Satisfied, Tallun sauntered forth and went inside. The interior was dim, a condition that aided his attempts at retaining his anonymity. There were only two other patrons who were each quietly eating their meal. He took a seat in a secluded corner. The innkeeper’s wife brought him bread and soup. There was only one meal offered each night. Tallun would have preferred a haunch of meat, but the soup was hot and had chunks of swine meat in it.
After consuming the meal and quaffing his ale, Tallun felt energized. Tomorrow he would climb the hills and watch as the outlander slut and her oversized man departed Kylee forever. When that happened he would find other quarters, something more suitable to his tastes.
He left a copper on the table and departed. Out in the night he took a moment to watch the soft glow of the moons with thin clouds passing over them. It was a beautiful sight.
The beggar still snored at the corner. He played with the idea of tossing the man a copper and watching him root around in the dark trying to find it. He quickly dismissed the thought. The action would only be for the entertainment value anyway. He had a full purse and intended to keep it that way.
He pulled his cloak about his shoulders and lifted his hood again. He turned to make his way back to his hated cellar hideaway. There was a woman standing there at the corner opposite of the beggar’s. He stepped forward, thinking she might be a harlot. The services of such a woman would be a welcome distraction to his current situation.
The woman approached him and he waited for her proposition. When she stopped in front of him he noticed how tall she was and thought she was most likely wearing a pair of those ridiculous harlot shoes which they believed made their legs more attractive.
“Well, slut? Have you something to offer me or not?”
The woman reached up with both hands and lowered the cowl from her head. Long hair fell from beneath it. Even in the dim moonlight Tallun noticed something familiar about this one.
“Yes, Captain. I offer you the fulfillment of the promise that I made you on the day you had me whipped.”
Terror seized him. It was the slave, the damned troublesome slut who had caused him so many problems. Here she stood before him once again and still wearing that defiant expression he detested. He considered finishing the throttling he had begun on the day of the battle for Kylee but dismissed that thought quickly. Best to run and get himself under concealment.
Tallun turned to flee. His way was blocked. The hanging blanket told him it was the snoring beggar, awake now and standing in his way. The vagrant appeared to grow as he extended his bent knees. His head rose to an impossible level. The man shrugged the blanket from his shoulders. The arms that dangled from the wide chest were uncommonly thick. Tallun tried to turn and run in the other direction, prepared to knock the woman down if he needed to.
He didn’t get the chance. Two oversized hands grasped him around the neck and squeezed until his air was cut off. He felt himself lifted from the ground, his feet kicking impotently against the massive thighs of the giant.
A voice reached him. The woman was now standing alongside his tormentor.
“You enslaved me and other women of Olvion. You had me beaten and whipped by your demented slave master. I told you that my husband would find you wherever you sought to hide and that he would squeeze the life from you with his bare hands. Now you will learn what happens when you harm a woman of Olvion.”
The grip around his neck began to tighten…slowly.
Tallun’s legs kicked out more forcefully. It was like kicking a stone wall. His vision began to fuzz and the pressure inside his head increased. He felt his eyes pushing forward in his head, threatening to fly out. He fought desperately for a breath of air, but none could be obtained.
He struggled to speak. He had enough coin in his purse to buy a lifetime of luxury. He wanted to offer it to them to make amends for his actions, but his voice would not work.
Tallun beat wildly at the arms holding him. They did not react. They did not loosen their grip. Then all of his strength left him. His arms and legs ceased their struggles and hung limp. His eyes rolled upward. He saw the moons again with the clouds rolling over them.
Then he saw no more.
***
King Ruguer and Queen Meena entered the royal hall of Northland. Ruguer fidgeted with the gold circlet on his head until she slapped his hand away. He was dressed in his ceremonial robes and she wore a dazzling red dress. Her hair had been especially arranged to help her crown to stay in place. They were announced by the new Senior Member of Parliament, and those in attendance cheered. Ruguer appreciated the welcome. They were not the only royalty in attendance. In front of them was a raised dais which held several beautifully carved chairs. King Tyner of Aspell was standing and applauding. Next to him stood King Pryus of Archer’s Gate. Ruguer and Meena walked as slowly and as regally as Ruguer could manage, to the chairs that were set up on the dais for them. They turned to the hundreds of people who were in attendance and bowed. There was more cheering until the crier pounded on the polished floor with a long staff and requested silence. When the hall quieted he came to full attention and announced the arrival of the newly crowned King Norcum.
All of the people in the hall stood and cheered again as the new king entered. He was also in ceremonial dress as was his wife who walked alongside him. She was a beautiful woman who was already adored by the citizens of Northland for her work with the children of the kingdom. The noise level in the hall reached deafening levels as the royal couple walked to the dais and took a seat on the two largest and most ornate chairs. When they sat, every citizen of Northland executed a salute to their new monarch by placing their fists to their chest. Norcum returned the gesture and everyone sat.
