“Oh, him?” Stiger looked over and jerked a thumb at the orc. “He’s with me, and we have a present for you.”
The dragon eyed the orc but did nothing other than watch. Braddock noticed the orc was carrying a gagged and bound dvergr down the stairs. The orc was holding the dvergr with one arm around the midriff as if he were a giant doll.
“Therik,” Sabinus said as the orc stepped by the centurion. “Good to see you again.”
The orc nodded and then tossed the bound dvergr down in front of Braddock, where he landed hard on his stomach and released an umff. Therik kicked the dvergr and then used his foot to roll him over on his back.
“Thane Braddock,” Stiger said, “I present you with Hrove, chieftain of the Hammer Fisted Clan. He is your prisoner now. You may do with him as you wish.”
Braddock glanced down. Hrove looked to have been thoroughly beaten. Braddock looked back up at Stiger in question.
“How?”
“My legionaries are cleaning out Old City of Hrove’s filth,” Stiger said. “I knew you would want to get your hands on him, so we made sure to take this traitorous bastard alive.”
“Your legionaries were outside the mountain,” Braddock said, confused. “They wouldn’t have had time to get to Old City.”
“Not those legionaries,” Stiger said and then grinned. “I brought much of the Thirteenth back with me. I have eight thousand men cleaning out Old City.” Stiger glanced down at Hrove. “The bastard intended on massacring the refugees. They didn’t expect to find us waiting for them. His warriors never had a chance.”
Braddock looked down at Hrove. The chieftain’s eyes locked fearfully on his thane. Braddock felt himself smile. He knelt down beside Hrove. The chieftain trembled.
“We’re gonna have some fun together, I think,” Braddock said and patted Hrove gently on the chest. “Yes, it’s gonna be a scream.”
Hrove tried to say something but the gag prevented it.
“Save your breath,” Braddock said, patting Hrove once again on the chest again. “You will need it, especially with all you have to answer for.”
He stood and turned to Stiger.
“Thank you, for this little present,” Braddock said. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
“I thought you would approve,” Stiger said and then turned to the orc. “Braddock, may I introduce Therik, a former king and a follower of the High Father.”
Braddock turned his gaze upon the orc and then what Stiger had said hit home. This orc followed the High Father and not Castor. It was shocking, for he had never heard of such a thing happening. Therik offered Braddock a nod, which he returned.
“I knew Brogan,” Therik said. “He good dwarf. Strong drinker.” Therik tapped his chest armor. “I better.”
“Right,” Stiger said and glanced around the Gate Room. “I am going to leave you with Hrove and get back to my men to help them clean up the city.” He paused and turned back to Braddock. “We still have the Cyphan to deal with, and they have an army. Then we have to get the Key from the emperor, hopefully before the enemy can. I am afraid he is in danger. So, lots to do, you see.”
“The Key?” Braddock asked with a frown. “You don’t mean to open the World Gate, do you?”
“I want the Key in my possession,” Stiger said, “so someone else cannot make that choice for me.”
Stiger turned away, with Therik following, and started for the stairs. He stopped on the first step and turned back.
“Sabinus, Eli, you both are with me.” Stiger started up the stairs. “Dog, come.”
End of Book 4
A Note from the Author
I want to thank you for reading The Tiger’s Time. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. Stiger’s journey will continue in The Tiger’s Wrath, out in 2019! Writing a book like this takes a tremendous amount of time, effort, and energy. A review would be awesome and greatly appreciated.
Important: If you have not yet given my other series—Tales of the Seventh or The Karus Saga—a shot, I strongly recommend you do. All three series are linked and set in the same universe. There are hints, clues, and Easter Eggs sprinkled throughout the series.
The Series:
There are three series to consider. I began telling Stiger and Eli’s story in the middle years . . . starting with Stiger’s Tigers, published in 2015. Stiger’s Tigers is a great place to start reading. It was the first work I published and is a grand fantasy epic.
Stiger, Tales of the Seventh, covers Stiger’s early years. It begins with Stiger’s first military appointment as a wet-behind-the-ears lieutenant serving in Seventh Company during the very beginning of the war against the Rivan on the frontier. This series sees Stiger cut his teeth and develop into the hard charging leader that fans have grown to love. It also introduces Eli and covers many of their early adventures. These tales should in no way spoil your experience with Stiger’s Tigers. In fact, I believe they will only enhance it.
The Karus Saga is a whole new adventure set in the same universe . . . many years before Stiger was even born. This series tells how Roman legionaries made their way to the world of Istros and the founding of the empire. It is set amidst a war of the gods and is full of action, intrigue, adventure, and mystery.
Give them a shot and hit me up on Facebook to let me know what you think!
Best regards and again thank you for reading!
Marc
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