Reign of Phyre

by Nicholas Cooper

  The loud sounds of metalworking pulled his attention to his left. A number of smiths were lined up beside each other plying their trade. Every last shop displayed their merchandise, and every last one was were the brone shields and spears of the Khasari. He then noticed several Khasari that were patrolling the smiths’ square.

  “The Khasari pay them well, but they make sure that they supply the Khasari and no one else. Any other item forged could only find use in an enemy’s hand,” said Rhen, picking up on Kiern’s curiosity.

  “I see,” said Kiern, keeping the fact that he knew for a fact that the Sons were recipients of many a smuggled weapon from Rulven to himself.

  The largest aggregation of people he saw though were at the market. The area opposite the smiths was bustling with people shouting out to one another, trying to lure customers to their stands. He felt a little disheartened to hear so many foreign, Karzarki words thrown in to an otherwise Euparyen dominated exchange. That meant even if their customers were Euparyen, the invader’s speech and culture had begun to take root. He didn’t let this get him down too much though, for he knew the Sons still enjoyed significant support from the Citadel.

  They kept walking until they were outside an ancient Parasen building made entirely of limestone with sculpted marbled pillars. Reisch stopped and said, “This is the place. Thank you for your assistance Rhen. If you don’t mind, I’ll take over from here. You work for me now.”

  A busy man with parchment who was tailed by three guards walked over towards them. One was dressed in the uniform of the Khasari, and two were dressed in the same brown uniform – distinctly unnoteworthy, save that it was not the Khasari uniform. The man spoke directly to the Commander in Karzarki. “Name?”

  The Commander replied in Euparyen, “Geryan Tullock sir. Got a delivery for – well, had a delivery for Farrel Reiyar under the name of Rhen Tallesen.” He passed the envelope from the guard over to the man.

  The man opened the envelope and quickly glanced over what the Khasari guard had written down. “Ambushed,” he said, switching to Euparyen.

  “Rebels everywhere, makes a merchant think twice about heading this far east again.”

  “Yes, I fully understand your concern. Can’t say it’s been good business for us either. However, the provincial governor has called for reinforcements, so hopefully the situation will settle down soon. Now, says here Rhen Tallesen is in charge.”

  “That would be him sir. Contract is for his father’s business, but Reiyar won’t trust newcomers, so he asked me to keep an eye on things and vouch for him. He’s going to give me hell to pay for having lost his wine, but I’m hoping I can walk away with my head still on my shoulders.”

  “Right, well, I’m sure Reiyar will have some Euphyrian wine that needs to head west. I’m sure you could use the money, since you won’t be receiving much generousity for losing your cargo. The city guard will give you until tomorrow noon to be on your way. I’ll give you until morning to be loaded. Here,” he said once more in Karzarki as he gave the Khasari the note, “take this to Captain Marzen, he should be informed.” The Khasari took the envelope and set off to find his captain.

  “Well in that case, I better go see Farrel now then. Is he in?”

  “Second floor. You’ll need to leave your men here unless they’ve received express permission from Farrel himself. You can call them up once the guards are informed. And it’s nice to see you again, Commander,” he said with the smallest of smiles.

  Reisch returned the gesture with a nod, and then turned to Kiern. “There is a tavern a block away. Mason’s Rest. Wait there until you’re summoned. Keep them out of trouble.”

  “Sir.”

  Reisch headed inside the huge building and Kiern and the rest went looking for Mason’s Rest. None of them had ever been to Rulven before, having come from differing corners of Cerenea, and it took them a good deal of wandering aimlessly before they found it. A few glances from the locals ensured they were under no illusion of blending in.

  Keeping in line with his impression of Rulven, it was also the biggest tavern that Kiern had ever seen, and it was kept in good condition. A large, consistent customer base was probably behind that. The smaller towns never had the same luxury of a regular crowd with decent coin; one day an entire village worth of people, then two weeks of complete silence.

