The Terror of Thorn: Child of War: Book 2 (10 page)

              “He will do no such thing” said Samantha as she jumped in front of the woman, blocking her off from Xander.

              “Why did you try to kill me?” Xander said as he picked up his sword.

              “If you are going to kill me then just do it!” screamed the woman before continuing, “You are supposed to protect us but I’ll be happy to see Frahse come in here and kill all you heartless bastards!”

              “Does anyone here have any idea what she is talking about?” asked Xander as he looked to Patrick and Samantha.

              “Maybe she thinks you are men you just killed” Samantha offered in reply.

              “I know I just saw you bury my father to cover up your crimes “said the woman as she started at Xander.

              “You are either an idiot or overcome with grief, you can tell by my and the big man’s accent we are not from the area, what reason would we have to kill your pa?” Xander said as he loomed over the woman.

              “The same reasons you all come bother us, it’s bad enough you took all of our armor and weapons from our shop, now you are all looking for mythical block of metal that doesn’t exist!” The woman said as she hung her head, resigned to her fate.

              Xander could read her feelings easily, having seen his mother’s body after she was buried. She took a chance with a crossbow, if she had his abilities no doubt she would have tried to kill the lot of them, although Patrick might have been harder to kill than she thought. “My Lady I came upon your brothers and father being killed by that lump of flesh over there” Xander said gesturing to the limbless man. “Me and my associates saw what was happening and killed all of them; I didn’t think it was right for the dead to go unburied, even criminals. What you saw was me paying my respects.”

              “What type of person buries the dead; if you were showing respect for the dead, my Da should have been burned!” The woman said now looking at Xander, sure he was lying.

              “We do not burn the dead in Rangel; respects are paid by returning woman to the earth, from which she came” Xander said matter of factly.

              The woman thought about what Xander had said. He was dressed differently and talked with an accent she could not place. He said he was from Rangel, making him not part of the same bunch of people who had repeatedly bothered her father looking for the midknightium. Looking pass the strange man she could she what she thought was a human, only with his limbs unattached. If they had meant to kill her, she most likely would have already been dead and if they meant for other things, they wouldn’t have a woman with them and would probably be doing it right now regardless. “I believe what you say.”

              “Where are we exactly” Samantha said seeing that of the three she would most likely be the most approachable.

              “What kind of a question is that? How do you not know where you are” the woman replied.

              “My patience is short woman” Xander began. “I have done nothing to you but tried to help your father and nearly got killed because of it. Answer the damn question.” Xander said as he wanted to leave the area before more men came around looking for their buddies.

              “You are close to Briar, home to the Kevon, Duke of Best and southern most point of Thorn, we are but a quarter days walk from Frahse.” The woman answered hurriedly, wondering where the gentleman was that tried to first explain things to her.

              “You mentioned something about a shop, what do you sell there?” asked Patrick.

              “I am a blacksmith; me and my family were blacksmiths at least. My mother fell ill during our trip into town for medicine; she expired before we reached the healers. My father and brother were forbidden to go and were to stay by order of the Duke to make more weapons and armor for the men guarding the border as well as any mercenaries they hire.”

              “Do you have any weapons or armor left, something we could use” asked Patrick thinking about how vulnerable they were if they were to face any sizable force.

              “Why would I give you anything of my family?” The woman began, “it is all I have left.”

              “Because my friends and I aim to end this war, I will defeat the Duke and his men as well as the Frahsch. I am your only hope of gaining anytime of revenge on those who have wronged you. You are too late to take advantage of these men, the limbless one will live out his days in agony. You can still take it to the Duke though, for not policing his men and Frahse for stirring up trouble in the first place.”

              “I am grieving but I am not stupid, how can the three of you accomplish that, even if one of you is a giant. You will be cut down by arrows before long or ran down by horsemen.” The woman said looking around.

              “I am the son of Erik the Red and an Enchanter in my own right” Xander said before continuing. “As we speak Rangel is engaged in a fierce war on the Northern border. I aim to defeat the Duke and remove Janus the pretender from the Throne.”

              “You mean to take the Throne for yourself” the woman asked still dazed that someone claiming to be Erik’s son was before her.

              “I am to be Queen” Samantha said before continuing, “I am the only legitimate heir from Erik’s bloodline. My mother was his sister and my father, though not a noble, is one of the most power men in Thorn.”

              “What do you mean by legitimate” Xander asked Samantha.

              “I mean no offense, but your birth was the product of our Emperor and a Rangelian witch from what I know. You were raised by her and not on this soil.”

              Xander’s face changed as he interrupted her “What do you know of my mother?”

              “I do not mean any offense Xander.” Samantha said as she saw the conversation was taking a turn for the worse.

              “Well offense was taken” Xander began while trying to calm himself down. “You know nothing of my mother; keep her name out of your mouth. I do not need you around, if you are such a ruler then rule without me.”

              “Enchanter, she was only speaking the truth” Patrick said as he stepped in-between them. “If her words offended you, does make them any less true?”

              “Well here are some true words for the both of you; I do not need her or you. Why don’t you and your future Queen run off and get yourself out of this situation? I am sure Duke Best would be excited to meet the both off you.”

              “Enchanter you forget your place” Patrick said as he shoved Xander to the ground.

              “No Patrick you forget yours” Xander said as he got to his feet. “You don’t scare me, not even a little bit. Our time together has ended. Let’s see how far you and your little woman get without me.”

