The Black Sword Trilogy: The Poacher (9 page)

“If I survive the battle that’s coming,” Krall answered.  “You can have me drawn and quartered if you like!”

              As Captain Krall and his escorts crossed back across the bridge, he turned and spoke to the two riders bringing up the rear.

“Burn the bridge!” He commanded.

Farrday’s Peace

             
The time following the Dark Times and the Great War had become known as “Farraday’s Peace” after King Farraday and the peace he had brought to all four kingdoms, Walechia, Masallah, The Blackwoods and Sheyron.  Walechia and Masallah were the largest of the kingdoms separated by the Blue Mountains which ran like a spine down the center of the known world.  The Blackwoods were to the west and had become a mystery as it had closed itself off to all but necessary trade.  And then there was Sheyron which, on land was only large city, Korsh.  However, Sheyron ruled the seas and had become rich from trade with all of the other kingdoms.

              Farrday’s Peace lasted for nearly four hundred years as the four kingdoms cooperated with one another to keep such peace intact.  However, eventually the old rivalries and grudges began to resurface and as the peoples of the kingdoms began to look to new lands to settle, conflict became inevitable.

              The first challenge to this peace came with the discovery of gold in the badlands to the north of Walechia.  Considered mostly uninhabitable and rumored to be the home of the beastmen who were left over from the Dark Times, they were sparsely populated.  Curving around the north of Walechia and eventually becoming part of the Blue Mountains, for centuries it was the home of nomads and bandits that occasionally raided the northern towns and villages.  To combat this, King Thellos of Walechia built the Northern Wall; a series of military forts and stockades connected by a stone wall that stretched and curved over one hundred miles and made up the northern border of Walechia.  When gold was found in the rocks and crags of the badlands, prospectors ventured therein, braving the dangers in search of wealth.  For years, they stayed mostly in the unclaimed lands, but eventually, they began to venture deeper into the mountains and into the borders of Masallah.

              Trouble first began when King Crennol of Masallah had his armies begin arresting and imprisoning these prospectors.  At first, King Crestor of Walechia paid no heed to these arrests, until the son of a Duke was arrested and his powerful family demanded action.  Crestor appealed directly to Crennol, but like all Masallan Kings, he was stubborn and proud.  Not only would he not release any Walechian prospectors already arrested; he declared that any others caught were to be arrested and executed as spies.  The Dukes and Barons of Walechia demanded action from the King who, not wanting to lose face or prestige with his people assembled an army and placed them on the mountain pass leading to Masallah.  Crennol did the same and war seemed inevitable.  The priests of the temples warned both Kings to make peace, but both feared losing their power by appearing weak.  Then one night, a winter storm the likes of which had never been seen descended on the camps of both armies killing hundreds on both sides.   Both Kings saw the storm as a sign and removed the armies from the mountain pass.  A peace treaty was signed that, not only would the Walechian prospectors be released, a deal was struck that prospectors of either nation would have to pay a tax on the gold found to the nation of the side of the mountains were found.  The peace was maintained, but grudges remained.

Chapter Eleven

             
Broddick looked down at the degenerate bitch; the whore; the blasphemer.  He thought to himself that what he was about to do to her was, not only justified, but necessary as well.  She needed to be taught a lesson for her unnatural ways.  She needed to be punished.  The only light in the barracks was the dim light coming from the fire outside.  Everyone else in the barracks was asleep and no one would know what happened.  He’d make sure she didn’t make a sound and her dead body could never tell who took her life.  He slowly drew his knife from under his tunic; but then suddenly, he felt a sharp blade on his neck.

“Something on your mind big fellow?” Whispered the voice of her friend; the one they called Kenner.

“This is no concern of yours, hill boy.” He hissed.

“Let’s just say I’m an interested party,” Kenner whispered back at him.  “And if you call me ‘boy’ one more time, they’re going to have to take us both to a doctor to get my foot out of your ass.”

             
Kenner guided Broddick’s body around, removed the short sword from his neck then pushed him back in the direction of his bunk.

“I won’t forget this,” Broddick whispered.

“I certainly hope not.” Kenner answered.  He then turned and looked down at Terri, who didn’t look as if she’d been awakened.

“I could have taken care of that myself, you know.” She said; her back still turned to him.

“But then, I wouldn’t have had the chance to use my favorite threat.” Kenner answered her.

“It was rather clever.” She said.

             
Kenner had barely gotten back to sleep when Sergeant Holly entered the barracks yelling.  “Alright, you lazy animals!  On your feet!  It’s time to get back to work!”

Kenner then quickly washed himself as best as he could then threw his clothes back on.  Afterwards, Terri came up behind and slapped him on the back.

“Come on, hill boy.  I’ve got a friend I want you to meet.”

              They found the cook stirring something that looked like oatmeal in a large bucket.

“Got that gunk ready for me?” Terri asked brightly.

“It’s right here, butch.” The cook grunted.  “Hope the old girl chokes on it.”

“Is there another girl in this company?” Kenner asked.

“Something like that,” Terri answered with the same grin Kenner had become accustomed to.  She picked up the bucket and carried it with her, leading Kenner behind her.

“No one should be as happy as you before sunrise.” Kenner moaned.

“I’m just glad to see another sunrise.”

