Dragonhammer: Volume I by Conner McCall

Author:Conner McCall [McCall, Conner]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-04-30T07:00:00+00:00

Tales of Heroes

Commander Magnus wakes us early with assorted yells of profane things I would rather not reiterate.

We eat breakfast and then march from the Keep, through the streets of Terrace. People open their doors and windows to see the warriors setting out to protect their lives and freedom. Some of them throw flowers into the road in front of us.

We have managed to find a sheath of some sort for my hammer. It’s more like a ridiculously long quiver than a sheath, with the head of my hammer sticking out above my right shoulder. To unsheathe it all I have to do is grasp it just below the top and pull. I do, however, need help to sheathe it again. Throwing knives sit on my belt.

Supply carts roll in the back, each pulled by one or two oxen. As soldiers we only carry our weapons and flasks of water. Percival stands to my left, with Jericho on his other side, and James walks on my right. Their fathers have opted to stay with their families.

The gates stand open for us. We pass under the arch and onto the bridge, and then turn right to head south. The terrain changes throughout the day. We slowly come down the mountains and by midday we almost completely level out onto a plain. Pine trees still stand everywhere, though they begin to thin. Always the river runs to our right, though we are traveling upriver.

Then we get to the divergence, where the Tygnar River branches from the Fravora and runs almost directly east. We have long since come out of the canyon, but the river is still much too wide to cross. There is no need, however. The crossroads has three directions: west, over a bridge that spans the Fravora, which will eventually lead south and to Kera; directly south, over the Tygnar River and into the Kindred Forest; and east, which follows the river’s course all the way into the Ha’avjah Desert. It is this path that we take.

At our head marches Commander Magnus, along with Jarl Hralfar. He asked me to march at the head with him, but I refused, preferring instead to march alongside my friends. He accepted.

We make camp shortly after the crossroads.

Everyone has an assignment. Some put up tents, others begin cooking, and others oversee the whole project. Having never set up an organized military camp before, I’m confused and watch for the first few minutes.

“What are you doing?” It’s Magnus. Of course.

“Hello Genevieve,” I say comfortably. “Nice to see you too.”

“You’re funny, Kadmus,” she says. “Why aren’t you putting up your tent?”

“Waiting to see where it goes,” I say without shame. “Never set up a camp like this before.”

“I figured as much. And yet I still can’t figure out why the Lord Jarl likes a worthless peasant like you.”

I let the insult roll off my back. Percival seems to get more offended than I do, but he says nothing.

“That’s what I thought,” she says, walking away. “Get to work!”

“I hate her.

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