Kingdom Born

CHAPTER THREE: A Rescue


Standing in full battle gear, I, a ten year veteran, hid behind a pillar like a school child playing truant. The Messenger dressed in the green robes of her Office stood dead centre in the courtyard, her eyes searching everywhere for me. Apparently, Yana had not kept her attention. The First Squad milled around sweating in their heavy armour under the late afternoon sun. Sounds of impatient horses did little to drown out the Messenger's threatening words. "I know you can hear me, Captain Longsword! This conduct will be reported to the Council!"

As if those words would deflect me off the course I had decided on.

There were two choices before me now--my Oath or the fate of unknown men. I peered around the edge of the pillar signalling for Yana to start getting the guard into formation. Part of my Oath was to defend the weak. The Goddess said that the male was the weaker one. He lacked the nurturing instinct. He could not reproduce. When he died, there was nothing of him that remained. How could you let a creature so limited as a man face such horror in his life? I could not.

Stepping from behind the pillar, I let the Messenger spy me. "Captain Longsword, the Council demands that you stand before them immediately and report on the failed attack last night!"
Yana passed her hand over her face as I took the wide stairway down into the yard. Behind her, my sworn women began lining up in battle formation. It didn't take long for the Messenger to figure out what we were planning to do. A trainee held Rainer my horse still as I mounted.
"You cannot authorize this! The Council has to be notified of any attacks, Captain!" The Messenger made a grab for the reins, then jumped back as Rainer tried to take a bite out of her hand. "This is a violation of the Civilizing Treaty!"

I made my voice sharp and my face immoveable. "This has to be done."

The Messenger held her hand clenched to her breast as if Rainer had bitten her and she backed away from me toward the gates. "The Council of Elders will hear of this!"

She spun on her heel and started hurrying away. "Seize her!" The trainee jumped into action and grabbed her from behind, dagger drawn clear from the sheath and ready for use. "HOLD!"

The Messenger's eyes were wide with fear and disbelief more for the fact that I would challenge her sanctified position than the piece of steel that could kill her. "I am the word of the Council! How dare you order me held like....like a common criminal!"

Yana urged her own horse forward to stop the trainee from any reckless action, "Put your dagger away, girl. The Messenger here doesn't plan on making any trouble."

The weapons masters were teaching the young how to use blades efficiently but not WHEN to use them. I would have to make it a point to go over the Commands that bound us to civility. Too much decadence was filtering into Sandshore for my liking. The older woman blanched as she read the slight rebellion in her captor's eyes.

"Do it now!" Yana nudged past me staring down on the trainee.


The knife was put away so quickly, you might never have expected it to have been out at all.

"When the Captain orders you to do something, Tina you do it! All privileges are suspended. If you can't follow orders, you don't get any of the rewards. You understand me, Trainee?"

"Aye Lieutenant."

Quietly I spoke, "Take the Messenger to the cells and hold her there until sunset."

"The Council will hear of this! I don't know what you and your guards are planning on doing but I know that the Council will not be as forgiving as they have been with this insubordination!"
The Messenger was like a dog with no teeth. She could howl and whine and even growl but her word really held no weight with the Council of Elders. "See no harm comes to her. Give her some lunch and keep her comfortable until sunset."

"Aye Captain." The Messenger glared hatred at me as the trainee lead her away.

Yana settled her helm over her short blonde hair. "There's going to be hell to pay when we get back."

I pushed my own metal helm over my hair feeling the heat of the sun on my partially hidden face and the familiar scent of horse and honest sweat. "If we accomplish what we intend to, the punishment the Council decrees on me will be nothing. We have a long ride ahead of us. Move them out." I kicked Rainer into a lively canter leading out into the crowded cobbled streets, my loyal company following behind.

The Buglers began cringing out from the tops of the Garrison, their shrill horns echoing over the narrow street. We had almost run down school children once because we rode en masse. This call of the buglers was to tell everyone on the streets to be wary because the Garrison was out. Yana had fought me on this decision. Her argument was that the call would tell the criminals that we were coming. Still I insisted because the innocent had the right to know that we were there to protect them and not to harm, maim or kill them. So we rode out of the city gates with the bugles blaring far behind us ... without a single incident.

