Draconis' Bane (12 page)

Kevin and Tristan
took it in turns to ride to the back of the column and check on the
wounded ridding in the last wagon. It hadn’t surprised him at all
that the wagon drivers were soldiers. He wasn’t sure why he’d
expected it, but like everything else he was happy to admit that
his instincts were serving him far better than his memories.

The Princes only had
time to talk in depth when they setup camp for the night on the
side of the road in a small clearing of trees. While the cook was
fussing about with the stew and the men were busy picketing the
horses nearby, Kevin watched his brother clean and polish his sword
and dagger.

“Where did you learn
to twirl your blades around like that, Tristan.” Kevin asked.

Tristan looked up at
his brother; he was still troubled with the ease that he had taken
the lives of those men. He thought for a moment, trying to find the
part in his memory when he had first seen a move like that.
Finally, he spoke up;

“How much do you know
about what happened in my nightmare?” Tristan asked bluntly.

“Only that the spell
was designed to take your will to live.” Kevin replied.

“That’s an
over-simplification.” He replied moodily.

“Tell me.” Kevin
prodded.

“My earliest memory
is being four years old. My sister, in the nightmare that is, had
just been brought home. She was placed in a ‘Jolly Jumper’ which is
basically like a saddle with straps on either side that bounces.
She was having fun so I thought I would play with her. She bounced
up pretty high and kicked me in the nose.” Tristan explained as
Kevin flinched in sympathy.

“It must have been
the force of her jump mixed with the momentum of her kick, but she
broke my nose. Blood was everywhere. She was laughing. My parents
were chastising me for getting blood on the carpet and checking to
make sure her foot was alright.” He concluded.

They both sat there
in silence, Tristan staring into the fire, his eyes taking on a
guarded angry shroud as he took a deep breath.

“I spent the better
part of a month locked away in my room, watching Robin Hood and
other shows like it, trying to mimic the movements of their
swordplay.” Tristan explained.

Kevin only looked
perplexed at the explanation. The younger Prince sighed, smiling as
he tried to find the words to explain it properly.

“These shows are like
theater, only they employ master swordsmen to ensure the safety of
the actors as they bash about with each other.” He chuckled. “At
first the moves seemed, tame and more for show. As I got faster I
started to improvise.”

“Why would your
parents lock you away?” Kevin asked.

“So that they didn’t
have to deal with me.” Tristan replied darkly.

“That’s perverse.”
His large brother observed.

“Imagine every week
something similar happening, not just for a month, or a year…but
for eight years.” Tristan continued. “The spell is apparently
fashioned to make the target live progressively more traumatic
events until they simply lose the will to live, and die.”

Kevin simply stared
at his younger brother for a few minutes, not exactly knowing what
to say.

“That isn’t your
life.” He said quietly.

“No, perhaps it
isn’t.” Tristan replied, somewhat convinced.

Kevin placed his hand
on Tristans’ shoulder.

“It’s not. You were a
pain in the backside your whole life. Your insecurity made you a
pathetic swordsman, it was so easy to distract you and make you
angry.” His brother explained. “You couldn’t have ridden, even
Pava, this far, you would have been whining all the way. Whatever
happened, whatever you learnt inside your own mind, it’s made you a
better person. Not to mention infinitely more dangerous.”

Tristan looked up at
his brother again, a grim expression on his young face.

“I hope you’re
right.” Tristan replied as he stood up and walked off to his
tent.

Kevin sat at the fire
for hours thinking about the changes he’d seen in his brother and
the frightening speed and agility he seemed to have gained
overnight.

“I hope I’m right
too….” He muttered as he stood and headed to his tent.

For the next two days
on the road the brothers noticed small bands of men fleeing into
the nearby hills and forests to hide. Tristan had the distinct
impression that had there been fewer of them traveling this road,
those groups wouldn’t have been so inclined to make themselves
scarce. Kevin had taken to brooding a lot, getting lost in his own
thoughts more and more often as they approached the farms outside
of Kenting.

