Pieces of the Empire, Book Two

By Jeffrey Lawrence Moss

With the evil empire under siege, Athuro Nava calls the Assembly of the Confederation to gather in the newly liberated city of Gemeno. There, he races against time to align the political interests of the nobles and clerics who have gathered, struggling to balance ideals with compromises to prevent his objectives from unraveling. Meanwhile, the Sarmissan Great Lords fight to reclaim the lost empire while hidden elements threaten to defeat all the work Athuro struggles to achieve. This is the second novel in an epic fantasy trilogy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeffrey Lawrence Moss
• Release date: May 14, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458135087

Jeffrey Lawrence Moss

Jeffrey Moss is a finance professional in the healthcare industry. He writes to keep himself sane. Jeffrey lives in the bay area with his wife Geneva, son Bridon, and cat Bandit. If you would like to reach out to the author, feel free to e-mail him at [e-mail]. Jeffrey is at work developing an action and adventure novel now that the Pieces of the Empire epic is complete. The tentative title of his current project is "The Forgotten Stone".

Book preview

PIECES OF THE EMPIRE

BOOK TWO: THE ADVENT OF THE CONFEDERATION

by

Jeffrey Lawrence Moss

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PUBLISHED BY:

Jeffrey Lawrence Moss at Smashwords

Pieces of the Empire, Book Two: The Advent of the Confederation

Copyright © 2011 by Jeffrey Lawrence Moss

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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I’d like to thank my wife for giving me the space to finish this book. Love ya!

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PIECES OF THE EMPIRE

BOOK TWO: THE ADVENT OF THE CONFEDERATION

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CHAPTER 1: THE TIME OF GATHERING

The grey tower of Woolwin castle stood tall in the expansive valley of rolling hills. The keep had square turrets that rose a level above the roof of the Tower. Those four corners, with their crenellations, could be seen from miles around. As the architects envisioned, the view from the tower allowed the inhabitants of Woolwin Castle to survey surrounding lands. This was the vantage for the lord of the castle to maintain control of the countryside. In times of defense, this view served notice to the defenders that attackers approached with the intent to siege. That explained why the Sarmissans had closed the gates and taken defensive positions well before the troops of Lord Rydon ke Mallenen had arrived.

The troops of Bancille gathered around the tower, protected by the outer castle walls and a moat that only partially surrounded the fortification. A tension was evident but also a sense of boredom. No fighting took place and probably had not taken place for a while. The defenders remained secured behind their walls with every advantage except the passing of time. The attackers stood about, a few thousand strong, decked in their chain mail armor.

Rydon said, You’ve no options but to surrender, he yelled in a booming voice. He spoke with the command of a king even though he was simply the reigning Lord of Port Nallippee who had spent most of the last nine years in exile. Similar to the knights loosely gathered around him, he wore a suit of chain mail armor and a helmet with a bridge piece to cover his nose. Unlike the others, over that armor was a rich blue cloth with golden embroidery in the form of his family crest. Among the camp of attackers, he stood out as the center point of attention.

Counter to him, standing on the roof of the Tower, the Sarmissan lord called back, dressed only in bland, light clothing. Offenders of the Empire will suffer the most painful deaths. I will see to that. You will not take this castle before my brothers arrive and rout you upon the fields on which you stand. Do not ask any more of me, lest I decide to make your deaths a more painful experience than necessary.

Reinforcements will not arrive, Rydon yelled back. They have not arrived at any time during the march here from Port Nallippee. Six castles have been taken along the way, and one-by-one they fell, with no sight of these brothers you speak of. Learn from this. Open your gates, surrender your men. I will grant you safe passage back to Sarmissa.

Such insolence! the Sarmissan spat back.

Rydon continued. I know that the true Lord of Afflin is a prisoner within your keep, held away from my view. You would do well to ensure that he still lives, else I will hold you personally accountable.

The Sarmissan paused, talking to someone at his side. He said, He lives, though I don’t see what concern that is of yours.

I am on a campaign to free my lands and to restore my kingdom, Rydon replied, that is my concern. I give you this last chance to surrender -- you will receive no further offers to spare your life.

