The parley

The parley took place in a very large tent on a very small river island. Raina sat on Willy's left-hand side. The position of honor on Willy's right-hand side was taken by his eldest brother, Sir Ronnar Karkbhurg.

Next to Raina was her uncle, Sylar Reesbhurg, her mother's brother. Willy had also brought his squire, the boy king Caedmyr XIII. He sat on a gold-trimmed chair slightly in front of the four of them.

On the opposite side of the table sat the enemy leaders. The pride of place was given to Amynthas I, King of Deltopolis. He sat in the middle but on a chair no grander than those of his companions. He was flanked by Laman and Count Sandrones of Cardinum, brother to Count Artapaharnes, the man Willy had killed when recapturing First Fork.

The king of Deltopolis had sent Willy a congratulatory letter for ridding him of the troublesome Artapharnes but now treated his old rival's brother like an old friend.

The last important Reendeni at the table was Count Calistarnes of Lamania, Laman's brother-in-law. Calistarnes was the son of another Calistarnes— the man who killed Raina's grandfather in battle and seized Lamania from her family.

Count Sandrones of Cardinum wagged a finger at Willy. "You. You killed my brother. I want your head."

"I killed your brother in battle. You murdered his sons in their sleep. Who's the real villain here?" Willy asked.

"My nephews drowned," Sandrones claimed. "It was a terrible accident."

"An accident you benefited from greatly," Willy quipped.

"I will not suffer your insinuations you—"

"I am not insinuating anything, pig fucker," Willy said. "You murdered your nephews and anyone with any sense knows it. Do you want to duel me for saying that? Man on man? Or do you only kill little boys?"

"We came here to parley, Sir Willarn," King Amythas cut in. He spoke Rhexi with no trace of an accent. He was a cultured man of medium height and build. He had one of those ageless faces. Raina knew he was 35 years old but he could easily pass for 25 with those smooth cheeks. Or 15.

"He's Lord Willarn now, little man," Caedmyr XIII told the Reendeni king.

Amynthas I smiled at Caedmyr XIII. "There's no need for insults, Exalted One. Two kings like ourselves should be dignified, no?"

Caedmyr XIII looked around and then back at Amynthas I. "I only see one king here." Then he pointed at his chest. "Me!"

"I am a ki—"

"What you are is a pig worshiper!" the boy king retorted. "And a pretender. Right now, you are sitting on my land! Breathing my air! Getting warmed by my sun! You should consider yourself lucky that I haven't hanged you already."

"Exalted One," Laman came to the rescue. "All I want is my birthright."

"You have no birthright," Caedmyr XIII asserted. "Your grandfather was disinherited for being a fool, a drunk, and a weakling. And here you are, bowing to pig worshippers and murdering your kinsmen. Blood always tells."

"I never murdered anyone," Laman claimed.

"You didn't murder Lord Nylarn?"

"A peasant woman did, Exalted One. Everybody knows. I wasn't even there."

"And this woman. Who talked her into the assassination?"

"How could I know, Exalted One?" Laman asked. "Nylarn was always a tyrant. Everybody hated him. I hear he beheaded the woman's betrothed for no reason. He only got what he deserved. I had nothing to do with it."

"And what about the attempt on Lord Willarn's life? Didn't you send assassins after him?"

Laman shook his head. "I did no such thing."

"So Lord Willarn and Lady Raina just stabbed themselves, broke their own ribs and jaws, and nearly set themselves on fire… For what? To blame it on you?"

"They are a usurper's heirs, Exalted One. They will say anything to justify their theft of my birthright. We only have their word for it. Willy was with his mistress at the inn, apparently after his wife stabbed him near to death for being unfaithful to her. Then Raina went to visit and the mistress died then there was a fire. What is more likely, Exalted One? Some tall tale of assassins committing arson and murdering people in broad daylight or a love triangle turned violent?"

Raina was shocked at the way Laman could twist facts so convincingly. "Sherhor the Sour was there," Raina said. "He led the assassins."

Laman looked confused. "And who may that be?" he asked.

Raina pointed an angry finger at her. "Your brother! Your bastard brother! He called me cousin."

Laman laughed. "I don't have any brothers, Raina. Bastard born or otherwise. My father never sired any bastards. He wouldn't sully his honor like that. That was a filthy rumor spread by your father."

"So you're saying I'm making this all up?" Raina asked.

Laman looked at her like she was mad. "Yes!" His companions chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"You have a tongue on you, Sir Laman," Willy commented. "Are you as good with a sword?"

"I am a knight!" Laman said forcefully.

"Mmmmh," Wily hummed. "Any fool with the right connections and a bit of gold can buy a knighthood. I should know. I've killed many."

"You won't be killing me, Sir Willarn. You are married to a usurper's daughter and you bear a usurper's name. Are you going to kill for usurper's sake too? A usurper and a kinslayer? Would you fight for such a man?"

"No," Willy said.

"Then why are you fighting for Nylarn? I don't want to fight you and you don't want to fight a usurper's battles— I assume. I would be honored to call a warrior of your caliber one of my bannermen. Swear your sword to me and I will call you kinsman. I will let you keep the castle of First Fork and all the lands around it. The gods have punished Nylarn for his sins. You do not need to partake in them. There is no need for thousands of men to die just because a greedy usurper murdered his cousin 25 years ago. Let's have peace, Sir Willarn."

"That is a very generous offer," Willy said. Raina's heart picked up. "Normally, I would be severely tempted. I never loved Nylarn much. You insist that he killed your father and you're probably right. It doesn't change the fact that your father was a rebel and a traitor. He had no claim. When your grandfather was disinherited, the order applied to all his descendants, not just him."

