Bargain (Heroes By Necessity Book 2) by Riley S. Keene

Author:Riley S. Keene [Keene, Riley S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Keene Publishing
Published: 2018-03-30T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ermolt looked over the thieves that made up the Overseers guild. They had all collected in the side courtyard once breakfast had been served. He had expected more of them.

Hartmut had warned them that most of the guild’s strength was in the loyalties of the locals rather than in numbers. But Ermolt was still disappointed.

There were barely thirty thieves present. It was a decent number for a guild, to be sure, but not when your opposition was the Temple and their scores of Priests, Clerics, and Temple Guards, not to mention usually at least a hundred Conscripts. And one God. Possibly a dragon.

Thirty fighters didn’t seem like favorable odds.

Ermolt hung back as part of the agreement he had with Elise. Right now he leaned against the wall of the Keep, trying to be as foreboding as possible while not distracting from Elise’s orders.

“Come on, line up!” Elise said, her tone firm. “Rows of seven. Leave a good five fen of space on all sides.”

The Overseers started to scramble to sort themselves out. There were arguments. People pushing and falling. Without any further direction, they couldn’t effectively decide who should be standing where. Elise tapped her foot, her arms crossed over her chest, which only made those paying attention to her scramble more. After almost a quarter of a bell the group organized themselves from one loose clump to five loose clumps. They bickered incessantly over who should move to where and why.

“Warriors!” Ermolt shouted loudly, causing every Overseer to jump. “The lady gave you an order! Get to it!”

The group scrambled again, and in half as much time they managed to create a lopsided grid. Elise set about marching up the line, grabbing people by the shoulders and physically moving them to clean up the formation.

Ermolt tried to keep a grim look on his face, but he found the sight of Elise shoving around the Overseers amusing. He had to settle for a smirk when he saw the Overseers at the back already starting to adjust their position in response to her corrections ahead of them.

At least they could learn.

Over breakfast this morning, Elise and Ermolt had discussed how they would be handling the training. While Ermolt had much more training and skill, most of his training had been with smaller groups, or even one-on-one instruction. Elise’s training as a Conscript gave her the skills she needed to instruct a larger group, so she would take the lead. Ermolt’s plan was to back her up, and provide more nuanced information when she needed it.

And to observe.

There was a lot of things that could be told about a person by watching them fight. Hesitation was the sign of a good person, but a bad fighter. Empathy had no place in the battlefield, although Ermolt himself had constantly tried to find a way. His skills made it possible. At this level though, someone who hesitated or went for a non-fatal attack was going to open themselves and their companions up to a whole world of hurt.

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