Realms of Valen - Dragon in the Dark (War of the Gods Book 1)

by Rickk Berry III

  “Damn, he's had a rough go of it.”

  “He has, indeed. But he survived, became strong, if not a bit insane.”

  “The same could be said for you, Kai.”

  “You are correct.”

  The sisters fell silent. They were in the hot spring under the house. One could say it was in Rykar's cellar, but that word just didn't seem to fit. The room they were in was cavernous. The ceiling was tall; the spring they were in was like a shallow pond of hot water. The two sisters were sitting a few feet apart, backs against the edge of the spring nearest the stairs. The entire cavern was warmly lighted, but the source of the light wasn't readily obvious.

  Kaidia closed her eyes and let out a long breath. The hot water felt wonderful after the past three days of riding, and nights sleeping on the hard ground. Nadia glanced over to her sister, eyeing the tattoo on the woman's right arm that had been covered with armor for the past three days. Now that armor was lying on the bed in Kai's borrowed room, revealing the tattoo for Nadia to see.

  "Where did you get the tattoo?"

  "Kyrians."

  "Elaborate?"

  "I spent some time in a kyrian city. I helped defend it from slavers. You know how popular kyrians are on the slave market…especially the females. Anyway, after I helped fend off the slaver raiding party, I was made an honorary member of the clan. Hence the tattoo."

  "Does Sae-Mirra have one?"

  "Yes. On her right thigh."

  The siblings fell silent for a moment before Nadia's curiosity got a hold of her again.

  "Sae-Mirra is your servant, yet they fight against slavers?"

  "Kyrian servants choose to serve someone for reasons that are their own. Sae-Mirra, for instance, serves me, but is free to leave at any time. Slavery flies in the face of that. It is counter to serving out of respect or reverence."

  "That makes sense. So Sae serves you because you saved her city from slavery?"

  "She serves me because I saved her personally."

  "Oh. So it's a kyrian custom of sorts."

  "Yes, though she wasn't required to become my servant by any sort of tribal law or anything like that. She wanted to and it would've been insulting of me if I had not accepted."

  "I get it now."

  Once more, the two women went quiet. Once more, Nadia got curious.

  "So, do you think Sae-Mirra is really in love with me?"

  Kaidia grinned.

  "I know she's in love with you."

  "How?"

  "Kyrians know the instant they lay their eyes on their destined mate. She saw you and knew the moment she saw you, that you were to be her mate. Simple as that."

  "What if I don't like her like that?"

  "You can't sit there and tell me that you didn't take a shine to her."

  "Yes I can."

  "You would be lying to me."

  "Yes, well... shut up."

  Kaidia laughed, opened her eyes, and stood up, water from the spring running down her naked form.

  "Come on. Let's go to bed before you come up with another line of questioning that keeps us up for half the night," the elder sister said as she stepped out of the spring and grabbed a towel.

  * * *

  The next morning, Kai found herself being gently shaken awake by Farren. The warrior opened her eyes slightly to her room which was brightened by morning sunlight and a softly smiling blonde.

  "Good morning, Lady Kaidia," Farren said cheerily.

  "Nngh... morning," the mercenary replied in a groggy tone. Farren giggled.

  "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes," the blonde said, still quite cheery.

  "Duly noted," Kaidia responded, growing faintly annoyed with the abundance of happy that seemed to be spouting from the servant girl. Farren just smiled, bowed slightly, and took her leave. Kai groaned softly as she sat up and stretched the stiffness from her muscles. After pulling on her undergarments, pants, and tunic, the mercenary padded downstairs barefoot to find Rykar and her sister sitting at the dining room table. Nadia was listening while Rykar related some tale in a rather animated fashion.

  "Telling war stories again?" Kai asked casually. Rykar and Nadia glanced up.

  "Why yes. I hope you slept well," Rykar answered.

  "Like a rock," the elder sister replied.

  "Me too," Nadia chimed in.

