An Empire Forged

by Michael Greenfield

  “Thanks to you, Commander.” Kerin embraced him, “You’re not half as nasty as your reputation.”

  “Oh I am, my Lady,” Collett looked intently at the woman, “but I save it for those that deserve it. Just wait until we take the field against Mythra, then you’ll see where my reputation comes from.”

  Together again

  As had become his habit on both occasion he had travelled by ship, Cal was stood up on the bow, admiring the view from a few miles out to sea and enjoying the pure feeling of the wind in his hair.

  From behind he could hear the sounds of the men who’s lives were spent running a ship such as this. Whether up in the rigging, or on the deck working the lines and all the other little jobs that added up to maintaining the ship in the trim that the Captain called for from the quarterdeck.

  A slightly different sound announced that he was no longer alone in his contemplation.

  Shifting slightly, he saw that Myriana was stood a step behind him, also admiring the view.

  “Reminds me of Morning View in a strange kind of way.”

  The Queen turned her attention to the young warrior. Yes, she thought, he was a warrior now, no longer the boy who had left Fallon’s Glen with dreams of adventure in his head.

  “How so?”

  “The peace, beauty. It feels strange to think of what’s been happening back on land when this is all you can see.” He waved at the horizon as he spoke.

  She smiled as she replied, “I have to agree with you, but I think there are some back on that land who might feel different.” She stepped up next to him, “That’s not the reason I came up to see you though.”

  Cal turned to face her completely, leaning against the woodwork behind him.

  “When we reach Ketla things are likely to be very confused. If anything should happen, I want you to take your lead from Uncle Kormick.”

  “I would hope that nothing is going to happen that would require that, I’ve already rescued you once in the last few months. I don’t know if I can spare the time to do it again, I mean I must be due some leave or something by now.” His grin was not matched by his Queen, who gave him a baleful look.

  “I really can’t wait to get you married off to Tamala, she’ll teach you manners quickly enough.”

  Both of them laughed, before Cal spoke again, “I understand what you mean though, and I will follow Kormick’s lead if necessary, but you won’t complain if I offer the odd prayer that we don’t need to.”

  “I’ll actively encourage it.” Something caught her attention and Cal noted her staring past him.

  Returning his gaze to forward of the bow he saw the light outline of the port of Leema just coming into view. He also saw that there was a sail just passed the port on the horizon but had no way of knowing whose it was.

  “Sail ho!” The lookout in the crows-nest called out.

  “Where away!” The Captain’s First Mate was on the quarter deck at the moment whilst the Captain had gone below briefly.

  “Helmer, straight off the bow.”

  Cal relaxed slightly, the knowledge that it was a Helmer vessel meant that at least they wouldn’t be looking at a pirate ship, though he had been told that M’ur might not have the strongest army, but their navy was another matter, and because of that it was rare to see pirates in these waters.

  The Helmer also looked to be heading for Leema, and the Captain didn’t appear to be concerned, so Cal relaxed. After a short while Myriana left him to his musings and headed back toward the stern of the ship and below deck to her cabin.

  Cal lost track of time, but when he glanced at the sun, he saw that he had stood there for at least an hour. The other ship was considerably closer now, and he could make out several figures on the other deck who were staring back across the water in return.

  Something about one of the figures made him focus his attention. There were three figures stood by themselves, one shorter than the others whom he couldn’t really make any detail out, but there was another who stood head and shoulders above the other two. His bulk was unmistakeable.

  “Luda!”

  He hadn’t realised that he had shouted out loud, but a sudden commotion from behind signalled Kormick and Jerito racing up to where he stood.

  “What did you say?” Jerito strained to see the others clearly.

  “The big man near the prow, that’s got to be Luda, Lord of Holdur.” His breath caught for a moment, “If that’s Luda.” He turned his attention back to shorter figure. As he watched, a flicker of red flashed about their face.

