Legacy by C.J. Pyrah

Author:C.J. Pyrah [Pyrah, C.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shadow City Books - A Next Chapter Imprint
Published: 2019-10-23T16:00:00+00:00

10

The dawn sun rose sluggishly over the turrets of Karpella Castle and above the roofs and towers of the city, and crept over the sea of tents that touched city walls. Slowly but surely, the rays of morning light began to pick their way deep into the muster station of Guild House Fisel and caressed the faces of sleeping guards and merchants, bringing them groggily out of the clutches of sleep. From their resting place, hidden amongst parked wagons, Gwilym, Eleusia and Torben began to stir from their slumber.

Although there was ample space in the mess area for the three to sleep with other mercenaries around one of the multitude of campfires, Gwilym had decided that they’d be safer sleeping away from the mass of unknown and discontented people who were supposed to be guarding the caravan and its cargo.

The idea seemed a lot less appealing in hindsight as Torben sat up and tried to stretch kinks out of his neck. He’d slept with his head pressed against a wagon wheel, and he gingerly tilted his head from side to side, trying to regain full mobility.

Despite the fact that the sun had already warmed the day to a comfortable temperature, the three of them were shivering in the shade of the wagons, the early morning dew clinging to their hair and blankets, chilling them to the bone.

Gwilym was the first to show true signs of life. He sat up abruptly and let out an enormous, loud yawn. ‘Ah! Nothing like the smell of fresh morning dew on the grass to get a dwarf’s heart singing. Come on you two, we’re wasting the best part of the day!’

The dwarf’s jocularity didn’t sit well with Eleusia, who glowered from folds of her cloak and lashed out with a foot as he leant over to check she was awake. Wordlessly, Eleusia stood and shook the moisture from her cloak, and then stepped from their hiding place in search of food, pulling the hood so it shielded her eyes from the intrusive sunlight.

Gwilym stretched expansively and hauled himself onto one of the wagon wheels to survey the morning’s activity. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he dropped down. ‘As I thought. Not a single guard on duty the whole night. I reckon they’ll struggle to get anyone on patrol for a good few hours yet. Nothing kills morale like cutting wages.’

‘Aye, you’d have thought Eleusia had woken up bankrupt, the way she was stomping around,’ Torben said, getting to his feet and stretching his back over a wagon.

‘She’s always been a moody one.’

‘Do you reckon we’ll move today?’ Torben asked.

‘We’d better hope so; from what I heard last night, this is the third day in a row that the caravan’s been delayed, so no wonder there’s so much discontent amongst our fellow guards. I heard some leave during the night, whispering about work going in the Kingdom of Kjörnsholm’s northern outposts for anyone foolhardy enough to take it. Nothing but barren steppe for miles

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