The Black Sword Trilogy: The Poacher (5 page)

“I’m the King of this land,” He said.  “You will, at least bow.”

The guards squeezed his arms tighter, but then he wrestled away in a single motion.  He then gave a slight bow to the King but still stared at him directly in the eyes.  The King then began to walk around Kenner.

             
“You fought well.” He said.  “He may not be the wisest of princes, but he has the reputation of being one of the finest swordsmen in my kingdom.”

“If you say so,” Kenner interjected.

“Speak only when spoken to,” one of the guards said, poking Kenner in the back.

“Where are you from?” The King asked him.  Kenner did not answer immediately.  The King sighed.

“You have every right to be angry, young man.  But you are still a convicted criminal standing before the King of Walechia.  Unless you wish to join your friends within the next twenty seconds, you will answer when spoken to.”

“They were more than friends!” Kenner said, barely containing his emotions.  “They were family.”

The King nodded.

“Brothers?”

“Cousins.”

The King then gave an angry glare at Captain Krall who lowered his eyes.

             
“I am sorry for your cousins.” The King said much softer than before.  “They will be buried with honor outside the city walls.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Kenner started.  “But if it’s all the same, I would prefer to take them home.”

The King then turned from Captain Krall to face Kenner.

“And where is home?”

“In the hills,” Kenner answered.

“Ah, the hills,” The King followed.  “Must be one of those secret villages full of people banished from this land for one reason or another.”

“Something like that.”

“And now, here you are standing before a King who may have sat in judgment over one of both of your parents.” The King said with a slight smile.  “No wonder you’re so defiant in my presence.”

             
The King then turned and climbed the steps to sit in his throne.

“Under normal circumstances,” he said grandly.  “I would be more than happy to grant your request.  Unfortunately for you, you have demonstrated skills that I currently need.”

“What do you mean?”

              “These are troubled times.  I need men; brave men with the skills of soldiers.  Your swordsmanship is superb and as a poacher, I’m guessing you’re fine archer as well.  Is he Captain Krall?”

“I’ve rarely seen better,” Krall answered.

“Excellent.  Then you’re exactly what I need?”

              Kenner almost found himself laughing.  This couldn’t be really happening, he thought.

“Are you asking me to serve you as a soldier?” He said in disbelief.

“I’m not asking you anything.” The King relied.  “You’re still a convicted criminal and here are your choices.  If you serve in my army; although you may not always have a bed to sleep on, you will be fed every day and you will be paid every month.  Serve for five years and you will be given the choice of reenlisting, probably as a sergeant.  If you don’t gamble or drink your pay away, you may even save enough to buy yourself a commission like Captain Krall did.  Serve long enough and you will have the opportunity to retire and live in comfort for the rest of your life.  Believe me, this is a far better opportunity than awaits you should you refuse.”

              “That would be death, wouldn’t it?” Kenner asked, still almost laughing at the irony of the situation before him.

“Yes, it would.”

Kenner allowed himself a slight chuckle at the thought.

“You want me to serve you?”

“No.” The King said flatly.  “I do not ask you to serve me or my crown; which you obviously have some disdain for.  But there are thirty million people in my kingdom, in the cities, in the fields and because your hills fall inside my borders, my armies protect them too.  It is them that I ask you to serve.  For some reason that I’m not sure of, I have no argument for your hatred for me and I certainly understand your hatred for my son.  But my people, yes even those in the secret villages I will call mine deserve to be defended by strong, brave and skilled men as yourself.”

              Kenner thought carefully about the offer before him.  Never in his wildest dreams or nightmares did he ever think he would be asked to serve in Walechia’s armies.  Even more, he never thought he would be strongly considering it.

“Don’t think too long, young man.  I’m not as patient as I once was.”

Kenner thought some more.  What struck him most was the King’s remark about considering the people in the hills his people as well.  And once more, he found his opinion of this King softening.  His father had told him that he was vain, unjust, a liar and a murderer.  Perhaps, this wasn’t the same King, Kenner thought for a moment.
“Well?” The King insisted.

Kenner thought a moment more.

“Five years?”

“Yes.  After that, you will be free to choose.  Should you choose not to serve any longer, you have my word, you will be free.”

             
Kenner first reacted to the words “You have my word…” with distrust.  But there was strength in the voice that gave Kenner confidence.  There was something in there that Kenner could trust.

“Very well,” Kenner finally answered.  “I will serve for five years.”

“Excellent choice,” The King told him.  He then strode down the stairs and towards the doors behind the throne. 

“You will be assigned to Captain Krall,” he continued.  “You will follow all his orders as if they were the will of the Spirits and without question.  And one more thing,” he added before disappearing through the doors.  “If you ever even mention the events of earlier today with my son; you will never be seen or heard from again.  Do you understand?”

Kenner was almost relieved to hear this.  Here was a taste of the injustice he had expected and less reason to betray his father by liking this King.

“I understand.” Kenner finally answered.  After that, the King disappeared from his throne room.

Chapter Six

             
That night, Kenner was given a meal and a room in which to sleep.  Before he fell asleep, he wept for his two cousins.  He had known them since childhood and having no brothers of his own, they were the closest he had to such.

