Samual (45 page)

Though he'd never seen one before, he knew from the tales that the creatures were built like starfish, with four snake like tentacles where a man would have arms and legs, and a viper's head on what was another tentacle. They were truly frightening creatures, especially in the distant swamps of Arusid where they lived. Their bodies didn't allow them to walk, but they didn't need to. They used their tentacles to pull themselves quickly along the soft ground, and the poison from their fangs to kill their prey before they wrapped it up and crushed it into a pulp to drink.

The vipers had weaknesses though, and the greatest of them was that they weren't strong fighters. They would never attack a creature that hadn't fallen victim to their hiss. They couldn't use weapons, and wrapped up head to foot in armour as they were, they were almost helpless. Save for their hiss. Their hiss was a weapon they used to great effect against creatures with sharp hearing, which was why the elves with their acute hearing were so vulnerable. As a half elf Sam was apparently far less vulnerable. 

The response to the first viper guard's death was immediate as the advisers and the remaining vipers all spun around on their heels and tried to mount up and gallop for safety, hissing all the way. Their handler was hoping to use their hissing as a shield as he fled the town. But there could be no escape for them.

“Stop!” Sam bellowed it at the advisers at the top of his lungs. By then he already had the next bolt loaded. “Let go of the reins or I put the next bolt in your back.”

Of course he could only kill one of them, and if they'd been thinking clearly they would have realised that. But they weren't soldiers and they didn't think like them. They didn't even realise that they might have had time to flee between each bolt as it took him a few moments to reload each one. One of them might get away. So instead they just turned back to him and stood there staring at him, paralysed with fear.

“Now lie face down on the ground.”

They did it, their terror preventing them from understanding that the only reason he was doing it was to slow them down. To make it harder for them to run away. It worked.

But what worked even better was when an arrow suddenly found its way deep into the chest of another viper. It wasn't his. He had a crossbow firing heavy bolts. This was a full three foot length of wood with a metal tip loosed from a long bow.

Sam turned to see Mayvelle standing there, longbow in hand, a pained look on her face, but determination in her eyes. She too could resist the hiss. And she was already reaching for another arrow.

That was Sam's cue to release a second bolt into a second viper chest.

After that it was straight forward. One by one they put the vipers down in front of them. And fortunately they died easily enough while their masters lay there in terror, knowing that when the vipers were gone they'd be completely defenceless.

Both of them he realised were minor wizards. Untrained and with only a few spells to their name. But those spells they'd learned thoroughly. Neither of them though could use a weapon. Neither of them had so much as a fireball to their name. And neither of them could plan their way out of a tent. If they'd been thinking they would have sent half the vipers his way for him to deal with, and used the other half to make their escape while he was busy. But they weren't soldiers. Just black hearted rogues. And they were too frightened to think.

So they lay there, their faces in the dirt, while he and Mayvelle destroyed their army soldier by soldier.

Each viper that fell to the ground lessened the noise in his head, and all around he could see the anguish on the faces of the others lessening as well. In time as they kept killing the creatures, some of the elves even managed to get to their feet and draw their weapons. And so by the end the creatures were falling thanks to his bolts and a number of other elven arrows. 

After that the battle was over. Heri was still lying on the ground and dying slowly. The vipers were all dead and only the two advisers remained to be dealt with. One was the wizard who had controlled the vipers, and the other at a guess was a wizard who had managed to hide their nature from the elves and had presumably kept the horses under control. Had the elves realised what they were they would have been dead long before they reached the town.

Neither of the men stood a chance against the elves. They were swiftly gathered up and dragged away from their mounts, bound hand and foot and brought before the elders for judgement. Judging from the elders' faces, it would not be a pleasant fate that awaited them. The pain from the creatures' hissing was still with them. But Sam didn't care about any of that. Nor that Mayvelle had fairly much proven that she had human blood in her veins. He didn't even care about Heri slowly dying on the ground in front of him. He went to Ryshal instead, and helped her and her parents up.

They were pale and shaking, much as he had expected. Much as he probably was himself. That hiss was a dreadful thing. But they were unharmed.

“Aylin mi elle, are you all right?” It was the only thing that mattered as he held his wife tight, and finally let some of the emotion that he'd been holding back, run free.