The land that surrounded Sandshore on three sides was rocky and steep. Green trees grew high from the base of the hills, so high that every ten years or so the Garrison had to got and clear back the growth from the walls that protected the city. Further up the hills, the trees grew smaller, not finding as much soil to take route, but the mosses that took over made the scene into a vast sea of rolling green, with a few rocky patches to accent its colour. The beach front and inlet took up the front of Sandshore's thirty foot high wall. The shore was rocky and the dark rocks that refused to be beaten down by the sea littered most of our coast then suddenly the waters calmed and became almost tranquil and that is where our ancestors built the harbour.


The countryside outside of the Sandshore's walls grew progressively wilder and more deadly the further one moved away. In the years following the Fire, legend said that all of the land was covered by ice--the price the decadent had to pay for turning away from the Goddess. While I had been within the walls of the town, and even on the ocean in transit to another civilized area, I had dismissed the legend of the Fire as religious nattering. The remains of the Old World could still be seen in the larger cities, but they're more like ugly sculpture someone had twisted and melted than buildings so high that they dared to reach the sky were the Goddess lived. But outside the walls, away from the civilized lands, the clumps of twisted shapes are sinister and frightening. What sort of people had offended the Goddess so she would tear apart everything that they had built? I glanced over at Yana who was riding abreast of me, her face filled with the glow of expectation. When we were in the midst of fighting she could shine like a bright beacon of destruction. Were we becoming like them?

Rainer hunched up her back and gave a few bucks complaining about the slow pace we were on. I jerked her head back to remind her that I was the one in control. After that, she settled into the gentle canter. It would not do the Guard any good to come charging into Red Hollow blindly. There was no telling how many Badlanders were at the encampment. Forty were easy to cut down. But less than twenty Guards facing sixty Badlanders, we would be hard pressed to crawl back to our horses and ride home.

It took less time getting to Red Hollow than I anticipated. The sun was still lingering faintly in the sky, it's red fingers reaching up from the horizon in a futile attempt to claw its way back up into the air. We reined in well short of the depression. The steep terrain did not bode well for the horses. Regretfully, I ordered them staked and we proceeded on foot. We would have to rely on the tricky element of surprise.

Edla, Marina, Turin and Marsha , our best scouts, were sent on ahead to read the lay of the land. My right hand played with the hilt of my forearm dagger. Yana walked the perimeter of the small camp, wary of any attempted ambush. Our faces were hard and ready. Together we had faced many campaigns. There was no small chatter nor any ribbing between us. No one, of good nature, can be light of heart when something so horrid is about to be faced.

Darkness was setting in when Turin suddenly returned, blending in so well with the shadows that she startled those of us who were on the alert. Her face was grim. "Captain...our combined reports tell us there are only sixteen Badlanders at the site. They must have sent most of their forces against Sandshore last night."

"Terrain?"

"Pretty much in the open. Small trees and shrubby but not enough for any cover. They've set up camp at the back of the hollow. The only way in is the only way out." Lowering her voice, she came close enough so only Yana and I could hear her next words. "They've got cages set up at the rear close to the wall. Each has about ten men to a cage. We estimate that there's over sixty men there. We could smell the stench of open cess pits as soon as we entered the hollow."
Yana hissed under her breath, "May the Goddess burn their souls."

I nodded in agreement, "What are the chances of assassins?"

Turin shook her head. "The attackers left the young ones behind. I wouldn't put it past them to set the camp on fire if we startled them. I recommend an all out attack."

"We will have to rely on the Archers to make sure that the attack is simultaneously from all sides." I shifted my weight side to side, stretching my muscles in anticipation of battle. The need for this attack didn't elicit any feelings of guilt. A true woman would never break the Goddess's laws on the sanctity of human life. But then Badlanders never had the protection of the Goddess.
"That's our best bet. Someone is going to have to ride in to get their attention and draw the rest out into the open." I caressed the hilt of my sword, and stared toward the dark shape in the distance.

"I'll do it." Yana volunteered grimly.


I shook my head. "No, you are one of my best archers. I'll need you to coordinate the rest of the guard to my signal." She opened her mouth to protest. My harsh words silenced her. "That's the end of it, Lieutenant."

Yana closed her mouth but nodded abruptly.

