Take the body and give me the rest (22 page)

‘Well, once
we’ve taken these people up to Black Rock Keep, we have no real
plans. We’ll come back, have an ale and discuss it with you,’ said
Seth.

‘All I could
hope for. You’ll find me in the tavern The Happy Merchant most
days. Just ask for it and you’ll find it. It’s a delightful yellow
colour.’

The next day,
the men stayed close by Elizebetha’s wagon. Flint had to take over
driving it as the man supplied by Rosen was only hired on until the
city itself. When the road turned in towards Pellotina, they kept
going straight along to the Keep, the only people to do so. Seth
noticed the men kept looking back at the caravan, and he noticed he
could see people waving to them as they disappeared from view.

The sun was now
really hot and high in the sky. During their almost month long
caravan ride, it had progressively gotten hotter and hotter.
Northmen were never really ones for a lot of armour, but riding in
leather armour in this heat was starting to get torturous. The
crops and fields along the side of road had long disappeared and
were now replaced with fields of short stubby trees, tough-looking
grass and large sandy boulders.

Elizebetha had
taken down the cover from her wagon and sat in the back with her
ever present attendant, She addressed Seth for literally the first
time in two weeks, other than ‘can you pass this or that’ at the
fireplace.

‘Black Rock
Keep is only two days ride from here. My younger brother has been
holding the seat for me. When we get there, he’ll receive me and
I’ll be able to discharge your services,’ she said.

‘Of course,
Duchess,’ Seth replied formally. He was getting so very sick of all
this coldness and formality. Long gone were the days of ‘call me
Elizebetha.’ ‘If I can ask, why all the secrecy? Why do you even
need us to escort you?’

‘My brother is
a good and honourable man, and when I ask him to step back down and
I’m there in person, he will. But he has a lot of friends in the
Guild, and if they knew I was coming back, they would have tried to
stop me.’

Seth was
appalled. ‘He’s in the Dark Guild? Your own brother!’ he said.

‘He’s not; he
just knows people who are. It’s like different sides to the same
coin in my family. Some use this knowledge for good and some for
gain. He’s a good man, though, or I would never have let him take
my seat all those years ago. It will be fine. I’ll make my claim in
public, he’ll step down.’

‘And what if he
doesn’t? Seraphina said that he wouldn’t. She probably knows him
better than you,’ Seth said.

‘He’s my
brother, Seth; he’ll do the right thing. And if not, I still have
you.’

‘Oh, right, now
you need me. Me and my four men against a standing force of how
many hundred?’

Chapter 24

After two days
of riding their horses at a quick pace as The Duchesses wagon would
allow, camping out under strange stars, they soon came upon the
walls of the Black Rock Keep, looming in the distance. The land
around them had started to grow oppressive. It was stiflingly hot.
The sun climbed high in the sky early and loved to try and burn the
white skin of Seth and his men. The stubby trees in the fields were
farther apart now, and the sandy jagged boulders and tuffs of dark
grass more common.

The wagon had
stopped while the Duchess had changed into some clothes more
fitting her station and more like when Seth had seen her for the
very first time. They had come a long way. He was acting as if he’d
been slighted by a friend, but as he saw her again in these
clothes, he realised the vast gulf between them. In her world, he
was nothing at all, just a man with a sword at the head of four
more just like him. She was not only a noble but a Duchess; she had
peasants for god’s sake.

The steady beat
of the horses’ hooves brought them closer and closer to the Keep.
It was a truly impressive sight. It was very much like a Northern
castle but cut directly into a vast mountain of black stone. There
was a natural crack through the mountain called the black pass that
the castle straddled and guarded. On the other side of the mountain
was the Great Southern Desert, which was said to stretch on
forever. Seth had travelled a long way on this side of the pass,
but he knew the desert was vaster than that.

The hard packed
dirt road continued now as hard packed sand and as they neared the
Keep gates, to cobbled black stones of the mountain. At the top of
the turrets, Seth could see men in black livery with golden
embroidery that looked familiar, even the flags were black with the
golden crest of an eagle.