  “Tamala!” Stupidly, he realised that he had shouted out loud again, even though there was no way they were near enough to actually hear him.

  By now Myriana and Periman had joined them. “Cal, are you sure?” Myriana couldn’t contain her excitement.

  “I’m sure, but,” he had a sudden thought, “Let me try something.”

  He closed is eyes and tried to imagine shouting to Tamala, rather than actually vocalising he tried to use his mind. He was under no illusion that he was some mage himself, but he hoped that the connection they shared and the skills that the sorceress had mastered, meant that she would hear him anyway.

  They could all see the reaction of the figure they watched. Her face flashed round to stare straight at Cal, then suddenly they were all waving to each other.

  Cal could barely contain his excitement, and when he turned about, he saw tears streaming down his Queen’s face. He wrapped his arms about her and started laughing.

  Though both ships entered the harbour of almost side by side, they refrained from shouting at each other, opting to wait until they had made their way down the gangplanks.

  Myriana and Tamala raced into each other’s arms, whilst Cal and the others crossed the gap between them at a more restrained pace. Not that he felt very restrained. It had been months since he had seen Tamala, and the dull ache he had felt most of the time they had been apart was suddenly torn away, replaced by a burning feeling in his chest.

  As the two women stepped apart from each other, Tamala’s eyes sought his out. Waiting no longer, she stepped into his arms and they kissed deeply. Eventually he pulled his head away and gave the redhead a comical look, “I’ve missed you.”

  Laughter burst from all around them, as they all revelled in a lighter moment of joy for once.

  “Not that I’m against the idea, but what are you doing here?”

  Tamala stepped free of his grasped and addressed all of them, “We were on our way to Collett, he’s at Ketla with the bulk of the garrison he had with him.”

  “Somethings happened?” Myriana’s voice was filled with concern.

  “Many things have happened, but we need to reach Collett first.”

  Cal could see that the Queen was desperate for the news, but also understood that they all needed to hear it together.

  Cal wasn’t entirely sure what he had expected to see when they came within sight of Ketla, but this wasn’t it. The city walls stood resplendent in the sun, and both of the gates he could see from their vantage point were open.

  About the base of the walls he could see hurried construction taking place and basic huts being erected. Smoke rose from several places within the area, cooking fires he assumed, and the sound of people working hard could clearly be heard, even from a distance.

  Their group included soldiers there for protection, but not more than a couple of dozen. Even so, there presence soon drew attention from the growing camp about the city. Two riders came out to meet them and once they got closer, he saw that one was a dwarf.

  The pulled their horses up and waited. The two riders quickly reached them, and Cal smiled as he saw the dwarf was Garron, Harlin’s elder son.

  “Good to see you friend Garron.” He held his hand up in greeting.

  “Calmagyr, you’re the last person I expected to see coming over this hill.” The dwarf laughed as he held his own hand up in return. “Majesty,” he nodded to Myriana who responded with a broad gr
in.

  “I expect you’ll be wanting to speak to the Council.”

  “Council?” Myriana nudged her mount forward a few steps.

  “Things haven’t been too good round here recently, the King no longer rules, the Council now covers those responsibilities.”

  “I think yes, we need to speak to the Council.”

  Garron nodded, pulling the reins of his pony to turn her back toward the city, “Follow me.”

  They were led through the camp, Cal raising an eyebrow at what he saw, but Garron provided no further detail. The guards on the gate they entered saw the dwarf and stood aside as they progressed.

  Eventually he brought them to the palace where they were asked to wait in the courtyard whilst Garron went to inform those inside of their arrival. It didn’t take long for the lithe figure of Collett to come racing out of the main entrance and bound down the steps to sweep Myriana up in a great bearhug.

  “Gods, you’ve no idea how pleased I am to see you again.”

  Chuckling, the young Queen replied, “I think I’ve got an idea.” As she straightened her clothing, Collett moved to the others, starting with Luda and Tamala, before greeting Dorrin and finally Cal.

