Kamfongil twirled a dagger on the table beside an empty cup. The flagon of wine was beside him, untouched.

“What’s the matter, none of you drink anymore?” he asked his men who sat beside him.

“Not if you’re not drinking,” one of them answered.

“We’ll I’m not in the proper mood,” Kamfongil replied.

“It’s that Xaykan boy. I wouldn’t want to ride with him either,” another said.

Kamfongil grunted a response. He took the dagger and ran the point against the tattoo on his forearm that told the story of the last battle he had fought with his brother, and soon his mind drifted into thought.

He was the youngest of three children. His oldest brother was Kamiron, but he didn’t remember his sister’s name since Kamiron never talked about her. Kamiron had taken care of him since their parents died. He barely knew them, but after they were killed in a raid by Xaykan Tree Riders for smuggling namuu seeds, they were taken in by the Xaykans as servants and treated like Rootless, even though they had a legitimate family line. His sister was taken, raped, and left for dead.

They lost everything in that raid, and even though some of other territories allowed the buying and selling of the mind-altering namuu seeds, it was forbidden in the Xaykan territory, and the penalty was without mercy. Kamiron was twelve years older than Kamfongil, and when he became six, his brother was already a man and they snuck out of Xaykan in the middle of the night to reclaim their lives.

They didn’t mean to become sellswords, but after pledging their loyalty to a mercenary warlord named Chagatai, they were introduced to the life of living off a contract. Kamfongil and Kamiron learned the art of combat through Chagatai’s company, and for the first time, the boy Kamfongil felt like he was part of a real family.

Chagatai had the largest company of sellswords in all thirteen territories that spanned Neredun, so it was no small feat for Kamiron to move up quickly in Chagatai’s ranks. Wherever he went, he brought his younger brother with him. The company took many contracts, mostly as mercenary armies against bordering territories. Sometimes the new contracts for the next season were for the other side of the border. Always Kamfongil was by his brother’s side.

When Kamiron became Chagatai’s most trusted lieutenant, he was often sent on contracted jobs to pursue fugitives. He was so proficient he was nicknamed the Hunter.

By the time Kamfongil was seventeen it was known that the two brothers were always part of the same contract. Kamfongil had developed great skill with the blade, and he always carried two hatchets. The two hatchets were what gave him his own nickname as the Butcher, as they looked like meat cleavers in his hand when he rode his horse to battle. Later his prowess in combat gave new meaning to his nickname, and no one would remain in knowing the true origin of his name.

Chagatai’s reign over the company would be over due to a painful and violence sickness of his stomach and bowels, which forced his retirement. The company endured a bloody rift for leadership. While Chagatai might have favored Kamiron, others saw his quick rise as the ascent of an opportunist who cared more about his personal gain over that of the company. It was then where Kamfongil the Butcher solidified his name, as he gutted those who spoke unkindly about his brother.

The violence did not bring the company unity, as the company disbanded into several groups. Kamiron refused to join any group, though one by one the smaller companies tried to convince him and later overtake him. With the Kamfongil by his side, Kamiron kept the splintered companies at bay.

One of the new company leaders, Alitan the Beast, came to the brothers and sought to recruit Kamfongil instead of the older brother, which impressed Kamiron. The two joined Alitan and became profitable enough for the other groups to take notice. The reputation of the Hunter and the Butcher joining the Beast ruined the other group’s stream of contracts.

Eventually there came a war between former allies. Even the Tree Riders, normally in charge of keeping the peace throughout the territory, ignored the internal fighting among sellswords. Kamiron helped Alitan destroy company after company until there was only one left from Chagatai’s original company.

Led by the ruthless Khunbish who once served as the right hand advisor to Chagatai, they fought a long bloody war that lasted two years. Known as the Viper for his penchant for using poison in his weapons, Khunbish sent several assassins to squash his enemy’s momentum. Ever vigilant, Kamfongil exposed the assassins and sent back their heads.