              He had uneasy dreams that night.  He saw a place he had never seen before; a small wooden fort with soldiers from Walechia.  He saw the soldiers fighting creatures that appeared to be both man and beast; killing and dying at the same time.  He heard them screaming and crying; their weapons swinging and slashing.  And he saw himself fighting among them.  Then he saw flames engulf the fort, the ground and the soldiers fighting.  And in the middle of all of this, he saw a figure in armor that looked like a skeleton with a helmet that looked like a skull.  In his hand, he wielded a silver axe.

              He awoke with a start and, at first did not know where he was. He quickly remembered where he was and his fear subsided.  Looking around in the darkness, he saw a silhouette standing in the corner.

“Is that you shadow?” He asked the figure.  Then he heard a sound, almost like a voice.  It was little more than a whisper and it startled him.  His shadow had never spoken before.

             
Suddenly the door burst open and he saw the shape of a large man with the light of torches behind him.

“On your feet soldier!” The figure commanded. 

Kenner arose as quickly as he could.  Then the unknown soldier grabbed him by the collar and tossed him out of the room.

“Hey!” Kenner tried to speak.

“My name is not ‘Hey’!  And from now on you will refer to me as ‘Sergeant’!  Is that clearly understood?”

“Can I at least…”

“Is that clearly understood?!” The Sergeant yelled in his face.

“Yes, Sergeant.” Kenner answered.

“I SAID IS THAT CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD!!” The Sergeant screamed.

“Yes, Sergeant!” Kenner yelled back.

             
The Sergeant led him out of the palace and on to the streets of Kallesh.  He moved so fast that Kenner could barely keep up.  He was well over six feet tall with broad shoulders and a thick neck under his helmet.  He was lean and muscular and his voice was harsh and sharp.  They passed through the busy streets of the city past markets and apartment buildings filled with people staring at the two of them.  After more than an hour, they reached a pair of wooden gates, again with the image of the Great Tower upon them.

“Open the gates!” The Sergeant called out and the gates quickly opened.  Inside was similar to what Kenner had seen in his dream.  However, it was much larger.  The courtyard within was larger and there was a long building with open, arched doors with soldiers coming in and out of.  Kenner saw the heads of horses; hundreds of them poking out of their stables.  This was almost like a city unto itself with hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people moving about.  Most of them were soldiers of various ranks; but all wearing the same style of armor.  He saw them practicing sword play.  There was an archery range near one of the far stone walls and he saw many in formations marching around the large courtyard.

             
In one space in the courtyard stood about a dozen men, not in uniform sitting around a campfire and eating.

“On your feet you maggots!” The Sergeant hollered.  They all quickly stood up.

“Get in line, all of you!  A straight line you worms!”

They all obeyed and stood to attention.

             
Most of them, Kenner noticed looked scared.  Their faces were pale with fear and their eyes full of fright.  Some of them were even shaking.  The Sergeant then turned to Kenner and pointed at the line.

“You!  Get in line with the rest of them!”

Kenner started to walk towards the line, but then felt the Sergeants boot kick him in the rear and causing him to fall to the ground.

“When I tell you to move somewhere, I mean move like you’ve got a purpose!”

             
Kenner was infuriated.  He stood up as if to fight and then the Sergeant pushed him down again.

“You want some of this maggot?” The Sergeant grunted.

“That’s enough!” A familiar voice called.

Kenner looked to the voice and saw the familiar figure of Captain Krall.

“Get in line soldier.” The Captain ordered Kenner.

              The Sergeant snapped to attention and saluted Captain Krall.

“So these are my new recruits?” Krall asked the Sergeant.  He said it loud enough for the group to hear.

“Unfortunately yes, sir!”

Captain Krall walked up and down the line of men, briefly inspecting each one.  He stopped at Kenner and nodded at him.

“Not much are they?” Krall said.

“Give me a few weeks with them, sir and I’ll turn them into soldiers.” The sergeant answered.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a few weeks.  These men are needed immediately at the North Wall.”

              “Ordinarily,” Krall continued, “you would spend the next four weeks here in these barracks learning how to be soldiers.  However, one of the stations at the wall is in immediate need of replacements and the Army has none to give of seasoned, veteran soldiers; not for a dead end like the North Wall anyway.  Therefore, you will be sent to this horrible place instead.”

              “You all have one thing in common.  You have been convicted of petty crimes and given the choice of serving in the Army or being punished in some painful and humiliating way.  Fortunately, for you, you have chosen to serve.  This means if you do die out there on the Wall, you will die with, at least some honor.”

Captain Krall then turned to the Sergeant.

“Take these poor souls, get them equipped and then get them ready to go.  We leave in one hour.”

              Kenner and the rest of the recruits were then marched into a small building with soldiers drilling outside of it.  Once inside, they were greeted by a short and fat soldier who was bald and had a grey beard.

“More dead meat?” He asked the Sergeant.

He examined the first recruit in line for a few seconds, and then placed a breastplate over the new soldier’s chest.  Several other men then began placing other parts of armor on the soldier’s arms and legs.