With a loud
crack, the gate lowered from its stone housing and slowly lowered
on large chains to the roadway. Seth marched them to the very start
of the bridge but didn’t move to cross it. Four horsemen with large
black pikes standing up in guard position rode loudly across the
moat bridge and addressed Seth.

Seth had donned
full armour, as had his men, and he bristled with weapons. Opting
for the broadsword hanging at his side, bow across his back and
more than one dagger. He might not look regal, but he looked
professional and dangerous.

An older man
with a trimmed black beard at the head of the group called to him,
‘State your business.’

‘The Duchess of
Black Rock returning,’ he announced loudly. His words sent a buzz
through the men, and he’d shouted them loud enough for the rest of
the people on the wall to hear as well. Without another word, the
wagon that pulled Elizebetha and now driven by her female Attendant
drove forward passed the guards, with Seth and his men trailing
through the gates behind them at a slow trot. No one made a move to
stop them, and Seth could already see word of their arrival was
spreading like a fire through the place. She certainly looked the
part.

Inside of the
gate was essentially a small hamlet or town. The gate itself was
just one solid wall. The main Keep itself was set very far back and
in between was the township of Black Rock. It seemed to Seth just a
collection of small houses, some taverns and a small trading
market. It seemed to hold just a few thousand or so people, throngs
of whom quickly appeared to watch The Duchess in the wagon.

She spoke to
different people as her wagon rolled past, as if knowing them, and
was speaking in a language Seth had never heard. It was Pellosi but
with lots of different desert words and strange twangs in it. That
more than anything else seemed to be convincing people she was the
truth. Seth overheard someone say, ‘Why is she so old compared to
Lord Renton?’

She walked
through the crowd of people who made way for her and stepped warily
out of the way of Seth and his troop, who all stood at least a head
taller than most of the crowd. When they were close to approaching
the Keep itself, the two vast oak doors swung outward and two
trumpeters appeared and began to play. A young man of around
Seraphina’s age walked smartly out of the doors, striding towards
them. He was dressed regally in rich black silk with golden
embroidery. On his head sat a silver circlet for a duke, which was
an insult given he was a caretaker only and at his side casually
swung a rapier with an elaborate net of gold and jewels.

He reached
Elizebetha and, in the view of the assembled crowd, bowed deeply
and smoothly before her. He then straightened himself, took her
hand, kissed and spoke to her. ‘Well met, sister. What a very
pleasant surprise. Back again after almost ten years away.’ he
looked her up and down and said gravely, ‘I do worry, though; you
seem much aged by the road and travel. We’ll have to prepare you
some restorative foods and drinks.’

Seth knew from
Elizebetha that she was actually ninety years old and her younger
brother was seventy. They both looked good for their age, him
especially, he looked only a few years older than Seth.

‘And you, my
brother, seem even younger and more charming than when I left,’ she
said.

Seth could see
that around them the Keep guards had started to gather. A lot of
them were whispering and pointing to the Duchess, clearly they
remembered her fondly and truly. Without a word, Lord Renton took
the silver circlet from his head and passed it to his sister.
‘Thank you for letting me hold your seat while you were away.’

She took the
circlet in her hands and spoke to the assembled people. ‘Thank you
to my brother the noble Lord Renton for his great caretaker ship,’
she said.

The people
clapped with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm, Seth thought.

Elizebetha
slowly placed the circlet on her own head, and then the clapping
and cheering started in earnest. Seth could see the young-yet-old
lord hold his face perfectly still, but felt the rage coming off
the man in waves. The Batling would have seen him as a burning
furnace of rage and ill will.

Lord Renton
spoke. ‘Only doing my proud duty, sister. Now tell me, who are your
very interesting-looking friends here? Did you hire some brigands
to bring you home?’ He laughed at this own jest. ‘No, please do
introduce me,’ he said again.

She spoke with
a pride Seth wouldn’t have imagined in her voice. ‘This young man
is Master Seth, who has been with me keeping me safe since Cravoss.
These fine men are part of his troop, as he says; Goldie, Grimm,
Flint and Stone.’ They all nodded to him briefly.

‘What colourful
names all you Northmen have. Well met, Master Seth.’ He shook hands
with Seth, and Seth was surprised to feel the solid and aggressive
strength of him. It was a mistake to view him as the spoilt boy he
appeared to be.