“Praise the Goddess I'm well husband. But you need the healers immediately!”

She was right as he suddenly realised that he'd somehow forgotten about the knife in his back in the heat of battle. Or maybe it was simply that with that terrible hiss gone, the relief had robbed him of any ability to feel pain. Ry though was staring at it as though it was a demon. Though to be fair it wasn't hurting as much as it had at the start. That of course might not be a good thing. But as the tears of relief trickled out of the corners of his eyes and ran down his cheeks, he didn't really care.

After that things became a little confused. Healers turned up out of nowhere, and started tending to those who still weren't able to get up. One of them pulled him away from Ry and swiftly had him lying on the ground as they pulled the knife free. It hurt, but only for a few heartbeats as they pushed their healing magic into his flesh.

They told him that the wound was nasty but that he would make a full recovery, so he didn't really care that much. He was more curious that a thrown knife – even one thrown by a mechanical device had managed to pierce his back plate. In time he'd have to look at that device, just to see how powerful it actually was.

At some point someone returned his greatsword to him, and he gathered that they were now healing Heri. If he had still been alive at the time that they pulled it out of his back. Of course he was sure he was. Demons didn't die easily. Sam vehemently hoped that the removal of his greatsword from Heri's back had at least caused him sheer agony.

Then someone dragged out a stretcher from nowhere, and they tried to make him lie down on it. Sam tried to refuse, telling them he could walk, and that it was undignified to be carried away like that. But Ry would have none of it. She pushed him down onto it and after that he was swiftly carried away, though four elves were needed to lift his bulk off the ground. In all his armour it wasn't surprising. But at least Ry was with him, holding his hand and telling him everything was going to be all right. With her beside him he was sure it would be.

The only sour note in fact was that as he was led away he could hear his brother's voice somewhere in the distance, and knew that somehow he still lived. Weak and thin, he was begging for mercy and promising to tell anyone who would listen all sorts of secrets. And though it would be a mistake, Sam knew enough of his wife's people to know that they would consider it even after all he'd done. Sometimes he thought the elves might be a people too decent for their own good.

Certainly they were too decent for his.

“Samual.”

Sam looked up as he heard Elder Bela calling his name to see the Elder standing there on the grass by their wagon with War Master Wyldred beside him. They were his two most regular and most annoying visitors. He sighed, wondering why they were bothering him again. He was supposed to be resting while he recovered from his injury, and was not to be disturbed. Or so the healers had instructed. But really he felt fine. His magic had returned as he had known it would. And mostly he was simply enjoying being fussed over a little. Ry was very good at fussing. And it was cold outside.

Unfortunately it seemed that that time had passed. It had been six days. He felt fully fit save for a few minor twinges. And there was undoubtedly work to do. But from the looks on his visitor's faces, not pleasant work.

Naturally there was only one matter of late that could make them look so unhappy.

“The toad's made a full recovery hasn't he?” Sam could tell that from the somewhat sour expression on the Elder's face. It was a disgrace to let Heri live, and probably a mistake, and they all knew it. Heri would be back to cause more trouble sooner or later. But the elves weren't cold blooded enough to kill a wounded man in cold blood. They'd tended to his wounds instead.

“No. Not full. But enough to be on his way. And we have agreed to let him go.” Elder Bela shook his head. “But he will never be able to harm you or your family again. I promise you that.”

Promises were being given too freely these days in Sam's opinion, and too often they couldn't be kept. But instead of railing against them for making them he held his temper. After all, he had promised never to cross the elders. But still a little of his bitterness escaped.

“You should have let him die. Why didn't you Elder? It would have been for the best. It would have been justice.”

“Because he had information. Knowledge of crimes against our people. Brigands who have crossed us. Even some knowledge of the rats and their master.”

“He always has information,” Sam told him bitterly. Information was always one of his little brother's most valuable weapons. But at some point he thought, you had to stop trading for it.

Yet his true bitterness wasn't for them or their deal. He understood them. It was for himself. For once again underestimating his brother. And for letting himself belief the tall tales about the Fire Angel that everyone kept spouting. He might be a powerful mage. He might have fire magic as powerful as any other. But he still had huge weaknesses. And he kept forgetting that. Heri had exposed one of them, he could be tricked as easily as any other. He should never have allowed himself to fall prey to Heri's trap. He should have killed him the instant he saw him.

