Ranulf’s Conquest, page 1
Ranulf’s Conquest
An Erotic Harem Fantasy Novel
Elliot Silvestri
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this work are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Ranulf’s Conquest
An Erotic Harem Fantasy Novel
Copyright © 2022 Green Bush Publishing
Second Edition
Cover Design by James, GoOnWrite.com
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.
A Green Bush Publishing Book
The characters and events portrayed in this work are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Contains adult material that might not be suitable for all audiences. This work is a fantasy; in your own life be sure to follow safer sex practices.
All characters depicted in this work of fiction are 18 years of age or older.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Preview
About the Author
Book 1
Beka
Prologue
Ranulf could see the other knight pursuing him. The hills were giving way to mountains and it was easy enough to look downward to see the man in his armor on a white horse. The knight was carrying less gear than Ranulf and had a fresher horse. He would catch Ranulf before the sun set. It was Ranulf’s choice as to where the confrontation took place. He could keep running and the knight would most likely catch him at the edge of the mountain pass or he could find a place to prepare an ambush.
Or he could confront the knight directly.
Urging his exhausted horse upward where he could see a relatively flat clearing Ranulf prepared himself.
It took the other knight less than half an hour to reach the clearing. Ranulf was as rested and ready as he ever would be. He had dismounted and drawn his sword. The other knight’s horse stumbled into the clearing and was brought up short by the rider.
Before he could react, Ranulf spoke. “I have no quarrel with you. I am leaving the Three Kingdoms. I will never return. I swear this as Ranulf, Knight of—” His words caught in his throat. He reminded himself that he was no longer a member of the Order of the Black Pyre. “I swear this as a free knight.”
The other knight sat on his horse a moment before dismounting. He wore the distinctive armor of the Order of Devoted Guardians. It was shiny and new. Ranulf wondered if the knight had ever seen battle. He didn’t need to look at his own armor to know it was battered, scarred, muddy, and hadn’t shone in years.
Ducking his head, the other knight removed his helmet to reveal a face that was youthful and handsome. Like most knights he wore his dirty blond hair short. Above high cheekbones he had piercing blue eyes that promised they had once been naive.
“I am Thome the Innocente, Knight of the Devoted Guardians. Surrender to me, villain, and I will make sure you are given a fair trial in front of the Battle Tribunal.” He paused for a moment. “You cannot fool me. I see by your armor and cloak and crest and banner you are a member of the Black Pyre. Surrender.”
Ranulf cursed himself for not completely removing the partially obscured icon on his shield. He hadn’t given up his overcloak because it offered a little warmth against the biting wind.
Shaking his head, Ranulf said, “No. Former member. I swear this is the truth. I leave the Three Kingdoms never to return.”
“I cannot allow you to flee justice. Either surrender or draw your weapon.” He gave Ranulf no chance to answer as he drew his sword and started marching across the clearing.
Brandishing his sword, Ranulf said, “Don’t do this, Thome. I have no quarrel with you.”
The other knight put his helmet back on and slipped his shield off his back. Ranulf cursed to himself, hurriedly put on his own helmet, grabbed his shield off the horse, and instead of waiting to receive Thome’s charge, he abruptly ran forward, carefully timing his attack so that he leaped on a large rock, launched himself into the air, and brought sword and shield down heavily on the younger knight.
Thome wasn’t a complete fool or novice. He withstood the attack and in short order the two were slamming and slashing away at each other.
It only took Ranulf a few seconds to realize the other knight, though he looked young and untested, had some skill. Unfortunately for Thome, that skill wasn’t nearly enough to match Ranulf’s many years on the battlefield.
And still he didn’t want to kill the young knight.
Ranulf had trained too many squires who sought to join his order. He could spot a novice’s weaknesses right away. It was the same with Thome. Not wanting to kill the young man, Ranulf used a move that brought him inside Thome’s guard, put him off balance and Ranulf, using his shield as a blunt instrument, slammed the knight’s sword out of his hand.
Thome stumbled back, quickly drawing a dagger from his belt.
“Don’t,” Ranulf warned. “Let me leave and—” his words were cut short by a fearsome roar. “Shit,” he cursed loudly. His eyes left his enemy and scanned the scrubby pine trees. There was snow on the ground along with plenty of leaf litter. He didn’t see the monster—yet.
“What was that?” asked Thome, realizing that while Ranulf was dangerous, something else in the woods was much more deadly.
“Fire drake.”
The knight’s eyes widened. “Are you sure? Aren’t they—”
“I’m sure. Pick up your fucking sword, move back to back. If we’re lucky, we might just live.”