  Kaidia took a seat next to her sister just as Farren stepped out of the kitchen carrying plates of food. She was somehow managing four plates. She set them down and slid them across the table. First to Rykar, then to Kaidia, then Nadia, and finally one to an empty seat, which she promptly filled with herself. Breakfast was simple, but hearty. Ham, eggs, and biscuits. They all ate in quiet, left to their own thoughts for the time being.

  Rykar reached up to grab his mug to wash down a hunk of bread that seemed determined to lodge itself in his throat. His fingers closed around air. The man looked up, brow quirked, fingers flexing where the mug should have been.

  "Farren."

  "Yes, my Lord?"

  "I am not certain... but I seem to be missing something."

  "Oh, crap. I knew I was forgetting something."

  Farren scrambled out of her chair and into the kitchen.

  "Go help," Kai said with a nudge to her sibling.

  "Me? Why do I have to?" Nadia demanded petulantly.

  "Just go," the older sibling ordered. Nadia huffed, stood up, and made her way out to the kitchen. A few moments later, she returned with Farren, both of them carrying two mugs of milk. Farren set one down in front of Rykar, the other she set with her own plate. Nadia set her own down at her place at the table, then set the other in front of her sister with a bit of a dirty look. The group ate in relative quiet. Once everyone had finished, Farren cleared the table and went into the kitchen to clean the dishes that had been dirtied with the morning meal.

  "So when are you two going to head out?" Rykar asked as he glanced between the two sisters and relaxed back into his chair.

  "Eager to have us gone, old friend?" Kai returned with a smirk.

  "Nonsense. Your trip just seems a bit time sensitive, is all," the man said defensively, but with a small smile of his own.

  "It is, but I wanted to talk to you about it," Kaidia responded, her eyes on Rykar.

  "Oh? What do you wish to discuss, exactly?" the nobleman questioned.

  "Your participation."

  "Do tell," Rykar said as he put his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers.

  "Taking into account our discussions last evening, I reached the conclusion that perhaps Malcade was correct. Perhaps these zealots have a weapon to use against me… or vastly superior numbers. Either way, I thought it would be a good idea to have another experienced warrior on our side. Nadia agreed," Kaidia explained. Rykar listened and then regarded Kaidia with a thoughtful expression.

  "Hm. Leave my warm house, my beautiful servant, and leave my job up to Malcade... if he survived his wife last night. All to travel with you and your sister, to track down some psychotic religious order who may or may not have the means to kill you, let alone myself. Risking life and limb for nothing more than a good fight and perhaps the religious order's treasury," the man said, laying it all out as he saw it.

  "Yes, that's about it," Kai stated.

  "I shall do it!" Rykar announced and brought his hand down flat on the table with a bang.

  "That was easy," Nadia commented.

  "Well, to be honest, it's been too long since I've had a good adventure. This life, while nice, doesn't lend itself to much excitement. This city is too large for anyone to really attack. The defensive forces within are greater in number than most armies I've seen. Scorpion Company has grown to the size of a small army. Besides, I've been meaning to give my new sinthite sword a true test run," Rykar said, explaining the ease of his decision.

  "Sinthite?" Kaidia asked.

  "Yes. Come, let me show you," the nobleman said as he stood, gesturing to his two guests.

  * * *


  "As it is, the iron we mine goes mostly to making weapons and armor. Much of it is made here and then sold, but we do sell iron in ingots to various blacksmiths and cities. Some of the iron goes to the royal treasury in Corrana to be used in the making of steel coins," Rykar explained.

  The small group of three stood in Rykar's armory. After a quick glance around at the various weapons and pieces of armor, Kaidia and Nadia had focused on Rykar and his explanations. The long haired man pressed a small bar of deep blue metal into Kaidia's hand.

  "That is sinthite," he stated.

  "Hmm. It's light," Kaidia said as she hefted it, then passed it to her sister who did the same, silently agreeing.

  "It is that, but it's also stronger than steel. Stronger than most anything I can think of. We haven't tested it against blithsite, but I'm guessing it is on par with that. In strength, weight, and price," Rykar continued his exposition.

  "My armor and my sword are blithsite," Kaidia stated.