  “Her Majesty appears to be in one-piece Lieutenant, I guess that means that you’ve succeeded in your main mission.”

  Cal had brought himself to attention as he had been confronted with his Commander, but Collett grabbed him by the shoulders and enveloping him in a bearhug of his owns.

  “Thank you, Sir.” Cal stood back, joining in the laughter. “May I introduce General Jerito of Galorn.” He stood to one side and indicated the General, who stepped forward and held out his hand.

  “I’ve heard a lot of things about you Commander.”

  Collett took the offered hand, “Likewise General.”

  “My companions,” Jerito looked toward the others of the party, “Duke Kormick, who I believe you have met before in Boraan.”

  “At one of your niece’s birthday celebrations if I recall correctly, My Lord Duke?”

  “It was a few years ago, but I believe you are correct.” The two clasped hands as Collett looked questioningly at the last ‘noble’ of the party.

  “Master Merchant Guilmor Periman, Commander.” Periman stepped forward a shook his outstretched hand.

  A polite cough from behind drew their attention and Collett turned to see others had arrived to greet the newcomers.

  “Your Majesty, Lords and Ladies, General and Cal, may I introduce Earl Qar’a and the Lady Kerin. Both members of the new ruling council here in Ketla.”

  Greetings were exchanged, before Kerin spoke to them all, “Perhaps we should adjourn for a short while. I’m sure the Ladies would like to freshen up before we start on any heavy discussion, and Harlin is currently out with a patrol and won’t be back for a few hours.

  Get some rest and refresh yourselves, I’ll have someone show you to the rooms you can use, and I’ll send for you when Harlin returns.”

  They were shown to rooms in the guest wing of the palace. As they moved through the corridors, they passed the Royal Wing, where Cal noticed a higher concentration of guards than he would have expected. A sideways glance showed that Jerito and Kormick had both noticed as well, but a short shake of the head from the General dissuaded Cal from asking anything of it.

  He was given a room to himself, and after a placing his sword and bow safely in the corner, decided he might as well take a nap before they got together again.

  It felt as if he’d only just closed his eyes when a tap at the door woke him. One of the palace servants looked entered, “You’re asked to come with me, Sir.”

  “Of course,” Cal swung his feet down from the bed and stretched, before pulling his boots on and standing to follow the young man.

  Stepping into the corridor he saw Tamala and Myriana just exiting the room they had been given to share, Tamala acting as the Queen’s Lady in Waiting. As soon as she saw him, she left the Queen’s side and moved to his, her hand quickly slipping into his.

  “Oh Gods, I’m going to be sick!”

  “That’s not very Royal, Your Majesty.” Tamala pulled a face at her as she spoke.

  Collett, who had just stepped into the corridor, saw the exchange and started to chuckle.

  “You’ve not seen each other for a while, so I’ll look the other way today, but tomorrow I want you back to being an officer and a gentleman, Cal.” Cal started to blush.

  “He’s the perfect gentleman,” responded the redhead, “that’s part of the problem I hope to rectify tonight.” Cal managed to blush even more furiously as the others laughed at him.

  When the Galorns, Luda and Dorrin joined them, they followed a servant who directed them to the hall that the Council was using until matters could be resolved.

  A long table greeted them, with refreshments and drink placed on its top, whilst enough chairs for all of them were arrayed about the top end of the table.

  Cal glanced around the room itself, taking in the fact that it appeared to have several gaps amongst the banners hanging from the walls. Large windows along one side of the wall allowed the light from the sinking sun outside to filter in providing enough light for the moment, though he also saw that it wouldn’t be long before the torches in their brackets would need to be lit.

  Sat already were the two M’ur he had been introduced to earlier, Qar’a and Kerin, and, he was glad to see, Harlin and Vorston sitting beside Collett.

  Qar’a appeared to be taking the lead and motioned for them all to take seats. Those sat stood briefly as Myriana took hers, before settling again. The Earl spoke.

