The Halfblood King: Book 1 of the Chronicles of Aertu (25 page)

Holding his bloodied sword to her throat, he said, “Let’s not try that again, little lady, unless you would like to join your friends in the afterlife.  We’ll get more for you alive, but your head is still worth something, if you prove troublesome.”

“Mm-hm,” was all she managed to respond, her throat too tight with fear to speak.

They returned to the scene of the carnage, where the tall one was quickly looting the bodies and wagons, searching for anything of value and assuring there were no survivors.  The smell, like that of a slaughterhouse, wafted over her and she doubled over in the saddle, retching.  “Hurry up with that.  We need to go, now,” her captor shouted to his companion, as he led her to a spot upwind.  She regained her composure enough to see the other remount, with only a few items gleaned from the wreckage.  Obviously, this was no simple act of banditry.  They had come for her.

Leaving the roadway, they made their way down a narrow path through the woods, to a small clearing.  There, another pair of horses awaited, one saddled like unto those of her captors and one pack animal.  There, they forced her to change into the travelling clothes that a middle class merchant might wear.  The shorter one watched as she changed, so she turned away out of modesty and the hope that he would not notice the pendant she wore on a short silver chain.  When she was finished, she turned back to them and he said, “Come, let’s have a look at you.”  She stepped up to him, cautiously and he grabbed her arm and stuck his other hand in the top of her bodice, snatching the silver chain and dragging out the pendant.  “So, what’s this little trinket your attempting to hide from us, My Lady?”

“Just a gift, from my betrothed,” she answered meekly, somewhat surprised at his formal address.

“Aha, the great Aleron, of the Royal Marines.  Some say he’s the best swordsman in the kingdom.  It would be fun to find out if he really is.  Keep it; we’re not here to rob you,” he said, letting the pendant drop.  “Take this and bind up your hair.”  He handed her a piece of cord, as she tucked the jewelry back in her bodice.  After she bound her wavy auburn hair into a loose ponytail, he said, “Now mount up on that horse there.  We have to move, or more of your people will die.”

So it had been, for the past two months, they escorted her north, along paths little travelled, threatening violence if she spoke out of turn to others along the way.  They spent most of the journey crossing Ebareiza and for the last week, the northwest corner of Coptia.  Now, they had no choice but to use the main border crossing into Castia.  The two kingdoms constructed a massive wall along their border, not so much for protection, but to regulate trade between the north and south.  She knew where she was going.  To the northwest of Castia, was Kolixtlan.  She was a hostage, a prisoner of war.

Chapter 27

Corballday, Day 15, Haymaking Moon. 8765 Sudean Calendar

The morning broke bright and clear and the temperature was already rising.  Cape Town is situated on the southern coast of the Great Southeastern Desert and it was a week and a half before the Summer Solstice, nearly the height of summer.  Aleron stood on the foredeck, the ship pulling up anchor and readying for its approach of the docks.  He could tell that it was going to be a hot day.  Last night, they entered the bay, too late to approach the docks, so they moored out in the middle of the harbor, with marker lights blazing.  The crew was disappointed, as that meant one less night on shore, but the bars and brothels of Cape Town are open whenever there are paying customers.

“All hands on deck!”  The order rang out and was rapidly echoed below decks.  No one outside the infirmary was permitted to be asleep during the dawn and dusk shift changes, so sailors and marines soon were boiling out onto the decks, forming up by section.  Captain Jorum began speaking, even before the entire crew was formed.  “Inside the hour, men, we will be docked in Cape Town for two days and two nights shore leave.  You already know that you won’t have the whole two days off.  There will be shifts and everyone will land one.  The roster should have circulated among the leadership last night, so if you don’t know when your shift is, ask your leader.  If anyone asks me directly, you and your whole chain of command will be on shift for the next twelve bells.  Have I made myself clear?”  A chorus of “ayes” filled the air and he continued, “Anyone who decides not to show up for their shift, will be confined to the brig for the remainder of our stay and will be confined to the ship for the next shore leave.  If any of you fools gets thrown in jail while we’re here, you will stay there until they let you go, or we come to get you when we are ready to sail.  If you manage to miss your shift, because you’re in jail, guess what; you stay on the boat for our next stop.  Do you all understand?”  Another chorus of “ayes” as he paused, then, “I know where most of you will be going from here and I have just one thing to say, the same thing I say every time. What is it?”  He was answered with a resounding “Wrap your stick!” before he concluded, “That’s right, men.  You don’t want to be bringing any presents home to your girl from here.  Now, go out and have some fun!”