  "I noticed your armor last night," Rykar replied, taking the bar of sinthite from Nadia and placing it back on the shelf from which he'd originally taken it.

  "I feel so plain. My armor is made of leather and steel. My sword is steel," Nadia complained in a playful tone.

  "You will get to the point where you have the money to upgrade your things, Nadia," Kai said as she ruffled her sibling's hair. Nadia ducked her sister's hand and straightened her hair with a huff. Rykar chuckled at the display of sisterly affection as he plucked a sword sheathed in fine, black leather and ornately tooled silver from a weapon rack. He held the sword out to Kaidia, hilt first. The mercenary took the hilt in her hand and unsheathed the sword. She looked the blade over with a keen eye. It was a straight-bladed, double-edged, bastard sword. It was also the same deep blue as the ingot of sinthite.

  "A sinthite sword. It looks impressive. The balance is remarkable. How does it perform?" Kai asked as she hefted the blade.

  "Wonderfully in all the tests, so far. I just have to test it in an actual battle. Just for the sake of having done it, really," Rykar answered.

  "I assume these types of weapons will start being made for profit," Kaidia asserted as she sheathed the sword and handed it back to Rykar.

  "Of course. Especially after the blacksmiths went through all the trouble of perfecting the process to forge sinthite into weapons. It was quite the challenge, I heard," the man responded as he placed the sword back onto the weapon rack from which it had come.

  "Forging a new metal always is, I'm told," Nadia said, adding her two cents to the conversation. She often felt a bit out of place or out-classed by her sister and often let Kai do the talking when they were together, but she was actively trying to overcome that.

  "It is," Rykar confirmed. The man then headed toward the door of the armory, which lead back into the main room of the house.

  "When do you think you'll be ready to leave, Rykar?" Kai asked as they stepped out of the armory.

  "Tomorrow morning, I should think. Just give me today to set my affairs in order," the man requested with a pleasant smile.

  "Sounds fine to me," Kai replied.

  "Wonderful. In the mean time, might I suggest that Nadia and you enjoy a day in the city. Browse the shops, eat at one of the taverns. The ones in the Third District are the best in the city. Perhaps, you could even visit one of the brothels," Rykar said the last bit with a wiggle of his brows. Nadia blushed brightly. Kaidia laughed.

  "That all sounds good. A relaxing day before I plunge into a journey sure to lead to someplace hellish," she speculated.

  "Lovely. I shall see you two for dinner tonight then?" the nobleman inquired.

  "Of course," Kai said with a nod before heading upstairs to retrieve her sword from her bedroom as Rykar walked off to his study. Nadia was just behind her.

  "You aren't really thinking of visiting a brothel, are you?" the younger sister demanded of the older once they'd reached the landing.

  "Problem?" Kai responded with a question of her own.

  "Well, I... no... no, I guess not," Nadia stammered.

  "Then why ask?" the elder sibling questioned.

  "I don't know. It just comes across as unseemly," Nadia replied.

  "Try not to be so prudish. We'll just see where the day takes us," Kai said with a smile and a dismissive wave of her hand before heading off to her room.

  * * *

  Kaidia stepped out of the brothel and into the afternoon sun. She stretched her bare arms above her head and smiled to her sister, who was giving her one of those annoyed looks.

  "What?"

  "I have been out here for two hours!"

  "I haven't had a romp in bed for three months."

  "Why do I have to wait around while you get cozy with a whore?"

  "I didn't say you had to wait. Also, that's not a very nice thing to call someone."

  "What do you call them?"

  "Temporary companions."

  Nadia rolled her eyes and started off down the street, toward the markets. Kaidia snickered softly and followed her irritated sibling. Nadia's mild annoyance wasn't long lived and had, in fact, died out by the time her sister caught up to her. The pair walked on in silence for a few minutes, eyeing the sights of the city and the marketplace. Vendors of all the races were plying their wares. Dwarves, elves, kyrians, humans, orcs, and even a few of the seldom seen lizard men from the swamps deep in the southern jungles. It was said that only kyrians managed a friendly relation with the lizard folk and that was mostly due to necessity, both races living in the southern jungle regions.