The Sarmissan lord walked away from view indicating that the conversation was over. The knights around Rydon booed and hissed, to which the guards on the ramparts of the castle returned their jeers in kind. A few of the defenders shot bolts from their crossbows, falling feebly short of most of the camp.

Disgusted, Rydon spun away, raising his right hand into the air and bringing it down swiftly. Release the cattle.

Three trebuchets stood at the back of the camp. These were large wooden machines that supported a long beam with a counterweight on one side and a sling on the other. The men around these devices took the cue to cut at the ropes which held those beams in position. In response, the slings swung up, whipping forward to project their cargo. Three rotting cows flew through the air, moving past the Tower to the left and landing in the expansive courtyard of the castle, likely destroying whatever they landed upon.

Rydon watched the event and then turned again toward the camp, this time to retreat into his dirty white tent. He looked up to see me standing next to the tent but barely acknowledged me as he went inside. A few others followed him. Surprised at the lack of reception, I turned to face the entrance, not sure if I should go in or not.

After a few minutes, the others left, one jerking his thumb over his shoulder while walking away from me. The Lord calls for you now, the man said gruffly.

I went inside. The sparse quarters still had room for a bed, a small table, and a chair. Atop the table was a plate of fruit and a wooden mug. Rydon sat there eating, noticing me enter and motioning me to approach. Despite the cool air that marked the last days of winter, it was quite stuffy inside the enclosed tent. There was no bench for me to sit on, so I stood close to the table.

Rydon looked as he always did, simple in appearance yet regal just the same. His brown hair was short and neatly kept, and his dark blue eyes almost matched his blue coverings. His skin was darker than most of those on the continent. We looked very different from each other, mainly distinguished by my darker skin and blonde hair, but even beyond that we had few similarities other than we more or less stood at the same height.

After eating a few bites, Rydon sat back and took a drink of wine. Placing the cup back onto the table, he looked at me and said, I was starting to wonder about you. He let out the smallest of smiles as one side of his mouth curved slightly upward.

It’s taken me a while to find passage back to the continent, I said, really wishing there was a place to sit down. I had been travelling for quite some time. I heard your entire conversation just now.

Such as it was, Rydon replied. It was a formality, but as a noble, one learns to follow such rules unless one wishes to be seen as uncouth. But let’s not dwell on such petty matters, you must have news for me.

I nodded, giving up on any chance that Rydon would offer me a place to relax. For all my admiration of this man, and all that we had been through together, I still found dealing with him to be a puzzling experience at times. I have spoken to the Queen, and she has agreed to support the Confederation--.

Excellent, Rydon cut in.

--Conditionally, I finished.

Of course. Rydon grinned slightly at me again but an ominous sense lay behind his eyes as if he were judging me for what I was to say next.

The Queen has two demands. First, she requests that I remain to organize and lead the effort. Second, she wishes the Confederation to gather in Gijae, not Bancille.

Rydon stared back at me stoically for a long moment, then he finally shrugged. Agreed.

I had expected more resistance then that. In fact I had prepared for weeks in anticipation of the arguments I imagined he would offer. You’re sure?

He leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands over his belly. Of course. These are more than acceptable terms. You had me concerned there for a moment, I thought she would ask for something much more serious. I have trusted you from the beginning, so naturally I could not possibly object to your leadership in this endeavor. And where the Confederation meets is of little importance as long as the meeting takes place. It is within Sarmissa that the army of the Confederation will function, and that is what matters. Besides, Gemeno is not far from the border to Bancille, so it is as close to a neutral territory as we can muster.

Sighing, I realized then just how much the anticipation of this conversation had weighed on me. Hearing Rydon’s acquiesce to the Queen’s demands lifted a great burden from my mind. Then all that remains is to liberate Gemeno and raise the call for the gathering. . . . Before we continue, I have traveled far to get here and I am tired. Is there not a place for me to sit down?

You may sit at the edge of my bed, Rydon said, casually motioning his hand toward the low lying mattress of straw.

From that vantage, I had to look up in order to meet Rydon in the eye, a very awkward position. But between that and standing, I decided to opt for the physical comfort.

