Knight Fire

by Brad Clark

  Brad Clark

  Knight Fire

  The Champion Chronicles Book IV

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

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  Knight Fire

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  Copyright © 2016 by Brad Clark.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other – except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without prior permission of the author.

  The Champion Chronicles

  Knight Fall

  Last Knight

  Forever Knight

  Knight Fire

  Sword of the Kingdom: A Prequel to The Champion Chronicles

  Other Books By Brad

  Rewards of Vengeance

  www.booksbybradclark.com

  You can follow Brad on Twitter @BooksByBrad

  If it weren’t for the encouragement of friends and family, I never would have gotten this far. My inspirations come from many places, but most of all, from those that I love.

  Prologue

  Captain Gorge crossed his thick, ebony arms across his chest while he watched the villagers struggle to unload the ship’s cargo. There were ten large casks in all. So far, five of them had been carried off the deck of his ship, the Flying Narwhal, and set down on the pier that stretched out from the sandy shore. The team of four villagers trudged back up the gangplank and began manhandling the sixth cask. They were clearly getting tired and could have used help, but his ship’s crew was busy attending to their own chores. While the ship was docked, lines needed to be replaced, sails needed to be mended, and decks needed to be scrubbed clean.

  The captain glanced upriver towards the darkness of the eastern horizon. In the morning, their journey would take them in that direction, back towards Tyre, the second largest city in the Kingdom of Karmon. His adventurous trip with Sir Marik had originally brought him to Karmon, and he took the knight’s advice to unload his cargo in Tyre, where he made a decent profit. The Dockmaster at Tyre had given him an offer he couldn’t refuse. The inns and taverns along the river needed their winter supply of ale and sweet wines, and with the size of his ship, he could deliver all the casks in one trip. With the last of the casks being dropped off, he needed to head back to Tyre and pick up some cargo that he could take back west with him. There would be no sense in traveling with an empty cargo hold.

  A shout and a thud caused him to snap his head around. The four villagers had dropped the cask. It bounced on the pier and then toppled over, but it didn’t break apart. A fifth man approached and began frantically yelling at the four others. A slight smile slowly grew across Captain Gorge’s face as he watched the scene unfold below him. The carelessness of the four villagers could have cost the innkeeper a small fortune. Fortunately, the barrels were well-sealed and could withstand some negligent handling.

  Just past the pier was the small village of Sage. It was nice enough with a large inn right next to the river. There were several other buildings past the inn, but the tall two-story structure mostly hid them. Even though the sun was about to set, there were some villagers milling about, likely trying to satisfy their curiosity at Captain Gorge’s ship. It was much larger than the small riverboats that they were used to seeing. Meant for ocean travel, the Flying Narwhal was almost seventy feet long and had a deep draft. But the slow-moving Tyre River was deep enough all the way up to the city of Tyre to handle vessels such as his. He rather enjoyed the easy river travel, not having to worry about storms and large swells. Part of the fun was the adventure of the journey, and it was well past time to move on. It would be well into winter before he reached their home port of Denalli and by then, his men would be cranky and irritable. Located many leagues to the south and west, Denalli offered temperate temperatures throughout winter, which should help ease the mood of his sailors.

  The thought of a warm and comfortable bed caused him to look westward. The setting sun hung just above the horizon, glowing a bright reddish-orange. The clouds and sky also glowed with the same fiery colors. It was an amazing sight that he found difficult to turn away from, but the pounding of footsteps up the gangplank turned his attention away from the sight.

  The man who had berated the four workers was coming towards him with long, purposeful strides. Captain Gorge’s smile grew wide, and he said in his friendly voice, “Welcome aboard, Marcus.”

  Marcus, a middle-aged man with a perpetual scowl on his face, stalked right up to him. “Can your men not help?”

  Captain Gorge lifted an eyebrow. “I did offer you the service of my men.”

  “For a price!”

  “Well, yes, of course. My men have been at sea for many weeks, and there is much maintenance to do on my ship. It is only fair that if you pull them away from their jobs, you pay them. And besides, your men seem to be doing a stand-up job on their own.”

  “It will be dark soon, and we still have four more casks to unload! We won’t be able to see walking down your skinny gangplank. They could trip and fall right into the river!”

  “I will light lanterns,” Captain Gorge said. “Your men will have plenty of light to see by.”

  Marcus scratched his head and turned to the west to see how much light they would have left. The sight of the sunset changed his demeanor. No longer angry or irritated, he said, “The sun is casting an incredible sunset tonight. I’ve never see it so red.”

  “Oh?” the captain replied, turning to get a closer look.

  “And it glows,” Marcus added. “Like I’ve never seen before.”

  Captain Gorge’s heart skipped a beat. He could not believe had hadn’t noticed it right away. With a deep and concerned voice, he said, “That is not just a sunset.”

  “What?” Marcus replied with a soft chuckle. “What are you talking about?”