              “Xander we don’t stand a chance separated” Samantha said as she grabbed Patrick’s arm. “Can we call a truce until we get back to the main part of the army?”

              “You mean you don’t stand a chance,” Xander said before sarcastically adding, “My Queen”.

              “If you’re really the son of Erik, I have something that belongs to your Da” the other woman began “iff’n you can prove you are who you say.”

              “Then lead the way, I need better company” Xander said as he followed the woman out of the area with Patrick and Samantha close behind.

CHAPTER 18

              Xander followed the woman about 1 mile until the forest gave way to a path which led up to a stone building. Xander looked around at his surroundings and wondered how anyone would ever know to look for a home way out here but quickly figured the Duke must know his land. As Xander walked to the house he could see all vegetation had been cleared within a ten foot radius of the house, probably to prevent fire if they were in fact, blacksmiths. The house wasn’t anything spectacular Xander surmised but to be honest he had been living in a palace. There was what Xander could guess was a blacksmith’s forge in a separate building close to the main house and another small building which could only be the shop she talked about. The blacksmith must have been of some renown for him to make any kind of living as Xander guessed his clients would have to seek him out and not the other way around. The woman led him into the forge where Xander could see a giant anvil sat.

              The woman grabbed a rag and started wiping the anvil down where Xander saw etchings in olde elvin writing, which could only have been the work of his father. Xander walked towards the anvil as the woman stepped back. Xander placed his hand on the etching and poured his ether into it. Xander could fell the heavy anvil start to vibrate a little and instinctively pushed it. The anvil slid as if it was on ice, revealing a trap door with similar writing carved into it. Xander poured more of his ether into it as he heard a click, then the door popped open.

              “I never thought this was real” the woman said before continuing, “My Da had always told me he had a special order made for Erik the Red out of a material that was found deep inside the Shatter Mountains by the lil folk. I have never seen a dwarf and thought them a myth, my father was always known for telling tall tales. He always told me what was under the anvil, and that he couldn’t remove it. This is what my Da and brother died for, a piece of metal.” The woman said as she began to cry.

              “I don’t understand why didn’t he just give it to them, no equipment is worth your life” Samantha said.

              “They were under the impression it was a very expensive metal, but they did not know what” the woman explained. “The metal has already been worked, anyone found in possession of enchanted items was deemed a traitor to the crown, we would have all been executed.”

              Xander dug into the small space under the trap door and could feel some type of cloth, which kind he did not know as it dry rotted as he tried to grab it. Xander moved his hand through until he touched something hard, rough and undoubtedly metal. Xander grabbed hold and pulled out what could only be a breast plate. When Xander finally finished, he had a full set of roughly made armor, complete with the weirdest looking gloves he had ever laid eyes on.

              The woman ran her hands across the breastplate, its ebony color not dark enough to hide the fact the metal needed serious polishing.

              “My father told me when Erik the Red presented him with a block of what he called midknightium, the metal was so hard to work with it broke most of his tools. Erik was in a hurry to wear this armor before his war with Rangel. The enchanted special tools he made eventually broke during the construction of this. I would hear my father tell me how the metal wouldn’t take a shine and was difficult to heat, but was no doubt the best suit of armor he had ever made. Erik himself spent at least a month here, my mother would go along with my father’s stories but I thought they were just fairy tales. He said it looked like someone’s first attempt at smithing, but he could not do any better. For some reason Erik locked this armor away, instead of taking it with him to war. This is what my family died over, my father’s greatest work. If those so called soldiers knew they were looking for some armor instead of gold, maybe they would have left us alone but my Da would not take that chance. I ask that you let me join you Xander the Red, I Priscilla, daughter of Owen and Oceania vow my service to you in any way possible if you can help me get my revenge.”

              Xander looked into Priscilla’s eyes and could see the sadness in them but saw something else underlying, the need for vengeance. Xander could see it in the way her hair seemed to be stuck to her face, the way her hands kept shaking although trouble was not upon them yet. Xander knew no matter his answer this woman would either find her vengeance or die trying.

              “You have lost enough Priscilla” Samantha said as she placed her hand inside the other woman’s. “You should leave this place and rebuild your life someplace else away from these memories.”

              “This woman does not speak for me, a son of low birth” Xander said letting Samantha know she did not speak for him. “Your family has done mine a great service and have paid because of it, I will help you in any way possible.”

              “Enchanter, enough of this” Patrick began. “We are gods knows how many miles away from our host and you are trying to pretend you are some sort of bad ass. As I remember it, Samantha’s quick thinking is the only thing that saved you from those men back there.”

              “And my quick thinking saved you both from an ambush, we are even. Feel free to leave and go your own way, your company is not something I require. It wasn’t too long ago you tried to kill me, all to marry Aubrey, or do you think I have forgotten?” Xander said as he began to don his father’s armor.

              “What is our next move Enchanter” Patrick said, not wishing to engage Xander in anymore reasoning.

              “I am going to arm myself and Priscilla and from there make my appointment with King Janus.”

              “We are coming with you Enchanter, Samantha will keep her words to herself and you could use the extra hands, you are not invincible and I am the greatest among Rangel, enchanted items or not.”

              Xander thought about what Patrick had said and knew he was right. He hated whenever anyone spoke ill of his mother but Patrick’s skill could not be ignored. His soon to be bride along with the other woman could be deadly if properly outfitted, even when facing a stronger foe.