Rydon said, The Sarmissans have been quite troublesome there, haven’t they? I have taken almost all of Western Bancille while the army of the Queen has merely occupied one of her cities – only surrounding the castle that resides there. I trust there is no progress toward the fall of that fortification?

No. The stronghold is well defended and stocked. It will be some time before it falls.

That is unacceptable, Rydon said, as if I could do something about that.

I waited for him to say more, but he offered no further words, so I decided to raise the two other issues which had weighed heavily upon my mind as of late. The Queen discussed with me her belief that a Force Conjurer of the Southern Dominate still lives.

Rydon smiled. I have heard this rumor.

I had not expected him to be so cavalier about the news. The Force Conjurers from that order had been the key to the establishment of the Sarmissan Empire, and their deaths had opened the door for the recapture of lost lands. A return of the Force Conjurers was a serious matter. She says that natives from Palidland have seen evidence of this conjurer’s work.

Rydon did not bother to look at me as he replied, instead he picked at the food before him, searching for his next bite. Did the Queen bother to mention to you that the reports are of a female conjurer?

Yes, I said.

He then looked upon me. That should give you a clue as to the validity of this claim. There were no female conjurers in the Order of the Southern Dominate.

Apparently there is evidence of stone that this conjurer has crushed, I persisted.

No one of the Queen’s people, nor others in exile, have seen evidence of this. We only have the word of the natives, and they can hardly judge the work of a powerful Force Conjurer versus one of lesser quality. I’ve no doubt they saw evidence of a Force Conjurer at work, but not one as powerful as those we have slaughtered.

The Queen said that her guards saw the results of this person’s work, I said, she was not relying on the witness of the tribes.

The Queen’s guards saw what was left, with no way to discern that what they observed was due to the conjurer or due to natural circumstances. This evidence is suspect. Besides, if this woman exists, then where is she? We are left with a rumor of a hidden danger but absolutely no other news of her presence. That seems odd, unless you recognize that we are dealing with speculation and nothing more.

The Queen’s news had shaken me, but Rydon’s explanation left me at ease. At the end of the day there was no real evidence. Surely the Sarmissans would have utilized their greatest weapon to put down the rebellions going on around the continent had this woman truly existed.

That only left one more issue that I needed to address. On a final note, I wish to venture into the desert to reunite with my family. I have promised myself to do this for some time and now seems the best opportunity. I have some reconciliation to attend to. With much time between now and when the Confederation can be called to order, I should be able to easily return well before the moment I am needed.

You do not have that kind of time, Rydon said plainly, looking down at me. I will send my men to help finish the job at Gemeno. Then you must send out the call to gather at once. There will be no time for trivial pursuits.

Most of your men are here. Do you think it’s wise to move them away from Woolwin Castle to retreat to Gemeno? The Sarmissans would take the opportunity to restock and fortify their presence here. Not to mention the moral victory they will have earned.

This castle will fall before I lend my men, Athuro, Rydon said and grabbed at a few grapes. In fact it will be in my hands by the end of tomorrow.

As I started to reply, I simply stopped, wondering what I could say. Arguments formed in my mind about why it was not time to assemble the Confederation, but nothing came to me that I thought Rydon would acquiesce to. The way he spoke, a way I had heard before, clearly indicated his mind was made up about the matter. I had made that promise to myself to see my family, but I had also made a promise to see the Confederation through formation. Conflicted, I could only fall silent in the presence of the Lord of Port Nallippee.

You’re probably wondering why I am so confident, Rydon asked, with an obliviousness to my inner conflict. It’s because I know a secret way inside. But that is enough for now. You will need your sleep if you are to join me on the raid this evening. Tomorrow we will have wine atop that tower. We can discuss the gathering of the Confederation then.

With the tone of his last words and the subtle look only he could convey, I knew that the conversation was over and that he expected me to leave. Walking out into the cold air and leaving the stuffy tent behind me, I moved to the edge of camp. Lying down, I thought about leaving for the east and pursuing my own interests. Rydon does not control me, I make my own decisions. These thoughts felt liberating as I stared at the partially cloudy sky.

