“No, sir,” Stiger said, pleased at having escaped the confines of the encampment so easily. In all likelihood, whatever he had been set up for would prove to be a real challenge. “I will take the job.”
“Very good.” General Kromen flashed an insincere smile. “Colonel Karol will arrange to have you introduced to your men. He will also see to outfitting your needs.” Kromen waved dismissively, indicating the audience was over.
Stiger saluted along with Colonel Karol. They turned and left, emerging onto the porch with Eli in tow. Stiger found Captain Handi resting in the same chair. The captain shot Stiger a look that spoke volumes. Doubtless Handi would be looking for ways to get his petty revenge. Stiger simply ignored him.
“You have a tough job ahead of you,” Karol admitted. “The men I am giving you are in truly terrible shape and have been poorly led. Their previous commander was executed for gross incompetence. His real crime, however, was excessive graft and insufficient . . . shall we say, sharing.”
“I have always enjoyed a challenge,” Stiger replied softly.
“Let us both hope this particular challenge does not kill you,” Karol responded. The colonel glanced to the side at the lounging officers toward Handi, who was aiming a smoldering glare at Stiger. “Captain Handi, be so good as to personally fetch Sergeants Blake and Ranl. They should be working over at my headquarters.”
“But, sir, it’s raining,” Handi protested, gesturing at the steady rainfall beyond the cover of the porch.
“I rather imagine that the emperor expects his legions to operate in all types of weather,” the colonel responded rather blandly. “Have them report on the double to the officers’ mess.”
Colonel Karol turned away and stepped out into the rain. He led them along the improvised boardwalk system toward another smaller ramshackle wooden building with a chimney billowing with soft blue-gray smoke.
“Wouldn’t want that spoiled bastard to get his fine boots muddy now, would we?” Karol asked once they were out of earshot. Stiger found himself beginning to like the colonel.
A NOTE FROM THE MARC
I want to thank you for reading Reclaiming Honor. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. Tovak and Gorabor’s journey will continue in 2020! 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 Chronicles of an Imperial Legionary officer, 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 an adventure set in the same universe . . . and on the same planet as Reclaiming Honor. This series tells how Roman legionaries made their way to the world of Istros and founded Stiger’s 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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