The High King: A Tale of Alus (8 page)

Gerid noticed a lightening of the sky in the east. Knowing dawn was only a short hour or so away, he lifted Tabitha into his arms. The young man carried her back to the barracks that the women were to sleep within. Nudging open the half opened door kept open to catch the breeze, Gerid was able to find his way to an open pallet and lay her carefully atop it without attracting attention.
He gave her a last quick kiss, breathing in the scent of her, and retreated back to the men's barracks. Gerid didn't sleep as he found himself completely energized and awake. He waited happily for morning to come.

Gerid wiped the sweat from his dirty brow. Leaning on his shovel, he turned to survey his progress. The dark line of the new irrigation channel, which he had been working on, appeared dark against the summer sun's bleached earth. The scrawny shoots of the Taltan continent's main staple, cracker corn sprang up in rows to either side.

Summer was half over now. Nearly two months of slavery showed themselves in the hard calluses that were even rougher than from working in his family holdings. His upper body and face were dark brown from exposure to the sun, a stark contrast to his silvery, white hair. The youth still had to smile in satisfaction at his progress. The herculean feats that he had performed had begun to get Holtein's notice by now. New plans to impress the slave holders and ways of finally winning his freedom continually played in his mind. This channel, for instance, would normally take five men to complete in the same amount of time his pace would complete it, if he could keep it up. The smile played about his lips still as he returned to the hard labor.

He looked up to see Mateil coming through the path between patches of growth. The shovel was powerfully driven into the earth one more time and he left it to stand by itself. "What can I do for you, Mateil?"

"Leoltus wants you to come to the soldiers' barracks immediately along with most of the servants. He wouldn't say why, but that it was extremely urgent."

Gerid tugged the tool free of the earth and followed. On their arrival at the barracks, they found nearly every male slave that the Holteins owned gathered around the foreman. The men stood in various states of anxiousness awaiting Leoltus' news, but, when Gerid was entering the building, he had spied three men that he had seen very seldom in his stay at the farm. Karma, the only son of Master Carter Holtein, a dark haired, handsome young man, stood with two of his bodyguards wearing their light armor. Upon seeing the master’s son in his armor, the men all began whispering to each other in their surprise and a new wave of questions were whispered about.

"Quiet! Quiet, all of you," Leoltus ordered. "Master Karma has come to deliver some important news, so be quiet."

The slaves quieted as the young man moved to the center of those gathered there. "I'll get straight to the point. We've had word that there are bandits in the area headed here from the southern hills. We don't know if they're Tolmonan soldiers or simply bandits, but until King Colona can recall a brigade to deal with them, the farms to the south of the capitol are on their own.