  “I have seen this one too many times,” Captain Gorge replied. “The glow you see is not from the sun, but it is from the fires of a city.”

  “Fires of a city?” Marcus asked with an unbelieving chuckle.

  Captain Gorge’s eyes did not waver from the horizon. With somberness, he said, “The city that is to the west, what is it called?”

  “Why, it’s South Karmon, our capital city. The castle is there. The queen is there.” As the worlds of the ship captain sunk in, his voice rose and octave, and he exclaimed, “Fires? Are you sure? How can you be sure?”

  “I have seen Taran Centurions firsthand when they torch a city. For many, many miles the fires can be seen. They burn the cities to the ground so that they can rebuild anew in their image. It is their way.”

  “Taran?” Marcus exclaimed. “Taran attacked South Karmon?”

  Captain Gorge broke from his stunned state and turned to his men. With a sharp voice, he commanded, “Prepare to leave immediately! Hoist the sails and draw the oars out. We must make haste!”

  The crew of the Flying Narwhal dropped what they were doing and started to make the ship ready for departure.

  Marcus glanced at the casks that still had not been offloaded. “What of the casks?”

  “If they are still on board when we leave, I will dump them overboard. Do not worry, they will float. You will just need to get them before they float downriver.”

  “But, Captain!”

  “Marcus, I would suggest that you prepare your family. It will not be long before the Tarans sail upriver to capture the river villages. Once they have control of the castle, they will want control of the river. And I need to be off the rive
r by that time. I fear I may be too late already.”

  Marcus stood still, too stunned to move.

  Captain Gorge started to step away, but then he realized Marcus was not moving. “The Tarans are ruthless and merciless, but they are not savages. They follow their code of battle and code of war, whatever that may be. They do not invade a kingdom to destroy it. They invade it to conquer it and control it. They will need help from the local leaders to control the people and keep the fighting to a minimum. It can be someone like you that they will come to. You will be taken advantage of, and you will feel like a traitor to your kingdom. But you will be alive and survive the invasion. In time, this kingdom will be forgotten and in its place will be the Taran Empire.”

  Marcus broke from his shock and said, “How can you be sure of all this?”

  Captain Gorge gave the western horizon one last glance and turned to Marcus and said, “I can’t. I can only hope that it is the Tarans, for their ways are civilized. I cannot image what will become of this kingdom or its people if it is anyone else but the Tarans. Now, unless you want a trip to the other side of the world with my crew and me, I would suggest you leave my ship and prepare your family for the coming war.”

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  Captain Gorge leaned against the railing, letting the cool night wind race across his face. For several hours, his men had been straining to pull the ship as quickly as they could down the river. With the steady current of the river, they were making good time. He had considered putting up the sails to get even more speed, but then the ship would be difficult to control. There were still bends in the river and debris that needed to be avoided. Once they reached the last bend in the river, it would be a straight shot to the ocean. Then he could lift the sails and finally escape the coming war.

  At first, he had hoped that he was wrong, and the orange glow of the horizon was indeed just the setting sun. He knew better, but he hoped anyway. As they neared the coast, it was obvious that it was indeed the city that was burning. Plumes of black smoke were now visible in the sky, hiding the stars and moon from view.

  It was surprising to him that the Tarans would attack Karmon. From what he knew, they had a trade arrangement that was economically equitable to everyone. But, he also knew that emperors were fickle and greedy, especially newly crowned emperors. Maybe this new emperor saw something in Karmon that would cause him to attack them. It didn’t matter, and he couldn’t speculate. He just needed to get as far away from the war as he could. With his black skin, he certainly wouldn’t be mistaken for a Karmon, but he could certainly be accused of conspiring with them. At best, he would lose his ship and his livelihood. At worst, his life. He just hoped that he was quick enough to escape the war and get back home.

  They came around the last bend, and their path to the ocean opened before to them. Although still at least a mile away from where the river dumped into the ocean, he knew they were home free. He had expected the Taran Navy to be stationed at the mouth of the river, but there were no other ships in sight. He was equally surprised and elated. Although his ship was fast enough to outrun nearly any Taran Naval vessel, he would have had to get past them first. Now he had clear sailing for the ocean.

  Something in the water ahead caught his attention. He was about to call for his pilot to navigate around another tree limb, or whatever it was that was floating directly in their path. But as the words were about to come out, they caught in his throat. It was not debris he saw, but a small rowboat that had positioned itself directly in their path. It was small enough that they could just ride right over it, crushing the boat and whoever was in it. With a quick tack, they could easily go around it. It was still several hundred yards away, near the city’s docks, so he had plenty of time to decide what to do. That was when a figure inside the boat stood up.

  With his keen eyesight, he could see her long, blond hair. There was not much light coming from the night sky, but there was enough moonlight for him to see that it was clearly a woman in the boat.

  “Stow the oars!” he called out. Immediately his orders were relayed to the crew manning the oars below decks. The river became suddenly silent.

