Herald of Shalia

by Tamryn Tamer

  “Can we discuss this…”

  “Say…it…” the petite butler said authoritatively. They’d spent almost the entire ride coming to the agreement and in the end, he gave in. As she pointed out, it was because of her that he was even alive to save the elves. The least he could do was marry her.

  “My fiancé,” Frost sighed as the elves collectively gasped and profaned. “I can explain it later but right now…”

  “There’s another matter to attend to,” Lysandra interrupted. “The commander’s daughter.”

  “Excuse me?” Frost asked while looking around the group. Sure enough, she wasn’t there which begged the question, where was she.

  “Commander,” Lysandra flagged Commander Grey to come closer. The old man hesitantly came toward the small group as his soldiers nervously looked on. “Did you wish to ask for the herald’s assistance?”

  “What’s going on?” Brynn asked while tugging Frost’s arm. “We have places to be and people to kill sexy.”

  “Raullon took my daughter,” Commander Grey said somberly. “The high priestess here seemed to think you’d be willing to help if we offered to safely escort the elves back to the village and protect it until you get back.”

  “Lysandra,” Frost glared at the high priestess. “If they only tried to kill me it’d be one thing. But they were planning on killing you.”

  “No,” Lysandra reached for Frost’s hands and stroked them delicately. She looked up at him with her beautiful cerulean eyes and smiled. “I will not allow you to hold all of them responsible for the actions of a few. The commander has never raised a hand to any of us…”

  “That one reached for his baton,” Renna said while pointing to a knight on horseback who looked like he was considering sprinting off.

  “So did that one!” Lyra pointed to a knight on the opposite side.

  “But they didn’t!” Lysandra growled threateningly at the elves before turning back to Frost. “I know what you’re thinking, and don’t you dare.”

  “But…”

  “But nothing,” Lysandra said authoritatively while stroking his hand. “They didn’t hurt anybody and they were all very polite. We could eat, drink, and talk. They didn’t bind our hands or necks or do anything that they normally do.”

  “I suppose,” Frost glanced at the commander waiting patiently. “Tell me commander. What are you willing to sacrifice for your daughter?”

  “Frost!” Lysandra objected.

  “Lysandra,” Frost silenced the high priestess with a glance. There were several pounds of flesh he still intended to collect and nobody was getting off easy. “What are you willing to give me in exchange for your daughter?”

  “Everything,” Commander Grey answered. “Even my life.”

  “Your life?” Frost glanced at Brynn. “I don’t suppose you’d accept…”

  “No,” Brynn answered before he could finish his sentence. “Yours is the life I want handsome. Just accept it already.”

  “Fine,” Frost turned to Commander Grey and stuck out his hand. “Your daughter’s life for yours. Do we have a deal?”

  “Commander you can’t,” one of the knights objected.

  “Your daughter wouldn’t want this,” another yelled. “We’ll think of another…”

  “Done,” Commander Grey nodded and took his hand. “I only ask that you allow me to get my affairs in order before you kill me.”

  “Oh,” Frost grinned while glancing at Brynn. “I think you’ve misunderstood. I want your life, not your death.”

  “What?” Commander Grey’s eyes darted around confused. Even his soldiers seemed to have no idea what Frost was talking about. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re going to serve me until the day you die,” Frost answered. “Your life is mine to do with as I please. But we can discuss that more once I save your daughter.”

  “You should have hired somebody to negotiate for you,” Brynn grinned. “We were about to head to Blackwater to kill Raullon and Erik anyway.”

  “Erik?” Commander Grey stepped back and several of the soldiers looked at each other unsure of what to do. “It’s one thing to go after Duke Raullon but we can’t allow you to…”

  “Ahem,” Brynn pulled out a ring and placed it on her finger before flashing it in Commander Grey’s face. “Commander William ‘Southern Spider’ Grey, can you tell your men what this is? I believe you’re the only one who’d recognize it.”

