"Bounty" is book 2 of the Crazed Trilogy. This is the first draft of the first chapter. Please keep in mind that it will be edited numerous times before being published.
I hope this preview keeps you excited for the coming of the book.
I'm including an updated map of Nulanea, a northern continent in the world of Ryallon.
Chapter 1
Year
1393, Fifth Age
Being
two years after the events of “Kethril”
Early morning rays shone on
the bottom of scattered thin clouds over Oimryi, capital city of Mayncal. Birds darted from manicured trees along the
wide avenue to catch insects that braved the cool morning air. Fancy horse-drawn carriages passed wagons
filled with goods from all over the world.
The shouts of drivers rang out over people conversing from the steps of
clean white buildings adorned by colorful bright roofs. Multi-hued mosaic tiles decorated the corners,
eaves, windows and doorways.
Beyond the avenue, noises of
the city rose with the sun. Perfumes
wafted in the air behind people walking along stone sidewalks. Sir Danth strolled among them, occasionally
nodding or waving to citizens wearing pastel linens and silks that flowed to
the ground. Most stared in astonishment
at his full black armor and long red cape.
Sir Danth Wazmordian was a
Knight of Morhain, charged sixteen hundred years earlier with guarding the
Crown of Morhain. A tragedy called “The
Great Disappearing” had annihilated the citizens of the Morhainian Empire. Near the end of The Great Disappearing, the
greatest wizards and clerics made magical armor and sword for Sir Danth. The armor made him nearly invincible and
nothing could stand against his sword.
In an oversight, his body
died of old age after a couple hundred years.
Sir Danth’s soul was bound to the armor.
Therefore, he continued to exist even after his body disintegrated,
leaving the armor hollow.
These days, he normally
spent his time in poorer districts outside of the city, where the downtrodden
lived. He had spent the night there,
arresting a slave trader who was kidnapping homeless children. That is to say, he had tried to arrest the man.
Sometimes criminals fought rather than go to jail. That was inevitably a fatal mistake when
confronting the dark knight.
Shortly after arriving in
Oimryi more than a year ago, Sir Danth had gone looking for something to
do. Being a noble knight, he chose to
help those most in need. It was a shock
to the city guard when thugs, gang members, pimps, slavers and other lowlifes
started showing up in a bloodied and beaten condition after having been
arrested by the knight.
People were quickly
recruited to teach Sir Danth a lesson.
Those people were dead, as were the ones who hired them. Next, specialists, wizards and adventurers of
astonishing capabilities came after him at all times of the day and night. They were under the impression Sir Danth had
to sleep sometime, but they were wrong.
Even if an assassin were to
get pass the extraordinary magic of the armor, there was nothing to slay.
Corrupt guardsmen and nobles
were paid to drive Sir Danth out of town.
However, Sir Danth had been one of the people who had rescued Princess
Anilyia the year before, bringing peace between Mayncal and Brindlyn after
centuries of animosity. That and his
reputation for driving out the scum of the city gave him immunity from
political consequences.
King Ullbra of Mayncal
appreciated his daughter’s safe return.
He also appreciated the wonderful work the knight was doing making his
city a better place to live without even requesting pay. The first nobles, judges and city guard
leaders who tried to have Sir Danth banished or arrested were put to death when
the king found out about the attempts.
After that, the knight was free to come and go as he pleased.
Currently, two individuals
followed him down the pleasant avenue. A
man and woman dressed in dark capes that stuck out from the airy colors of
citizens. Their attempts to sneak from
buildings, to trees, to other buildings were just as conspicuous among the
leisurely walk of other pedestrians. The
behavior had everyone looking at them in bemusement. When one added the fact that they were
extremely noisy and tripping over their own feet, it was clear they were
complete amateurs.
Sir Danth considered for a
moment that they might be trying to lull him into a false sense of security,
but when the man tripped over his own feet and knocked the woman down, he
realized they really were that bad. The
knight decided to end the little game.
“Get off me, you idiot!” the
woman yelled at the man who leveraged against her back in an attempt to push
himself up.