"I have here the disinheritance edict," Laman said, waving a roll of parchment around. "It only disinherited Laman Parnyrlus Lamanbhurg. Not his sons or his grandsons."

"I am not here to argue technicalities, Laman," Willy said. "Your grandfather's sons weren't disinherited because he didn't have any when he was disinherited. Nobody thought he would ever have any."

"So you admit that I have a claim?" Laman asked.

"You do," Willy said. "I'm Lord Lamanbhurg, Raina is my heir, and you're second in line. If I have any sons, they'll bump you down. But right now, you have no leg to stand on."

"I have 30,000 spears, Sir Willarn," Laman said. "That's more than you have. Twice as much, in fact. If you fight me, you will die. Take my offer. Submit to me and you can keep First Fork. I won't even force you to stay married to Raina."

"A very tempting offer," Willy said. "But I'm not in the habit of pardoning men who try to kill me."

"Who tried to kill you?" Laman asked.

"You did."

"That's a lie. I—"

"I'm not here to play verbal games with you." Willy interrupted. "Your tongue may be adept at convincing people to do things your way but I am not stupid enough to believe your tongue over my own eyes. You tried to kill me and you will die for it."

Willy turned to King Amynthas. "And you. Didn't you write to congratulate me for ridding you of Artapharnes?"

"Count Artapharnes was a troublesome and disobedient vassal, yes," King Amynthas admitted. "But his brother, Count Sandrones is a decent and dependable man."

"He's a baby murderer."

"That's a baseless allegation," Sandrones protested.

Willy shrugged. "If they're willing to believe it, fine. I don't have a quarrel with you. I don't know how your heathen gods deal with baby murder. My quarrel is with Laman. Hand him over to me here and now and you can go back home unmolested. Refuse, and I will kill every last one of you tomorrow."

"And how on earth will you do that, Sir Willarn?" King Amynthas asked.

"With a sword, obviously," Willy said with the look of a man speaking to a simpleton. "If you prefer to be killed with another weapon, let me know. I will try to accommodate you."

King Amynthas chuckled. "What a charming man you are, Sir Willarn. What I meant is that we have twice your numbers. It's not a battle you can win."

"I have won against worse odds," Willy said.

"Not as bad as these," the Reendeni king pointed out.

"You barely have any cavalry, little king," Willy said. "My heavy cavalry outnumbers yours two to one, you have no light cavalry that can stand up to mine, and my men are ten times the horsemen yours will ever be. Your army is full of city boys. They're nowhere near as tough as country boys. You're not as strong as you think."

"We're still stronger than you," Amynthas insisted.

"I suppose we shall find out tomorrow." Willy wagged his index finger at King Amynthas and then at Laman. "Don't die before I kill you."

Laman maintained an unbothered front but Amynthas laughed it off. "Perhaps I will kill you first," Sandrones suggested.

Willy shook his head in annoyance. "Knock it off. Have you ever even swung a sword at a grown man? You know grown men fight back, right? They're not like babies."

Sandrones went red as some in his party chuckled. "I will kill you, you Rhexian cunt!" Sandrones roared. "I will kill you, fuck your corpse, and feed you to my dogs!"

"You're getting a little carried away there," Ronnar Karkbhurg warned. "We Karkbhurgs don't forgive such things."

Sandrones was about to speak when Laman rose. "They're not interested in peace. I told you. Let's go."

"I name you a traitor, Laman Sherhorus Lamanbhurg," Caedmyr XIII proclaimed.

Laman bowed his head slightly. "That is a regrettable thing, Exalted One. I pray that one day I will be able to change your mind. Please stay away from the battlefield. It would be a great tragedy if you were to catch a stray arrow."

Laman then turned and left, his Reendeni companions in tow. "Did he just THREATEN me?" the flustered boy king raged.

"A cowardly threat, Exalted One," Ronnar Karkbhurg said. "He didn't have the guts to say it directly. It would be best if you rode to First Fork. Stay out of harm's way."

"I will not run. I AM A SON OF AEMLILON!"

"Exalted One—"

"I want that coward brought to me!" the boy king commanded. "I will kill him myself."

That evening was spent trying to convince Caedmyr XIII that returning to First Fork was the best way to guarantee his safety. The boy didn't budge. As darkness gathered, they gave up.

"Remind me to never have children," Willy told Raina as they were walking away.

"Who will carry your name into the future then?" Raina asked.

"Ronnar has four sons. I will adopt one when he's all grown up."

Raina stopped. "But I want children!" she blurted out.

Willy turned to her and cradled her head. "That's a shame, my dear," he whispered. "But the eve of battle is not the time for such conversations."

Raina took a deep breath and caught a whiff of his scent. She felt it fill her lungs like a warm fire. She looked into his eyes, not knowing what to say.

"I know we haven't…. discussed our situation… since the assassination," Willy said. "Vengeance has been the only thing on my mind. After the battle, we'll see. I haven't thought of what I'll do after. I don't know what to do. What do I do after I exact my vengeance? That's where all the stories end."

Raina couldn't answer him. He wasn't asking her directly. He was rambling. "I've always wanted to die in battle, you know," he rambled on some more. "It would be nice if I died in this one. Kill all my enemies and then get cut down by a random spearman. That would make for a great song."

"I don't want you to die!" Raina found herself blurting out again.

Willy caressed her cheek. "My dear. These past three months have been good. We got along. But we had a war to focus on. Haven't you read the histories? Men ally to fight a common enemy and once he's defeated they turn on each other? A thing that happens over and over again? I don't want that to be us. We make each other miserable—"

"What if we stop," Raina whispered.

"Stop what?"

"Making each other miserable."

The moment was interrupted by the blast of trumpets. The Reendeni were attempting a stealth attack in the night.