Their last night on
the road Tristan finally voiced his concerns. “What’s going on
around here? That last band of men looked to be damn near a hundred
strong.”

“We’ve always had
small groups of bandits running around and hiding in the forest,
but never in so many numbers. I get the feeling they’ve been
filtering in from Golshy Pass for months.” His brother replied.

“What are we going to
do about them?” Tristan asked.

Kevin smiled
slightly, “We? Well I’m not sure little brother. I’ve got a duchy
to run after all.”

“But someone’s got to
do
something
about it!” Tristan insisted.

Kevin looked up at
his brother over the flames of the fire.

“I was actually
thinking of putting
you
in charge of that…”

“Oh no you’re not.”
Tristan exclaimed.

“Well I had planned
on continuing your training and then maybe sending you out on a few
sweeps of the outlying estates. But after seeing you handle
yourself in Irudin I’ve decided to change tactics a little.” Kevin
continued.

Tristan’s wasn’t
quite sure whether he was being made sport of or getting in over
his head, but his expression darkened as he replied.

“Look, that was just
luck,” Tristan admitted.

“Luck my axe. You
were calm, cool and in control of everything you did back there.”
Kevin interrupted.

“But now you’re
talking about putting me in charge of…I’m not even sure what!
I…”

“Tristan,” His
brother cut across him, “You’re more ready that you might
think.”

Kevin took a deep
breath, organizing his thoughts and regaining his composure before
he continued.

“I’m not talking
about sending you out there was a couple men, I’m going to put you
in command of the 7
^th
Infantry. You’re going to spend a
few weeks clearing the highway of those bandits.”

“The 7
^th
?
What?! Are you crazy?” Tristan asked. “They’re not going to listen
to me! Besides, they’ve got their own officers, let them lead the
raid.” He shouted.

“Listen little
brother, you’re a Prince of the Realm whether you like it or not.”
Kevin warned, pointing his finger at his younger brother from the
other side of the camp fire. “You’ve got duties to perform and a
name to live up to. I’m not going to have you going soft again
playing around like a child.” Kevin accused, his temper rising
slightly.

“Again?” Tristan
asked uncertainly.

“Yes. Again.” Kevin
said forcefully. “I’m making you a Knight-Captain, which means that
only I outrank you in Kenting. I really should wait a couple years,
but after that display back there and just the mere fact that
you’re not a royal pain in the backside anymore,” He added smiling,
“I’m going to put you in charge of the 7
^th
. They’re a
tough little regiment of fifty men hand chosen by Captain
Robertson.”

“I…” Tristan
started.

“There’s no
discussion.” Kevin cut him off.

“…fine. Damn.”
Tristan cursed, then slumped slightly giving up trying to convince
his brother he wasn’t ready.

“What?” Kevin asked a
little harshly.

“I’m in the bloody
army now….” Tristan observed dejectedly.

Kevin’s boisterous
laugh cut the tension and the brothers spent the rest of the
evening discussing the details of Tristan’s new assignment.

~

The eastern gates
creaked slightly as they swung open to reveal the underside of a
drawbridge easily twenty feet wide. Tristan sat astride Pava
completely filthy and sunburned. The past few days in the saddle
had darkened his usually pale skin to a red hue that nearly matched
the trim in his armor. The drawbridge began to lower as Kevin
sighed next to him.

“Has it been that
long?” Tristan asked.

“Almost a month, I
didn’t think I would miss this place that much in a month.” He
replied.

The drawbridge landed
with a thud as it fit perfectly into the cutout in the road leaving
almost no gap at all for the wagons to hit. The brothers urged
their horses forward.

Riding through
Kenting was a completely different experience to Metao, in his
father’s capital and in Irudin the shops along the main streets
were loaded with fine clothing and jewel shops. Here all of the
businesses he could see had a functional purpose that Tristan found
instantly reassuring.

