The High King: A Tale of Alus

by Wigboldy, Donald

  "Complicated?" Gerid questioned. He was unsure if the comments had been an insult or compliment since they had been worded so guardedly.

  The other man held up his hands to ward off any angry words and explained, "I love my father, Gerid, but he does have a low opinion about the slaves that he owns. You, Gerid, are pretty much the exception to his rules. I was quite surprised at how well my father took the news of my feigned relationship with Tabitha. I had thought that he would have been furious at the idea. On the other hand, I guess that I did leave him almost no chance to argue, so maybe he was just resigned to the fact."

  "Do you think that he would free her for you then?" Gerid asked wondering at a glimmer of a thought.

  The glimmer faded as Karma answered, "Yes, if I asked, but then I would be forced to marry her to acknowledge the fact that it was my baby that she carried or her reputation would be destroyed

  immediately. I assumed that you would rather have the chance to acknowledge that the boy was yours."

  Gerid had forgotten such matters in Rhearden’s society and replied feeling a bit foolish, "You are right, of course." A new worry bore asking, "If Carter has such a low opinion of slaves, how does that look for my privateering request?"

  Kolonus spoke from the side and interrupted, "Why don't we go find out, my boy? We can all go now and see when the three of you will be properly united and what it will cost. I believe that my brother's greed and pride will require some offer of payment," he finished in answer to their questioning looks.

  Karma nodded to his uncle saying, "Perhaps doing so on the day of this birth, would be a good omen at that, uncle."

  The three men left the women to care for Simon and went to find Carter, who was in his study. It was the first time that Gerid had been in the room and was very impressed by the two walls of shelving that Carter had managed to fill thoroughly with leather bound books. It was a feat unimagined for any in Marshalla where most documents were still recorded on scrolls of parchment. The few books brought to the country had such a high cost that, even his family with all their wealth, had been able to attain very few. They found Carter sitting behind a pristine, dark wood desk leafing through a set of documents that he was working on. If Gerid wasn't mistaken after having served in Brahe, he believed that such wood must have come from the oaks far south in Eirdhen's forest. He had seen two such desks in the richest part of the castle there and he knew that such a luxury could go only to one of the richest men in Rhearden.

  Gerid was disrupted from his reverie as Carter looked up to greet their entrance, "If you've come to tell me of your son's birth, Karma, I already know. The midwives were quick to spread the news around the house." He seemed to look straight at Gerid as he finished with the word, "Congratulations."

  The master stood as his guests entered. Moving to the doorway, the man closed the heavy wooden portal and returned to his chair.

  Karma stated gleefully, "We have already decided on a name for the boy as well. We're calling him Simon."

  "A fair name," Carter stated without batting a lash. "Now what has brought you three here? I doubt that it is just about the birth. Have there been problems with recruitment of new troops already? The king did promise an extra large draft for this coming season to repay us for your involvement in the freeing of Brahe."

  "Uh, no, father," Karma started a little taken aback by his father's casual attitude. "Gerid has brought us an interesting proposition that we felt should be looked at by you. It's a little out of our current line of interests, but it looks quite profitable."

  "Very profitable," Kolonus added with a pleased smile as he sat into a plush chair on the opposite side of the table from his brother.

  "If these boys have drawn you into it, Kolonus, I should hope so. It isn't often that I see my brother interested in things other than the training of troops or the planning of a war. What has this man talked you into doing for him this time, Kolonus? The last time that you were here on his behalf, you had me hammer out a contract to release him."

  The man’s brother cleared his throat and squirmed in his seat uncomfortably at the jab. Karma looked a little flush as well. Gerid realized that things were not starting off very well at all. He almost wished that Catiya had come along instead of remaining with Tabitha and the baby. She wouldn't have been daunted by her father, the young man thought. The girl had pretty much dedicated her life to showing her brazenness after all.

  Gerid decided that he could hardly afford to be intimidated. Gerid had a child and a wife to free from slavery and he wanted to accomplish their freedom as swiftly as possible. Leaning forward over the table and overshadowing the man sitting behind it, the ambitious young man dropped a copy of the figures onto the desk in front of the master.

  "What is this?" Carter asked not willing to drop his eyes to deign looking at the papers.

  Gerid stepped back and cleared his throat before answering, "It's a very profitable venture for both of us as the others have already said. I've researched the idea of privateering as it is done here in Rhearden. With the king's writ, a ship or fleet can conduct acts of war on both pirates and enemy countries' ships. We can also act as merchants making deliveries of goods and passengers to add to our profits.

  "With very little invested from you, we can get into this business and do well. I've already gathered contacts among both soldiers and sailors, and I've taken the time to check into some of the ships available at the dockyards. All we need is the go ahead from you to begin."