The idea of defying Rydon had its attractions. But the Confederation meant something significant to me too. The concept wasn’t just a union of Bancille and Gijae and the orders that resided in the two kingdoms. It represented the promise of peace and free trade which inspired me. The Confederation was going to keep Sarmissa at bay as an aggressor, but the potential for this political body to avoid conflicts in general was great. Every major non-Sarmissan interest of the continent was to be represented there. It would be an unheard of gathering of men, working together like never before. The prospect of making that idealism a reality was of great importance to me, and after much debate I knew that my family would have to wait.

Not too much longer, I told myself, but understood that the future could hold no promises.

Now that my thoughts had settled, I turned to worrying about the ensuing conflict. Before going into exile, I had never taken up arms, and yet now I lay on the verge of my third battle. How could a simple desert trader end up in such a position? Those thoughts and the concern for my safety rattled around my mind until somehow I fell asleep.

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It’s time to get up, a strange man said while shaking me vigorously.

I woke startled, the dark of the night making it harder for me to gain my bearings. After a few moments, with the help smoldering campfire lights to vaguely illuminate my surroundings, I remembered.

The stranger dropped a crude sword at my side. It’s mostly for appearances, he said, a slight cackle in his voice.

Hurry up, Athuro, Rydon’s voice came softly. I do not wish to wait much longer.

His voice helped me snap out of my grogginess. I quickly stood, grabbing the sword which seemed to balance awkwardly in my hand.

We are limited on quality supplies, Rydon explained, but it should be of no concern. You are coming to accompany me, not to fight. I remember your lack of prowess with the sword. Keep your wits about you and no harm will come.

That feeling of unease I had experienced before returned. Before I could reflect on the task ahead, he sped off, causing me to scurry to keep up with him.

A small group gathered around Rydon as he progressed, numbering ten by the time we walked out of the camp. I had imagined a full scale attack to take place, but this was to be a small raid. Memories of Valliss flashed in my mind. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but in fact we had assassinated the King and the Archpolette only last spring.

We moved silently and without torches, making our way across the wet fields of tall grass. Slowly we moved toward the east, near the point where the castle walls stretched the farthest away from the keep. Rydon then stopped thirty feet from the edge of the castle wall and waited for us to gather around him. Open it, he whispered to a few of his men.

They bent down and brushed some of the grass aside to reveal a wooden door which only could be made out by the dim moonlight partially obscured by clouds. One man wedged his sword between the door and earth, wiggling it back and forth and pushing his blade downward. The knight’s weapon seemed to be caught on something, causing him to jerk his sword back and forth. He grunted in a muted voice at each movement.

Another knight joined the effort, sticking his blade into the thin opening and then pushing his sword in and out like a saw. The effort continued for some time, until a snap and a final grunt from each man indicated they had made a breakthrough. A third soldier then bent down and pulled the door wide open, revealing a passage below and the frayed rope that had just previously secured the door shut.

We peered into the dark hole.

Rydon stepped forward and looked into each man’s eyes. We only have two goals to accomplish this night. We will rescue Lord Pardilen, and we will capture the Sarmissan lord. All this must be done silently, so we will move slowly and avoid any contact. You will follow me and obey my commands; no other actions are acceptable. If you have any questions, you must either raise them now or else fall silent until our return to safety.

The group remained quiet. Rydon nodded his head. Follow me then.

He stepped down into the darkened hole and moved in to make room for the rest of us. One by one we climbed down until the last man closed the door which left us in complete darkness. I grabbed onto the shoulder of the man in front of me and felt the hand of another on my shoulder. Only the soft rustling of our armor, and the suction noises from walking in a thin layer of mud, could be heard.

After a long period of steady progress, the line stopped. I heard the sounds of cutting once again and soon the barest degree of light broke the complete darkness. Then we moved once more, and when I reached the entrance at the other side of the tunnel, the weak light of the moon coupled with a scattering of torches in the distance proved more than enough to see.