Weary of the long bloody campaigns against other, Kamiron offered the last chance to join companies. Khunbish offered instead single combat to determine the fate of the companies. In a rocky, barren valley the two fought on horse and later on foot for nearly an hour. When Kamiron finally defeated Khunbish, he spared the former advisor’s life and offered him captainship in the newly formed company. With the Hunter, the Butcher, the Beast, and the Viper, they called themselves the Four Savages, and they were bigger than Chagatai ever was.

While the others looked to create the largest mercenary company the realm had ever known, Kamfongil knew his brother much better than that. He knew that Kamiron was not interested in hunting for the next contract. The Hunter was going to go home with an army to right the wrongs done to him.

It started with the Four Savages confronting smaller sellsword companies that had taken Xaykan contracts. It was not difficult in intimidating most of them to no longer take those contracts. For those that proved to be more difficult, Kamfongil paid them a visit to remind them of how savage they could be. There was a strict moral code between sword seller and sword buyer when honoring contracts, but there was no such code between different sellsword companies. That meant the Butcher had his way with those in the Four Savages’ way. No one was innocent in Kamfongil’s eyes. The Field God turned a blind eye to the things he did.

When the contracts had dried up, and the merchants in the Xaykan territory had no way to guard their businesses, they took their complaints to their lord Xaykandeth. It was a suspicious thing the Savages did, so Lord Xaykandeth dispatched a dozen of his Tree Riders to confront these so called Savages.

They rode into the Savages’ camp, at the base of the flood plains before the summer rains. The Tree Riders arrived in full gallant white uniforms bearing the banner of their lord’s house and red tassels on their helm. They did not seek to parlay, but rather made demands of the Savages. Kamiron came out of his tent to speak to them, but the Tree Riders were more interested in coin and insisted on being paid tribute. Kamfongil slit the leader’s throat and the rest of the Savages’ company overwhelmed the others.

The Beast and the Viper were unprepared to go to war with Xaykan, as this act would surely lead to it. Alitan the Beast had warned Kamiron that Xaykandeth was a close ally to King Burulgi, and the king had a nephew named Sarengerel that was already famous and battle hardened despite his young age. Khunbish the Viper brushed it off, saying that as long as they had the Butcher on their side, they could overwhelm any foe, even if they had to deal with both Xaykan Tree Riders and the king’s elite Field Riders.

Kamiron said he had a plan, which included getting to Xaykandeth. Kamfongil trusted his brother, for he always had a plan. After all, he had a plan to combine Chagatai’s old company under his control, just as he had a plan before that to rise in the ranks, just as he had a plan before that to leave a life of servitude toward those who had killed his parents, to one day return and settle old scores. Everything he did was for a singular purpose, and through all that time he always had Kamfongil by his side. Kamfongil never knew the plan until after it was executed, but he knew his role was to always to be there for his brother to protect him.

“Xaykan’s never been worth anything to anyone,” one of Kamfongil’s men spat on the ground, interrupting him as he drifted out of thought.

He looked at the dagger still in his hand that he had been spinning on the table. The dagger was a gift his brother gave him so many years ago, when they were still the Four Savages. And now, the only legacy he had was this dagger, and a memory.

“So they call your company the Butchers, eh?”

Kamfongil turned around to the voice behind him. It was the young Tree Rider dressed in white that arrived with the cavalry as if he was a savior nobody asked for.

“And why do they call you the Butchers?”

Kamfongil poured wine into his empty cup.

“Do you slaughter pigs?”

Kamfongil’s men stirred where they sat and stood but did nothing unless Kamfongil allowed it. He took a sip of the wine.

“Now I’m in the mood for drinking,” Kamfongil said. “What was your name again, boy?”

“Xaykansam, son of Xaykansuri. His father my grandsire is brother to Lord Xaykandeth.”

“You surely have a proper Tree name,” Kamfongil said, swirling the wine in his cup. “The Butchers is a name given to us, not of my choosing. How many battles have you been in, young Xaykansam?”

“Do you tease, sir?” Xaykansam asked.

