Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Out of the Storm
New Friends
Destiny
A Beautiful Day to Start an Adventure
A Personnel Matter
Let's Talk
A Day at the Farm
A Wolf Amongst the Sheep
Uninvited Guests
Ambush
Another Piece of the Puzzle
Being in Command
Old Friends
Respite
Taking Charge
More Questions
The Gift
The Witch
Giving Council
Conquest
Job Offer
Dallena
Home
That's Quite a Tale
Secret Shared
Preparations
A Workable Plan
Being Neighborly
The Hunt
Warm Welcome
Harder Times
Surprise Attack
The Traitor
Backed Into A Corner
That Was Too Close
Trapped
You Can Thank Me Later
Just Getting Started
About The Author
A Soldier's Honor
The Scepter of Maris:
Book One
by James R. Barnes
Copyright © 2014 by James R. Barnes
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof,
may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Disclaimer:
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters or events portrayed are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
Book cover artist: SelfPubBookCovers.com/DianasGraphics
To Leslie, for giving me that first copy of The Dragonbone Chair and for all the help and encouragement. I could not have done it without you. Thank you sis.
CHAPTER ONE
Out of the Storm
The inn was decently lit and somewhat crowded as Alyssa pushed through the door. She tried to keep her movements unobtrusive, her body language closed in, so as not to draw attention to herself and the two young girls with her. When the door shut, it muted the sounds of the storm filled night outside. The fury of which was further evident by the amount of water dripping from their cloaks as they shook them out.
"Marian," the momentary quiet brought on by the trio's arrival was disrupted by a deep voice from the back of the room directed at the serving girl, who had also paused. "You've got food waiting."
Quiet conversation and the occasional shuffling of feet and benches resumed as people turned back to their food, drinks, or discussions. Alyssa ushered her charges left to a corner table as far from the majority of the crowd as possible. The oldest of the children, Teresa, whispered to her as both girls looked longingly at the blaze crackling merrily away in the hearth. "Alyssa, can we not sit closer to the fire?"
She glanced quickly in that direction and back. Already receiving more attention than she was comfortable with, she shushed the girl gently. While there was one small, unoccupied table set close to the heat, it was surrounded by full ones. She didn't like the thought of being hemmed in by too curious strangers. Alyssa was used to getting second glances, especially from men. Her blessing and her curse, as her mother had told her more than once; her appearance often garnered extra attention. She was tall for a woman, standing at five foot nine. Her light green eyes and long, auburn hair only helped to accentuate her delicate features, and combined with a healthy figure she usually drew many looks. Surprisingly to those that did not know her well, Alyssa had never let it go to her head. An attitude mostly due to her parents influence and the fact that her closest friend is the Queen of the Kingdom of Glendon, and would never let her get too full of herself. The queen came from a small island kingdom that required a more hands on approach to the day to day responsibilities, and she carried that philosophy with her to her new station in life. Who knew there were so many phrases about fish guts that could be applied to nobility?
Silently admonishing herself to focus on the task at hand, Alyssa surveyed the room as surreptitiously as possible, under the pretense of looking for the serving girl... Marian, she thought was her name.
She sat with her back to the left-hand wall of the room next to a set of stairs leading up to the second floor where she assumed there were rooms for rent. To the right of the stairs, was a long table with what appeared to be a family; husband, wife, boy of about four years old, and an infant in the arms of the father. Directly to its right was another long table with a couple of men that had the appearance of merchants (soft types in reasonably expensive clothes) and two more men who she assumed were their guards judging from their armor and weapons.
Across the room from the entrance, taking up most of the back wall, was the bar. The kitchen was to its left and a small room to the right. Alyssa noticed the kitchen when the food came out and was placed on the end of the bar for Marian to dispense. Hers was not the only stomach protesting a lack of whatever smelled so good, and she tried to catch the serving girl's attention while still checking out the room.
The other side of the room was comprised of four tables and the fire-place centered on the far wall. The small, empty table she noticed before was sitting directly in front of the hearth. On either side of it were two more tables and they were why she had shied away from sitting by the heat source.
The one closest to the bar had three men; one around a year or two younger than Alyssa's twenty-six and the other two about forty years or so, with the appearance of farm hands, laborers, or perhaps dock workers. The town they were in, Yost, was not a huge city when compared with Correnta and Dallena, but it was built on the shores of the massive Lake Fomar and did a lot of trade from fish and fresh water clams. The three men looked to be drunk even though the sun had not set more than an hour ago.
Not that she was trying to judge them. She had seen plenty of nobles that had no qualms about not being able to walk straight before the mid-day meal. They were just making her nervous, because they all kept glancing in her direction. They grabbed at, and flirted with Marian as she passed, but nothing more. Marian barely paid them any attention except for the occasional slap of the hand or back of the head which the men took in good spirits. Hopefully that was an indication that she might not have anything to fear from them.