Ranulf turned around, putting his back to the knight. It wasn’t a matter of trust. Ranulf knew if Thome struck him down, the young knight wouldn’t survive the fire drake. Though the Order of Devoted Guardians claimed high chivalry as one of the primary tenets, he had seen plenty of Devoted Guardians stab man, boy, woman, and monster alike in the back.
Thome wasn’t a great fool. Ranulf felt the boy’s presence behind him.
“What do we do?” The other knight’s voice was shaky and was projecting the other direction. Thome was back to back with Ranulf.
“The fire drake will get as close as possible before a rushing attack. Block the thing’s head with your shield, stab its underside where its scales are weakest.”
They were both breathing heavily, scanning the edges of the clearing, looking for signs of the monster.
“Maybe we didn’t hear it,” said Thome.
Before Ranulf could reply, the fire drake howled again. The roar echoed off the exposed rock faces of the mountain. Ranulf ran his eyes back and forth across the clearing’s edge. The attack would be swift. He expected it to come head on at one of them. The creatures were bold.
He was wrong. The attack came from their side. He only caught the movement at the last moment, too late to warn Thome. Its claws raked along Ranulf’s armor as its body slammed into Thome.
All three went down in a tumble. Somehow Ranulf managed to keep his sword and shield in hand. He was on his knees when he felt the sudden burst of heat.
The fire drake spit fire at Thome who caught the attack on his wood and hide shield. The round shield caught fire and Thome threw it away. In a flash the fire drake was on him. Its long, snake-like body slammed Thome to the ground again. Claws scrabbled at Thome’s armor. The knight screamed.
Ranulf rushed to aid the boy, bringing his sword down heavily on the thing’s back, but the blade didn’t bite. The drake’s back claws raked at Ranulf’s chest. The impossibly hard claws ripped the steel plates to shreds.
Thome was flailing about with his sword, annoying the drake more than anything else. The drake swiped Thome across the face; the knight screamed again.
Ranulf disengaged from the claws, moved to the side and tried stabbing the thing’s underbelly.
It was too late for Thome. The fire drake slashed again with its claws. Blood geysered. Thome’s scream died with him, his head all but severed from his body.
But there was an opening. Ranulf shoved his sword forward burying it deeply in the monster’s gut.
It screamed in pain and turned on Ranulf. The knight caught its attack on his shield and stabbed a second time.
The drake, an opportunistic ambush predator, started to flee. Ranulf managed one slashing attack that opened up its side. The drake made it to the edge of the clearing before it too died.
“Fuck,” Ranulf cursed, collapsing to his knees.
His armor was destroyed.
Thome was dead.
The horses had fled.
He only realized now there were wounds on his chest.
He was certain he was going to d
Breathing heavily, he took stock of his situation and realized the cuts, though bad, weren’t immediately fatal.
He needed help.
He needed armor.
He needed to survive.
There was only one way.
He had passed a village earlier in the day, but he couldn’t go there as a disgraced member of the Black Pyre.
In his belt he had a potion. Taking out the silver flask he drank the mouthful of liquid. It would sustain him until he reached the village, or so he hoped.
But he couldn’t leave Thome’s body to scavengers.
He stripped off the man’s armor after removing his own. The land was broken enough that gathering enough stones only took a few minutes. The body was hidden from all but the most determined of carnivores.
Using a bit of sticky blood on his finger he painted both the symbol of the Devoted Guardians and the icon of the Black Pyre on one of the rocks covering Thome’s body.
A prayer would be appropriate in the moment, but Ranulf didn’t have it in him.
“You were a brave man,” he said after a moment’s reflection. “I’ll honor your memory.”
Ranulf stumbled out of the clearing, hoping to find the village where he might be given succor.
Chapter 1
He woke up with a start and didn’t know where he was. That wasn’t unusual because he often traveled and woke in unfamiliar surroundings. The last thing he remembered was the cold. It had just started snowing.
The room where he woke was dark, lit only by a busy fire in a hearth on the far side of the room. It was an old stone and mortar cabin that was warm with dirt floors and a thick, thatched roof.
He realized right away his armor and clothing had been taken off. That didn’t make sense because he would have remembered it.
His chest hurt and he put a hand to his skin. There were mostly healed scratches and he started to remember everything.
“You’ve been asleep for the better part of five days. I was certain you were going to die.”
Looking around, he spotted the source of the words. A woman was sitting in a chair as far from the roaring fire as possible. He only then became aware that he was under many heavy blankets and furs. The room was like an oven. She was likely trying to avoid the worst of the heat.
“I suppose you saved my life,” he said carefully, not wanting to give anything away.
“I suppose I did.” She stood up and he was better able to see her face. She was a slight woman with long brown hair falling in a braid down her back. She wore a simple dark green dress. Her appearance was plain but she had sharp eyes. “Your armor and weapons are outside. They were underfoot.”
