The Swordsheath Scroll (dn-3) by Dan Parkinson

Author:Dan Parkinson [Parkinson, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sf_fantasy

Part III

Master of Tharkas

12

A Cobar Outing

Had Sakar Kane been a lesser man, the disgrace he had suffered some years earlier-when thousands of dwarven mine slaves had revolted, murdered their overseers, and escaped into the mountains beyond Tharkas-would have ruined him. The Emperor of Ergoth was not a forgiving man, nor one who tolerated failure. The Wall of Skulls in Daltigoth was evidence of that.

The Wall was seven feet thick and higher than a tall man could reach. It surrounded three sides of the formal garden abutting the east wing of the emperor's palace. And it was built entirely of the bleached skulls of those who had displeased Quivalin Soth V and his imperial ancestors.

Another man in Lord Kane's situation-having lost most of his best slaves, thus compromising the production of the emperor's mines-would have suffered recall to Daltigoth, inquisition by the emperor himself, subsequent prolonged tortures, and death. And his skull would have become part of the Wall of Skulls.

But Sakar Kane was no ordinary subject of the empire. Without waiting for recall to court. Lord Kane had acted. He immediately sent armed patrols to find and arrest all of his subordinates and bring them to the inner hall of his Klanath fortress. When they were all gathered there- everyone from old Renus Sabad, the Master of Mines, down to his deputies, chief warders, and even his accounting clerks, most of them still in their sleeping gowns- Sakar Kane gave orders to fifty of his most trusted field troops. On that morning, the only people who left the inner hall alive were those fifty blood-soaked men.

Then, with the brigades at his command, Sakar Kane swept eastward through Redrock Cleft, the final mountain portal to the vast plains, and launched a lightning sweep northward, striking camp after camp, village after village of the barbarians who roamed the arid plains beyond the Cobar steppes. With the several thousand slaves taken in this raid, Lord Kane had the mines in operation again long before the emperor's spies reached Daltigoth. And with the additional slaves he was able to purchase at Xak Tsaroth-nearly depleting his personal coffers-he had actually expanded production by the time the emperor's wardens reached Klanath.

He had a stroke of luck, as well. In one of the pit mines, his guards found a large stockpile of fine, already mined ores, obviously hoarded by some overseer for his own purposes.

Lord Kane was recalled to Daltigoth, escorted by the emperor's wardens. He went not in chains, but riding proudly at the head of the procession, followed by the empire inspectors who had just seen the bustling mines and rich ores. And he returned some months later, not in disgrace, but as Prince of Klanath. Quivalin Soth V was a cruel man, and a ruthless one, but he was not stupid. He understood both what had happened at Klanath-the successful revolt of dwarven slaves-and what Sakar Kane had done so expeditiously to regain favor.

Such a man would serve him well, the emperor knew, as long as he could serve himself in the process.

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