  Mehroth was a melting pot of cultures and races. Kaidia had grown used to this sort of mingling. Nadia, on the other hand, was caught between shock and awe at the variety of people going about their day like it wasn't strange, at all, to see a man with cat ears talking to an eight foot tall, blue-skinned, snaggle-toothed orc woman about the quality of elven cheese. Kai was enjoying the time with her little sister. It had been nearly half a decade since they'd spent this much time together and the mercenary had forgotten just how much she enjoyed Nadia's company.

  The two women were still walking along, taking in the sights, when Kaidia's right hand shot up and swatted through the air in front of her. Nadia glanced up, wondering if a fly had set to accosting her sister. Kai unfolded her fingers as she held her hand out in front of herself and resting in her palm was a small, sharp dagger. A throwing knife.

  "That could have been unpleasant," she remarked with an arched brow. A moment later, she side stepped to the left as a man lunged between herself and Nadia, a short sword extended in front of him that had been meant for Kaidia's back. Kai stuck her foot out at the last moment, tripping the man as he bounded unexpectedly forward into open air. He tumbled, but rolled up onto his feet with practiced ease. The man appeared to be human, wiry in build, and an assassin by occupation, it seemed. He was clothed in leather breeches, boots, and a cloth tunic of fairly decent quality. The pants and boots were brown, the latter made of hardened leather. The tunic was grey and made of fine wool.

  The crowd parted quickly, Nadia going with them, Kai had noticed. This gave the two combatants a wide berth in which to conduct their fight.

  "I would advise walking away," Kaidia suggested evenly. The man didn't seem to be too keen on words, however. He brandished his sword and lunged at Kai once again, bringing the blade downward in a large arc toward the woman's right shoulder. Kai side-stepped the strike and countered with a slash of her newly acquired dagger to the man's upper right arm. The assassin couldn't dodge and the blade bit deep into his flesh and muscle. His momentum carried him forward, aiding the blade in slicing through the meat of his arm. The knife ripped free of his flesh and he stumbled to a halt. His fingers had gone slack and his sword clattered to the stone paved street. Kai turned and her lips curved into a smile that held no warmth.

  "You... you bitch!" he stuttered as he glared at the warrior and clutched his wounded arm, blood staining the sleeve of his tunic
. He stepped back as he spoke. Kai just smirked at him lightly. The man jerked to a halt as a hand slipped around his neck from behind, fingers gripping his throat.

  "That isn't a very nice thing to say to her," Nadia breathed softly against his ear, her fingers giving off an icy chill as they gripped harder. Her other hand grabbed the man's good arm by the wrist and jerked it up, behind his back. She pressed against his back, holding him still. Now, at any other time, having a beautiful woman against him would have been delightful, but at the moment, the freezing hold on his throat and the pain now shooting through both arms were destroying any carnal thoughts. Kaidia cleared her throat to gain the man's attention as she stepped forward, putting her a few scant inches from him.

  "Who hired you and didn't pay you nearly enough for all of this trouble?" she asked in a soft, silky voice that might have otherwise been pleasant if not for the predatory look in the woman's eyes.

  "I.. d... I don't..." the man tried to speak, but couldn't even manage a sentence. Kai arched a brow and then glanced over the man's shoulder to her sister.

  "Sister, dear. Could you ease up on the cold? He can't talk," the elder sibling requested. Nadia complied wordlessly, her hand going from freezing to warm, to just this side of ungodly hot.

  "I don't know!" the man shouted as he writhed in Nadia's iron grip.

  "That is such a shame," Kaidia said with mock disappointment. She sighed and took a step back, looked around at the gathered crowd that now included several of Rykar's Scorpion Company mercenaries. The woman heaved another sigh before she turned suddenly and threw the assassin's own dagger back at him. It buried itself in the man's left thigh. He let out a ragged, short-lived scream. Nadia cut it off with a clench of her fingers which had suddenly turned so cold that they burned the flesh under them.