Sir Danth helped him to his
feet then held out a gauntlet to the woman.
She took it and stood. “Thank you!
At least someone around her has some manners.” She glared at her companion.
Then she realized who had
helped her up.
Both would-be assassins
lifted their heads to look up at him.
Sir Danth was six feet six inches tall.
In real life, he had been six-four, but the helmet added another two inches. His armor was black with intricate runes that
were only visible if the light caught them just right. A greatsword was sheathed diagonally across
his back with the hilt sticking far above his shoulder. When drawn it was as long from hilt to tip as
he was tall. A red cloak gilded with
golden runes and clasped with a golden amulet of power finished off the effect.
The man foolishly drew his
sword and swung it at Sir Danth. The
knight caught the blade easily in his free gauntlet. He continued to hold the woman’s hand gently
with his other. With a twist, he snapped
the blade. The shriek of snapping metal
reverberated off buildings. All activity
on the avenue stopped as eyes turned to watch.
Sir Danth dropped the top
half of the blade, leaving the man standing there with a broken sword.
A wet stain appeared on his
crotch and flowed downward.
“Perhaps you should run like
the stupid coward you are,” Sir Danth suggested.
In a surprising moment of
wisdom, the man turned and took the advice.
“Please don’t kill me,” the
woman pleaded in a weak voice. Tears
welled in her eyes. It was obviously
taking all of her willpower not to wet herself as her partner had done.
“Of course not, you stupid
little girl,” the knight reassured her.
“But you need to grow up and stop playing with bad men.” He led her to a nearby bench underneath a
shade tree and then sat down. The woman
looked at him in fear, wondering what he was about.
Sir Danth pulled her down
over his lap and spanked her.
She forgot her fear. Screams of anger rang through the avenue
while her legs kicked in outrage.
Their audience looked on in
shock and amusement.
Even with sturdy leggings,
the knight’s gauntlet was powerful against her behind. After the first few blows, the screams of
outrage turned to cries of pain and pleas to let her go.
Twenty spankings later, set
her on her feet and stood in front of her.
The would-be assassin held
her hands gingerly on her buttocks, weeping uncontrollably.
Sir Danth held her chin up
so she gazed into the hollow eyeholes of his helmet. “Now then, I’m sure you will remember this
the next time someone asks you to do something foolish, won’t you, you silly
little girl?”
She nodded vigorously
through her heaving sobs. Sir Danth
released her and pointed in the direction she had come. The woman took the opportunity to run away,
holding her bruised bottom.
The crowd jeered and laughed
at her departing figure.
Sir Danth ignored their
reaction, including the cheers some gave him.
It wasn’t long before he was past the worst of the throng and people
ignored him again.
It bothered him that people
would watch while he did all the work.
Individuals took such pleasure in the misfortunes of others. They understood nothing of the woman’s past
or circumstances, nor did they care to learn.
Sir Danth knew that poverty and suppression of people created by
governments, churches and the greedy created the very criminals they railed
against.
There was a great weight
upon his shoulders. That irritated him
since he didn’t actually have shoulders anymore. He felt the pressure nonetheless. Centuries of solitude in a dark room guarding
a vault that ended up being empty had made him cranky. He could feel anger in the hollow space where
his body should be. Some days it was
hard to control that anger or the gloom that came with it. At times, he would go someplace quiet where
no one could bother him. Then he would
brood awhile.
One thing that made him feel
better was killing people. There was
great satisfaction in running his blade smoothly through someone’s heart, or
easily separating their head from their shoulders and watching the head fly
through the air. It was almost
poetic. His armor had magical vision
that allowed him to see.
The helmet also enabled him
to see magical runes, invisible creatures, and spiritual energy. When a person died, they left their body in
spiritual form to continue their existence elsewhere. Sir Danth enjoyed watching those souls leave
their body. It was a fun game he
excelled at.
He could tell when there was
a ghost in a building, or even if remnants of strong emotion remained in an
area, such as a prison or battlefield.
In the Willden Forest, which was where the Kingdom of Morhain had once
existed, the ghosts of his people still resided, wandering through the trees.