The other table near the fireplace was also worrisome. The four men seated there appeared to be sober, and had watched them until they were seated. However, after that, they all leaned in to the center of the table and started talking quietly. They were rough looking with hard faces and lean muscle, not to mention scars visible on some of their arms and faces. Each wore light armor, and from what she could see were armed. Mercenaries, she assumed from their attire and somewhat arrogant demeanor.
The last table on the far side of the room was in the corner opposite her table, and she only gave it a cursory glance. An old man was eating his meal, while a dog sat at his feet, tail wagging and head resting on its front paws.
She was momentarily distracted as the door to the inn was pushed open quickly, startling her. She relaxed the tension in her shoulders and let out the breath she had drawn at the movement. It was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen. He was briefly back-lit by flashes of lightning from the still raging storm outside as he paused to make sure the door closed all the way before turning back to the center of the room. He then shook the water off of his cloak and went to the merchants' table, nodding to them and sitting. He looked ar
ound once, and then jerked back to blatantly stare at Alyssa until the guard he sat next to smacked him on the back of the head and mumbled something to him. Alyssa avoided looking at him, but was sure his face was dangerously red.
The final table was back on their side of the room. It was between them and the door, but was set a few feet closer to the bar. The table was occupied by a single man sitting with his back to the stairs. He was wearing a leather vest over a tucked-in white tunic with the ties loose at the neck and dark trousers. While he too was armed with a sword and dagger that had certainly seen use, he didn't have the look of a guard or mercenary. He definitely looked capable, with a muscular, athletic build, but he had an assured calm about him that the others did not. His bearing was confident, but not to the point of arrogance. The other fighting men in the room would glance in his direction once in a while, with a look that seemed to agree with her assessment of him.
Alyssa took all of this in during the short time it took Marian to drop off her food and drink orders to the appropriate tables and head their way. She paused only long enough to lay her hand on the shoulder of the lone man next to them and ask "You good, sweetie?"
He nodded and mumbled something to her. She squeezed his shoulder once and moved on.
Marian smiled as she approached the table, swiping a strand of short brown hair back from her face. She had one of those infectious smiles that had to be answered in kind. She got two bright grins from the girls and a smaller, yet still genuine one from Alyssa.
"You ladies look like you could use a good hot meal to warm you up," Marian told them. "We got some mighty fine stew. How's that sound?"
The children were nodding vigorously, while Alyssa asked quietly "How much?"
"Normally three coppers a bowl, but since these two little ones won't eat much we'll make it six total. Drink?"
"Water is fine, thank you." said Alyssa
"Back before you know it," Marian replied, and winked at the girls causing them to giggle.
Alyssa's heart warmed a little at the sound. The two young ones had been through a lot in the last two days. She let out a big sigh as she thought back to the attack that started it all.
-X-
It had been just past mid-day, and the day seemed like it would be normal enough. They had just come through the small village of Haley heading back from Whitehall Keep to Dallena, the capital city and home to Teresa and Sara, the two young girls she was responsible for over the journey. A task she had no complaints about. They were both well behaved and might as well be family, since they were the daughters of King Roderick and Queen Briannah. She had known them all of their lives, and thought of them as nieces.
Sara, the six year old, was quietly playing with a small wooden horse that one of the escort's soldiers had carved for her. Both girls were well liked by all of the Royal Guard members, and were doted on shamelessly.
Teresa, who was eight (or eight and a half, as she insisted) was chatting non-stop about the things they had done while staying at their uncle's keep. King Roderick Marten's younger brother, Robert, and his wife Tessa had kept the girls busy for the two weeks they were visiting with numerous activities.
Teresa was in the middle of an animated story about sailing on Lake Fomar, which was still sometimes visible through the woods to the right of the road, when Alyssa heard a shout from the front of their procession and the carriage stopped. She opened the door and leaned half out to ask the Lieutenant riding beside them what was going on. After that, things became a little hazy. There was more shouting and then the clash of steel, weapons being drawn and shouted orders.
The officer shouted at her to get back inside, but not before she saw one of the men at the front take an arrow in the shoulder. She ducked back in and pulled the girls to the floor of the carriage telling them to stay quiet. Then, while she could still hear fighting from the front and the back, the escort commander Captain Eric Ward yanked the door open and ordered them out. They were on the lake side of the road, and that is the direction he lead them, along with four of his men. The woods were moderately dense at this stretch of the road, and it helped them in their escape apparently. While they met resistance, it was not overwhelming. Two of the men went down protecting them over the next few hours. During a very brief rest, Alyssa stepped to the Captain and yanked his dagger from its sheath. She gave him a look that said "I may be terrified, but I am not useless". It might not be much, but it was better than nothing. He just gave her a curt nod, too tired to speak. It wasn't long before they were off again.
