Seth thought it over a moment. If he was to take this nation for his own and needed peace long enough to study, he didn’t need to leave a trail of enemies behind him. The man was blessed, but only in a way that could threaten a man’s purse. His power could be used to hire men, purchase land, armament and more. If Seth knew his real ambitions, then perhaps they could be allies, or at least find a mutual enemy.
“Very well,” Seth began, “I have thousands of men just beyond the town that I am looking to arm and supply. I can simply pillage and take what I want, but as I have said, I do not mean you, or anyone else here any harm.”
“Indeed?” Goldenfingers questioned. “Then it seems we may have met at the most opportunistic of times.”
“How so?” Seth questioned further.
“Please, Prince Seth, accompany me to my carriage. The cold, dark night is no place to discuss business. And this is Princess Sara, I presume?”
Seth gave a slight nod to the man’s question.
“Very good then. Let us sit and drink wine, and speak of matters close to both of our hearts,” Goldenfingers smiled, turning without awaiting a reply.
Seth could tell the man was used to getting his way. It was also evident that he was well versed in dealing with uncooperative business partners. Seth liked the man already. He didn’t trust him, but he liked him.
With a nod to Borrik, the giant winged wolfman sprang into the air to watch over the camp from above. If it was some sort of trap, Borrik would lay waste to the entire contingent from the backdrop of a starry sky. Taking Sara’s arm in his own, as if escorting her through court at the castle, Seth followed Goldenfingers and his mage ally back into the crowd, doing his best not to snicker at the retreating steps of everyone they approached.
* * * * *
Climbing into what Goldenfingers had called a carriage, Sara was amazed at how luxurious the vessel really was. Carriage was not an appropriate label, though, considering the great mammoth of a mobile room was a large as a small house with at least a dozen axles and an entire team of black stallions to pull it, the thing was more lusciously furnished than the best brothel, and Sara would know.
Inside the mobile room, the walls were hung with tapestries and the floor carpeted with hand-spun silk. Pillows and large fluffy cushions created seating areas within the main chamber and as Sara’s feet sank into the soft floor, she witnessed as near half a dozen scantily clad women rushed into an adjoining chamber so as to not offend their new guests. Guiding them into the room, Goldenfingers ushered them towards the center, where they all took places seated about a small table topped in granite and gold filigree. His companion followed the collection of women into the adjoining chamber before returning with a crystal pitcher filled with a deep crimson wine and a platter of sweet morsels. He was really rolling out the red carpet, and Sara wondered just what exactly the man’s angle was. She could tell that more was going on here than she could see, but knew too that Seth was totally consumed in whatever it was that was transpiring between the men on an unspoken level.
“Please, do help yourselves,” Goldenfingers said with a comforting smile. “My home is your home.”
“It is really lovely,” Sara said appreciatively.
“Thank you. It has taken me some time to get it just right.”
“Your invitation to join you in privacy is appreciated, but if you do not mind I would like for us to come to an understanding,” Seth reminded.
“Yes, well… You seem to be a man who appreciates candor, and as such I will get straight to the point. I have traveled from Drakenhurst, not so much to trade, as to evade a struggle for power, and to see if I might still gain while others’ attention is drawn elsewhere.”
“Speak plain, Goldenfingers,” Seth suggested in a tone that was more order than request.
“As you can see, I have plenty of resources at my disposal. Like many others, I could have stayed in Drakenhurst and possibly bought myself the crown, but already those who seek to gain are dying in numbers…uncomfortable for those who understand the game.”
“So you left to save yourself?”
“Not just myself. Entire households have been slaughtered, poisoned, or burned to the ground with servants and all still within. Politics in Drakenhurst have never been so volatile. Without Sigrant, his councilors, generals, or anyone to keep peace, pandemonium has gripped the city and blood runs freely in the streets.”
“If I judge you correctly, then I would presume that you do not walk away without reason. What more is there that drives you towards Valdadore’s border?”
“Not Valdadore. That is for certain. What runners, deserters, and message bearers did return from Valdadore call it a land possessed by demons and wrought with peril. No, my ambitions lay right here. With my means and abilities, I can own this entire town in mere weeks. I can develop it into a trade city and rebuild it more grand than ever before.”
“So instead of fighting to claim Drakenhurst, you come here while all competition’s attention is on the throne. It is a wise move, but why here?”
“Proximity. No one is going to come this close to the border to look for me, and if they do it will be too late by then. This town could make me just as wealthy as the capital without the fuss.”
“What about your caravan, then? Obviously if you uprooted, then some of these wagons are your personal effects and supplies, but what other stores have you brought with you?”
“Only the essentials. Weapons, armor, gold. Everything a man like me needs to seize a town and put it in order. At least everything but one.”
Sara sat back, watching her husband pick the truth from the man who was more than a merchant. She could feel the tension, and knew that something was afoot. Both men were leading the conversation towards something they wanted, testing the other to see if they could discern just what that was. It was a game, she realized, and both of them were playing well, but watching her husband’s expression it was apparent that he had just won.
“So you need more men. What, were mercenaries too few in Drakenhurst?”