  “Five to the right!” the captain called out. “Prepare to bring aboard a sailor in distress!”

  He knew that the woman was not really a sailor, but they didn’t have many different types of commands to cover all situations.

  The pilot directed the ship five degrees to the starboard so that the small rowboat would brush along the ship’s port side. A handful of his crew ran up to the railing beside him and leaned over to see who it was.

  “We’re going too fast,” one of them said.

  “We’ll never stop in time,” another added.

  They were right, Captain Gorge knew, but he couldn’t let this woman die in the middle of the river. Clearly, she was running from the burning city and needed to be saved.

  “We hook her,” Captain Gorge said.

  They all looked at him like he was crazy.

  “With a hook? A real hook?”

  The captain looked at his sailor for a long moment before snapping at him. “Of course not! We wrap a rope around little Jimmie’s waist and hang him overboard. When we ride by, he grabs her, and we haul them up.”

  The sailor looked at his captain. “All that for her?”

  “For the lady, of course!”

  Without waiting for their captain to give them more orders, they sprang into action. Jimmie was the smallest and lightest sailor. He looked hardly older than a boy, especially because he lacked any facial hair. In port, he was routinely denied entrance into sordid bars the sailors liked to frequent, which generally ended up in an all-out brawl. His small frame and light stature came into play many times while on board and right now was one of those times.

  A rope was tied around his waist and then looped between his legs to act as a make-shift harness. This allowed him to have has hands free as the other sailors lowered over the side of the ship. The pilot took commands from Captain Gorge, moving the tiller with slight, but precise, movements. If he came too close to the small boat, he risked running over it and sending the woman into the water. If he were too far away, Jimmie wouldn’t be able to reach her. They had one chance at this, and if they failed, they would have to leave the woman in the water to fend for herself.

  Jimmie wiggled in his rope harness, trying not to let the uncomfortable pain of the rope break his concentration. His feet dangled just above the water, allowing him to feel the cold water of the ship’s wake. With no time to think about what he was about to do, he could only react. Faster than he expected, the small boat appeared right in front of him. The woman was dressed in a dark cloak that she had pulled tightly about herself. Her long, blonde hair shimmered in the light of the moon. He was distracted for a moment by her beauty.

  Almost too late, he realized that he was going to miss her. The pilot was too cautious, which caused him to steer too far away. Just she approached, Jimmie put both legs against the hull of the ship and kicked as hard as he could. The rope handlers were caught off guard and almost let out too much slack. Just in time, they caught a firm grasp on the rope, and Jimmie went swinging out away from the ship. The woman reached for him as he swung towards her and they crashed together. Using every ounce of strength he could muster, he hung on to her. She grabbed him back with surprising strength. The boat was swept away, but Jimmie and the woman were left swinging. Their momentum carried them back towards the ship.

  “Hold on!” Jimmie cried out just as they crashed hard into the side of the ship. He let out a grunt, and she let out a high-pitched cry. But they each hold onto one another.

  The moment they crashed into the side of the ship, the captain called for them to be hauled up. With the entire crew pulling, they were yanked up to the railing and helped onto the deck. Jimmie fell onto the ground, panting and in pain.

  The woman, also on the ground looked up at the crew with bright blue eyes and a beauty the sailors rarely saw so close. “Thank
you,” she said with a smile.

  Captain Gorge stepped forward and offered her a hand and a smile. “Welcome aboard, milady. I am Captain Gorge, and this is my ship, the Flying Narwhal.”

  She dropped her head and gave a slight curtsey. But it was her eyes that caught the captain off guard, and suddenly he felt a cold chill fall over him. Her eyes looked past him, focused on something directly behind.

  He spun to see two men land softly onto the deck. His heart jumped at their sudden appearance and he braced himself for their attack. But none came. One was tall and skinny with a long dagger stuck in his belt. The other was almost as tall, but more muscular. He was armed with two swords strapped across his back.

  Nobody moved.

  "Well, this didn’t go quite as planned,” the muscular man said.

  “There are three of you,” Captain Gorge said cautiously, eyes the men’s weapons. Although they were still sheathed, he expected them to come out at any moment. “And twelve of us. If you think of robbing us or taking my ship, I fear you will not survive.”

  His men all took one threatening step forward. Neither of the two intruders flinched.

  “Captain,” the woman said, stepping up next to him. “I am Queen Elissa of Karmon.”

  Captain Gorge looked at her up and down and pursed his lips. After a few moments, he said, “The beauty of Queen Elissa is well-known, and surely you have her beauty. But why would a queen be left alone in a small boat in the middle of the river to be run over by the first ship that came by?”

  “Because humans are stupid,” the tall, thin man growled.

  Captain Gorge looked over at him and then noticed the pointed ears.

  “Yes, I am an Elf. You don’t need to stare at my ears.”

  The other man took a casual step forward, keeping his hands out in a non-threatening manner. “Do not let my friend Glaerion’s sour disposition influence your decision.”