“I don’t tease,” Kamfongil said, sheathing his dagger on his belt. “I just like to know how long the steel has been in the forge before I bring the blade into battle.”

“Not as oft as you, I am sure. My blade is not for sale for every fight.”

Kamfongil started walking backwards. “Any fight will do. Show me your arms.”

Xaykansam looked at his sleeves, then snickered. “You want to see the stories marked on my body?”

Several of Xaykansam’s men moved to his side, while Kamfongil’s men did the same. They leered at each other over the table.

“And a good day to you all,” Big Tim said, stepping in between all of them. He was holding a bowl of stew.

“You’re in the way,” Xaykansam said.

“I’ve never gotten tired of goat,” Big Tim said. “At home we don’t eat goats.”

“Does he always wear that turban?” Xaykansam asked.

“He never takes it off,” Kamfongil answered.

Big Tim stood between them holding his bowl of stew with a spoon in his hand. “Ah, roasted nuts.”

“And how long have you been a Tree Rider for your uncle?” Kamfongil asked.

“Great uncle,” Xaykansam corrected him. “And I’ve been serving him for five years.”

“The nuts are excellent in the stew,” Big Tim said. “And I think the stew itself is made with a mushroom broth.”

“I hear your great uncle has many enemies,” Kamfongil said, stepping closer. “Did he ever tell you about the time he betrayed the Four Savages?”

“The Four Savages?” Xaykansam asked, also stepping closer. “I don’t quite remember the Four Savages. But come to think of it, yes. I was a boy then, but I remember my great uncle singing songs about the Four Servants who thought they could improve their station by challenging a Tree Lord for rights to the Xaykan territory. And they were crushed like grapes for it. It is a children’s song by now, and they tell of it at every break at school. You don’t have any ties to the Four Servants, do you Butcher?”

“And there are fried shallots in the stew too, and I can taste it,” Big Tim said as he stood between them, digging through his bowl. “There’s a large pot of it in the kitchen if you’re inclined to try it.”

Kamfongil grinned and bared all his teeth behind his grizzled beard, stepping forward until he was almost pressed against Big Tim. “This is why the Butcher carries two knives. One for men, and the other for suckling pigs.”

Xaykansam nearly pressed on Big Tim as well. “Aren’t your knives for sale? After this contract, do you want to work for me?”

“Although was think I like my stew with a little more spice.”

Kamfongil drew his knife and Xaykansam drew his sword. Big Tim tossed his bowl onto the table then grabbed each man’s wrist, pressed down, and twisted them until they dropped their blades. Still holding onto the wrists, he pulled each man’s hand toward the other’s belt, and in one downward swoop he had each man loosen the other’s sword belt. He let go and both men took several steps back, their sword belts falling to the floor.

“That’s a clever trick,” Kamfongil said.

“It actually is,” Xaykansam agreed. “You’ve got to teach me that sometime.”

Big Tim picked up his bowl again as the two men picked up their sword belts and fallen weapons. “Do you even know why you’re fighting? For your own pride? When you’re in the service of the lady Perenenda, you don’t get to take selfish actions for yourself anymore. You look out for your brothers. For your sisters.”

Perenenda and Captain Dao entered the room from being outside, holding some papers.

“You’re full of war in your blood, but we don’t have war in front of us,” Big Tim continued. “Just each other. Take your boiling blood and bring it to where the war will be.”

“What’s going on here?” Perenenda asked.

“Looks like boys and their sport,” Dao answered.

Xaykansam bowed at the Princess, while Kamfongil cleared his throat and walked away.

“Did I miss something?” Perenenda asked.

“Did you try the stew?” Big Tim asked in return. “There are fried shallots in here. I haven’t had fried shallots since I left home.”

“I did try it, thank you,” she replied. “Everywhere reminds someone of home, somewhere. There are probably families in a far away country having stew thinking of the bowl you’re having now. Home is the place we return to, or it’s the place we’re looking for. Enjoy your supper sir, for in the morning we leave.”