“My clothes?” he asked, now fully cognizant that he was fully naked.
She smirked at him. “Ruined. Mostly. A few of the pieces I was able to wash and repair are in the chest.” She indicated the chest with a slight tilt of her head.
“Thank you…I don’t know your name,” he said politely.
“Why are you thanking me?”
“For saving my life.” He sat up and was pleased to realize that he could move without pain. He held the blankets over his body.
She scoffed at him. “It’s my job. I’m required to do so.”
“I give you my thanks anyway.”
Her sharp eyes, dark pools of brown, focused narrowly on him. “What is your name, knight?”
Of course she knew he was a knight. He had been wearing his armor and carrying his weapons.
“Thome,” he said after a moment. “Thome Innocente.”
She scoffed once more. “I doubt the name is accurate. Beka.”
“Beka? Is that your name?”
“You gave me yours. I gave you mine.”
He nodded. “Again. I give you my thanks. How can I repay you?” He started to move off the bed and slumped to the side. He was weaker than he had realized. He was also incredibly thirsty.
“Right now I doubt you could stand up.” She brought him a wooden cup full of water. He drank it greedily. “You’ll pay us back.”
“Us.”
“The village. I don’t live here alone.”
“Right. Where is your husband?”
She scoffed again. It was starting to annoy him. “I have no husband. I neither want nor need one.” She filled his cup again and he downed the water just as quickly. He was feeling better.
“Then you are a healing woman.”
“You can say it: a witch.”
“I would never accuse—”
She laughed at him. “As if brothers from the Devoted Guardians do anything else.”
It took him a moment to process what she was saying.
He tried again. “I came here to protect—”
Once more she cut him off. “And inspect and judge and arrest. We all know the routine.” She scoffed again. “What animal waylaid you?”
“A fire drake.”
Her eyebrows went up. “And you survived. I’m impressed.” She took the cup away from him. “Are you hungry?”
“You think I’m going to arrest you and yet you healed me and offer me food and water?”
She looked at him skeptically before moving to the fire where an iron pot hung on a pivoting hook. She scooped up some of the contents into a wooden bowl and brought it to him. It was some sort of stew.
He ate it like a starving man.
“It is our duty to offer everyone who comes to our village food and drink and safety,” she said. “We believe in the tenets of the Three Kingdoms even if its protectors don’t.”
The knight said nothing. He was busy chewing the vegetables and meat in the stew.
“I’ll leave you in peace as soon as I am able.”
Thome found he had just enough strength left to finish the stew before falling back onto the bed.
He awoke the next day. Or maybe it was just hours later. There was some weak light coming in through the windows closed shutters.
Thinking for a moment, Thome called out, “Beka?”
His hostess didn’t reply.
He was feeling much better. Taking a risk, Thome carefully swung his feet out of the bed and cautiously stood up.
He wasn’t back to his usual self yet, but he was close.
He was also naked.
Remembering what Beka had said, he went to the chest where she indicated his clothing was being stored. He reflected for just a moment that it made sense to remove his armor, but why did he have to be stripped completely while she healed him?
The chest was held closed with a simple hasp. He flipped it aside and opened up the lid just as Beka opened the small house’s door and walked inside.
Thome had been squatting down to open the chest. He immediately stood up and remembered that he was naked. His hands went to cover his manhood.
“I’m back,” she unnecessarily announced.
“I was just looking for my clothes,” he said too quickly.
Beka eyed him up and down. “You don’t seem to need them.”
Thome didn’t understand her meaning. “It’s freezing out.” With one hand he pointed at the snow she had brought in with her. “And snowing. I’ll need my clothes to finish my journey.”
“And where are you going?” she asked, brushing snow off her cloak before hanging it on a peg next to the door. There were other pegs. They were all empty.
“Back…back to Telemere,” he said, naming the capital to the Three Kingdoms.
“Hmm. It’s snowing. You might want to wait a day before leaving. You’ll die in the storm.”
“Right,” he said and started sidling back to the bed. He intended to wrap a blanket around himself to hide his nudity.
Beka rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to hide it,” she said. “I’ve seen more of them in my life than I care to remember.”
Thome’s first instinct was to apologize, but he bit his tongue. “I didn’t want to offend,” he said.
Beka merely rolled her eyes and moved past him to the chest. “You could hardly offend me,” she said, kneeling in front of the chest so she could rummage through it. Finding what remained of his clothes, she pulled them out and pivoted around.
She was eye level with his crotch. While he didn’t have anything she hadn’t seen before, she was impressed with what she saw. Doubly so considering the chill in the air.