  “I think it would be best if we take turns revealing whatever news we have regarding the current situation, before we then turn to what we can do about it and how we want to progress.”

  “Makes sense,” Collett agreed.

  “Since we all made our way here because of rumour and tales we heard regarding M’ur, perhaps you would care to start, My Lord.” Periman’s request was greeted with agreement from around the table, and an answering nod from Qar’a.

  “I’m not sure exactly what you’ve all heard, but as you all felt the need to come here as quickly as possible, I’m guessing it wasn’t good news.” The faces about him gave all the answer he needed.

  Several weeks ago, the Shaler and J’dar launched an attack into northern M’ur. There were Mythraan interspersed amongst them, and the goal of the attack appeared to be to capture as many as possible, rather than conquest.

  We don’t know where they took those they caught, but they were transported by some form of magic and haven’t been seen since.

  Those few of us that escaped, myself included, headed for Ketla to seek refuge. When we reached the city wall’s we discovered that the King had ordered all gates shut, and no assistance was forthcoming.”

  Myriana’s hand moved to cover her mouth in shock. She had heard the rumours in Galorn, but could not conceive how the King could abandon his people like that.

  “What of the military?” Dorrin had placed a hand on his cousin’s arm in a gesture of reassurance, though he felt just as she did.

  “They were following the orders of the Kings and senior officers.

  We believe they were following the instruction of Torbrek Nagril; I believe you already know of his treachery?”

  “Yes,” Myriana now clenched her fists, “we know of that traitor.”

  “That explains where he went after Bor’a.” Dorrin looked toward Collett, “but doesn’t tell us where he’s gone now.”

  “Harlin, had your dwarves seen any sign of the J’dar moving through the mountains?” Tamala leant forward as she asked the question.

  “No, now that you mention it, we didn’t.”

  “Then they must have used the portals to transport the raiding force into M’ur as well as taking the prisoners out.” She looked troubled by this.

  “After the initial assault, the Shaler and J’dar disappeared with their pri
soners and haven’t been seen since.

  I made my way here and discovered what the King was doing. With no other option, I started north again in the hope of finding aid. Seems I got lucky as I bumped into one of Harlin’s patrols and was able to lead them back here.

  Once we got back, we found Lady Kerin trying her best to organise those outside the wall and managed to gain access via officers still loyal to the people rather than blindly obedient to the crown.

  To cut a long story short, we gained the palace and captured the King, but we still haven’t made a final decision as to what we’re going to do with him.

  That he can’t continue to rule is obvious, but aside from that.” Qar’a went silent for a moment, remembering how close he had come to executing the King upon the dais in front of the palace that night.

  “I don’t know what lies in store for M’ur, given the events of the last couple of months, but its obvious that our fate is tied with each of yours. Whatever we decide here, M’ur will do its best to help as it can.”

  Myriana was the one to reply, “My Lord Earl, given the strength and resilience we see demonstrated by your people outside the walls of this city, I for one am grateful for your declaration of assistance.

  If Bor’a can do anything to help you out in turn, you have but to ask.”

  “My thanks, Your Majesty.”

  Collett signalled that he wished to speak next, “I believe I may be able to clear some of the uncertainty of what we have witnessed.”

  Qar’a nodded for him to continue, “As many of you know, Bor’a was also attacked by the same forces, though from what we’ve been able to discover since it all appears to have been a distraction to what they were doing here.

  All that we have seen appears to be lending itself to confusion. Our own forces were misdirected, again under the direction of Nagril. He seems to be the key player for the enemy in the west of the Kingdoms.

  Our King was drawn into a trap outside Holdur, where he was killed, leaving his daughter the throne.” He gestured toward Myriana, “A daughter that had been kidnapped already, and if not for the actions of some fine and brave individuals,” this time his gaze fell on Cal, who shifted uncomfortably, “she would currently be residing in a cell in Mythra, or worse.