  “That’s a seal of King Valagnar Leaucault,” Commander Grey said while gazing at the piece of jewelry. “How do you have that?”

  “My name is Princess Brynn Hilde Leaucault of Zira, daughter of Henrietta Leaucault,” Brynn said proudly. “Prince Erik Leaucault ordered the assassination of my brothers. I bore witness as the eight slayers of Blackwater butchered my siblings. The eight slayers of Blackwater have been dealt with and all that remains is Prince Erik. Now, do you really want to interfere in a royal matter?”

  “How do we know this isn’t some elaborate hoax?” Commander Grey asked.

  “Hm,” Brynn tapped her chin. “No clue. But I have my name and my ring.”

  “What was Queen Henrietta’s favorite food?” Commander Grey asked.

  “Commander,” one of the soldiers objected. “Everybody knows…”

  “Chocolate cake with a side of strawberry ice cream,” Brynn interrupted. “Although everybody thinks it’s pomegranates because of that stupid painting the king commissioned. He also had the painter bring in her waistline and increase her bust size. There’s a reason mother moved to the countryside.”

  “Okay,” Commander Grey glanced at his soldiers. “I’m not saying you couldn’t have found that information anywhere but it’s better than nothing. I believe you, your highness.”

  “Good,” Brynn said before turning to Frost. “Now, are we ready to go Frost?”

  “Just give me a minute,” Frost said while looking at the elves waiting in the wings. Frost rushed over to the group and began patting their heads. “Are you all okay?”

  “Are you really getting married?” Shael asked suspiciously. “Does this mean you’re not going to come and visit like you promised?”

  “How many wives do you intend to take?” Mira followed up while pushing ahead of some others.

  “If you really love us why are you marrying a human?” Renna said angrily.

  “It’s because he’s a human obviously,” Ena said while unwrapping her bindings. “Maybe he’ll sleep with elves but it’s not like he’s going to marry one.”

  “Is that true?” Fayeth asked calmly. “If it is, you should let us know.”

  “It’s wrong to get our hopes up,” Erissa stomped while dragging Stormi with her. “Stormi and I have been waiting for you to come and visit!”

  “Don’t involve me,” the blonde elf baker blushed.

  “It’s complicated,” Frost sighed. “I’ll explain it all later.”

  “Explain it now,” Lyra said angrily. He was used to seeing the young elf looking confident and cocky but at the moment tears were filling her eyes. “You haven’t even slept with me and you’re marrying a human! That’s not fair! You were supposed to sleep with me and fall in love!”

  “You said you wanted all of us but you only lay with Lysandra!” another chimed in.

  “You could at least spend the night with others,” Marina yelled. “Robin and I can always have Emmy spend the night with Shael’s.”

  “Yay!” Emmy yelled. “Sleepover!”

  “Herald Frost has yet to spend a night with me!” Shael objected. “I’m only playing babysitter if I get him first!”

  “Herald Frost,” Lysandra approached him from behind while holding her hand up threateningly causing the elves to become silent. “I’m afraid time is up. If you intend to save the commander’s daughter, you should leave. It’s my understanding that they intend to execute her if we don’t arrive by this evening.”

  “Right,” Frost nodded and turned toward the elves. “When I g
et back we’ll figure something out with the whole sleeping arrangement thing.”

  “Herald Frost,” Lysandra sighed. “I’m sure Lady Priscilla wouldn’t be thrilled to find out you spent these precious minutes discussing sleeping arrangements rather than saving her.”

  “Right,” Frost walked back to Commander Grey and Brynn. “Brynn, get the horse. Commander Grey, do you happen to have a map and an idea of where she’s being held?”

  “She’s likely being held in the keep,” Commander Gray answered as Brynn ran off. “She’ll be treated as a guest of Prince Erik. Both he and Raullon will most likely be there since the sacrifice was scheduled for the evening.”

  “Is there anything I should know?” Frost stared at Commander Grey. “Anybody I should look out for in particular?”