The formation broke up as leaders released their sections.  Inevitably, several of the men had yet to see the shift roster and proceeded to badger their leaders for information.  Those that landed early or late shifts were happy with their lots, while those that landed shifts in the middle of the leave block, were not so pleased.  Many tried to wheedle their way into a more favorable slot, with the most successful being those offering cash for a swap.  Negotiations were still ongoing throughout the ship, a bell later, when the on-duty crew tossed the tow rope to the tug boat crew that would row them into position at the docks.

***

Later that afternoon, Aleron sat in The Thirsty Lizard, nursing a pint of ale.  Barathol and Geldun had already found women and their empty tankards graced the table before him.  Suddenly, Gram, one of the marines on shift, burst into the tavern.  Red faced and out of breath, he exclaimed, “Al, thank Corball I found you in the first place I looked!  Come quick; the Captain needs to see you right away!”

“What’s going on?  I don’t have shift until tomorrow.”

“It’s nothing to do with your shift, more like trouble at home.  A royal courier came looking for you in particular.  Aren’t you betrothed to the Stewards daughter, or something? ”

“Ellie?  No, it can’t be her!  Maybe her da?  I better go!”  He jumped up from the table and grabbed a silver piece from his pocket and slapped it on the bar.  “That should cover me,” he said to the publicans, before chasing after Gram, out the door and back to the ship.

Arriving at the ship, he ran up the gangplank and straight to the Captain’s quarters.  Gram ran up right behind him and back to his post, for a drink and to catch his breath.  Aleron knocked on the Captain’s door, waited for the response and answered, “It’s Aleron, Sir, reporting as ordered.”

“Enter,” he heard from Captain Jorum, so he opened the door and stepped in.  His eyes widened in recognition when he saw Bruno, the courier he met five years earlier, standing beside the Captain’s desk.  “Sit down, lad,” Jorum ordered.  “Courier Bruno has some news for you and it’s not the best.  Bruno?”

“Aleron, it’s good to see you again, after all these years.  I see you went ahead  with your plan to  become a  marine.   I bear a message  from Steward Gealton.  His daughter, Eilowyn, has disappeared.  He thinks she was kidnapped.”

Aleron was stunned to silence for a moment, then he recovered and asked, “When, how?”

“About ten weeks ago now,” Bruno continued, “She was on her way to the summer house.  Her escort was found butchered in the roadway and her horse was wandering loose, but there was no trace of her.  The Steward believes she is being spirited to Kolixtlan, as a hostage to be used as political leverage.”

“Her bodyguards, Simeon and Hans, how did they get through them?”

“It appeared that they were the first to die, crossbow bolts to the face and then the men at arms were put to the sword, followed by the women.”

“Arien, her lady in waiting too?”  The girl was only fifteen.

“Dead, along with the others,” Bruno replied, shaking his head.

The blood drained from Aleron’s face, but then his color returned, along with a determined clench to his jaw.  “What does the Steward request of me?” he asked rising from the chair.  At that moment, the other two could have sworn that a red glow flickered behind the young man’s silver eyes, but they both figured that it must be from the oil lamp on the Captain’s desk.

Jorum spoke up this time, “This order, signed by the Steward, states that you are to be temporarily released from my command and you are to make your way to Arundell by the fastest means possible.  He must be familiar with your team, because the next part states that any companions you choose shall also be released to accompany you.  It’s all signed, sealed and thoroughly official.”

“I see, Sir,” Aleron responded.

“Now, since the fastest way to the Capital is by sea, you will simply stay on until we reach Arundell and then you will be released.  I assume you will want your pike man and shield man?”

“Yes Sir, I will want to take Barry and Gel, if that’s possible.”

“This order right here says it’s possible.  Now, were going to have to rush our loading and cut this shore leave short, so you might not be the most popular guy on board, if why we’re leaving gets out.”

“Sir, if I may, I would prefer to be released from here.  I believe I can make my way overland quicker.” 

“That’s not possible,” Bruno interjected.  “I came by boat because it only takes seven weeks.  To go overland takes over seventeen and that’s if you swap horses every day along the way.  Even if you cut straight across the desert, it would take longer.  It’s over thirteen hundred leagues, there’s no water and there’s no place to swap out horses.  Seven weeks by sea is the absolute fastest you can go from here.”