He hadn’t known while
standing guard in front of the vault for so long, but after leaving and
traveling through the forest, he had gradually become aware of them. He couldn’t talk to them since the spirits
were blind and deaf. It had nearly
driven him mad when he realized, but his friends had helped him to keep his
sanity. If it hadn’t been for their
efforts he might still be lost in the forest, chasing spirits.
As it was, Sir Danth spent
hours, days and weeks pouring over texts and scrolls in the royal library,
hoping to find a way to rescue his people from the unnatural limbo they
suffered in. He also perused the stores
of antique dealers and wizards hoping for some clue. The one thing everyone told him to do was to
go to Dralin where there was knowledge of everything magical in the world, or
so it was rumored.
He had mentioned Dralin to
his friend Tathan, a rogue of the worst sort.
Tathan had quickly nixed that idea.
Dralin was a dangerous city, especially for someone like Sir Danth. Wizards liked to take apart magical armor and
study it. They would go to great lengths
to capture the knight. In addition to
that, there was quite the price on Tathan’s head there. Still, Sir Danth wanted to go. If there was a way to save his people, he
would be willing to risk his existence . . . and Tathan’s.
A short, piercing noise
caused everyone on the avenue to stop in their tracks. Another one sounded and everyone turned
toward the palace in the distance. That
was where Sir Danth was headed to sit with Tathan while he had breakfast. Something had set off one of the magical
alarms, an occurrence which had only happened a few times in the history of the
city.
The piercing noise continued
in short bursts. It reverberated in his
armor, tickling him. An alarm like that
could only mean the palace was under attack or that the royal family was in
danger. He increased his pace.
“Danth!”
The knight turned to see
Tathan crouched down at the corner of a side street, waving a gloved hand vigorously
for the knight to join him. His other
hand gripped the hilt of a thin, slightly curved sword sheathed at his waist. Curly black hair framed Tathan’s worried face,
partially obscuring a small, opal tipped piercing in his eyebrow. The leather jacket he wore was pure black with runes down the
front opening. It had no other markings
or even seams. The rest of his clothes
were of exquisite quality influenced by the style of Mayncal, but tailor-made
to fit in a way that allowed him to move silently.
A glimmer of energy around
the rogue let Sir Danth know his friend had activated the powerful ring of
invisibility he wore. Not one to rush,
the knight strolled over to see what was the matter.
His casualness only made
Tathan wave more vigorously. The look in
his intense grey eyes was frantic.
When Sir Danth reached the
corner, Tathan grabbed his arm. “Let’s
go see the world! There are adventures
to be had!”
Sir Danth raised an eyebrow.
Tathan did a double
take. “You know, you’re really going to
have to tell me how you raise your eyebrows like that when you don’t have
any. But not now. Let’s go.”
He tugged on the knight’s arm.
When Sir Danth didn’t budge,
Tathan grabbed the arm with both hands and pulled.
The knight still didn’t
move.
Tathan yanked a couple of
times, then put the arm over his shoulder and pulled with all his might.
Watching his friend strain
to move him was highly amusing to the knight.
He released the runes that sealed his arm to his shoulder.
With all resistance gone,
Tathan flew forward. He tumbled at the
last second and sprang to his feet, but the arm clanged against his head.
Sir Danth laughed mightily.
“I’m not giving this
back.” Tathan waggled the metal arm.
With a thought, the arm
attached to Sir Danth’s shoulder.
Tathan stared at his empty
hands. He sighed. “Please?”
“Lead on, friend.” The knight gestured.
Tathan dashed down the
street, avoiding pedestrians who couldn’t see him. Upon realizing Sir Danth followed at a
stroll, he came back. “Please hurry! We have to go now!”
People shot worried glances
at the night speaking to a disembodied voice.
“Why?” It occurred to Sir Danth the alarms still
blaring from the palace might have something to do with his friend’s sudden
need to leave the country.
“I don’t have time to
explain, just . . . please, let’s hurry.”
“Dralin.”
The word startled
Tathan. “What?”