"My father cannot come here now, so I will lead you in the defense of our home in his absence."
"And what do we fight with, our hands?" Gerid asked casually.
Karma's eyes narrowed from annoyance. The guardsmen tensed towards their weapons in slight surprise at the rare questioning of the master's authority. Seeing that it was the rather intimidating giant, Gerid who had spoken, Karma held up a restraining hand to his men. Gerid thought that he saw relief in their eyes despite the weapons in their hands. He was nearly a head taller than even the tallest man here and holding a shovel that could be used as a weapon gave him a strong presence within the room. On top of that, they all knew the feats of strength that he had performed in the past months even within the main house as well. "That's why I had you all called here. Though you are all only slaves and untrained in battle, we still have weapons and shields. There is even leather armor here, such as it is. My men and I can try and show you what we can before the bandits arrive. They may not even arrive here, since the reports are not completely clear, but we must still prepare for the worst."
Gerid didn't bother to reply to what he thought of that type of thinking. There was little that untrained men could learn if they faced real swordsmen, but instead of worrying over that point, the nearly two score slaves spent the next half an hour finding weapons that the mercenaries who had been trained at the Holtein's facilities had left behind. He had taken a stout club studded with nails and a foot and a half long knife for his own. Gerid figured that, if the bandits were well armed, as was probable, then he could steal a proper sword from one of the fallen enemies. If they weren't well armed, of course, the club would suffice in his strong hands.
Leoltus moved over to him clad in mail. Karma had apparently decided that his overseer deserved better than the leathers which would do little more than the clothes that Gerid wore. "Aren't you going to put on some armor, boy? At least grab a shield."
A wry smile crossed his face as he looked up from his seat on a bale of hay. "I'm too big to wear anything in there and a shield just isn't my style. I prefer two weapons. They're a lot quicker and less clumsy. If they use arrows, then I'll worry. Maybe I can hide behind you instead," he suggested with a grin.
The older man laughed, "I'll lend you my shield and hide behind you more likely, thank you." His face began to change as he seemed to reappraise Gerid again. "You seem awfully confident. Were you a soldier already back in your old home despite your young age, boy?"
"I've had some training though not in battle. A few duels that I found myself in with Lord Merrick's soldiers caused most of the circumstances which have brought me here. It was because I won them all, however."
"Excellent." At Gerid's look, the older man amended, "Your training I mean, of course. If those bandits do come, I think that I'll be standing at your side. Master Karma has had some training as has his guards, but I doubt that they've truly been tested in a real battle either. I'll get Baitram, Jatan, and Mateil to join us. They've fought before though they were only trained in the basics before they were sold to the Holteins."
"Do any of the others know how to fight?"
"Not with the sword that I know of."
"Then do you think that we should all stay together or try to lead the others through the attack?"
Leoltus gave him a look that was meant to express the wisdom of all the overseer's years. With a shake of his head, he said gravely, "It may seem nobler to lead them to their probable doom, but we can do more by staying together. I'll get the others."
As the man went to gather the other men who had become nearly like a family to him here, Gerid watched as Karma and his men sparred with the slaves in an effort to show them whatever techniques that they could. He had avoided them until now, but the giant arose from the seat he had taken and moved towards the trio and their students. After a short while of watching closely, he spoke to Karma as he paused, "You're leaving yourself wide open."
"What?" the master’s son cried out in annoyance. With a hand raised to hold back the next student from approaching, Karma stared at his addresser with a mixture of anger and disbelief that any would dare second guess him. "What did you say, boy?"
Gerid nearly laughed at the idea of the twenty year olds use of words for him. He answered instead, "Your shield is too low. If a blow is slashed at your face, you'll be unable to stop it in time."
Karma's face was darkening swiftly with the red of anger at his insubordination. Gerid quickly realized that he had forgotten himself. It hadn't been the first time in his recent life, of course. He just seemed to enjoy ticking off authority figures with or without intention, especially when it was only inherited and not earned. Merrick's soldiers had probably at least earned their positions, but not Karma as far as Gerid was concerned. He almost missed Karma's order. "Prove it," the master said gesturing to a place before him.
"Are you sure, Master Karma? You won't be too angry with me or embarrassed if I show you this?" the young slave asked as he remembered his current status.
The master's eyes crinkled with disdain and he raised his nose slightly as if he had scented something rotting before him. Karma believed that no common slave, no matter how large, could possibly have learned enough to surpass his own skills learned from his father’s mercenaries. "Now," he ordered again.
Gerid stepped forward already watching the other man carefully, though he still noted the slave students all moving slightly away around them. The area went still as the others all drew back and the guards and their students turned to watch as well. He only half noticed Leoltus' look of worry as he clapped a hand over his eyes as if to block the sight though he quickly lowered it again to watch the event.
Right hand swinging the club half heartedly at the man's shield, the knife slashed quickly behind only to be repelled by the sword in Karma's right hand. The smaller blade danced in a clang from the sword intentionally and counter slashed again towards the man's throat forcing the master to step back to avoid being cut.
The club was in movement again and suddenly it thundered down upon the stout shield. Breath hissed through Karma's teeth as he gritted them from the contact. His eyes opened wider trying to adjust to the strength of the impact as he nearly lost his defense. Valiantly, the young master countered with his sword to drive the slashing knife away. Gerid deflected the attack away easily as he jabbed the club over the lowered shield just short of Karma's nose and stepped back laughing.
"You see? When you drive in with your sword like that, your shield dips. These slaves couldn't see the opening to use it, but someone who does would have slashed your face with a blade. As it is, I could simply have chosen to club you to death instead."
The sounds of Karma's teeth grinding angrily could be heard throughout the renewed silence in the exercise room. Gerid couldn't help himself as he added, "You might want to consider using a lighter blade as well by the way. That heavy thing is much slower than the light sword that I spied inside earlier. You seem to know how to use a sword well enough otherwise. I think that you’ll want to use your speed rather than power since you are only fighting some bandits. How trained can they be?"