“He’s right, lad,” the Captain agreed.  “There is no faster way.”

“Would you say that it’s thirteen hundred leagues, as the crow flies?”

“According to the map, yes,” Bruno answered, “two thousand by road.”

Aleron did a quick calculation and said, “I believe there is a way that I can do it in about four weeks, if I have your leave Sir.  If I am wrong, I will return straight away and rejoin the crew.”

“I don’t understand what you are planning,” Jorum said, “but it can’t hurt to let you check it out.  Just make sure you make it back before we shove off, if it doesn’t work out.  I don’t want to be held responsible for you not making it back as early as possible.”

“You may rest assured, Sir, that if we do not make it back in time to leave with the ship, we will be on our way, by other means.”

“Go then, but first, take this, then go round up your crew.”  He tossed a small sack to Aleron, who upon catching it, realized it was a sack of coin.  “It seems that Steward Gealton assumed you had something up your sleeve and sent cash for the journey.”

“Thank you, Sir, Bruno; I have to go find the lads now.”  He saluted, turned on his heel and bolted out the door.

“He’s a bit of an odd lad, that one,” Jorum commented, “spectacular fighter, but odd.  Where do you know him from?”

Met him and his grandfather on a ferry, a bit over five years back,” Bruno replied.  “Then, he bested me in a friendly pickup bout of sword and dagger.”

“He just turned twenty the other day, I believe.  Wouldn’t that have put him at fifteen?”

“Not quite fifteen, Sir,” the courier corrected him.  “He and his grandpa said he’d been training since he was nine.”

“Did you know his ‘grandpa’ is Lord Marshal Hadaras, of the Sudean Royal Guard, retired twenty five years ago?”

“At the time, Sir, I had no idea.  It wasn’t until afterwards, that the name clicked.  I should be flattered though.  He said I was almost as fast as his grandpa.”

“That’s a compliment indeed,” the Captain agreed.

***

Aleron ran back to the Tavern to retrieve his friends.  Bursting through the front door, he made for the stairs before the proprietor could say anything to slow him down.  “Barry, Gel, we need to go, now!” he shouted down the long hallway upstairs.  He continued to shout for them, causing other patrons to shout obscenities back at him, until he heard a response from Geldun.

“All right, already, what in Zorek’s name do you need?”

Aleron stopped at the door the voice emanated from and opened it without considering the consequences.  The young woman in the room was totally nude and made no effort to cover herself.  “Oh, excuse me Mistress,” he apologized, his eyes lingering a bit too long as she rolled off the bed and sauntered towards her robe, where it hung on the wall, smiling seductively the entire time.

“Damn it Al.  Can’t you knock first?” his friend demanded.  “I was just getting started.”  Geldun had the bedcover pulled across his hips.

“Such a polite man,” the woman exclaimed, “and cute too.  Of course you are excused.”

“We need to go.  I need to get to Arundell as soon as possible and I’ll need your help.”

“What for, what’s going on in Arundell?

“They have Ellie and I need to track her down.”

“What do you mean?  Who’re ‘They’?”

“The Kolixtlanis, at least that’s what the Steward thinks.  Ellie was kidnapped two months ago and they haven’t been able to find her.”

“Corball’s Balls!  All right, say no more, I’ll help.  Just give me a chance to get dressed.  Gotta find my coin purse. ”

“Just get dressed Gel.  We need to find Barry.  Mistress, how much does my friend owe you?”  Aleron began digging into his belt pouch.

“We weren’t long at all Sir, so one silver piece will do.”  He handed her the coin as Geldun finished tying on his pants. 

Soon, his shirt and boots were on and he was ready to go.  “Goodbye Carine, see you when I come back through.

“Sure, if I’m still here, love.  Take care and don’t let your well mannered friend get you into too much trouble.”

After a bit more yelling, searching and banging on a few wrong doors, they located Barathol and much the same sort of thing ensued as with Geldun.  The main difference being that Aleron had to pay off two women and apparently, Barathol got more work done as well, because it cost him three silver.  As they made their way back to the ship, Geldun said, “It occurs to me, that the fastest way back to Arundell is to take the boat that we were going to board tomorrow anyway.”