  On top of this, the fact the door was accompanied by a guard really set it apart from the rest. The guard saw them approach, and stood aside to let them in. Kiern quickly glanced at the guard’s arms which looked big enough to strangle a bear with.

  Though there were still a few hours before nightfall, a hearty fire was roaring in the hearth. The warmth sifted through the room in a welcoming embrace, and the polished timber interior seemed to absorb the flames, making for a cozy, comfortable ambience in stark contrast to outside where the cold wind had begun its journey through the city streets. He hadn’t felt too cold until he felt the warmth of the fire, reminding him of what he had been missing out on.

  They found a quiet corner and sat themselves down. A serving girl soon came by and asked for their orders. Kiern realised that they had no money and there were no learte here. He looked at Bairn and let his eyes do the talking, but Bairn just smiled and put a small bag on the table. “Four ales and uh… what hot food do you have?”

  Rhen noticed the bag on the table was his coin purse that had been confiscated from him after he was taken captive. Kiern stifled a giggle, he too having forgotten about it.

  “Roast pork and potatoes, or rabbit stew with carrots and cabbage.”

  “The stew would be good. We’ll all have one. Thank you.” When the girl left, Rhen turned to Bairn in protest, but Bairn cut him off before he began.

  “I know, I know. I’ll make sure you get your coin back. In case you haven’t noticed, we can’t exactly expect a free meal and a drink from a Karzarki run tavern. We haven’t eaten for a day and I’d rather have a full belly.”

  “You best make sure I get that money back. That wasn’t exactly easy to come by.”

  The girl came back with four mugs of ale. They were considerably larger than the ones in Verni. Rhen raised his mug and said, “Here’s to Levi joining our merry little band, and her subsequent promotion. Drinks are on me, apparently.” Though dripping with sarcasm, Kiern did have to respect that Rhen at least had the sense to keep the specifics out of it in consideration of their immediate environment.

  Levi just raised her mug and observed the others drink before she drank herself. Kiern had forgotten amidst all his own wonder of Rulven that it must be even more unreal for Levi. Taeryen was rumoured to be even sparser than Yalea, and she could barely speak the local language.

  “This is the biggest city you’ve ever seen, isn’t it Levi?”

  She stared at him, disdain written all over her face. Then she went back to her drink. Oh right, he had pissed her off when she was in tied up the other night. So much for his outreach of civility. He wouldn’t even be talking to her if it wasn’t for Reisch’s order to keep things friendly. They had after all come out of the ambush with fewer number.

  “Back to what I was saying,” interrupted Rhen, “I’m glad for Levi joining the group and everything, and I’m certainly glad that I wasn’t the one who was pestering her because I wouldn’t enjoy having to sleep with one eye open from now on –”

  That mouth that had the slightest smile creeping over it – that required retribution. The swift kind. “I’d be more concerned if I was the one who reached down her top and felt around, looking for that knife. I don’t know what took you so long finding it.”

  Rhen’s face turned several shades whiter.

  “What.” Levi put her mug down on the table, not so gently.

  “Uh, wait just a moment. That’s cutting a long story short and it wasn’t like that.” Levi’s glare could have turned him to stone.

  “You see, they’d removed all of your weapons from you, obviously because they thought you’d be a dan
ger, since you so easily overpowered Kiern,” Bastard, “I simply knew where another weapon would be. It’s not like I felt your…” Rhen was blushing now, his face challenging the hearth’s output of heat, “I didn’t even notice. I mean, it never crossed my mi-”

  “You no notice?!” Levi was also red, except it was not from blushing.

  “You no notice? What mean? Huh? You notice if you have hand. I should kill you that day. Break order from Bastmyra and my axe into you skull. You die next after annoying one.”

  Rhen meekly raised his mug to his face and drank very slowly, finding reprieve from breaking contact with her deathly glare. That’ll teach him to mess with me, thought Kiern, satisfied with himself. She was picking up the language too, seemingly discontent with being unable to express her rage properly.

  “And you, I no forget,” she said to Kiern. Oh. Bairn chuckled to himself. It also drew the ire of Levi. “What is funny?”