“Not too few, just more expensive. I thought that I could hire my men right here, but my scouts tell me that most of the fighting age men have already been cleared out.”
“It’s true. You won’t find enough able-bodied men here to hold the town if one of your old friends comes to call from the big city.”
Seth had him, and Sara knew it. Seth had men. Lots and lots of men. They weren’t trained soldiers and most of them were either teenagers or past their prime, but they would do in a pinch. Already she knew where the conversation was going and decided to speed up the process and ruin their fun game of cat and mouse.
“Okay, boys. This is how I see it. You need men, and we have them. We need arms and you have them. We can tickle each other’s britches all night, or cut straight to the chase.”
Seth beamed at her as Goldenfingers thin lips spread in a wide grin. There it was, the chips were all on the table.
“Very well, Princess Sara, you have put it on the line. Now what to do with it?” Goldenfingers asked.
“I can lend you some men,” Seth suggested. “They are loyal to me and as such will follow you if told to do so.”
“And in return?”
“You give me the lay of the land in Drakenhurst and enough weapons to arm as many men as you are able. Information and weapons, that is all I ask.”
“And what of your loyal men once you have what you want? What is to keep them from turning on me and overrunning my men and taking that which I have for their own?”
“You pay them enough to feed themselves and their families if they have them. You make sure they are all housed comfortably and I assure you that no harm will come to you or your men by orders from my lips.”
“And if I do not agree to this arrangement?” Goldenfingers asked.
Sara thought for a moment that she had missed something. Maybe it was unspoken? She didn’t know, but why the hesitation from Goldenfingers? He
was getting exactly what he wanted—an army to take the town and hold it. Could he be holding out for more?
“Then nothing,” Seth said simply. “I do not demand these things, though we both know I could. I simply ask a fair trade, this town for Drakenhurst. If you do not wish to trade, then my men and I will march on without your arms.”
“You intend to take Drakenhurst? Take it, take it?”
“I do,” Seth answered.
“And what of me if you hold the capital?” Goldenfingers asked.
That was it. That was what Sara had overlooked. The man was good at striking a deal. He was looking not only to barter on the here and now, but also a possible future in which he was striking a deal with the future king of the whole realm. It was cunning of the man to think so far ahead when he was already getting precisely what he wanted, but she supposed it explained why he traveled so luxuriously.
“When I hold the capital, you will have an ally with a crown and be free to once again open shop in the city, or simply merchant and trade wares from here to there.”
“And a dowry for information given that leads to your victory?” Goldenfingers pressed.
“Greed is what leads to entire households butchered, poisoned, or burned in their beds, my good Goldenfingers. Let’s not travel that road ourselves.”
Sara grinned as her husband put the merchant in his place, though honestly she couldn’t blame him for trying.
“So everything is settled then?” she asked, knowing full well that there was much to be done if the deal was struck.
“I am satisfied,” Goldenfingers answered.
“Good,” Seth replied. Let me collect my general so that you can answer questions for all three of us.”
* * * * *
Swooping out of the sky at his master’s bidding, Borrik settled to the earth, tucking his wings and reciting the commands to recall his blessings. Feeling the grueling, crawling beneath his skin sensation as his secondary arms were reclaimed by his flesh, he shrank to his normal size with a pop. Tilting his head he twisted his neck, both hearing and feeling it crack. Grinning a wicked canine grin, he approached Seth and the decorated man beside him.
“Borrik, Goldenfingers here has information about Drakenhurst that may help us take it. We have come to terms to exchange men for arms and intel.”
“How many of his arms should I take?” Borrik asked, stepping forward aggressively.
Sharing a laugh with Seth as Goldenfingers retreated a few steps, even the merchant chuckled after realizing it was a jest.
“Goldenfingers, aside from my Sara, Borrik is my closest, most trusted ally.”
“It is very much my pleasure, Borrik,” Goldenfingers said with a grin, reaching out to take his hand. “I have heard tales of your master’s creations. Some more wild than others, I admit, but now I wonder if even those weren’t true.”
Without knowing what the man wanted to hear, Borrik simply bowed his head slightly and waited for the man to get on with it. After an odd moment of silence, the gaudily dressed man turned and retraced his steps to the mammoth carriage whence he had emerged, and Borrik followed Seth up the three steps and into the vehicle.
Inside was much the same as the merchant himself. Like a magical money fairy had vomited over every surface, the interior was a plush hell filled with dainty pillows, decorative hangings, and an extreme abundance of silk. Borrik choked back the bile that rose in his throat, an apparent reflex of his body to try and outdo the money fairy, and located the carriage’s one redeeming quality. Women. Though the place exuded weak, dainty, femininity from floor to ceiling, the air hung heavy with the scents of sex, sweat, and women. He couldn’t see them, but he knew where they were by scent alone. He wondered if either of his companions could smell the delicious aromas wafting up to his snout, though doubted their inferior human senses could detect such things. Sara perhaps, with her predatory urges, but not likely his master.
