Herald of Shalia 3, page 19
“Could be fun,” Priscilla winked playfully.
“I’ll think about it,” Frost smirked. “Maybe after things settle down a bit.”
Frost whistled and Witch rushed over to him as Ena and Fayeth reassured the lamia and elves that everything was going to be fine. Priscilla barked commands to get the elves and monsters some food and supplies while the elves mounted up. It was a long ride to Kald.
CHAPTER 15
Hansel was conflicted.
His father always taught him to be pragmatic and never let his emotions cloud his judgment, but it was easier said than done. Hansel wondered what his father would think of him accepting a position working with Herald Frost in order to avoid his treason investigation.
It was certainly the pragmatic decision given the circumstances but the man did kill his father.
Fortunately for Hansel there was plenty of work to keep his mind off pointless questions. What his father might think of him was irrelevant, the man was dead. Whether or not he should feel guilty about serving the man who killed his father was equally irrelevant. He could either serve Herald Frost or be executed for treason in Zira.
Probably.
There was always a chance the treason investigation would prove him innocent but even he recognized that he was perfect scapegoat. Not only did he have both the motive and opportunity, he benefitted immensely in the wake of his father’s death.
“Here’s another stack,” Hansel said while sliding a few dozen papers to his administrative assistant. “Make sure that you collect signatures that they accepted the delivery of the papers this time. I don’t want anybody to pretend they didn’t receive the notification.”
“What if they refuse to sign,” the old gentleman asked hopefully. Hansel knew what the bloodthirsty old pirate wanted him to say.
“Find a witness to sign a document confirming their refusal to sign and deliver it to me,” Hansel answered calmly. “Additionally, if they act in a threatening manner, walk away. Understood?”
“Yes sir,” the man said irritably as he grabbed the stack of papers. The man grunted several insults and profanities as he left the room with the documents.
It wasn’t a secret that the people of Kald despised him. The city was populated by fishermen, dockworkers, and former pirates. They despised those born into nobility for a plethora of obvious and legitimate reasons.
They viewed him as weak and cowardly. He couldn’t really fault them for that since his actions were virtually indistinguishable from those of a coward. He sat in a well-lit room full of luxuries reading and writing all day and solved his disputes with words instead of action no matter how much they tried to instigate fights.
A soft rap on the door pulled him from his thoughts.
“Come in,” Hansel said as one of the maids wandered in. He’d forgotten her name over a dozen times and simply thought of her as the one with the eyepatch. She had long brown hair and an appealing body but the missing eye and small scars on her face and neck would probably prevent a decent man from marrying her. “What is it?”
“My lord,” the woman bowed politely. “The captain of the guards is here and re…”
“Send him in,” Hansel said with a heavy sigh.
He despised the guard captain with a passion. The man was a heavy-handed oaf who preferred to chop off hands and stab eyes with hot pokers to keep order. He would have already removed the bastard from his position if not for the corrupt bastard’s connections to the various smugglers that used Kald.
Executing him would simply incite further conflict and serve nobody so he tolerated the bastard.
“Boy,” the captain grinned as he walked into the office. He was long-haired man with a jet-black beard and a muscular build. While he had a few scars on his face none of them appeared to be from a weapon of significance. They were likely the result of barfights and robberies as opposed to real battles. “We’ve captured a caravan of elves and monsters entering from Rilia. Normally I’d just take care of them but you’ve decided that executions need to be run by you first. So, I’m here to run it by you.”
“Where are they now?” Hansel asked while opening a drawer of his desk to pull out a wand. He wasn’t a big fan of using wands since they required more energy, but the tradeoff was that they helped focus his magic and increased his precision. He hoped to avoid collateral damage whenever possible. “Oh, right. While I have you here.”
“What’s this,” the captain asked as Hansel handed him a parchment. The man looked over the document and his twisted in anger. “What the fuck is this boy? You think I’m going to…”
“Last week you did nine hundred rel worth of damage chasing a thief,” Hansel said. “He stole bag of apples worth two rel. The nine hundred rel is being billed to you personally.”
“Do you want this town overrun with thieves?” the captain snarled.
“After investigating the scene, I determined there were at least eight different times the thief could have been stopped,” Hansel said. “It’s in the supplemental pages you’re holding. Feel free to read through them. Your men are incompetent captain and since you’ve made it clear that you choose the men who serve under you, you will be held personally responsible. Either train them better or prepare to pay for it.”
“I’m not paying it,” the captain said tearing up the paper. “What are you going to do to make me?”
“That’s fine,” Hansel said while putting on his coat. “The rel will be garnished from your wages and additional interest will be applied.”
“I could have you killed and nobody would bat a fucking eye,” the captain reached for his dagger. “I could kill you right fucking here and…”
“I believe Herald Frost has made it clear what will happen to you if anything happens to me,” Hansel said calmly. “If you have an issue with my governance you are free to submit a complaint directly to Herald Frost on his next visit.”