  They sat in silence. Carter brought his fingers together and steepled them. Staring intently at Gerid, they could hear an annoyed release of breath as the master finally spoke in a cold tone, "Your audacity begins to wear thin, Gerid. I have done more for you, young man, than any of the slaves that I have ever owned in all my years. I've granted you a contract of freedom for doing what you should have done anyway, but since your fighting skills are beyond that of any man that my brother has ever faced I gave in to his request. At his request that it would get the best out of you, I granted the contract. You have gathered money from looting and the selling of slaves from my brother for your future as you requested. There are even men here that swear fealty to you, a slave. They live here and consider you master on my holdings. There are soldiers of my own slaves and free men that would probably serve you if you chose to leave against my wishes. On top of everything else, you have my very own son lying for you to protect your woman and child." He glared at the others noting their varied reactions of surprise and nodded. Taking a breath, the master calmed himself and added, "Yes, I know and do nothing to stop it. I have men that report such things to me no matter how careful you think yourselves to be. I even know of Catiya's involvement in the scandal and again I have chosen to simply watch the proceedings quietly, since my children love and respect you so much, but my patience is wearing thin, boy," he finished with his voice lowered

  threateningly.

  Gerid stood before the master as a mix of emotions ran through him, but after a moment one held foremost in his mind and body, his pride. Speaking quietly and calmly despite the reaction of Carter, he answered, "Sir, I respect and appreciate all that you and your family have done for me since my unfortunate enslavement. I should point out that I only learned of Tabitha's condition on return from the war or I would have taken actions on my own behalf. I have your son to thank for keeping my loved ones safe and have no true way of repaying my friend for this." He nodded to Karma, who blushed slightly at the praise even though the matter had been resolved between them weeks before. Turning back to Carter, Gerid continued, "I know that I have asked much of you in my time here, but I believe that I have also fulfilled my end well beyond your expectations as well. My abilities prevented the bandits from destroying the farm as you know and that may have saved your life in the process. We don't know how it would have gone otherwise, but I doubt that you could have fared half as well without my presence."

  The young man moved to stand beside a suit of armor and
traced the seams of the plates

  absentmindedly as he continued, "I do not say such things to brag, but to remind you of the truths as I know them. After the thieves were repelled and your brother returned, I turned to the duties of training your

  mercenaries to be the best in the field with or without me. I fought hard to accomplish each and every mission and gave my all. I have fought past the point of death and survived to fight for you yet again." His eyes looked to Kolonus and Karma who nodded their knowledge of his feats.

  "I had heard the rumors of that as well," Carter interrupted quietly thinking aloud. The man's face smoothed and became harder to read. He went on, "They have begun to call you a god even, the `undying one', the `white fury of Arcturas', a son of Turas, but I find such things hard to believe. I have seen many things and know that soldiers are a superstitious lot at best."

  Kolonus rose and pointed to Gerid. "It is true, Carter, all of it. In truth, we should not be allowed to keep him as a slave anymore. He honored the letter of the contract. His obligations were written to be honored until his death or completion of the two years and Gerid has done the first and more. If he were simply an ordinary man, the slavery would have ended months ago and this conversation would not have to be.

  "Carter, I believe, as his men do, that he is part of a much grander destiny than serving the Holtein name. Back him in this venture and release him from slavery and the gods will see us and approve. We'll make a new contract to better serve both our interests due to these new conditions. With his death, the old one is invalid and I'll not allow you to say otherwise. Even if you wouldn't do it for the law, then do it for me. I will take the

  responsibility for any losses and you know that I am good for it."

  Carter had risen during the dispute and seemed drained as he sat back again slowly. The master still seemed unconvinced, however, and, though Kolonus might have the power to bully his brother into such actions, Gerid decided to risk his life once again. He stole the long knife from Kolonus' waist sheath and, before anyone could stop him, the blade was driven up to its guard in his chest. Gerid withdrew the blade again. The blood dripped onto the floor as it ran off the metal while Gerid held out the knife to the master.

  When his healing powers had finished enough to bring back his breath, he asked hoarsely, "Do you see? If I had wanted to leave you before, you could have done nothing to stop me. To have tried would have meant that my power and my men would have taken vengeance on you, Carter, and there would have been nothing that you could do about it. I have stayed to honor the agreements between us until now, but as Kolonus has said, things need to change. I would greatly appreciate you changing with them, sir, but I won't force you to do so. My honor would never allow such a dark thing."

  Carter looked at the blood beginning to stain the floor and then to the redness upon Gerid's chest. He rose and walked around the desk. Taking one finger, he placed it into the quickly healing wound. The slickness of the blood and texture of split flesh caused him to blanch and pale.

  Taking a deep breath to recover from the experience, the master returned to the other side of the desk once more. After opening a drawer, he withdrew a small stack of documents. He lifted one and tore it meaningfully in front of the three men standing silently around him. "Your original contract," he stated. A second was handed over to Gerid, "Keep these with you when you leave. I had already drawn up the release papers long ago. I somehow knew that you would find a way to speed up your bid for freedom. I never dreamed of this, however." A third document was placed before them on the desk. "This is a contract for the release of Tabitha. I always assumed that you would want to take her with you. I'll release her for only five hundred coins. It's the price we paid for her, plus a hundred for the time invested in her."

