Savage (4 page)

BADLANDS

BAZUR squinted as he scanned the horizon. The blazing hot sun often played tricks with the eye. The golden desert sands and gray rock outcroppings would blend in with the heat waves, making seeing shapes in the distance challenging. Bazur saw nothing on the horizon, but he could feel something amiss. Something or someone was out there watching the caravan.

Bazur turned and looked at the caravan. He saw a small but well-protected outfit comprising of the men riding for the independent businessmen from Draisha and a contingent of royal guards. It had surprised Bazur when Angora, a Draisha diamond miner, had hired him. Normally, merchants sending their goods in a caravan with a royal escort didn’t bother to hire extra muscle for the dangerous trip across the badlands. The royal flags of Draisha scared off most bandits and thieves. The royal guards had a reputation for being skilled warriors who fired first and asked questions later. But Angora had insisted on hiring Bazur. He claimed that a royal escort no longer carried the same threatening reputation it once had, and that in the last few months several caravans with royal escorts had been successfully attacked.

When approached about the job, Bazur had assumed that Angora overly worried, he’d thought the diamond trader was exaggerating, but when Bazur arrived at the edge of Draisha, he was surprised to see double the normal size contingent of royal guards. Bazur couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen the number of royal guards increased for a shipment. Apparently, Angora hadn’t been overstating the matter. Someone had the royal guards worried, not something that happened often.

Now that the caravan was in the middle of the badlands, Bazur was even more curious as to who would dare attack a royal caravan, and why. The goods the caravan carried were certainly valuable. Angora’s diamonds alone would bring a fair price on the black market or with any diamond trader south of Draisha that didn’t care where the diamonds originated, but the rest of caravan wasn’t that rich. Certainly not rich enough for a normal thief or bandit to consider attacking a large highly trained group of royal guards. Not that it truly mattered. Bazur was only responsible for making sure Angora’s goods were safe. What happened to the rest of the caravan was a royal problem, not his. Of course, anyone attacking the caravan was also likely to be attacking Angora’s mules, so in a way the problem was now his as well. Bazur pondered his dilemma as he watched the caravan from a distance. Bazur preferred to shadow the caravan from afar. It was easier to watch for tracks and enemy sign by scouting ahead.

A shadow caught Bazur’s eye. It was a rock ahead of the caravan. Bazur frowned and focused his attention on the path. Why had the shadow caught his attention? Then it happened again. The slightest shift in the shadow. The rock wasn’t a rock at all. Bazur lifted his fingers to his mouth and gave a loud piercing whistle. The caravan guards turned and Bazur pointed at the rock.

One of the royal guards galloped ahead to inspect the rock. As he grew closer to the questionable rock, all hell broke loose. A barrage of arrows was unleashed on the royal guards and all around the caravan men popped up. They had been covered in sand and burlap. Other bandits had been camouflaged and hidden behind several of the large rock outcroppings that filled the badlands. The sudden attack was effective. Even with Bazur’s warning, the royal guards were caught off-guard. Almost half the guards were not carrying their shields properly, either leaving them on their backs or strapped to their saddles. They had believed no one would dare hit such a well-protected caravan when the goods it carried weren’t particularly rich. As the first attack hit, several guards went down and others sustained minor injuries.

The remaining royal guards quickly regrouped. Weapons and shields up, they attacked. The mounted royal guards rode down bandits along the path before attacking the archers among the rocks, while those on foot circled and protected the caravan of cargo mules. Bazur realized the flaw in the royal guards’ actions and started to run towards the caravan. While Bazur ran, he watched the royal guards riding towards the rock outcroppings. As he had feared, there were traps set for the horsemen. When the horses neared the rocks, the ground gave out below them and the horses and their royal guard riders fell into pits filled with spikes. The royal guards, who hadn’t yet reached the rocks, quickly turned their mounts and rode around the traps. But their numbers were falling fast. From two dozen, the number of able bodied warriors able to fight was already less than half that and the fighting had barely started.

As the sandpits claimed their victims, a second wave of attackers jumped up from holes in the sand and rushed the remaining guards and riders with the caravan. Bazur was still far enough away from the caravan that he was behind several of the second wave of attackers. As they rushed in to attack, Bazur sped up and started his own attack.

Bazur swiftly came up behind one bandit and stabbed him in the back. Bazur then threw his war scythe into a bandit that was closing in on the caravan.

Two of the bandits turned and charged back at Bazur.