“The devil-fucker can’t protect you forever,” the captain said. “And when that time comes, I’m going to be taking my time with you boy. Before I’m done, you’ll be…”
“Begging for death,” Hansel sighed as he initialed the sign out sheet for the various items and equipment he was taking with him. “Something like that? Right? Anyway, looks like I have everything I need. Lead me to the visitors captain.”
“My lords,” the maid bowed as they left.
Kald was a fairly small port town. It had five long docks with dozens of small fishing vessels tied to them and one very large one meant for trading vessels. Hansel preferred to avoid that area of the town since they reeked with a putrid combination of fish and sailor stench.
Fortunately avoiding the docks was easy since a majority of the town was on a small bluff above them. Calling it a bluff was probably wrong since it was only about forty feet tall but it was enough to keep the smell at bay. Unless you were passing one of the several large ramps that were cut into the bluffs to allow wagons and horses to transport goods to and from the docks. The malodorous wind from the docks wafted right up them.
The village proper was mostly quiet with a few small market streets where vendors sold goods, some quaint shops, and even a few nice restaurants that of course specialized in seafood. It was the type of village that a soldier might retire to after years of war but not nice enough for the average noble.
The only real issue was the western corner of the town where the sailors went to unwind. Another unfortunate necessity of a port city. While it lost the smell of fish of the port, it was lousy with sailor stench and the cheap perfume of low rent whores.
“Are you sure you’re not attempting to kill me now?” Hansel asked as he realized they were heading toward the western part of town. “Maybe frame it as a mugging?”
“When I kill you, I won’t be framing it as anything,” the captain said calmly. “I’ll drag you around town and…”
“I’m sure something unpleasant,” Hansel interrupted while looking at a hooker being fucked against a wall by a sailor. “I should burn this part of the town to the ground and rebuild.”
“I’m sure the people would love to hear how little their governor thinks of them,” the captain spat on Hansel’s boot while pretending to be aiming for the road. “Sorry boy.”
Between the moaning of drunk whores and the putrid reek of rancid liquor and piss, Hansel figured he was nearing their central square. It was a disgusting little area that seemed to alternate between taverns and rooms rentable by the hour.
He’d tried to organize cleaners to come through the area but after the third one was beaten and tossed in a pile of glass, finding cleaners became difficult. Naturally, no witnesses were available and no arrests were made. His corrupt guard captain made sure of that.
“Please no,” a woman’s voice said just before the sound of glass breaking against the pavement echoed. Hansel increased his pace and as he emerged in the square, he saw about a dozen women tied together with coarse rope and shattered glass at their feet.
“I said dance whore!” a drunk sailor said while preparing to toss another bottle.
“Captain?” Hansel glared at the disgruntled man. “Either you handle it or I will.”
“I’d like to see what you can do you little puke,” the captain snarled. “But I’ll handle it.”
The captain stomped his foot causing all of the drunk sailors to stop what they were doing. With a jerk of his head the men all stepped away from the bound women.
“As you can see,” the captain gestured at a bloody and beaten siren sniffling into the arms of a gorgon. “We have pests. I just need your permission to…”
“Cut them loose,” Hansel said without hesitation. “Arrest the men who attacked and bound them for assault and kidnapping.”
“Excuse me?” the captain leaned down. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“I wasn’t aware that you were hearing was damaged captain,” Hansel said while walking toward the shivering women. The group consisted of several different types of monsters but most of them were fairly harmless if you understood their natural defenses. In Zira they eradicated them as pests no different than they would rats or wolves, but it was unlikely Herald Frost wished to do the same. In fact, this was the type of scene that’d send the herald into a fit of rage.
“They’re fucking vermin,” the captain growled. “I’m not arresting anybody for trying to stomp on some vermin.”
“Very well,” Hansel pulled out his wand and accessed his spells. He scanned the group and most of the sailors were fighters and thieves but there were a few assassins that could prove troublesome. Their levels ranged between ten and twenty-two giving him enough of a level gap to handle multiple. The problem was the level thirty-three captain if he decided to get involved. “Captain, you’re excused. Please return to the main office and I’ll find you after I’m finished here.”
“After you’re finished here?” the captain snarled. “I don’t think you understand…”
“I don’t think you understand captain,” Hansel gestured at the women. “You know Herald Frost through brief encounters and stories. I’ve seen him ride through a city full of hundreds of guards and decapitate a prince less than a day after killing eight heroes and twelve giants. Do you want to know why he did that? Because the prince threatened his elves.”
“Everybody knows the fucking story…”
“Yes,” Hansel glared at the captain. “You know the story just like you know about his devil-fucking and dog-fucking. They’re amusing anecdotes to laugh at as you get drunk with your sailor friends. But you do not know the man and when that man finds out that these pests as you call them were bound and mistreated, he will not be satisfied with killing only you.”
“He’s not going to kill anybody over…”
“He will,” Hansel interrupted while wondering if his words were sinking into the ignorant boor’s head. “Let me put it in words somebody like you might understand. Those pests have cunts, those pets have tits, those pests have mouths. If Herald Frost can stick his prick in them, he’ll protect them. So, you can either take your chances with me or with him.”
