The Mongoliad: Book Three by Neal Stephenson & Erik Bear & Greg Bear & Joseph Brassey & Nicole Galland & Cooper Moo & Mark Teppo

Author:Neal Stephenson & Erik Bear & Greg Bear & Joseph Brassey & Nicole Galland & Cooper Moo & Mark Teppo
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction
ISBN: 9781612182384
Publisher: 47North
Published: 2013-02-25T13:00:00+00:00

Unlike the intricate and complicated preparations necessary to organize the caravan, setting up camp and preparing for a feast were activities that the host of servants, attendants, tradesmen, and guards knew by heart. Oddly enough, these few hours were some of the only unstructured time Master Chucai had. Typically, he would withdraw to his ger and spend a few hours in delightful solitude, but tonight, as the camp buzzed with preparations for an immense feast to celebrate the Khagan’s hunt in the morning, he sought out two men: Alchiq, the old drunk, and Ghaltai, the leader of the Darkhat.

He found Alchiq near the wagons carrying the prisoners from the West. The gray-haired veteran was assisting with the sparse meals for the caged fighters, and when he noticed Chucai watching, he handed off his bucket of slop and rice to the caravan master.

“Good evening, Master Chucai,” he said, offering a short bow. “May I be of assistance?”

“How is it that a one-time companion of the Khagan—a man who commanded at least a jaghun in his time—is now serving slop to foreign prisoners?” Chucai asked with some curiosity. The idea of Munokhoi serving in this stead floating across his mind, and he quickly dismissed such a possibility as unlikely.

“After you exiled me, I drank a great deal,” Alchiq said. “I rode and I drank; I didn’t care where I went, just as long as I could refill my skin of arkhi.” He gestured at the row of cages behind him. “Serving men like this was all I was suited for.”

“And yet, earlier today, you wanted to serve your Khagan again.”

“I’ve never stopped wanting to serve,” Alchiq corrected him. “But I was a drunk. I stood by the Khagan and gave him an excuse to drink. We had conquered the world. What did it matter what we did next?”

Chucai said nothing; the man clearly had a speech he had been waiting a long time to deliver. Better to let him get it out.

“But it did matter, didn’t it?” Alchiq said. “That was why you banished me and the others. Why you kept reminding the Khagan of what his father had accomplished.” Alchiq shook his head. “We all hated you; we thought you were the poison that would destroy the empire.” He spat in the dirt.

“Why did you come back?” Chucai asked.

“I was with Batu Khan as he conquered lands in the Khagan’s name,” Alchiq said. I was there when he stormed Kiev, and I rode with his men when they tried to take the white citadel at the top of the hill.” Alchiq lifted his long hair off his neck and showed Chucai the ravaged line of scar tissue that ran down his neck and disappeared into his robe. The flesh was bubbled and ragged as if the skin had been liquefied and then allowed to cool.

“We tried for two weeks to take the citadel,” Alchiq continued, “and would have continued to throw ourselves against its walls until every last one of us were dead if Batu had had his way.

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.