              They walked along the length of the stables.  Several soldiers were feeding the few horses sticking their heads out and the smell of horse manure was thick in the moist air.  The morning fog was still glistening in the dim, predawn light.  Eventually, they reached a gate at the end of the stables.

“Can you open that for me?” Terri asked.

Kenner untied the gate and swung the large door open when he saw two large, yellow eyes staring at him.  The head and body of, what looked like a huge black cat lunged forward and then the creature roared.  Kenner nearly soiled himself as he stumbled backward and fell.

“What the hell is that?” he yelped.

“That,” Terri said grinning even wider, “is Shela.”

              The head of the large animal was nearly the same size as Terri and she appeared to be, at least ten feet long.

“Is that a battle cat?” Kenner panted.

“Sure is,” Terri answered.  “She’s the last of her kind, as far as I know.”

The massive cat put her head over Terri’s shoulder and began to purr so loud, Kenner could almost feel it on his body.  Terri put her arms around Shela’s neck and rubbed her fur.

“That’s a sweet girl,” Terri cooed.

Kenner slowly stood up.

“Where did you get her?” He asked.

“She came with our last Captain.  I’ve had a mind to let her go, but Sergeant Holly wouldn’t allow it.  She’s Army property, he says.”

The cat moved her head off of Terri’s shoulders and began to eat the food that had been brought for her.

“Don’t be afraid,” Terri encouraged Kenner.  “She won’t bite.  Even if she does, it won’t hurt as she could bite your head clean off without you feeling a thing.”

“That’s comforting.”

“Come on, don’t be such a ‘nelly’.” Terri told him.

             
Kenner looked at the enormous cat and then found himself making eye contact with her.  A strange feeling came over him as he felt a kind of connection with the animal.  Somehow he felt as he were part of her for a second; and she a part of him.  The cat then stepped forward and pushed her head against Kenner’s body, nearly knocking him down.

“Aw!” Terri sang.  “You got a head
boop.”

The cat pushed against him again.

“She likes you.”

He slowly rubbed her neck and then rested his head against her.

“That is disgustingly cute.” Terri added.

              As the two of them cleaned out her stall, Kenner noticed the rope tied to one of her back paws.

“When was the last time she got any exercise?” Kenner asked.

“I try to walk her around the courtyard in the evenings, sometimes.  It breaks my heart to have to tie her back up.”

“I think I can understand.” Kenner added sadly.

             
“Is that a battle cat?” Captain Krall asked Sergeant Holly.  He was looking over the courtyard from the window of his quarters.

“Yes sir.  It used to belong to our former Captain.” Holly replied.

“I haven’t seen one of those since the last Causton War.  I thought they were extinct.”

“So, supposedly were Wolfen, sir.”

             
Krall was exhausted.  He’d been up all night studying maps and trying to figure out when the Wolfen would attack.

“I don’t understand.” He told Sergeant Holly.  “They could attack at any moment and wipe us out.  What the hell are they waiting for?”

“Perhaps they’re not yet at full strength.”

Krall had to admit to himself that was a good possibility.

“How many of them were they when they first showed up?”

“I believe about five hundred at first,” Holly answered.  “They get reinforcements every night.  No matter how many our archers kill during the day; there’s more every morning.”

             
Captain Krall considered Sergeant Holly’s comment about their full strength not being gathered and it made sense.  He looked at the map again and it chilled him.  If the creatures got on the other side of the wall, they could sweep across the plain, destroying villages and burning crops all the way to Mobrey; perhaps even Kallesh itself.  At the same time, they could kill hundreds of thousands.

“Holly,” He said, still staring at the map.  “Send a rider to Post One.  Tell them I have to have reinforcements.”

“We’ll need more soldiers than Post One has.” Holly added.

“We may not be able to stop them, but we can surely slow them down.”

Then the howling began again.

              “That’s our cue,” Terri said.

Kenner saw the experienced soldiers seeking shelter under every cover they could get to and as quickly as they could.  Barely keeping up with Terri, he followed her back into the barracks.  The two of them grabbed their bows, arrows and he followed her back up to the platform.  Almost the instant they got there, a shower of arrows came flying over the wall.  As Kenner looked, he saw several men collect the arrows off of the ground as fast as they could.

“They send them over,” Terri said.  “And we send them back.”

Throughout the day, Terri and Kenner continued their game of shooting the beasts.

             
Just after midday, Kenner and Terri took a break by sitting with their backs against the wooden ramparts.

“This coffee’s actually not half bad.” He told her.

“Rosta may be an ill-tempered bag of scars, but he’s a damn good cook.” She said.

After their break, Kenner peeked through his shooting position to look for targets.  He saw several men moving behind the Wolfen and could almost hear them shouting orders.

“Are those the officers?” He asked Terri.

“As far as we can tell, yes.” She answered.  “Every now and then, they stray into shooting range and I’ve bagged a couple of them myself.”

Still looking out at the enemy encampment, Kenner saw a sight that made his bones shake.  A huge man stepped out of a tent.  He was just like the man he’d seen in his dream, wearing armor that looked like a skeleton and a helmet that looked like a skull.  Watching him as if still in his dream, he saw the man drift close enough to where Kenner thought he could hit him.  He aimed an arrow and shot.  The arrow hit the man, but only bounced off of his armor.

“Congratulations!” Terri joked.  “You’re now the fifth archer to waste an arrow on him.”