The captain paused as Hansel’s words began to sink in. The man looked at the group of shivering women bound so tightly that some of their wrists were bleeding. To him they probably looked like a nest of rats waiting to be crushed by a wooden club but he needed to realize that Herald Frost would not see them the same way.
“He took an Arachne as a wife,” Hansel said coldly. “Did you know that?”
“He what?” the captain looked at Hansel in disbelief.
“He took an Arachne as a wife,” Hansel repeated while gesturing at one of the lamias. “I’ve seen him drunkenly swap back and forth between kissing an Arachne and a demoness to show off how he’d learned to avoid their teeth with his tongue. There is not a doubt in my mind that he would just as easily take any of them into his bed just like there’s no doubt that if this isn’t handled…”
“If what’s handled Han Selo?” Frost’s voice echoed.
“I gave you a chance to correct this captain,” Hansel sighed and turned to see Frost and three elves approaching on horseback. The herald glanced at the women briefly and although his face showed nothing, Hansel could practically feel Frost’s icy wrath. “But now it’s too late.”
“Hansel,” Frost nodded at the women. “Explain what’s…”
“The boy ordered us to bind…” the captain fell to the ground before he could finish his sentence as Frost’s dagger pierced his skull. The man shouldn’t have started to tell such a stupid lie.
“Don’t any of you move,” Frost said as the various drunkards in the square prepared to flee. “Any of you move, you die.”
“Ah, no,” one of the elves said as she pointed her bow at a man attempting to slink into the shadows. “That goes for you too.”
“Humans,” Ena said while staring at the terrified women. “This is why I hate humans.”
“Hansel,” Frost said while looking down at him. Hansel felt like the herald’s eyes were looking like through him, as if he were already a ghost. “Explain what’s going on here.”
“I’m not entirely sure of the circumstances,” Hansel said while readying himself for death. “I was notified of their presence and I arrived here a short time ago. I ordered them to be unbound and for all of their assailants to be arrested. The captain was seeking clarification on my orders when you arrived.”
“So,” Frost gestured at the few dozen drunkards, cutthroats, and sailors littering the square. “These bastards bound and beat these women and it was sanctioned by the captain of your guards, correct?”
“That is correct,” Hansel said.
“Who’s in charge there?” Frost gestured at the group of monster women. “I assume one of you has a note…”
A bleeding siren stepped forward. The blue scaled woman avoided eye-contact with Frost while using her bound hands to gesture to the satchel at her side.
“This is annoying,” Herald Frost grumbled while holding out his hand. A moment later the ropes binding the women snapped as what appeared to be thin barriers sliced through them. Hansel found the unique use of the barrier spell both intriguing and terrifying, especially considering that Herald Frost only recently learned magic. The women trembled while attempting to stand perfectly still as Herald Frost held out his hands to them. “You have anything to be afraid of. You can bring me the note.”
The siren carefully reached for her satchel and limped toward Herald Frost while avoiding the shards of glass. The woman avoided his gaze as she handed him the note. After a few moments he handed it back to the woman and gently patted her head.
“It’s fine now,” Frost said while gesturing at the group of women behind him. “You can all follow Fayeth, Ena, and Renna here back to Hansel’s estate to get cleaned up and some clothes.”
The women all looked back around as if they were unsure of what to do. The siren held up her note and pointed excitedly at Herald Frost as if to indicate it was correct. Gradually, the women began slithering or crawling toward him and the elves. Eventually the only people left in the square were Hansel, Frost, and the men.
“Hansel,” Frost jumped off of his horse and walked toward him. “Do you understand your part in this?”
“Yes,” Hansel nodded while waiting to join his father. “I allowed the commander to continue operating in order to keep things orderly and…”
“That’s a good start,” Frost said while looking around at the square. “This area is filthy.”
“They beat…” Hansel paused. “I failed to assign protection for those assigned to clean it.”
“Yeah,” Frost nodded while glancing around at the men. “If there were somebody exactly between you and Priscilla, I bet they’d be a perfect governor.”
“Excuse me?” Hansel’s eyes narrowed at being compared to Priscilla. Sure, she was a talented knight and a friend of his, but she was also a hot-head who felt most problems could be solved by a gauntlet to the head.
“This guy right here,” Frost kicked the corpse. “You should have dragged him into the middle of this square and killed him already.”
“You can’t kill a man for refusing to do his job,” Hansel said calmly. “If you start executing people for not doing their job…”
“No,” Frost shook his head. “I’m not suggesting you kill him for not doing his job. I’m suggesting you kill him for being a piece of shit. Just watch.”
Herald Frost pointed at the man who’d been preparing to throw a bottle at the women and a flat barrier sliced through his neck taking his head. Within seconds more men followed, some dying to barriers, some to fireballs, and some to daggers. Not a single member of the drunk mob escaped as they fell to the ground lifelessly.
“Now,” Herald Frost began forming a fireball in his hand and took a deep breath. “Anybody inside of the buildings on this square has one minute to get out before I burn them to the ground!” Frost shouted.
