Dawn of the Valiant (The Valerious Chronicles: Book One)

by Julian Saheed

Thibalt hit the ground harder than he had intended and bent down to rub his ankles. Skiddle landed gracefully on the street next to him and smiled when Thibalt gave him a sour look. Torrlan was the final man to escape from the window and as he began his descent, the fort came alive as a loud crash sounded in the northern section. Torrlan quickened his climb and allowed himself to fall the final floor of the building.

  "Let's hope this is something our men have done," said Skiddle.

  Thibalt was not so sure of that. "Let's just hope that they were not in the way of whatever that was. With Estallion in charge the latter seems more likely."

  Without further delay the group made its way to the site of the commotion. They came into the courtyard and found the rest of the Scorpions standing in front of the burning gate. Estallion spotted Thibalt and moved to greet him.

  "Why are you all standing around like dumb mules?" asked Thibalt angrily before Estallion could get in a word.

  "It seems someone is doing our work for us," said Estallion whilst pointing to the top of the wall.

  Thibalt looked up and saw that the guards atop the wall were locked in combat with a group of hooded men. "Well let's go help them," he ordered. His men moved without hesitation, running up the stairways that lead to the top of the wall.

  Thibalt caught up with Borrin and patted him on the back. They reached the top of the wall and soon the fighting turned their way. The guards dropped their weapons and surrendered, horribly outnumbered by Steelfist's Scorpions and the hooded attackers. Thibalt moved up to one of the hooded men and asked him to remove his cloak. The man turned to another who nodded and removed his hood.

  "I have seen you before," said Thibalt. "You are one of Hanlit's men."

  "Correct, Captain Steelfist," said another voice. One of the hooded men moved forward and revealed himself. Thibalt smiled when he saw Captain Hanlit standing in front of his men with a confident grin on his face. The former soldier from Precedin walked up to Thibalt and shook his hand.

  "I am truly surprised," said Thibalt. "Until now, we have had to do all of these tasks by ourselves."

  "I can say the very same. I assure you we had no idea that it was you we were rescuing from this fort," replied Hanlit.

  Estallion laughed. "Rescued! We hardly needed your help to get out of this one!"

  Hanlit's expression did not change. Both he and Thibalt knew that both groups had played an important part in finishing this mission, but neither wanted to admit it. It had begun a simple competition, but now Steelfist's Scorpions and Hanlit's Rangers had become tight rivals. Each of the General's elite groups fighting for supremacy on the battlefield.

  A series of footsteps caught their attention and they turned to find General Harrinus moving along the wall towards them with a serious tinge to his features. "Once again it is impossible to distinguish which of you is the better," he began, stepping up to the two captains. "I cannot create a challenge difficult enough."

  "You make it sound as though that is a bad thing, General," said Hanlit.

  Harrinus's lips curled into a smile. "I believe that your training is over. Your men have proven themselves a valuable asset. There is not much more that they can learn on the training ground." He turned to examine the unconscious guards scattered along the wall. "I also hope that you did not injure any of my men too seriously," he added in a slightly worried tone.

  "Can we go then?" asked Estallion. "I have a terrible urge to spend some time with a feather bed."

  "Yes you have leave. But captains Steelfist and Hanlit will need to come with me."

  "Where are we headed?" asked Thibalt.

  "Back to the City of Skiye," answered Harrinus. "Errollan wishes to see us."

  The Scorpions spent the next day cleaning up the fort and tending to the guards that had been bruised the previous night. They were in the Beon Ranges, just south of Rustown, and had finally finished their arduous training. They knew that their hard work had paid off, but in all of their hearts lay a gloomy shadow reminding them of what their future would likely hold. They could one day find themselves in a similar situation. Would they be able to escape if the guards were carrying real weapons? They could not know. For now they had to savour the time left before they were put to use by the Maloreichar.