“We go to Dralin. There may be information there that will help
my people. If you want me to hurry,
we’re going to go to Dralin.”
Tathan considered the words
for a brief moment. He shook his head in
refusal. “No. There’s no way I’m going back there. It’s too dangerous. We’ll die.”
Sir Danth crossed his arms
and planted his feet.
Tathan sighed. “Please.
I’m begging you. I don’t want to
go back there, but we need to leave.
There are other places that might have information.”
“Dralin.”
Tathan sighed again. He did that a lot.
A squad of guards appeared
at the end of the street in the direction Tathan was trying to go. “There he is!” They were led by a wizard holding a circle of
glass in his hands. It appeared to be a
device that could detect invisibility.
“Fine! We’ll go to Dralin, but only if we run, now!”
Tathan dashed the other direction
Sir Danth ran after his
friend. They turned the next corner and
ran full tilt down the avenue.
Two streets later, another
squad appeared directly in front of them.
Tathan jumped. In midair, he placed one hand on the shoulder
of the nearest guard and one hand on the head.
He pushed down to propel himself up and over the others.
The move caught the man by
surprise. His knees buckled at the
unseen weight.
The rest saw Sir Danth
barreling towards them. Without enough
time to scatter, they threw their arms up to shield themselves.
Sir Danth had the ability to
shift in space. He didn’t understand it,
just like he didn’t understand how most of the magic in the armor worked. What he did
understand was that it was very effective.
One moment he was about to run into a helpless guard, the next he was on
the other side of the squad, running next to Tathan.
The rogue grinned.
The two were able to stay
ahead of the squads, but knew it would only be a matter of time before the
mounted cavalry came after them.
After they had run half a
mile, Tathan turned down another street and slowed. His chest heaved as he gulped breaths of
air. He twisted his ring to banish the
invisibility then walked into the entrance of a large stable.
Sir Danth mused that one of
the nice things about not having a body was that he didn’t have to gulp in
large amounts of air after exerting himself.
Tathan grabbed two stable
boys by the arms. “Jufo! Take Arlen and get my horses ready,
now!” He pushed a silver coin in each of
their hands.
They looked at him in
surprise, then stared at the coins with wide eyes.
“Now!” Tathan shoved them towards the back of the
stable.
They ran off to do as told.
“You have horses?” Sir Danth
asked
“Yeah, I bought them a while
back. I always like to have an escape
plan ready.” Tathan grinned as he
followed the boys. He yelled, “Just the
black and the brown! Leave the white
one!”
“Three horses?”
“Yeah, just in case the
princess wanted to come with.” He
shrugged. “That’s not going to happen,
so it’s just you and me.”
“I get the black one, yes?”
“Of course!” Tathan laughed. “Here he is, one of the finest stallions I’ve
ever seen.” He gestured to a large
stallion Jufo was putting tack on. Arlen
was fastening a saddle to the brown. The
white horse in the next stall was beautiful.
“You are going to tell me
what happened, yes?”
“Yeah. I figure you won’t let it go until I do.”
Sir Danth smacked Tathan
playfully in the shoulder, sending him staggering forward. “You are correct about that.”
***
The rode up to vast city
gates. For the first time since arriving
in Mayncal, they were closed. It
appeared that the entire army had been mobilized to guard them.
Tathan turned away and rode
through side streets to another set of stables.
He flipped gold pieces to a couple of burly men outside the doors. They opened the doors, closing them once the
two were inside.
Tathan and Sir Danth
dismounted and led their horses underground into a tunnel that appeared
centuries old. An hour later, they rode
out of another stable far beyond the city walls.
“How do you find these things,
my felonious friend?” Sir Danth asked as they rode casually toward the west.
“Felonious?” Tathan smirked.
“Yes, it means a person who
is involved in illegal endeavors.”
“I’m aware of what it
means. Let’s just say I’m resourceful
and cautious.” Tathan winked. “Speaking of cautions, let’s stay off major
roads. There are some back roads where
we shouldn’t be disturbed.
“Shall I ask how you know
these things?” Sir Danth raised an
eyebrow.
“No. You shalln’t . . . is that a word?”