‘Just doing my
proud duty,’ said Seth.

‘Well said,
Master Seth. Now the question, of course, is what she promised
you?’ he said.

Seth flinched
at that, knowing they’d never really discussed anything at all.

‘We’ll discuss
this over dinner and in private,’ said the Duchess. Seth could tell
she had worn the circlet and reined before, as she had the easy way
of someone who expected others to do what she said. She walked into
the Keep with her lady following. Lord Renton spoke to one of the
guards who had met them at the door. ‘Show our guests to the
guards’ barracks, if you’d be so kind.’

‘The Duchess
might prefer them in the guest suites,’ the man said back.

The lord
reached out and slapped him hard across the face. ‘Do as I tell you
and do it now!’

As Seth and the
troop followed the man with a stinging red face away from the Keep
and down towards the barracks, Grimm began to whistle a Northern
tune, “The Cold Return.”

Seth and his
men all whistled in time with him. It was the tale of a returned
fighter whose family and wife couldn’t look at him anymore after
all he’d done.

The barracks of
the Keep were better than most that Seth was used to, and while the
Lord Renton had meant the gesture as an insult, he’d misjudged the
Northerners, and he’d also misjudged his own guardsmen. The major
area was lined with tables and seats, and the majority of the
guards were sitting and eating their evening meal. The rich smell
of roasted meat rose to their noses and made even Seth’s mouth
water. He could see a large piece of meat roasting slowly over a
large spit. Good food for barracks.

The man who had
led them in turned to Seth and shook his hand. He was the one at
the gate, a stern-looking man with a trimmed black beard of about
fifty years. He turned and shouted out above the men eating and
talking. Around fifty heads of the guardsmen turned as he
spoke.

‘These men here
have brought our beloved Duchess Elizebetha home safe and sound,’
he said, and there was a burst of clapping and cheering. ‘Our good
Lord Renton, in one of his final acts of command, has sent them
down with us as a kind of punishment, but we’ll show them a good
time, right?’ Again the men clapped.

Seth stepped up
and spoke to the men in a relaxed way he’d always had with other
fighting men, even if these were a little softer than what he was
used to. ‘Thanks for that, boys. Thanks for the welcome. My name is
Seth. These are Goldie, Grimm, Flint and Stone. We’ll be glad to
eat, drink and talk some shit with you all.’ They all laughed at
that, and soon the men found themselves a table amongst the men,
with plates of good roast meat and veggies handed to them.

Seth was glad
to see these men firsthand. From the look of them, he could see
that most of them would be firmly on the side of Elizebetha should
something happen. Some of the men looked at them with suspicion and
hate. He thought these may have been some of Lord Renton’s
favourites, worried about the new reign.

Goldie was
sitting next to him and whispered in his ear while shovelling food
into his mouth. ‘So is Grimm right? Are we getting the cold return,
Boss?’

Seth spoke
back. ‘We’ll be healthy enough, but if I had any thoughts on a rich
reward or something more, I think I can just forget about
that.’

‘That’s what
these people are like: when they need killing done, they love you.
When the war’s over, they can’t live with all the wicked things
they made you do.’

‘Those are some
true words. I know one thing though, Goldie,’ Seth said.

‘What’s
that?’

‘Rosen will be
getting some guards on his way back home,’ he said.

‘I’ll gladly
take his money. At least he’s one who pays the butcher’s bill.’

A few mugs of
ale and two plates of food later, the guard from the gate, whose
nick name turned out to be Griffin, led Seth and his men back to
the Keep. The majority of the guards gave them a bit of a clap as
they left the room. If Renton had thought they’d make enemies in
here, he was very wrong.

They were led
up the stone steps of the main entrance, through the large double
doors with a herald trumpeting and into the main dining hall. They
could see a small gathering of what Seth assumed was the best among
the people of Black Rock Keep. Sitting in a few tables in front
were well-dressed men and women who were probably family, and
different traders and merchants filled the other tables. On the
main dais was The Duchesses table, with Lord Renton at her side.
Seth and his men strode into the room, their leather boots clicking
loudly on the stone floor. Elizebetha was helped from her seat and
went to stand at the front of the table.