Chapter 10

Baryll's POV

riding through the county side, i felt the cool breeze against my face, and heard the comforting sounds of my twenty soldiers. my lieutenant rode to my right and slightly behind, keeping up on her warhorse. i'm a captain, a leader of a squad of soldiers, sent out to do my kings will. unless he isn't the king anymore.

my superiors had heard of recent bandit activity along this road, and we hadn't heard from the village Roads End for years. all of the soldiers we had sent to deal with the bandits had met their end, never to be heard from again. many of these groups had been much bigger than mine, but there was a difference between us and those other groups.

my troops were killers.

every one of them had dealt with death a dozen times over, defeating their opponents and securing victory. other soldiers killed because they had too, but these ones did it because they loved it.

and i was just like them.

sometimes i felt ashamed for feeling joy after killing a man. but i had some rules that kept me from getting depressed.

one: if i believe he is guilty of a crime worthy of death, i will sentence him.

two: i will kill if it's to protect my friends.

three: after killing, i will fast for a day.

all these things kept my killing in check, and the combination of me being able to give death, while appearing to others to not enjoy it, made me a valuable asset to the king, when he needed dirty work done.

i had chosen my lieutenant from the others, sensing that she would be the best at killing. she had a look that few men ever had. the look simply said this.

"i will kill you if i have to, or if i feel like it."

whenever i see that look on somebody, i shiver.

i rode on, occasionally running my hand through my brown hair, and looking around with my blue eyes. i had been told by women i'm handsome, but since i'm guy, i have no way of checking it. the horse i rode was a fine chestnut, a warhorse trained for battle, and my suit of armor was not-quite full plate. instead of carrying around a hulking suit of armor, i wore plate gauntlets and boots, with a plate helmet as well, substituting the heavy breast plate with lighter and more maneuverable mail. and filling any other gap in my defenses with scale-mail, an armor made out of interlocking plates of metal, not as good as plate, but better than mail. though it allowed less freedom of motion, the added protection was worth it.

my blade was a long, thick bastard sword, that could be used with one hand or two. this particular sword was heavier than most men could wield one handed, but i swung it like a toy. it was a clue to how strong i was. in addition to the narrow groove running down the middle, it had serrated edges, better to cut through un-armored men. it's great weight, combined with it's serrated edges, made it a dual purpose weapon.

the serrates would kill those too poor to afford armor, and the weight would crush those wealthy enough to have plate. i loved my sword, as it loved killing as much as me, and was very good at it.

my horse came to a stop, and i looked down at it, wondering what the problem was. the fine chestnut had been trained for war, and i had never seen anything less than a troll spook it.

it had a wild look in it's eye, and bucked, trying to turn me around, and i had to try and get control of it while telling my men to dismount.

i looked around, and all twenty of my soldiers horses were bucking, and each of my men were swearing like someone had insulted their mother.

i barely had time to look around before i joined them in their swearing. heres a little sample

Authors note: if you want to skip this next part, just scroll down to the frowny face, and it will show you when it's safe to read. it's just a bunch of swearing, and contains nothing pertaining to the plot or the story.

DON'T READ THIS NEXT PART IF YOU HAVE ANY SEMBLANCE OF INNOCENCE OR DIGNITY. I"M WARNING YOU.

you have been warned.

"mother****! what the hell do you think your doing you son of a whore who let every aid-filled begger have a ride on her, you yellow-bellied *** eating mother of a son of a bitch! your father joined your mother in letting beggers have a ride on him, then rode those aid-filled ***** all the way to the f***ing kingdom, where he had a go at the lepers, only to get turned away because they were afraid of getting more diseased! i hope your wife leaves you for your *** guzzling brother, and your uncle touched your **** while you were a child! i wish to the gods that you have your anus violently penatrated my the fattest of ***** while a bucket of *** is poured down your throat! but the ogres wouldn't dare **** an aid-filled f***** like you, you piece of trash! go die in a fire, undoubtedly your mother wouldn't hesitate, but instead shout for joy and go guzzle some more ***!"

:(

Authors note: it's safe now, you can continue reading the story. sorry about that, i felt kind of wierd today, and i had to get it out. i'm even more sorry to the poor ***** who read that, but i warned them. please don't post an excerpt from this paragraph in the comments. i will reply to any questions you have, (assuming the answers don't involve spoilers) just don't quote anything i wrote in those paragraphs. now, enough swearing, lets get back to the story! :)

after calming down the horses, we dismounted and sat in a circle, catching our breath from the fervent swearing. the only one who seemed calm after this was my lieutenant. she quietly sat in her saddle, looking on with cool eyes. it appears her horse was better trained, or at least she had better control over it.

"comon Kai, have a seat." i said, motioning with my hand beside me.

"i'd rather not, captain Temar."

i sighed. she'd been doing this for the entire trip.

"Kai, i told you to stop calling me 'captain'. just Baryll is fine, or bary if you want." i said this with a smile, knowing she'd never take my offer.

"i do not think that will happen. and i wish you'd stop calling me Kai. it's Sergeant silver fang, and i want you to respect that."

"me? call you sergeant Silver Fang? i told you you've been promoted to lieutenant, and i'd sooner eat my horse than call you 'lieutenant Silver Fang," every time i need something done. calling you 'kai' save's at least two seconds, and on the battlefield seconds mean everything." i said seriously.

"well, when you put it that way, i guess."

and i think it's a cute name.

"did you say something?" she looked angry, and i thought she'd heard my whispers. and i did as every good commander does when faced with overwhelming odds.

i tactfully retreated, by running as fast as i could into the forest to get as far away from her as i could. i said that eyes like hers gave me shivers, but when those same eyes wanted to murder me, i decided to run away.

if i'd been asked what i learned from my years in the military, it was that women are scary. seriously.

and this running away from her uncovered an important secret.

i was running like the wind, like a graceful gazelle, like an arrow in flight, like a beautiful swallow.

she ran like a panther that wanted to eat me.

i stumbled and fell, landing on my face, hearing the crashing of my men trying to protect me from the she-beast, but i knew from her silent footsteps that all they would discover is my dead body.

women are scary.

i looked up, thinking that i would die here, and wanting a final view of this world before i was sent to the afterlife.

and was greeted by a smiling head mounted on a spear in front of a bloody, headless corpse.

i was frozen for a second, wondering what kind of hell spawn this was, when i saw that the smile was painted on, the corpses head showing a look of horror, only covered by the widely and generously smeared blood, in a sideways half-moon.

i slowly got up, and to my further horror, i saw that this was only the first of many.

i looked along the line, seeing bodies with limbs ripped off, as though by a savage beast. i heard Kai come up behind me, and heard her intake of breath. i looked at her, expecting a look of horror on her face, or at least disgust.

what i saw instead was a look of glee.

"what kind of heavenly being did this? i wish i could meet them." she smiled in a way i really didn't like.

"and tear their head off and smash it."

did i mention women are scary?

end of chapter 10

end of volume I

Authors note: just you wait guys. something wonderful is coming.

just you wait.