Tearing his senses away from his more carnal desires, those he had sworn himself to avoid, he focused on the task at hand. Joining their host at a small table, Borrik lowered himself to sit uncomfortably on a chair too small to accommodate him, with a back that impeded his wings’ ability to fold naturally. All he could do was hope that this would not take overly long.
“Alright, Goldenfingers,” Seth began, cutting to the chase, “What can you tell me about Drakenhurst?”
“Virtually everything, I presume, though I’ll start with how it is laid out and defenses, if that suits you.”
“Perfect,” Seth said in reply.
“Very well then. Drakenhurst is not like your home of Valdadore. It is much older, and as such it has little in common with what you are used to. Whereas Valdadore holds its city within its protective walls, Drakenhurst’s defenses lie only around the castle proper. The city sprawls around at its base, defended by a weak wall of bricks designed to keep out the grazing animals only. The city itself is very much defenseless with the vast majority of its troops and guards gone.”
“And where is the struggle for power taking place?”
“The nearer one goes to the keep, the more wealthy and powerful the residents are. Those palaces nearest the castle will hold those with influence, but your biggest adversaries will lie within the keep itself. Though much of the royal guard, councilors, and generals were lost to your forces, a few men who command power still, fight to retain the keep and the power that resides there. With the city around it, getting siege engines and an army up to its walls are difficult, and it has never been breached.”
“How many men defend it?” Borrik asked.
“I do not know at present, but with the war machines defending its walls, it does not take a sizeable force to put up a fight. Sigrant loved technology and worked with the neighboring gnomes to create marvelous contraptions. I am told that as few as fifty men could hold the keep for weeks. But that, of course, is against an army of men. Not those like yourselves.”
“So from the air then?” Borrik asked Seth.
“Perhaps. What else can you tell us of the keep?”
“Though old, it was well constructed. Its walls are tall and thick. To fire upon it from the ground is folly, for to get close enough to be in range, you have to get well within range of its defenses. If I were to take it, I’d bleed it.”
“Meaning what?” Seth asked.
“A siege. Cut off all supplies into and out of the keep. Perhaps even burn the entire city around it. Eventually those within will starve. Usually they have stores that will last some time, but with the army marching to Valdadore, I would be willing to bet that those stores were depleted to feed the army.”
“That could take weeks or months,” Borrik suggested.
“Yes, but it wouldn’t cost you a single man,” Goldenfingers replied.
“What about water?” Sara asked. “How does the keep get water? Could we dam up a creek or something?”
“Unfortunately no. Inside the keep is a natural spring. Not only does it feed the keep itself, but also those who live nearest it, within the city.”
“How is the water fed out to the city?” Seth questioned.
“Underground there are a handful of aqueducts, pressurized by the reservoir within the keep itself.”
“Can they be accessed?”
“Not without getting dangerously close to the keep. Though I suppose, if you did gain access, you could drain the keep’s reservoir, or poison it.”
Almost as if they had reached the same conclusion at the same time, Borrik turned to look at Seth, who now looked at him as well. Seth grinned knowingly as Borrik split his maw in a canine smile. They had access to the keep. All they needed to do now was arm the men, supply them, and see for themselves just how much of a fight those defending Drakenhurst would put up.
Chapter Six
Even upon the backs of the world’s finest mounts, it took Garret and his companions a full day to reach the edge of the forest. Weary of riding, with tired and hungry mounts, he led his co
mrades to the very brink of the forest’s edge and dismounted. Ahead the wide trail vanished beneath the ancient trees that cast a million shadows upon the ground, creating darkness where the sun would never penetrate. Here and there could be heard the flitting of birds amongst the boughs above, and occasionally the scampering of small feet would cause Garret to jerk his head in one direction or another in hopes of catching a glimpse of what it was that dared venture near.
Deciding to make camp at the forest’s edge, just as they had done the first time the three of them had visited, Garret and Zorbin began erecting their tents while Ashton gathered some wood and prepared a fire. Pounding the last stake into the soft, spongy soil, Garret nodded to his dwarven friend who released the tension he held upon the rope and watched as the tent settled into place. Finished with the task, Garret looked again into the deepening gloom of the forest beyond. It was ancient, immense. The reports Zorbin had been given simply said druids in the forest. They had no idea where to locate the encampment, or even where to begin. Their only option was to sweep the forest from one side to the other and hope they stumbled upon the supposed site of this atrocity sooner rather than later. Garret wanted to see for himself what truth the rumors held. Could it be possible that human women’s bellies were filled with the seed of monsters and they now gave birth to the twisted offspring of the beasts?
Rising from the ground, he wiped his hands together and began to shed his armor. If any of Seth’s beasts remained in the forest, he didn’t want to tip them off with the creaking and clanking his every movement made.
As the sun’s final rays were lost beyond the horizon, the edge of the forest became like another world. Insects in a multitude of varieties took to the air, some of them pulsing with light as they sought whatever it was that insects sought. Birds and bats alike took wing, flying in dazzling arrays between the boughs, devouring the insects in near silence. From deeper within the forest, the growls of predators and screams of prey broke the silence from time to time, and Garret realized that he was warmer now than he had been the entire day.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 178