Karma was about to retort when a leather, armored slave came running into the courtyard in front of the barracks and training building. "They're here!" he shouted franticly.
Smoke could be seen rising into the air to the south of the farm. "They're burning our fields," Karma snarled. "All right, men, let's go show these animals how the Holteins deal with Tolmonan mongrels." The young man strutted off to do battle with his guardsmen to either side. The slaves all followed after their master as a group though much less confidently.
Gerid walked along towards the rear of the defenders with Leoltus, Baitram, Jatan and Mateil. A rush of nervous tension began to charge him as he readied for combat. The other men seemed to watch him from either side even as they watched for the enemy to appear. Even as Gerid noticed that, they seemed to move slightly closer to him. He figured that his plans for getting noticed here had definitely come to fruition though perhaps Karma would rather that he could forget him instead this time. Maybe, Gerid thought, he would have to do something even more drastic in the future. If he didn't get killed, the slave just might win over the
temperamental young master.
With extra strength set in his stride, Gerid began to move towards the front lines.
"Boy, what are you doing?" Leoltus questioned in a hiss trying to keep his voice lowered. "Are you planning suicide?"
Gerid turned a brief glance at the older man with a tight lipped smile and dangerous eyes. "You others may want to get back from me now, Leoltus. I plan to draw enough of the bandits away from the rest of these slaves that maybe I can keep most of them alive. You can join me, but maybe you should help the others and lead them through this. The others aren't warriors at all. They're just farmers and herdsmen. They will need your leadership now more than ever."
"You do talk like you're going to the slaughter, boy. Stick with the plan and we can work together after the others take the first charge. Are you going to throw your life away so quickly?" He lowered his voice again and asked, "What about your Tabitha?"
Gerid ignored him and quickly moved through the ragged ranks. The slaves noticed him and several whispered to themselves at his bold gesture. He hoped that they would even gain a little more strength from his confident attitude though his own stomach was beginning to flutter slightly.
As he found his place several feet behind Karma, they spied their adversaries. Several horsemen in black with red dyed faces carried torches in one hand and an upraised sword in the other. They seemed to guide their mounts with their knees rather than their hands, a hard trick Gerid noted. Just behind them, a small horde of similarly adorned men with swords and shields in hand made their way through the small fires just beginning to rise around them.
The sight of Karma's force caused the riders to give voice to blood curdling war cries. Gerid had never fought a man on horseback before even in practice, but, instead of holding back, he answered their cries with a shout and leapt forward. Karma turned and made to restrain his exuberance, but Gerid dodged his
outstretched arm and was quickly running past the three.
Two horsemen led the way grinning at him. Hoping to drain the momentum of the charging bandits and praying that he would survive such an act, Gerid's mind calculated the moves that would be required as he ran forward. Ducking beneath their swords and deflecting one blade with the long knife, Gerid deftly grabbed hold of the bandit on his right. Using his great strength, he twisted the man completely off of his mount. Quickly using both hands, he flung the man far enough to remove the third rider from his seat with a loud thump and crash of mail armor. Both men fell to the ground only to have their companions trample them to death before they could adjust to those newly fallen.
One horseman's steed tripped as a result and threw the rider towards Gerid. Lashing out with the long knife, blood sprayed over his hand and legs as he tore a long, ragged, red trench through the man's torso. Quickly retrieving his club from where he had dropped it to grab the rider, Gerid allowed his adrenaline to force the bloody image of the man from his mind. A righteous rage consumed him instead in its place as the young man fought to rid the land of the bandit scourge. He charged deeper into the enemy ranks without hesitating.
Time nearly stopped for Gerid in the chaos of battle. His club continued to rise and fall as new opponents leapt to try and stop this demon unleashed in their midst. The long knife drew blood by the gallon and met steel with the power of a normal man's sword until it could no longer sustain its master's fury.
In a red, hazy fog, a sword was found to replace the knife even as the club too began to come apart in his hand. It was only wood after all and, though Gerid used it like the mightiest oak to punish the shields and armor around him, it could not be what it was not. A strong warrior with a stout shield of blackened steel met his attack in its final moments. Three devastating blows to the metal and the club exploded into slivers of shrapnel. The warrior laughed and tried to capitalize on the loss of the weapon. He charged forward with shield raised and sword readied to strike. Twisting nimbly, Gerid wrenched the defensive metal and thrust it back into the man. The sword was shoved to the side as Gerid swung his blade decapitating the warrior.
Taking only a second to retrieve the bandit's sword and to strap the brave shield onto his back, Gerid surveyed the battle still around him. There were bodies strewn all around him, but no man stood ready to meet him this time. Instead, the battle had swept to either side of him. Men screamed to his right where a group of slaves fought wildly to preserve their lives against a superior force. The left revealed Karma leading nearly a dozen men, including Leoltus and the guardsmen. They were fighting well enough he quickly decided.
With a roar of defiance, the berserker charged to the aid of the slaves. Even over the clashes of metal and the screams of injured men, the Tolmonan bandits heard the cry and trembled. Several turned as one group from the slaves to meet him. He could see fear in most of their eyes now. As the giant quickly split two men in twain with the new blade, those who had not been fearful, became so immediately.
Gerid was beyond words as the rage came upon him again. Snarling and grunting, he plowed through the bandits as if they were the corn around him. Seven more men were slain before those in front of him turned and fled. Whether they fought a slave or stood poised to kill, a score of the enemy turned and saw their deaths reflected in his eyes and chose to run. Several of the slaves were able to quickly catch and slay several more even as Gerid killed one that was too slow in front of him.
There was still fighting to be done though. Karma held his ground with his stalwart men backing him. Most were wounded and starting to fail in their efforts to stave off the killing stroke. Even the master was cut and losing his technique as he tired. With a handful of slaves at his back, Gerid charged to their aid. Attacking from their flank, several bandits were put down before they could truly adjust to the new attack.