"After the initial barrage, I want most of them dead or driven away from the cages. The rest of the Guard will attack on horseback. Archers stay where they are and guard our backside just in case our prisoner lied and there's another force of raiders nearby. '

'The initial attack force will break open the cages and load the captives on horseback. We go in and out like the Fires of Cleansing."

Turin's face turned expressionless. "I'll gather the Archers." She saluted and drifted off into the night.

Turin was barely out of ear range before Yana lit into me. "Are you stupid? You'll be riding into the main camp defenceless. What happens if one of them has a longbow or a javelin?"
"I'm at peace with the Goddess if my time to join her is tonight."

Yana looked around nervously, then pulled me even deeper away from the guard, "Phara...Karl came to me a couple of days ago. He's worried that you'll get careless because you're so exhausted."

I felt my gut tighten with anger. "So that is why you've been treating me like a mindless child, following behind me as if I cannot walk without doing myself some serious damage."

Yana dropped her arms away, "It's not like that! Phara...You know that we both love you. I know that Karl wouldn't know what to do if you went to the Goddess before your time."

"You underestimate Karl. He's a survivor." I stalked over to the horses and pulled Rainer's reins free with a jerk. "That's why I chose him."

I pulled myself up into the saddle, not really caring that I was trying to physically intimidate my lifelong companion. Yana grabbed the bridle. "He chose you."

I sawed on Rainer's mouth, paining her so much that she reared startled. Yana jumped backwards away from the flailing hooves. When I eased up on the bit's pressure, Rainer dropped back down to the ground, shaking her head from side to side showing her displeasure with my treatment. I patted her roughly on the side of the neck, then turned my attention back to my lieutenant. "Get the best archers in position, Lieutenant. I'll see to my end of the business. See to yours."

My words were harsh but no one, close friends or family, criticized my marriage. If there were problems between Karl and myself to work out, then it would be between us - not the whole of Sandshore. Rainer bucked, almost unseating me. I had been jerking her head around again. Never had I used the bit so vilely on her mouth. "I should not take my anger out on you." I nudged her into a quick walk away from Yana.

Behind me I could see Yana begin to issue the orders to the archers. Urging Rainer over toward the supply wagon, I reached over and pulled out a torch. Then I rode into the middle of the gathered archers. "When I throw the torch skyward, that is the signal to send your targets into the Goddess's arms. When the torch hits the ground, the rest of the guard will ride in. This is one chance only."


"What about you, Captain? There is a chance of you getting injured. The darkness is friend to no one in battle." The grey haired archer only voiced what I was sure everyone else was feeling. Night fighting in the street of Sandshore offers the combatants the comfort of knowing where your side companions are. The faint light from the torches is still enough to make armour glint. Out here in the wilderness, your best friend could cut your life away.

"That is a chance that I am willing to take. We all knew that we could lose our lives when we took the Oath of Protection. If any of us falls tonight, it is done in accordance with our Oath. The Goddess will protect your soul. She will show no mercy to those that we send to her arms."

"No mercy. Archers take positions." Yana waved to her archers and they disappear into the darkness surrounding us. She stood before me fighting back the urge to say something. Finally she snapped off a smart salute and began to get the ground troops into battle readiness.
Alone now, a fist of ice formed in my stomach.

Tonight might be the last night I spend on this land. Mother would take care of Kyle and if Karl chose to, she would see that he had a roof over his head. If not, after the period of mourning was over, there would be a line up of prospective suitors. Karl was still the most attractive man in the village.

My maudlin thoughts were interrupted as a raven's cry echoed over the quiet of the evening. My stewart handed up my helm, lit a torch and handed it to me. Settling my helm over my head seemed tp drop a sense of calm around me, almost like a cloak of assurance of good fortune.
"May the Goddess protect you Captain." The Stewart then backed away and began pulling out her own weapon.

"May the Goddess smile on us all." I kicked Rainer into motion and started toward the scourge of our land and laws.