  “Oh, that this is probably the first time in many a century that a Ka- that the likes of us have sat around a table together. At each other’s throats, no less. Times are changing, but old habits die hard.”

  The serving girl came back with their bowls of stew. They dug into it like they hadn’t eaten for weeks, and as far as Kiern was concerned, the day had felt like weeks. It was his first hot meal in a long time. No one spoke as they ate.

  After they finished, there was still no sign from Reisch. Kiern decided he’d work on what Commander Reisch had told him back in Bridgetown and try to be friendlier.

  “Hey Rhen, where else have you been in Euparyen?”

  “Mhir, Braest, Desaris, a bunch of smaller towns here and there. Why?”

  “Is this the first citadel you’ve been to?”

  “I visited Akkad with my father when I was young. It was the biggest city I had been to, until now. I heard Rulven was biggest in Pyresia, but Tannis grew even larger when it was the capital of Euphyre.”

  “So, when we get to Tannis, there will be buildings even bigger than here?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure how many buildings sur…vived the War of the Last King.”

  “War of the Last King? What’s that?” Kiern hadn’t heard that name before, “Oh, the invasion?” He did his best to keep any toxicity from seeping into his words.

  “Yes, that one.”

  “So, you think it’s abandoned?”

  “It’s a ruin. Though it is in the Euphyrian Territories, it’s realistically outside Karzarki control. It’s too far east to administer properly. But yes, after the war was concluded, Karzark essentially razed the city. It was supposedly the last citadel to accept Euphyria’s surrender. It was made an example of. According to the records, Karzark lost direct control of the region about ten years after the war, but no attempt was made to repopulate it.If the rebels wanted to hole themselves up there and meet the Khasari, it would be their loss.”

  “Ah.”

  “And while we are at it, I think, apart from a few attempts in the past, I’ve been quite cooperative with you Ya- people. I think it’s about time you told me a little more about what it is you are after, what your mission is.”

  Kiern wasn’t sure, so he looked to Bairn for an answer. Bairn shook his head. “I suppose so. I understand where you are coming from. But a tavern isn’t the best place for this talk. I promise you I’ll fill you in soon. But talking about it here is not safe.”

  “Fine, but I mean it. I can be much more uncooperative in Rulven than you think.”

  “That’s true, but I advise against doing something stupid. We’ve told you plenty of times we’ll guarantee your safety.” Bairn finished the last of his ale. “Besides, not all rebels wear tattoos. And there are plenty more who sympathise with the rebel cause than you think. Rulven can be quite dangerous if you aren’t careful where you are walking.”

  Kiern saw the brown uniform come into the room. “Come on, that’s the guard from earlier. Reiyar will see us now.”

  As they got up from the table to walk out of the tavern, Bairn said to the serving girl, loud enough for Rhen to hear, “Thank you, learte.” Well, that would make Rhen think twice.

  -------------------------------------

  You have pledged your life to the service of Taer’lyn, that Yelia forgive your sins against our people. Herein, you surrender your right to exist as the self. Through your crimes, you have surrendered your hopes and dreams, your aspirations, your future. You need no longer think for yourself, for that entity is no more. Now, you serve your Nartenis, who serves the people. Carry out your missions, and go seek Yelia’s forgiveness outside our borders.

  Ragol II’s address the first Black Wolves

  Levi

  The guard led them up to the second floor of the building the Nartenis had entered before they parted ways. The interior of this building made it clear to her that this building was quite important to the city, or someone, and that it required admiration and awe from its guests.

  The guard stopped outside an arched wooden door and knocked. Levi assessed the situation and concluded she wasn’t in any immediate danger or considered a prisoner, given that her escort had provided her with at least four different ways to kill him without making a scene. If she was in danger, he would not do that.

  “Come in,” came the reply from the man who was opening the door. He signalled for them to enter, and then closed the door behind them. She looked around the room. It was a private room. There was a fireplace, a table and some chairs, and a padded bench.