Without slowing down, Bazur drew his sword, his orc heart clamoring for blood as he ran towards the two bandits. As they grew close, Bazur leapt into the air and landed a flying kick on one of the bandits while swinging his sword at the other bandit. His kick caught the surprised bandit in the chest, sending him sprawling while the other bandit was able to block his sword, which almost made him grunt in approval. These two were proving to be admirable warriors worthy to fight an orc. As he landed on his feet, Bazur delivered a quick, hard, vicious kick to the fallen bandit’s groin. The bandit doubled over in excruciating pain. Bazur pivoted and ducked under the attack of the second bandit. As the bandit’s sword sliced air, Bazur struck him in the chest. Bazur then brought his sword down on the neck of the first bandit, finishing him off.

While Bazur fought with the bandits on his side of the caravan, the bandits on the other side reached the remaining royal guards. However, with Bazur stopping the one group before they could attack, the remaining royal guards were all able to turn to the other side and defend their flank. No longer surrounded, the royal guards were able to fight off the bandits.

As quickly as the attack came it was over. The remaining bandits in the rock outcroppings had disappeared, fleeing into the badlands before the mounted royal guards could get to them, and the bandits closest to the caravan were all dead.

Bazur pulled his spear from the back of the bandit and slowly walked up the caravan.

“Thank you, stranger. If you hadn’t intervened, I don’t know if we would’ve survived the attack,” said one of the royal guards.

“Yes, a very well planned out and coordinated attack. Not the normal, cowardly bandit activity,” said Bazur. “These men were true warriors, a good test of my blade.”

“I’ll say,” said another guard. “I’ve never seen such an attack. They came out of nowhere. If you hadn’t whistled, it would’ve been even worse. I can’t imagine why so many bandits were involved in attacking this caravan. It is not that rich.”

“Perhaps they were hired to attack it. Besides Angora, who has goods in this caravan?” asked Bazur.

“I don’t know all of the cargo, but mostly it is Draishan wine and jewelry headed for the markets in Azmarin. I didn’t know Angora had cargo in this caravan. His goods and the jewelry are likely the most valuable items. Most of the wine is from the Grunta farm, and the jewelry is from an assortment of Draishan artisans. I saw it being loaded, and for the most part, I wouldn’t say its anything special,” said the first royal guard.

Bazur did the math. There had been at least twenty bandits in the ambush. Whoever had coordinated the attack was not worried about money. It had probably cost more to hire the bandits than the caravan would bring in on the black market. Draishan wine was good, but there wasn’t a large amount of it. From what Bazur knew of Draishan artisans, the guard was being kind when he said the jewelry wasn’t anything special. But whoever was behind the ambush wasn’t Bazur’s problem. Despite wishing to honor his father somehow, he still preferred to battle with his blade, not his wits.  After all, they still had a long way to go and with just over half of the royal guards had been killed or wounded in the attack, he would get many chances to test his blade again. “I suggest you get the caravan moving again. You can come back for your bodies once the goods are delivered.”

“Wise council. Who knows if there is another attack coming or not. The sooner we get out of these accursed lands the better,” said the second guard.

Bazur smiled. The badlands weren’t cursed. They were harsh and rugged. Only the strong survived in the badlands. It was his home now. It humored him that the legendary royal guards of Draisha were so worried about crossing the badlands. “I’ll scout ahead.”

DRAISHA

KYRA followed the menacing looking royal palace guard as he led her deeper into the palace. As they walked down a veritable maze of corridors and down secluded stairwells, it became apparent to Kyra they were not going to one of the normal palace meeting chambers. Kyra knew a little of the palace, what good thief wouldn’t? However, even she hadn’t known the full extent of the palace. They were already two levels below what she had thought to be the palace basement.

The royal palace guard stopped at the end of the dark narrow corridor and pointed into the next room. “Wait in there.” The surely looking fellow turned and started back down the corridor.

Kyra walked into the room. It was large and empty, with the notable exception of a few statues and a collection of paintings on the walls. The torch lit chamber was not the best place to experience such art. The poor flickering light created shadows that danced over the paintings. Normally, with only a minute or two of studying a painting, Kyra could replicate a near perfect forgery. However, in this lighting, she could not trust her eyes to produce a true image. A pity, she thought to herself. An amused smile crept across her face. Had the prince purposely chosen this room to tease her? Or did he have a different reason for the clandestine meeting being held in a hidden part of the palace?

“It’s a lovely collection, isn’t it?”

Kyra turned to see the prince standing behind her. He had not come through one of the two corridors into the room. She’d purposely been standing in a position where she could see the exits. The prince obviously had a hidden doorway to this room. “Yes, it is a beautiful collection. I recognize a few of the paintings as being Draishan artists, but most are foreign works. The statues in particular are elvish works.”

“Good eye. Yes, the statues are elvish, except for the one in the far corner. That one is actually from an orc artist. I have art works from all over the known world. If a culture produces art, I try to find it. I believe you can learn a lot from studying other cultures, their art included,” said Prince Valentine.

