The Return of Tachlanad by Kathy Fischer-Brown

Author:Kathy Fischer-Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: epic fantasy, action adventure, series, young adult fantasy, strong characters, medieval fantasy
Publisher: Books We Love Ltd.

* * *

After the taproom had been cleared of disorderly soldiers, Elthwen sat with Gamba and the old pirate and his retinue at one of the abandoned tables. Tankards and empty horn cups littered the trestle’s planked surface, along with brimming pots newly filled. Order now filled the place, with those not hauled into the street or gone of their own accord assembled in small groups talking in subdued tones while they sipped their ale. Men and women came and went, as the two old men reminisced, laughed, and drank, oblivious to any and all around them.

As she came to understand the tale, her grandfather and Bregolan became acquainted under inauspicious circumstances following the fall of Virna Berin to the late Imperon’s forces. With the library in flames and the population fleeing the city, Gamba and two fellow ghalthrach remained behind in the burning building, salvaging what they could of the scrolls, books and archival materials, all irreplaceable. Outside, Nortlunde raiders surged through streets teeming with people intent on escape. Of those who stayed behind the retreating Aldain, many were slaughtered. Through the carnage raging around them, the three young ghalthrach huddled in a narrow alley with donkey carts filled with precious cargo. By morning two headed north seeking protection of the Border Lords. Gamba set off west on the old river road along the Rhuda River, determined to reach Elyndrus with his king. West, beyond rolling meadows and deep forests, to the sheer-cliffed mountains overlooking the Great Sea, to the fortress known since legendary times for its impregnability.

Young Bregolan, then among the legions of pirates plundering on the rivers converging at Virna Berin, engaged the Nortlunde flotilla in a brief skirmish. With the pirate vessels outnumbered, they fled willy-nilly, seeking refuge amid the many small islands dotting the rivers. But Bregolan’s ship had been rammed and scuttled, and sank in the shallow water within sight of the main road. Few survived the encounter. Those who could disappeared into the Seineryth, the “New Forest.”

“That was thirty years ago!” Bregolan roared.

“Closer to forty,” Gamba said with a smile, taking a sip of his ale.

“Feels like yesterday. Just seeing you makes me missin’ eye hurt.”

Gamba had found the pirate, bleeding and unconscious, by the side of the road. As it was the ghalthrach’s creed to provide help whenever possible, he piled the badly wounded man onto his cart among the scrolls and books. For the better part of two moon cycles, he tended to the outlaw in his hut in the deep wood. He saved the man’s life, but could do nothing for his eye. Once healed and having regained his strength, Bregolan went on to forge his reputation as a scourge of the waterways. Some twenty-five years later he reclaimed the Old City, installing his brand of law and order, and himself as its nominal king, because, as he said, “I no longer saw a profit to be made from pirating.” By now he was a wealthy man and Virna Berin prospered.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.