  “Please make yourselves comfortable. Take a seat on the couch,” said the man she hadn’t seen before. He pointed to the padded bench. Rhen sat down and Levi followed suit. It was much comfier than a regular bench.

  He continued, “My name is Farrel Reiyar. I oversee trade and commerce in Rulven here. Pleasure to meet you all.”

  Her new Nartenis had friends in high positions, a noble, judging by his impractical attire and power over the guards. Though he dressed as a noble (she made three categories in her mind: simple, practical clothing belonged to citizens, armour or at least practical fighting gear to the soldiers, and colourful clothing that held no practical purpose to nobles). He had a greying, well-kept beard that covered a possible double-chin. His expensive-looking overcoat did little to hide his protruding belly, but she had seen many nobles larger than him back in Taer’lyn. Perhaps he knew his way around a weapon still. She had no doubt that he once had, noticing his large chest retained some semblance of a warrior’s. She wondered if this man would be of any assistance in tracking the Bastmyra down.

  “I presume I can speak freely in this company, yes?” said the man with a high position.

  “Just a moment,” said the Nartenis, “Rhen, I mean no disrespect to you in saying this, and I know you have cooperated with us for most of our journey so far, but this involves Yalean military operations, so I would ask that Kiern take you next door and work out what you think is the best route to Tannis. It’s not that I don’t trust you with regards to Elsgard related matters, but this goes beyond the Elsgard. I hope you understand.”

  “But Levi is-”

  “It is my judgement to make. Please, go with Kiern.”

  “Come on, let’s go,” said the Annoying One. Rhen the Pervert looked quite unhappy, but no one was going to listen to him, so he quietly left the room with Kiern. Didn’t notice anything. How dare he.

  “Levi, take a seat over here.” He pointed to a seat near the fire. She sat down.

  “Alright, so here’s the situation. The provincial governor of Euphyria Desari Major, Saragan Narazan, has requested three more legions from the Karzarki interior. He claims it is to deal with the increasingly brazen Sons who have been increasing their attacks on merchants and their guerrilla campaign against Khasari garrisons in the towns. However, sending three legions is too heavy-handed a response. Three battalions would suffice, so I can’t help but wonder what their true purpose is.”

  “Perhaps they are preparing to surge further eas
t and reinforce the supply lines to Theran’s Lake or Jakkenmarch? Last I heard, the Khasari lost control of the surrounding towns and have stopped patrolling the roads, locking themselves up in the eastern citadels. If that is the case, they’d have done so knowing they’d be besieged,” said Reisch, looking over the map that lay on the table.

  “It’s a possibility. He made the request two months ago. The High Command has granted Narazan’s request and assembled legions from Asvula, Karrow and Lindema. They’re sending Kar Redmyre to head the army. From what we can gather, they crossed the Desari last week, taking advantage of the cooler weather. We expect they were travelling light to minimise the losses in the desert. They’re to be rearmed in Braest, according to shipment notes we’ve acquiesed.”

  “They crossed the desert last week? Then, they’ll be in Rulven in just over a week, allowing for a stop at Braest.”

  “That’s providing that they do come here. The Sons are in for a hard time, whether it is in the east or west. Kar Redmyre does not mess around.”

  “Alright, so we need to leave Rulven in the next few days then. What else?”

  “I imagine I am not going to able to maintain my operations in the same capacity once they arrive.”

  “How hard will the rebels be hit?”

  “A major source of their funding will be cut, but they have enough local support to keep the fight going. They will just have to be more opportune in their attacks. I’ve sent word about the new legions possibly being rearmed in Braest. I suggested they launch a large attack on Braest before the legions arrive and try to loot as much armaments and munitions as they can. If it means only two legions can be fielded right away, then that saves more lives.”

  “The Sons won’t have enough time for a raid. Braest still has a garrison. Besides, we don’t know when exactly they arrive, do we?”

  “No. They know that the Sons need time to respond. They will make use of that knowledge. I will send you off with one large shipment tomorrow while I have the right men available. Hallowed out timber makes a good hiding place for Karzarki gold.”