  "Father! You can't seriously ask that much!" Karma argued quickly but was halted by Gerid's upraised hand. Kolonus glared his disapproval but held his tongue.

  Gerid answered, "Fair enough. She is worth much more than that to me. I have more than enough to cover that from the account that Kolonus has set up for me."

  "The two of you may stay here in one of the suits, if you like," Carter added. "Your followers are free to stay as well, but I'll expect them to work for their food and shelter while they are here. I'll also have new contracts put together for your privateering venture on the morrow. Have I left anything out?" he asked sounding tired. The master had seen too many things of an extraordinary nature and the resignation of his most valuable asset had left him drained.

  "I don't think so, sir," Gerid answered politely. "You have been most generous. I'll see to the details of drafting a ship and crew, though I may need you to set up an audience with the king to speed things up for me."

  "I'll see to it, Gerid," the man waved wearily and sighed.

  "Thank you," Gerid replied with a small bow and led the other two from the room.

  Kolonus turned at the doorway and stated quietly to his brother, "You did the right thing, Carter."

  The man ignored his brother and pretended to return to his work.

  Gerid and Karma had rushed through the hall and nearly vaulted up the stairs to bring Tabitha and Catiya the news of their freedom and news that his privateering request had been granted. The giant gave the thought in the back of his mind permission to speak and smiled grimly at the thought that it was only a matter of time before he would have the ability to wring his vengeance from Merrick's body.

  Chapter 22- Conquest

  Merrick's armies had taken Sileoth by surprise by advancing on the southern country almost immediately. Less than two weeks after Terris had surrendered his kingdom, the combined might of the joined forces pushed into Sileoth. They met sizeable resistance just within the border even so. With Terris' knowledge of his enemies' strategies and the incredible power of the amassed gargoyles, dragons and knights, however, the defending armies were dealt such a severe blow that over half the ten thousand men of Sileoth were killed or captured after the first battle alone.

  The defeated legions had been forced to run and were only able to regroup after losing nearly a hundred miles of their country. It was there that they were finally able to draw together with the aid of their

  reinforcements. Terris had known of the other legions that King Gideon would have held in reserve and used to guard his other borders. Using this knowledge, he recommended splitting the attacking armies. He was allowed to lead his knights alongside the division of gargoyles in a path leading in a wide arc to the south of the defending legions. The remaining legions of Merrick's armies progressed steadily towards the capitol city and the forces that would surely seek to stop them along the way.

  Just over a week after the first battle had caused their rout, Sileoth moved to retaliate. They had waited too long however, as the main Marshallan armies met the charge on one side of a great valley, the gargoyles flew over a hill from the southeast. The knights had moved nearly completely around the enemy and attacked from nearly due west. The three forces struck and met the army of Sileoth from all three sides tearing great wounds through the amassed army.

  The three sided attack was brutal and effective and more than Sileoth could hope to fend off. Once again the legions shattered as men died or fled in terror. Those that could escape continued their flight in all directions. Most were hunted down by the flying gargoyles or the fleet hooves of the knights and their steeds. Almost as many were captured as were slain and Merrick's armies strode virtually untouched the remaining miles towards the country's capitol.

  The city of Entias lay in a siege that lasted more than a month as its defenders used their walls and numbers to hold back the forces threatening to engulf them in a steely embrace. When Marshalla was finally able to tear down the walls of Entias, they found that the king of Sileoth was clever enough to save his life if not his kingdom. The remaining legions on the northwestern border had never come to try and wrest victory from the invaders as Terris and the other generals had believed would happen
. They had been ready for such an act and Terris professed that it was truly strange. After taking the castle, they found that the highest ranking man left in the city was the general who had been left to do his best. He gleefully informed Merrick and his officers that King Gideon and his nobles, as well as most of the remaining armies and most of the citizens of Entias had withdrawn to reinforce their new allies in Maris.

  In a fit of raging passion, Merrick drew out his broadsword and, in one angry blow, removed the man's head from his shoulders. Glaring at the men around him and especially his newest general, Terris, he snarled," How could this have happened? Terris, you told me that your plans would succeed!"

  The general and former king had to bite his tongue a moment, but otherwise appeared calm as he stood before his new master. Answering truthfully, Terris said, "We have the city and we destroyed nearly half of Sileoth's armies. I haven't had any spies in this country to speak with since the war began, so I have been unable to keep watch of King Gideon's position and preparations. The war is still a success, sire. Gideon only postpones his inevitable defeat by hiding with another of your enemies. If you captured him here or if you have to do it there, the results will still be the same for you, my king. He will fall to your forces."

  Merrick leaned on his sword contemplating Terris' words and seemed to calm his fury for the moment. "Perhaps you are right, Terris, but I think that Gideon must still be taught a lesson for his cowardice, don't you?" He didn't allow the general to answer as the High King continued, "Terris, I want you to personally lead the troops in slaying every man, woman, and child left in this city before burning it to the ground. General Mairgar will see to the looting of the royal treasury and taking only the things of value. Have it all done before the executions are finished, general. Any delays by either of you and you will join this city in its punishment."