We surfaced beyond the castle walls, rising from a pile of brush that surrounded us. Later I would learn that this had been a secret passage utilized by the original inhabitants for sorties against attackers to steal supplies. Its presence had been made secret to the occupying Sarmissans, but a local man had informed Rydon of its existence.

The walls surrounding the castle grounds were an oval shape, much like that of an eye. The bastion was at one side of the eye, while the keep was at the other. Timber-framed buildings lined the walls all around, with the bailey of the castle relatively free of any objects save three large mounds that seemed strangely out of place. Then I remembered the cattle that had been flung here the day before.

Rydon did not waste any time in moving on, walking parallel to the wall and keeping tight to the front of the wooden buildings. The keep seemed far away, but we clung to the shadows that made us almost impossible to identify by the castle guards. Unless some man ran into us and called out an alarm, we had little fear of being caught. At this hour, few people stirred. Those that were awake walked the ramparts and looked outside the walls for signs of activity. Even then, there were not many of these guards about.

Entering the keep itself would have been problematic had we only had the front doors at our disposal. Opening those would surely create a noise great enough to draw attention from the limited guard detail. However there was another door, a small entrance at the top of a flight of stairs, which led to the kitchen. That entrance proved easy to penetrate and we gathered in that room in a loose circle.

Rydon pointed to half the group. The five of you, you will explore the far side of the keep. I will lead the rest on this side. With a flick of his wrist, nothing more was said. The other group of five shuffled out the door, progressing deeper into the keep. Rydon waited until they had been gone for a few minutes before leading the rest of us onward.

No torches or candles glowed within the tower as the inhabitants had settled in for the night. We stuck to the outer corridors where the infrequent windows only let in the meekest light, yet in the otherwise total darkness that proved to be all the illumination we needed. Rydon moved forward almost at a normal pace but occasionally paused to decide which way to turn. He was the one to open each door and peek inside each room. Most proved empty.

Eventually we came across one that wasn’t. As Rydon opened the door enough to look inside, the hinges squeaked in protest. A man’s voice, groggily called out, Who goes there?

Rydon swiftly entered the room, the other three of our group fell in quickly behind. By the time I knew what had happened, I found myself alone in the hallway listening to the scuffling sounds from that room. Once I got the nerve to move in myself, I came to find that the ensuing melee had ended. The light from the one small window in the hall allowed me to count at least three dead bodies, all Sarmissan. Rydon and his men had made quick work of them, slitting their throats.

We moved onto the next room and so on, ascending to the next level. Finally we came upon a locked door. Rydon felt around the frame until he touched something that rang out with a tinny clang. Taking the key off the nail it hung on, he unlocked the door and walked inside. The rest of us waited outside the door for what seemed forever, until I decided to go in myself. It felt odd to enter before the others but something felt wrong and my instinct told me to go inside.

Rydon kneeled at the end of the room, deep in prayer. I came forward, confused at this act in a time like this, until I saw the body lying on the bed only feet away. The sight caused me to stop but then I felt compelled to progress again, moving right up to the dead man. A strip of moonlight ran across his body, and I could see his midsection shredded by what looked like twenty dagger thrusts. His mouth was gagged with a cloth. The blood seemed fresh, there was a wetness on the body and on the sheets that implied a recent killing.

The Sarmissans would rather kill him then simply accept defeat, Rydon said softly by my side, startling me. I had not heard him get up and approach, too transfixed at the horrible sight in front of me. Sadly this pattern has repeated itself a number of times during the sieges we have conducted. They are savages.

I furrowed my brow, turning away from Rydon to look back to the bloodied body. But they didn’t know we were coming, I said out loud but really to myself. Why kill him now?

Rydon placed his hand on my shoulder, gripping tightly. They did not know when but they knew it would be soon. I could tell from the Sarmissan lord’s voice, I could hear his doubt. After our talk in the daytime, he must have surely decided keeping this man alive any longer would prove no value to him. He will pay for that decision.

Having heard the conversation myself, I had not detected any fear from the Sarmissan lord atop the keep. Yet I was not trained to pay attention to such things as Rydon was, and I had to concede he was in a much better position to assess the situation.

Come, Rydon whispered in my ear, our secondary objective is still within our grasp.