The street itself
would bend off at an angle leaving no straight parts longer than
fifty feet. The windows of the shops had storm shutters on them
with large sturdy metal hinges and locks on the inside of the
shutters. The doors of all the shops swung outward and had similar
hinges on them with large metal plates that could hold a thick post
to the doorframe effectively making them impossible to enter once
locked up. Looking up Tristan noticed that the roofs had very
little pitch to them, being more or less flat with a small crest in
the middle. Where the road turned there were large gaps between
buildings that looked very difficult to leap.

“This place was built
for defense.” Tristan commented.

His brother smiled as
he turned to face Tristan, “Being so close to Terum we sometimes
find ourselves invaded by their spies, or at times their armies.
We’ve yet to lose the city to them, but it’s been close a few times
I’m told.”

They rode past a
market square that was similar to those in Irudin, only the
fountain was much smaller and instead of brilliant gems being used,
the entire Dragon King was carved out of limestone which
practically glowed in the noon sun. The eyes of Draconis were
fashioned out of Atacamite and the roaring mouth had more water
issuing forth from it than the great jeweled beast in Irudin.

“I prefer yours.”
Tristan commented.

His brother turned
his head and nodded at the compliment saying; “I’m not a vain
person by nature little brother, most of my things are functional
rather than pretty…”

“That’s not true.”
Tristan interrupted.

“How so?” Kevin asked
with narrowed eyes.

“Everyone who sees
your axe has wide eyes.” Tristan replied mimicking the fear often
shown in men’s eyes as Kevin lay about with terrible precision,
they both laughed.

Kevin ordered the
baggage train to make their way to the storage yard while the
remaining soldiers on horseback followed the brothers along the
winding road up to the keep. The bell began to chime from one of
the towers in the castle and Tristan could make out several
servants rushing into the marshalling yard in front of the keep to
welcome his brother home. A smaller drawbridge lowered over the
ten-foot-wide moat to admit the brothers into the grounds of the
keep. They cantered their horses to a halt in front of the main
entrance and dismounted as porters came over to walk the horses to
the stables. Tristan patted Pava as he handed off his reins to a
porter. The remaining soldiers followed the porters back to the
stables, walking their own mounts.

“KEVIN!” screamed a
feminine voice.

Surprised, Tristan
spun around from watching the horses being walked away to see a
lovely looking woman running down the keep stairs and leap into an
embrace with his brother. Tristan wasn’t generally embarrassed by
public displays of affection, though he did feel he needed to give
them some semblance of privacy. He occupied his time looking around
what he could see of the keep. It seemed to be made of a faintly
blue stone with wooden frames around the doors and windows. There
was no stained glass here, just simple transparent windows framed
in wood that could be opened from the middle to admit a cool
breeze. It was simple, functional and built to withstand siege…much
like everything he associated with his older brother. The woman
released herself from Kevin and he turned to introduce her to
Tristan.

“Little brother, this
is my wife, Alison.” Kevin said.

They made the most
unusual pair, Kevin was a large imposing looking man and Alison was
a slip of a girl. She was only slightly larger than Eurydice who
was easily ten years her junior. Her open face was welcoming and
she had kind eyes. She shocked him as she grabbed a hold of his
shoulders and pulled him into a surprisingly tight embrace.

“Oh it’s so nice to
finally meet you!” She said happily.

Confused, Tristan
looked at his brother who was laughing.

“Don’t worry, you’ve
never met. You and Euri were too young to make the trip, only
mother and father came to the wedding.” Kevin explained.

Alison looked at her
husband, confusion clearly showing on her face as he shook his head
no. “I’ll explain later, dear.” He said quietly.

She nodded and took
his offered arm, escorting them into the main audience chamber.
Tristan followed behind them as they mounted the steps and through
a pair of sturdy yet wonderfully crafted wooden doors. Even with
windows lining each side of the main chamber it was much dimmer in
here than outside. Tristans’ eyes adjusted to the light level and
he looked around in awe, war banners and weapons of all kinds were
hanging off the walls in the vast hall. The hall was filled with
merchants, soldiers and servants as Alison escorted them to the
pair of chairs at the front of the hall.