The battle, if you could call it that, was over in less that a heartbeat. The best of the Badlander warriors had been sent against the village. These...things, I could not call them warriors, nor could I call them women, did nothing except die. I rode in screaming battles cries from ages past at the tops of my lungs. The things scrambled away from the haven of the cages of prisoners and ran off into the night. I flung the torch high and pulled out my short sword. One of them ran toward my blade as if they wanted nothing more than to end their life. Rainer trampled another under hoof. The arrows came down like rain. The men in the cages wailed loudly adding to the din. A crossbow quarrel hit my helm with enough force to send me flying into the ground. I landed on my left shoulder and kept rolling three more times to get clear of Rainer's hooves and to try and get my balance. The raiders were mostly dead before any of the guards came rushing in. A few screamed as they tried to hobble away porcupine-like. The other horsemen rode in and easily finished off the wounded.

My eyes watered and the world around me was waving back and forth. By the time I had enough energy to knock my helm off, the ground troops had arrived at the cages and were releasing the captives. I staggered to my feet and weaved toward the back of the compound. The locks were little more than twisted pieced of metal but the bars were spaced so close together that there was no way a man, much less a child could get their hands to the lock to escape.

"We are from the town of Sandshore. You've got nothing to be afraid of. We'll take you back to Sandshore and notify the other towns and villages where you came from that you are safe!" Sandra was yelling out reassurances from the centre of the camp.

A young man, he couldn't have been a few days past adulthood, threw his arms around my neck and hung on too tightly. "Thank the Goddess....thank the Goddess."


Awkwardly I patted him on the back, and blinked trying to get the world to focus a bit better. "Was this all?"

He kept mumbling his prayers over and over. Dropping my sword I tried to pry his arms off my neck. "Listen to me, were these the only ones? Should we be expecting more?"

I shook him roughly. The glazed look dropped out of his eyes. "Are there any more lurking around?"

"About forty left yesterday evening. They could be coming back any moment." Cold fear crept back into his face.

"No...no....we've already taken care of them. The Goddess guards them now."

The sound of galloping horses tensed everyone up. Yana and the rest of the archers came into the firelight. "Commander! The rest of the Garrison is approaching!"

I led the boy toward the rest of the freed captives. Yana glanced toward the sixty-five freed men. "We did good work, Captain."

"Aye..." I grabbed her forearm and slapped my hand on the back of hers. I was grateful that everyone was safe, grateful and tired.

"How did the rest of the Garrison find out?"

My steward brought Rainer to me. I patted her neck but had to work harder than I expected to get back into the saddle. The pain of the fall was starting to set in now the adrenaline was wearing away. I was going to be very sore tomorrow. I didn't need to see who it was, I knew, "Tanzeer."

Yana swore, "I thought she could be more dependable than this."

"She is. If there were anything other than sixteen novices here, I would be extremely grateful for the timely arrival of the rest of the garrison." I grimaced and rotated my shoulder taking stock of how badly I was hurt. "However, a good verbal chewing out is in order Lieutenant. I gave her strict instructions."

"I'll see to it. Are you all right?"

"Some days I feel too old for this. Have the rest of the troop look around for other stolen things. We'll burn this place to the ground when we leave."

"Aye." Yana moved off.

The whole of Red Hollow was engulfed in flames when the front runners of the garrison arrived. Tanzeer wasn't among them. That was good as I was in no mood to greet their arrival. "Double up with these men. If you have to walk, do it. These men have lived through enough hardship." Not a woman looked at me as they carried out my orders without hesitation. Yana rode ahead to lead the garrison back to the town wisely leaving me to face my anger and disgust alone.

I could feel the heat of the fire on my face as I sat in the hollow staring into the red and yellow flame. If my hate could take form, it would make this blaze a campfire. A guard had handed me the list of inventory and the order book they had uncovered. It was a detailed list of how many men to get, how tall, what colour hair, eyes and even detailed maps of different villages and towns. Sandshore's map was almost perfection. If I hadn't changed the way the guards met each disturbance, the Badlanders would have been able to get in and out of town before we were even alerted that there was an attack.


I had to fight down the urge to rip the book apart and send it back into the hellfires it came from. Signed at the bottom of every page was the name Misha Righthander. She had violated the laws of the Goddess with her 'business'. She had spit upon the innocence of the weak. She had betrayed Sandshore for simple coin. "I should have killed you when I had the chance. Hear me Misha. Before my days are through, we will meet and this time there will be no mercy! No Mercy!"

Rainer, whirled around easily and we galloped after the souls we had saved from a life of degradation and sorrow.