“Nonetheless, it is time for him to be released according to our deal and we thought you should be there for that if you're strong enough.”

“I'm strong enough.” Physically that was the truth. In his heart though he didn't know if he could stand to see Heri go free. Still, it had been agreed, and he mounted up and followed the elders back to the Council clearing.

Nothing was said as they rode. Sam was in no mood to speak and he didn't completely trust himself to say the right thing anyway. The others seemed no more talkative than he was.

At least Heri looked less like a king than he had Sam decided when he finally set eyes on his half-brother. The knife he had put in Sam's back had hurt. But the greatsword Sam had put in Heri's had done far more serious damage and Heri was still largely bedridden. In fact he was lying in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by elders, on a light weight cot. It seemed that they had simply carried him here from the healers' tent.

Gone too were his robes. The expensive ermine had been removed, his armour as well, and he had been clothed in typical day wear for an elf. If there was one thing he didn't look like just then, it was a king. But then he wasn't a king. Not anymore. According to what they had learned from him, Heri had destroyed his castle and his city, pretended to be dead, and had run away. If he'd had any sense Sam thought, he should have simply kept running. But he didn't. He had too much hatred to listen to common sense. Hatred that showed itself even as Sam and the others dismounted.

“You plague ridden wart!” Heri started abusing Sam the instant he laid eyes on him and didn't stop until he ran out of breath.

What came out of his mouth though was more of a screech. The healers had done their best work to keep him alive, but even they had their limits. Heri would never walk straight again. Too many of his back and stomach muscles had been severed for that. And for some reason his voice no longer worked as it once had either. Added to that he had only half of his good hand remaining. He was a rather pathetic figure lying there on his cot. But again Sam had to remind himself, he could never underestimate Heri again. He could never again let himself believe the stories of the Fire Angel again either. He wasn't invulnerable.

Sam ignored him. He had expected his little brother's tirade. There was in fact only one thing the two of them agreed on. Their hatred of one another.

“Elder, might I be permitted to burn out his tongue at least?” Really he wanted to burn off his entire head, but he could restrain himself. And just keeping his brother completely silent would be a blessing. Especially when Heri heard him and started screeching about the deal he had made. He was panicking.

“Regretfully not.” Elder Bela shook his head. “We did unfortunately make a deal with him that included healing his injuries and not harming him. But still, with a viper's tongue like his I do wonder if we were too generous.”

Too generous or not, his words shut Heri's mouth very quickly as he was reminded once again that he was not among friends.

“Letting him breathe was too generous.”

Sam couldn't help but let his bitterness show. Ever since the confessions Heri had made had been brought to him, he had discovered a whole new level of hatred for his little brother. For his entire lineage.

Heri had claimed during the battle that his mother had poisoned his own mother. That she had died in childbirth but not of childbirth as he had always believed. Apparently Lady Dreasda had had designs on the throne from the start and his mother had simply been in her way. Heri had also claimed that she had later poisoned his father as well. There had been no assassin with a poisoned dart who had somehow escaped the guards. Heri had maintained that story during his questioning. Even when the elders had had soothsayers there to hear every word. It seemed that the Lady Dreasda had ruined his life and murdered his entire family. And she had raised her son from the start to be the same as her. No doubt she had fed Heri her poison in her very milk. Which made it somewhat ironic that Heri had killed her. There was no love lost among vipers.

“Perhaps, but there is at least no reason to fear his return. He will not be coming back. And he will never be able to cause harm to you or your family again. We had a very powerful geas placed upon him. One that will endure for a lifetime. To even raise a hand against you or ask another to do so will cause him terrible pain. To attempt to do more than that will be far worse for him.”

“Thank you Elders.” Sam bowed respectfully to them though there was no joy in his heart at the news. Whether it would be enough to stop Heri forever he didn't know. But at least it was something.

“Young Samual.” Elder Bela was smiling as he gently mocked him. “Do you truly imagine that we could ever allow Heri to harm you again? That would be shameful. And we worked hard to find a suitable sentence.”