She tried to get a look at their attackers, but never saw anything more substantial than movement through the trees. She did hear them though, and the guttural shouts sent a chill down her spine. At one point, one of the remaining two soldiers swore and said something to his companion about Orcs. According to stories, they are savage beasts, wild and violent. She had never encountered them, nor talked to anyone who had, so she couldn't say if the noises they were hearing were truly Orc warriors. She thought it unlikely, since they were from up north beyond the mountains at the far end of the kingdom.
By early the next morning before sunrise, the captain was the only one left to guard them, but they hadn't had any trouble since they lost the other two men in middle of the night. She had tried, more than once, to talk the Captain into letting her use her Gift against the attackers, but he never allowed it. He always ordered her to save her strength, and she listened since he was one of the few people who knew about her abilities and how much it took out of her to use them. That did not stop the guilt when the other men did not come back. Captain Ward had set Teresa down (they had alternated carrying and half dragging the girls) and told Alyssa to keep moving while he checked their back trail. He caught back up to them after some time with a vicious wound to his stomach and a bleak look on his face. He shoved a coin purse into her hands and told her to keep moving. Tears blurred her vision as she thanked him and started to gather the girls, wishing for the hundredth time her skills included healing.
He stopped her with a hand at her elbow. "Be careful when you get to Yost. I heard some of them shout something about the 'princesses' when this all started. They were looking for them specifically," he wheezed.
Alyssa gasped and turned a shade paler, but tightened her grip on the dagger she still held.
"I know," he said. "The coin isn't much so be sure to spend it sparingly."
He was getting weaker by the moment, but he stood straight and turned back the way he came. It was still dark enough that she lost sight of him quickly, but she could see through the treetops and was able to tell that the sky was beginning to lighten. She coaxed Teresa and Sara into movement.
-X-
They had parted with the captain this morning, and all three of them were done in after hard traveling with few stops to rest. Marian delivering the stew brought Alyssa back to the present. She noticed the two steaming mugs in front of the girls and looked at the serving girl as she set another in front of her, questioning with her eyes.
"Compliments of Brody," she said pointing toward the bar. "Said I'm not havin' any children freeze their little toes off in my place." she mimicked in as gruff a voice as she could, causing the man at the table next to them to choke on his drink a little with laughter.
Alyssa looked toward the bar to see the man behind it busily wiping away with a reasonably clean rag. The first thought that came to mind to describe him was bear-like. He was big, with long, sandy-blond hair turning into a full beard that went down past his chest and was bound in a thick braid, just as his hair was in the back. His arms appeared to be as big around as her thighs, and there was thick hair covering his forearms up to where they disappeared into rolled up sleeves. He wasn't fat like she always expected an innkeeper to be. Instead he was barrel-chested and tall, maybe six and a half feet of muscle. He winked at her with a right eye that had a scar bisecting it, (the actual eye seemed fine) and he smiled, just barely showing a missing tooth in line with the scar. He
should have been scary, but both girls were giggling again and Alyssa couldn't stop her own return smile. She nodded her thanks, and then the wonderful aroma of the stew hit and she forgot about all else for a short time.
CHAPTER TWO
New Friends
It was the door opening again sometime later that brought back her focus. The rain was beginning to die down, and no lightning flashed during the time the door was open. The man that entered was short, maybe a few inches shorter than she, and was slightly built. He took in the room with quick twitches of his head. His close set eyes and a sharp nose just barely visible from the depths of the hood of his cloak reminded Alyssa of a weasel. She turned her attention back to her table, immediately feeling guilty for the unkind thought about someone she did not know. She almost turned back to stare at him though, because as soon as she saw him enter the inn her senses started to tingle. The sensation could mean only one thing... magic. As she watched out of the corner of her eye, she didn't like the fact that his gaze lingered on their corner of the room a little too long for politeness sake.
After scanning the rest of the common space, he made his way to the table with the four armed, rough looking men. He squatted next to one on the side closest to the fire. As they whispered, she saw one of the men glance quickly at them and back to his companions. She had the sinking feeling that they were discussing her and the girls, but hoped desperately that she was wrong. At the least, she hoped they would not try anything with so many people to witness.
That hope turned to despair as she watched the 'Weasel' head for the front door, and the four men he had been talking to rise and start her way with one dropping coins on their table as they came. Alyssa dropped a hand to the dagger she had taken from Captain Ward and tried to think of any way out of the situation that did not require using the Gift. Maybe if she could slow them down the children could run, hopefully giving them a chance. However, the men moved fast, possibly sensing from the look on her face that she was going to try something. They quickly surrounded the table, two to a side. Teresa and Sara got up and moved to Alyssa to huddle together tight against her left side, fear plain on their faces. She would be unable to draw the dagger with them so close, but she knew it would not have really made a difference. She would have to wait until they were outside and away from witnesses, ironically an attitude these men probably shared, though for different reasons.
A Soldier's Honor: The Scepter of Maris: Book One Page 1