In Treachery Forged by David A. Tatum

Author:David A. Tatum [Tatum, David A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Fennec Fox Press
Published: 2014-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

The journey to the border of Sopan was significantly shorter than Maelgyn had anticipated, though it did take some time. The llamas, while they lacked the burst speed of a horse, definitely showed themselves to be at least as fast over the long haul. A journey he had anticipated lasting a week on foot took less than a day, and Maelgyn had a hard time believing he could have done that even on a horse. Overall, he was rather glad to have won the support of the Dwarves.

He was significantly less pleased with the Sopan Province Army that now surrounded him. Since crossing the border, they had been gradually travelling to Sopan castle using well-travelled roads, and any passing travelers were informed of his coming, but it seemed his armies had yet to hear of his arrival. Maelgyn had expected that his “escort” might be taken as a threat, but that didn’t make him any happier to be right.

“Show the sign of truce,” Maelgyn ordered. “They don’t know who we are, yet.”

As the order passed from man to man, tall leafy branches painted white – the ancient symbol of a parley request – rose above the heads of Dwarf and Nekoji warrior alike. The Sopan forces surrounding them came to a halt, and after a few minutes three men on horseback, each in well-crafted armor, came forward to meet the parley.

Maelgyn eyed their armor critically, assessing it for signs of their rank. Some types of armor were generally inexpensive in Human lands – thanks to the relative abundance of magic, iron or steel armor could be mass produced for little more than the cost of the raw materials. That armor, however, was not the best available. Magic might be able to enhance some qualities of steel, but magical mass production typically lacked the quality of workmanship which custom smithing could produce. Furthermore, mages could not fashion cheap armor out of the materials often used against mages, such as bronze plate. The armor the three men were wearing did not have any magical enhancements to improve the quality of steel or the fit of the joints, but it was some of the best that could be produced without blending both magic and true smithing skills. It was steel armor, however, which suggested that it had not been purchased to prevent magical attacks, but rather to demonstrate affluence.

Maelgyn noted that they showed other signs of great wealth as well. Obviously, he was being greeted by some of the barony, or at least members of the wealthier set of the aristocracy. There were no obvious symbols to indicate which barony they ruled on their coats, and for that Maelgyn was grateful.

In Svieda, unlike some of the older Human kingdoms such as Poros or Squire’s Knot, the provincial governments issued relatively inexpensive armor to any member of the army as required: Leather armor (better against mages and more mobile, but less effective against swords and arrows) for the foot soldiers and steel (poor against mages, but otherwise significantly better defensively) for the officers.

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