As Norcum delivered his coronation speech Ruguer occupied himself by whispering funny comments to his wife, trying to get her to laugh. He continued even after she pinched his arm so hard that it raised a welt. In response he whispered that in some kingdoms when a woman pinched a man’s arm it indicated that she needed male attention.
Meena made the mistake of allowing herself a small chuckle. Then she realized that now he would not stop until he got another response from her. She sighed. In the space of three seasons she had gone from lowly metalworker, to warrior and to queen. It had not been what she had expected. It had been so much more. She looked at her husband and felt pride and love swell in her chest. She wouldn’t change a single irritating thing about him.
***
The morning after the drama with Tallun, Taggart and Dwan stood at the forecastle of the Dreadnaught. Captain Mal stood beside them along with Toria and Geraar. They had already pushed away from the pier and the receding tide was pulling them toward the harbor entrance. The ship had minimal sail rigged and used it only for maneuvering through the tricky channel.
On the pier were many people. Governor Jile was out in front, his hand raised. They waved back. There were hundreds of people on the dock, maybe thousands. The new future that they were about to build was exciting to them and they wanted to show their appreciation to those who had made it happen. There were many who despised the changes that were coming also, but those were in the minority and they kept their opinions mostly to themselves.
The ship drifted lazily through the channel leaving the piers in their wake.
Mal put a hand to Taggart’s arm and pointed to the shore. They were at the point in the channel where the chain barrier windlass was located. The chain still lie on the channel floor, but there was activity around the windlass. Several people were gathered around watching as a stonecutter chipped away at a statue. The carving was only halfway finished. The completed portion was of a man standing and holding a sword. The sword was not like the typical pirate weapon, it was long and slender. A rapier. The pose of the man made it appear as though he was using his sword to guard the windlass.
Taggart looked to see tears in the eyes of both Dwan and Toria. Captain Mal too.
A squirming in the bag he carried
over his shoulder got his attention. He pulled Tinker from the sling, and she scampered up onto his shoulder. He received a wave of appreciation and sadness from her. He agreed with her unspoken sentiments.
Toria opened her coat, and Pan poked his head up, blinking at the bright sun. He saw Tinker and the two of them leaned forward to nuzzle. Toria stroked pan’s fur with one hand. The other held onto Geraar’s.
Dwan’s thoughts went to the session she and Taggart had shared with Toria and Pan on the previous night. Tinker was also there. The two amazing creatures joined their minds again and projected actual words to their humans and Dwan. The combined strength of their abilities had made the use of words less painful to them.
They told them that “The Awareness”, that mysterious and enigmatic force or whatever it was had given them insights into the future. Several in fact. Some were to be known only to Tinker and Pan, but the most important one was meant for Dwan and Taggart.
“Forever,” Tinker had projected.
When their expressions showed they did not understand, Pan elaborated. “Forever. Tag.”
Tinker took over. “Forever. Olvion forever.”
Dwan had thrown her arms around her husband’s waist and cried. Even the big man had tears brimming in his eyes.
Now, on the deck of the Dreadnaught, Taggart looked out at the pink sky that had filled him with terror when he first had seen it. He had his arm around the woman he loved and who loved him back. His thoughts went to the earlier days of his life on Earth and how he had accepted the thought that he would live his life alone, a victim of acute Social Anxiety Disorder. On his shoulder sat Tinker, the marvelous and miraculous creature that had saved his life and become his friend.
Once again Jack Elbert Taggart, also known as Tag and Tag-Gar and The Legend, thought about his future and what it offered: Time. Time to love his wife, time to wake up beside her, watch her sleep, enjoy her smile and be amazed by her. Time to raise a family.
Time to live out the remainder of his life in Olvion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to thank all of you who contacted me and conveyed your enjoyment of “The Olvion Reality”. Your heartfelt sentiments were truly appreciated. Many of you offered suggestions for how to improve the other books in the trilogy and I have given them all serious consideration.
As most of you know, “The Olvion Reality” was my first published novel. The enthusiasm with which it was received was gratifying as well as humbling. I sincerely hope you all enjoy “The Coastal Kingdoms of Olvion” as well. You will probably notice that I took great pains to give the women of Olvion more of a place in the action scenes. I thought this was necessary because I am so fond of their personas and I think they would have shared in the risks taken by their male counterparts.
Work has already begun on the third and final book in the Olvion series. It hasn’t been titled yet but it will bring back many of your favorite characters and several more that I think you will find fascinating.
Feel free to contact me at www.larryerobbins.com and leave me comments on what you enjoyed about my books, what you would have changed and what you would like to see. I love hearing from you.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
The Coastal Kingdoms of Olvion: Book Two of The Chronicles of Olvion Page 50