  “Prince Erik’s personal guards,” Commander Grey answered. “They are both level fifty heroes. One is a holy knight and the other is a spellblade. I doubt anybody else would give you much trouble but those two are servants of the king himself.”

  “A spellblade?” Frost smirked as he reminded himself to watch out for magic. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

  “Ready handsome?” Brynn said while riding up next to him. Frost nodded and tried to climb in front of her but she quickly blocked his path. “No, behind. It’s more comfortable to lean back into your chest. And it makes playing easier.”

  “Fine,” Frost said while hopping up and grabbing the reins. Brynn leaned back into him while holding the saddle with one hand. “Ready?”

  “Of course,” Brynn said while pulling out her flute. “Just say the word sexy.”

  “Commander Grey,” Frost turned to the old man. “I expect the elves to be sitting happily in the village without so much as a twisted ankle. Understood?”

  “Just keep up your end of the bargain and I’ll keep up mine,” Commander Grey gestured at his men to turn around the caravan. “I’m trusting you to rescue my daughter.”

  “Don’t worry,” Frost grinned. “Unlike you and yours, I keep my word.”

  Frost rode off toward the city and Brynn played her flute increasing their speed. He was concerned about the level fifties. He was still recovering from the exhaustion of the previous battles but he didn’t have time to think about that. His priority would be Priscilla. Even if Raullon or Prince Erik escaped, he could always kill them later. But if Priscilla died it wasn’t like he could bring her back to life.

  “Hey Brynn,” Frost glanced down at his pretty butler. “Are there resurrection spells?”

  “Yes,” Brynn answered. “But they require massive amounts of power and need to be administered within an hour of the person’s death. They’re only useful to high level heroes adventuring in a party. Why?”

  “Just wondering,” Frost nodded. Every bit of knowledge he could gather had value. If he knew what others were capable of, he knew what to watch out for. Healing spells, protective spells, and resurrection spells were all traditionally usable by paladins. Holy knights seemed slightly different in that he’d only seen them use protective and offensive magic. In fact, everybody he’d met didn’t seem to have a skill set that he found particularly traditional. “Can holy knights heal?”

  “It depends on if they bothered to learn it,” Brynn answered. “It’s not as though they can’t. It’s just that certain abilities work better. Even if a holy knight learned healing, he’d never heal as well as a priest, his time is better spent learning magic that’s useful for fighting on the frontlines.”

  “I see,” Frost understood a little bit more of the world he was in. It wasn’t as though they couldn’t learn all of the abilities, but they focused on the ones that were clearly beneficial. At the same time, experimentation was likely time consuming. That explained why nobody had heard of paladins. A holy knight would literally need to risk falling years behind his comrades to experiment with healing magic. It wasn’t like games where you could reallocate your points to try for the best build. “After this is all over, I’m going to want to talk more about what you know about classes.”

  “Anything you want handsome,” Brynn said cheerfully. “Once we’re married, I’ll tell you everything you wish to know.”

  “Once we’re married,” Frost groaned.

  “So,” Brynn grinned. “Let’s go over the wedding details again. I believe we were still discussing color themes.”

  “I said I don’t care,” Frost growled. “And we’re heading toward…”

  “You say you don’t care handsome but I can tell you do,” Brynn said. “Besides, I’d rather you think about this than whatever it is you’ve been thinking about. You’re too pretty not to smile.”

  “Are you serious right now?” Frost laughed.

  “There we go,” Brynn said. “That’s what I like to see. So, back to the wedding, what do you think about soft blues and creams?”

  CHAPTER 18

  The city of Blackwater emerged in the distance as Frost and Brynn galloped over a hill. It wasn’t a particularly large city by Frost’s standards but was easily big enough to house over twenty or thirty thousand people.

  A river ran through the center of the city and circled the central keep before flowing back out. The far side seemed to be the luxurious end while the western facing side they were heading toward appeared to be the slummier area. The northwest in particular looked to be the roughest area.