He left and I slowly found the legs to follow him out of the room and to lag behind the group. We came across a few more rooms until the other party ran into us, a gagged prisoner in hand.

Rydon whispered something to the captive and then knocked him unconscious with the hilt of his short sword. One of the stronger knights slung the Lord over his shoulder and our reunited team proceeded outside the keep.

A sense of the surreal filled me, not knowing how so much could have transpired here while still being surrounded by a general atmosphere of calm and quiet. Somehow an assassination, a kidnapping, and a raid had gone completely unnoticed by any of the other inhabitants of the stronghold. I expected a call to arms at any moment, but it did not come as we reached the side entrance outside the kitchen. We then climbed down the stairs and moved more than half the distance to the opening of the secret passage.

Invaders! Invaders! Invaders! Pots clanged along with the warning. There was no time to discern the source, we all began to run as soon as we heard the alert. The noise had sounded so close, it must have been one of the inhabitants of the buildings we walked in front of. Finally our luck had run out.

More voices filled the air, but I had no sense of where they hailed. We had no escape but the way we came in, so all of our focus was in running to that spot. If we were lucky, the confusion of our enemy would last until we reached the passage. It seemed my wishes might come true as Rydon kicked open the passage hatch and hurried down inside. A few more knights had passed through once I had reached the entrance.

One of the men held the door open, shoving the others inside. I approached him and looked up to see a crossbow bolt shoot into his neck and lodge there halfway imbedded into his flesh. The knight then toppled over. Another knight, scrambling into the passage, was struck in the skull, his body snapping back.

With total instinct, I dived into the dark passage with the sounds of other bolts in the air behind me. I ran once my feet gained traction, bouncing against the walls of the dark passage in my desperate panic to flee. How long would it take until the defenders filled the passage with fire?

Oblivious to the bruises forming on my arms and legs as I slammed into the hard earth of the tunnel walls, I looked ahead to see the faint moonlight from the entrance on the other side. With that as a guide, I progressed more surely, escaping the passage and then running across the fields away from the castle walls.

Ahead Rydon called out toward our camp. More bolts flew in the air around me, tagging the calf of a man just ahead. He fell to the ground in a heap, becoming unconscious on impact. I grabbed him with all my leverage, dragging him along the slick grass at less than a quarter of my running speed. I should have just ran for it, but I knew I could save this man.

For whatever reason I heard no more bolts in my vicinity. I continued to drag the body until other men came upon us, relieving me of the burden. Looking up, torches glowed from all along the castle walls. The voices of angry men carried across the fields and I saw flames rise from the passage we had just vacated.

Shocked by these events, I walked slowly back to camp, barely registering any of the activity around me. Having reached my supplies, I lay on the grass and closed my eyes, letting my emotions take hold. I never felt comfortable being so close to death. It would be some time until I could collect myself enough to sit up once again and look around. The strength to stand seemed lacking, so I sat there for most of the remainder of the evening, observing the awakened camp celebrate their victory in having captured the Sarmissan lord.

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Woolwin castle was indeed taken the next day. Rydon had brought the Sarmissan lord to the edge of camp, facing the fortification, and placed a dagger against his throat. Open the gates or he will die, Rydon called out to the defenders who could only watch helplessly from the ramparts. Within two hours the roles had reversed such that the attackers became the occupants of the castle and the Sarmissans had become the outcasts. True to his word, Rydon let the Sarmissan lord live and warned him to never show his face again for what he had done to the Afflin Lord. Not much later the Sarmissan presence was entirely gone as they had marched away to the South.

Later that day, Rydon and I drank wine atop the roof of the keep, looking out over the vast green fields of grass that waived and shimmered in the breeze. The next day, Rydon left a small garrison of a hundred men to defend the keep and took the remaining men and myself on a march to Gemeno in Northern Gijae. The journey which normally would have taken me seventeen days to complete was finished in fifteen days. On the way, Rydon left almost his entire army at Port Nallippee and then took myself and a few others to the city of Gemeno which was an hour’s march away. We found the city to have been liberated from the Sarmissans, and was able to find the man we were looking for quite easily.

"We