“Sentence?” Heri looked up at the Elder from his cot, suddenly worried. His face was completely white. “There was to be no sentence. I am to go free. That was the deal.”

“Of course young Heri.” Master Bela smiled at him in what had to be the least genuine smile his face had ever worn. “Perhaps I misspoke. I did not mean to suggest that we would be punishing you for your crimes. We did give you our word after all. But there will be retribution and restitution made for your crimes regardless. Justice will be done. Of that you can be certain.”

Heri looked confused and frightened. Sam on the other hand was just confused. He didn't truly fear his brother's return anymore. Not when he had had such a powerful geas placed on him. Heri might hate him, he might have wealth and power, but against an elven geas he was powerless. Besides, he still looked completely helpless. His body was broken, and the healers said he would not walk easily again.

A broken body. A powerful geas placed upon him. His throne gone. Sam did not fear his brother's vengeance. Mostly.

Any questions Sam might have had though were taken from him by the unexpected thunder of horses hooves in the distance, and he turned to see a patrol galloping furiously towards them.

“Ah, right on time.” Elder Bela smiled some more and even Heri probably realised that he was planning something. He would have been more worried if he'd seen the smiles on the faces of the other elders.

“What have you done?” he screeched at the Elder in panic.

“Why exactly what we agreed upon of course.” Elder Bela managed a suitably surprised expression. “We are setting you free. And these men are here to witness the fact that you have been freed. In fact they have expressed some interest in escorting you safely all the way back to Fair Fields.”

Free to die was Sam's thought. And die badly. He could suddenly make out the pennant of the Fallbrights flying proudly over the heads of the riders, and it was all he could do to keep from laughing. The elves had delivered him straight into the arms of his enemies. Sam might have held back his laughter but he couldn't stop a smile from finding his face. He had always found the elves passion for word games strange and somewhat unexpected in a people with a love for the truth, but sometimes sophistry was its own blessing. This it seemed was one of those times. His brother didn't find it so amusing however, and instantly started shrieking in terror. He had a fair idea of what was going to happen to him when the riders had him.

“No! I gave you everything you asked for!” Heri was almost out of his mind with terror, and though it was probably something he should not do, Sam found pleasure in that. A lot of pleasure. But after all the terrible things Heri had done he figured it was at least something.

“Yes you did Heri. And we are giving you your freedom in return.”

Sam could feel the quiet anger in the Elder, burning slowly but steadily. And he had every right to be angry. If what Heri had said was correct, the Elder had every right to want to kill his verminous little half-brother on the spot. Heri it seemed had been secretly capturing, imprisoning and torturing the elves of Shavarra for useful information for years. And he had sent in assassins after Sam who had killed many more in their quest. Any elf would be outraged. So would be the dwarves of Ore Bender's Mountains, who had been similarly targeted. And the gnomes of the Fedowir Kingdom. In fact any people from any land where Heri thought there was something to be gained. Sam was outraged. He had had no thought that Heri would go so far. But as did any true elf, Elder Bela held it back and maintained his calm. And he kept his word. He would have made a fine knight.

Sam was saved from having to think any further on his brother's villainy as the riders pulled up in front of them, and he was grateful for that. Even when he saw the leader pull off his helmet and recognised his face. More importantly the man recognised him.

“Samual Hanor?” He seemed surprised, and behind that, suspicious. But then he was Galan Fallbright, the elder brother of Harmion, and if he knew nothing else he knew Sam had cut half his brother's hand off. They were not friends. But on the other hand Galan was a soldier. He respected the laws of the land.

“Galan.” Sam nodded politely. There was no reason not to. But he was surprised to see him. After all, it had only been a week since Heri's attack on him and the elves. There was no way that anyone, even if they'd known of it immediately it had happened, could have made it all the way from Fair Fields. He must have already been in Golden River Flats for some reason. Perhaps he had been visiting the Fallbright family's trading outposts. They had a number of them.

“Are you here to argue for your brother?”

Of course he would think that. Galan had actually liked his brother. Even if the whole family were a pack of greedy robber barons extorting traders and robbing the people blind, they still had a bond of family. Sam envied them that.