I had Okostre fill it only moments ago, my lord vizier," the woman answered and bowed slightly to her master. Though she had been in his service for more than fifteen years already and he tended to allow Alia a few familiarities, she always greeted him formally upon his return. He appreciated the woman's tact. If the old man hadn't, she would have been dismissed ages ago, and since his wife's death over ten years ago, Alia was truly the only woman that he could feel close too at all.
Two other women stood behind her waiting. One was his other servant woman Okostre, another brunette still young enough in her looks to be pretty to him, and the other much younger woman he felt like he had never seen before. Serra had been cleaned up quite well and was clothed in the light blue skirt and blouse that his women wore during the spring. He smiled warmly and praised, "You did well with the girl, Alia. Has she trained well?"
"Yes, master, she is intelligent and well mannered."
"Good," the old man nodded approvingly. "Okostre prepare my bed and clothes for to
morrow. Alia, you and Serra will help me with my bath."
The bathing room was a large stone chamber with several decorative hangings along the walls for color. Even after all these years, Krulir marveled at the most recent innovations that had been added to the room. Less than a decade ago, a system of piping had been installed that carried water from the highest tower on the roof of the castle to just five rooms. Most went to the royal chambers and one to his own bath chamber. Once there, another modern convenience could contain the water where a fire could then heat the large cylinder it was stored inside and thus the water within. A last pipe ran from that cylinder into a large bath that was both deep and wide.
With Alia's help, the vizier removed his robes and linens. He stepped quickly up a pair of stairs and settled into the warm water of the tub. It's steam lifted around his face in the cool air of the room and the heat worked to soothe his ancient, aching joints. Opening his eyes with a quiet sigh, he watched as Alia slipped from her clothes and laid them in a careful bundle. The woman started to enter the tub eager to leave the chill air as well. Krulir noticed Serra standing back from the tub uncertainly with eyes half averted. Her arms were crossed holding herself tightly. "Alia," he pointed stopping the woman's descent.
The head servant scolded quickly, "Serra, remove your clothes. We're here to help bathe the vizier."
The girl hesitated, but, after nearly two years of slavery, she knew that her dignity and wishes were no longer hers to carry. Resistance was not an option and Serra slowly slipped off the skirt and blouse as Alia had done before her. Seeing her cooperation was assured, Alia stepped into the pool with a sigh as she started to shiver from the cool air.
Krulir watched closely as Serra approached with her shoulders slightly drooped from her shame. She was nearly to full blossom at her young age of nearly sixteen. A few years more would probably lend her breasts even more fullness and her hips would surely curve that much more gracefully, but already she was a beautiful, young lady. As Serra hesitated once again at the water's edge, Krulir sighed exasperatedly, "Get in, girl, before you catch your death of cold in this air. The water's hot enough, but the air around this stone never seems to warm. Sometimes not even in summer."
The High King: A Tale of Alus Page 13