“It is most definitely not a
word, but it is a nice effort to begin a new language.”
“Thank you!” Tathan grinned. “What shall we call it? Tathanian?”
“I have no intention of
calling it anything. The word you’re
looking for is shan’t.”
“Ahh, I knew it was
something like that. I shalln’t be
distracted from making my new language though.”
He waggled a finger at Sir Danth.
The knight pulled his horse
to a stop. “Now that we are no longer in
immediate danger, what did you do?”
Tathan stopped as well. He blushed and chewed on his lower lip, not
answering the question.
“It would be best to just
get it over with, you know. You’re going
to give me the details sooner or later.”
He sighed. “Yes, well . . . it’s just that . . .”
“Yes?”
“Anilyia and I spent the
night in the royal wine cellar. King and
Queen Ullbra came in with Prince Albrato and a few assorted nobles and
priests. They found us sleeping naked on
straw with one of the more expensive bottles emptied nearby.”
Sir Danth buried his helm in
his gauntlets.
“The king bellowed something
about treason and gallows, and all sorts of bad things they do to
criminals. Tathan spread his arms in
innocence. He acted as though I had done
something wrong.”
“How silly of him.” Sir Danth rolled his eyes.
“I know, right? . . . I
really do want to know how you roll your eyes when you don’t have any.” Tathan jabbed a finger in the air. “Anyway, he drew his sword and started
swinging it at me. Do you know how hard
it is to get dressed when you’re fending off an angry king?”
“No . . . actually,
yes. But that’s not important,” Sir
Danth waved off the question. “Go on.”
Tathan opened his mouth as
though to insist on more information, but decided to let it go. “Anyway; Prince Albrato was crying at his
wife like a little girl, asking how she could betray him like that. Queen Ullbra had fainted. All the nobles were yelling and waving their
arms.”
“That’s usually all nobles
are good for.”
“I know, right?” Tathan laughed. “The king is old and portly, so it wasn’t too
hard to keep him at bay, but I accidentally poked him with the tip of my sword.
“Oh dear.” Sir Danth buried his face in his gauntlets
again.
“It wasn’t fatal or
anything. I just poked him in the
leg. It bled a lot, but I didn’t cut the
artery. He certainly squealed like a
stuck pig though.”
“Oh dear,” he replied again,
not raising his head.
“Anyway, my lovely Princess
Anilyia screeched and held her daddy as though I had killed him. Then she screamed that I had gotten her drunk
and raped her.” Tathan sighed.
Sir Danth raised his head in
confusion. “I thought she loved you? . .
.”
Sorrow distorted his
smile. “She does. She apologized with her eyes and gestured
with her head for me to escape.” Tathan
flicked his reins. He continued the
story as they rode. “It was clear we
wouldn’t be able to continue our affair.
Sleeping with a princess and stabbing a king with a magical sword are
usually punishable by death.”
“Poking a king with any kind
of a sword is usually punishable by death,” Sir Danth pointed out helpfully.
“Yes . . . well, there is
that.” Tathan chuckled. “She did the only thing she could to save her
marriage and the peace between countries.”
Princess Anilyia and Prince
Alberto had married as part of a treaty between Mayncal and Brindlyn. Together they were able to forge an alliance
against the Empire of Iynath to the north.
Anilyia had been kidnapped before the wedding could occur. Sir Danth, Tathan, Tathan’s cousin Liselle,
and Vevin, a purple dragon in human form had rescued her from a race of mysterious
beings called Rojuun.
“Claiming that you seduced
and raped her makes you a criminal in their eyes though. Surely she knew that?”
“Of course, but even if she
had admitted we’re in love, I’m still a criminal in their eyes. At least this won’t cost them peace. I don’t know that I could live with myself
knowing that I had caused war and possibly even her death for treason.” Tathan hung his head. His shoulders slumped.
“That’s noble of you,
friend.”
Tathan’s head popped
up. “Actually, I would be able to live with myself.
But I’d feel terrible about the whole thing.
Sir Danth rolled his eyes
again and they both burst into laughter.