“I have no doubt,” said Kyra. “But I don’t think you brought me here for a lesson in world cultures.”

“No,” said the prince with a small smile. “I did learn you have an appreciation of the arts, that you are a rather talented artist yourself. I thought you’d appreciate this collection more than most.”

Kyra kept her facial expression neutral as the prince mentioned her art. That he knew so much about her was concerning. Her clients never knew who was forging their paintings or documents. It was why she used Hoggard as an intermediate. He was not one to reveal details about his associates. And Kyra had only done a few paintings for a powerful friend in Azmarin. If the prince was referring to those paintings, he had a broader reach than she’d given him credit for.

“I brought you here because I have a problem. I know Hoggard told you some of the details. I need to stop these attacks and find out who is behind them. The city guards are coming up with nothing. And everyone that I’ve hired to dig around has ended up dead or missing. The best investigators Draisha has to offer and they find nothing except an early grave.”

“What makes you think I won’t end up dead as well?” asked Kyra.

“Actually, I fear that is a likely outcome. However, I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen. I asked Hoggard for someone unique, someone who would come at this problem with a different mindset from the normal investigators. I’m hoping that you are the answer to my problems.”

Kyra was impressed with the prince’s honesty. It wasn’t comforting that he expected her to end up as his investigators had, but at least he was honest about it. “Well, first I will need to know as much as possible about the attacks.”

“The attacks started six months ago. Several of my key supports have been attacked, as have their business interests. Basically anyone who supports my becoming king has become a target. I have a journal with notes on who’s been attacked. I have also made a list of who hasn’t yet been attacked, and a list of possible targets. Everything I know is in the journals.” Prince Valentine handed her the journals. “There is some very sensitive information in those journals. I’m trusting you will keep them safe.”

Kyra accepted the journals. The prince’s notes would be a great place for her to start her investigation. “These will help tremendously.”

“As will these,” said the prince as he handed her a pair of brooches. The brooches were the official palace insignia. “As of now, you and your mystery companion are official representatives of the Astar family.”

Kyra nodded as the prince handed her the brooches. Having the brooches made her and Bazur two of the most powerful officials in all of Draisha. Even the city guards answered to the representatives of the Astar family. The prince was giving her every possible resource to help find out who was behind the attacks. The weight of the brooches went beyond the mere physical weight of the emblems, she was now official a royal investigator, with all the power and danger that came with the title. It was a surprisingly sobering feeling, holding a simple brooch. “We’ll do our best.”

“I’m told your associate has a tendency to get violent. Try not to hurt anyone, but do what you must to get results. I fear the attacks are only going to escalate until no one will associate with me. I may have a noble birthright, but without political backers I cannot bring in the reforms I seek.” A look of concern washed across the prince’s face. It was obvious he wasn’t totally comfortable with bringing Bazur into Draisha.

Kyra bit her tongue. Bazur certainly would cause issues walking around Draisha. Violence seemed to follow the half-orc everywhere he went, but she wouldn’t take on the task without him. “I realize you may have some doubts about my choice of partners, but I won’t take the job if he doesn’t agree to come. I’ve no intentions of becoming the fourth dead investigator.”

“I understand. I have no choice but to trust your judgment. Traditional methods have failed so now I must embrace more creative methods.” The prince gave a small smile. “My grandfather is probably rolling over in his grave if he is watching me give a thief and a notorious brawler two of the most important positions in the entire kingdom. Are you even sure that he will agree? I hear he is fairly reclusive.”

“Yes. I think I have the one thing that would entice Bazur into Draisha.”

The prince raised an eyebrow. “What is that?”

Kyra flipped her hair over her shoulder and placed her hand on her hip. “Me.” From the first time they had met, there had been an attraction between them, but Bazur had always acted professional. But she’d never fully flirted with him, something she was more than willing to do if it meant getting him to agree to be her partner. Bazur was the perfect combination of scary and trustworthy. She needed him. She would go to the badlands and bring him back or return the brooches, it was that simple. In the meantime, she would start thinking about the prince’s problem. “Do you think your reforms are the cause of the attacks?”

“Yes. This kingdom has long been ripe with greed and corruption. The majority of the people of Draisha will welcome my reforms, but there are many wealthy Draishans who hate the idea of reform. Sadly, the list of potential people behind these attacks is too long to even start. I’m expected upstairs shortly. Is there anything else you need to get started?”

“No. This is more than enough to get started. First, I will have to track down my partner. He doesn’t yet know he will be an investigator.”

“Is that going to be a problem?” asked Prince Valentine.

“I don’t think so. I know where to find him, and I can be very convincing when I put my mind to it,” said Kyra with a wink.