  The organization of the city made sense given what he’d learned about the geography of the area. The capital of Zira was in the northeast so the nobles would want to be on the side nearest the capital. Being located on the eastern side of the city also ensured that if Rilia ever attacked they’d be the first to escape the city.

  There were six entrances to the city that Frost could see. One on either side of the river in the south, one on either side of the river in the north, a single eastern entrance, and a single western entrance. They’d need to ride through the western entrance which from what he could tell was still open.

  “I’ll take the reins when we enter the city,” Brynn volunteered as they began to get close to where the road turned from dirt to stone. “That way you can focus on defending us.”

  “Alright,” Frost said as they neared the gate. From what he could tell, all the roads led directly to the keep in the center of the city. There were areas that branched off to other large buildings and estates, as well as roads leading to the cathedral on the eastern side of the city but the only one of importance was the main street. “Take the reins.”

  “Halt!” several guards yelled as they rushed to defensive positions. “I said halt!”

  “Frost?” Brynn asked as Frost pulled out the longbow he’d looted from Danny, or was it Danni? It didn’t really matter. Both Dan’s were both dead. “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure they don’t close the gate,” Frost said as he took aim at the guard rushing toward the lever. He loosed the arrow which landed in the guards shoulder. He fired two more as other guards attempted to rush the lever as well. Both fell as the arrows landed in their torsos. Frost was fairly certain none of the shots were fatal but he wasn’t entirely sure.

  “What about them?” Brynn said as two dozen guards began setting up with spears and shields.

  “I got it,” Frost said as he swapped bows to the short one. He pulled out a handful of arrows and handed them to Brynn. “Hold these for a second.”

  “Um,” Brynn smiled nervously while holding the reins with one hand and the arrows with the other. “Okay.”

  Frost swapped classes to archer and began firing the arrows as quickly as he could. Each shot passed through the crevices between the amateurish shield wall and after around the tenth arrow landed the guards must have decided they weren’t paid enough. The soldiers quickly moved to drag their comrades out of the path of the horse as Frost and Brynn rode through.

  “Alert the captain,” a guard yelled as they rode by.

  “You’re showing an awful lot of restraint,” Brynn said while handing him
back the remaining arrows and securing her grip on the reins. “Did you not pick up quiver from either of those snipers?”

  “I’m already on it,” Frost said while searching his enchanted satchel. The bag was surprisingly impossible to navigate. It was like shoving your hand blindly into a box full of junk and hoping to find what you’re looking for. “Finding stuff is impossible.”

  “Use scan,” Brynn said. “I can’t believe you don’t know that.”

  “Goddammit,” Frost said as he scanned the bag. An entire listing of items popped up in his vision and as soon as he fixated on the item he knew exactly where it was in the bag. “This would have made my life much easier before.”

  “Yeah,” Brynn laughed as a sea of screaming Blackwater citizens moved to avoid them. “I imagine so. Get ready, the keep’s up ahead.”

  “Right,” Frost stared at the large stone mansion. While it had the reinforced stone walls of a keep it was also covered in balconies and gardens like a palace. There was also a secondary wall surrounding it and the gate was closed. “Archers.”

  “Don’t worry about them,” Brynn said while blowing into her flute. A whirlwind of air swirled around them. “How are we getting through that gate?”

  “I have a thought about that,” Frost said while staring at the large iron gate. He pulled out a hammer he’d taken from the holy knight. Its power and durability were easily ten times greater than anything else he’d held yet. A volley of arrows was redirected by the wind barrier as Frost prepared to throw the hammer. “Be prepared to stop if this doesn’t work.”

  “If what doesn’t…” Brynn was interrupted by the thunderous sound of the hammer crashing against the gate. The hammer instantly shattered into pieces as the steel gate broke from the stone wall holding it and crashed to the ground. “Showoff.”

  The guards struggled to organize as they rode through gate and directly toward the front doors of the keep. Brynn blew into her flute and a powerful burst of wind blasted the wooden doors off their hinges allowing Frost and Brynn to ride right into the main hall and dismount.