Raiders of the Middle Sea - Part 1

Raiders of the Middle Sea – Part 1

  By Zak Ludick

  Published by Zak Ludick

  A World of Kedra Story

  Copyright 2016 Zak Ludick

  [email protected]

  Licence Notes

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  work of this author.

  Part 1

  “Release the competitors!” The hoarse voice of the presenter cried from above the wall of the arena.

  The crude iron gate of Kayden’s cage was drawn upwards and he readied his sword and shield. The shield was Railor make and he was familiar with it, a rectangle with well-rounded corners. The sword however was curved so badly that it made a sickle shape. Despite his training, he would not be able to employ any swordsmanship that he knew of with the weapon.

  It was the third day since his capture aboard the King’s Dart and now he found himself here. He should have died on the deck with honour. Now instead he would die a slave.

  The enclosure that he had been put into was one of many that lined the sides of the arena. He had been led through the sandy space late at night and could not have much beyond the light of the torches. On the inside of the cage, he was limited by iron bars, beyond which the guards could watch him and pass him the foul smelling gruel that passed for food. Kayden did not touch the bowl however.

  Men on the inside of the building poked him forward with blunt sticks and he stepped into the arena. He was struck by a wall of sound and light and he raised his blade to shield his eyes while they adjusted to the glare. He did not dare raise his shield from his body. All around him in the stands people cheered at his arrival, although he could start to see that there were others in the arena as well.

  The people who looking down at him were commoners as well as the elite, scattered amongst them. They were brought together in this place in the anticipation to see blood. He had no more time to think as the men closest to him were within five paces or so to either side of him.

  The closest man to his right was stripped to his waist just like Kayden, his skin was several shades darker than he’d seen before in the Kingdom. He must be from the south or one of the islands. The man held a spear above his right shoulder, ready to stab or throw. He carried a much smaller shield with an elongated cap in the centre of it that could be used to great effect as a weapon.

  On the other side was some kind of savage whose ears had been cut off. His face mottled in dark spotted tattoos, perhaps in the pattern of some kind of feline. The man was armed with two straight short swords.

  “Today’s event is simple!” The presenter cried from his raised pulpit. A large bellied man with olive coloured skin and thick black mustachios. He wore a feathered hat and a garish plethora of coloured clothes that shone in the midday sun. “There are twelve fighters enter the arena, but only five may exit and live to see another day!”

  The crowd roared its approval.

  “Psst!” Kayden glanced aside at the tan brown man. The man pointed at him and gestured towards the earless man on the other side of him and then to himself and towards the other side. The intention was clear, temporary truce.

  “Take your bets!” The presenter cried.

  He looked at the spotted savage as it stared at him and baring its teeth. Kayden shivered as he saw that there were far more teeth in that mouth than there had a right to be, like the spawn of some kind of demon monster.

  Before he could think of doing anything else there was the peal of the massive bronze metal disc behind the presenter and the arena burst into motion. The clash of metal on metal, unfamiliar inhuman screams were heard while the earless savage took three quick steps and was right before Kayden.

  The man stank, together with the strange features and teeth, Kayden decided that this could definitely not be a human being after all. The fact should have chilled him to his core and shaken his faith but the creature had no fear, neither did it have much anger. It simply came for Kayden with a methodical aggression meant to kill.

  The earless creature slashed out with the left sword and Kayden clashed his shield into it. The second sword shot out quicker but Kayden had expected the blow. The bent sword had a long reach and Kayden’s clumsy parry with it yielded an unexpected slip along the other’s straight blade, the tip of the sickle cutting across two fingers. The cuts had gone deep but the creature never let go of the weapon.

  Instead of screaming, the creature snarled and launched into another attack. This time, Kayden stepped in quicker smashing the shield into the monster’s face. Dark blood gushed from its broad nose as it fell back into the sand. He slashed down with the sickle piercing the creature’s chest.

  Glancing around quickly he saw the brown skinned man drive his spear into the belly of a bearded man that was covered in rags. Beyond him there were two more earless creatures who were snarling and snapping at each other while grappling in the dust.

  A quick tug on the weapon showed Kayden that his weapon was stuck. Reaching for one of the dropped straight swords, he felt the coolness of a large shadow on his body.

  Kayden dove out over the sand and dropped his shield as the massive head of a mallet struck the ground where he had just been, snapping the sword that he had reached for. He regained his feet and stared up at the monstrous figure before him. Bearded and large bellied, but indeed just a man. The man’s brow was low and brutal. As he grinned, showing his few remaining blunted teeth. The gesture didn’t manage to make him much less ugly. A scar crossed over the bridge of his nose that had made a real good mess of it.

  “Little man quick!” The giant bellowed. “We be friends!” The brute kicked out with a sandaled foot and the remaining straight sword slid to his feet. The giant promptly turned his back on Kayden so he quickly stooped to pick up the weapon.

  He considered briefly taking the fight to the giant when he spied the two earless savages picking themselves up from the ground, engaging the brown skinned man. The man’s head was as bald as the creatures but it was more likely shaved than natural baldness.

  With no weapons the creatures pressed an attack. The brown skinned man managed to block their rush with a horizontal block of his spear shaft. The one creature was bending down on the tip while the other grabbed out at the man’s head with his claws. Kayden ran over and slashed at the clawing creature, cutting him across the throat. It grabbed its neck, trying in vain to stop the blood flow, but collapsed and twitched on the floor while it bled out.

  The other creature had managed to break the spear’s tip right off and drove forward with it in both hands. He did not get far when he was smashed directly from above. The bearded giant had used his maul one handed but the creature’s skull popped like a ripe melon and smashed the rest of the body into the ground. The crowd roared its approval.

  The giant grinned at Kayden proclaiming him his temporary ally. “Little white man and brown man are good friends. Rulaf chose to be good friend also. We stay together, we live! Rulaf lives through many games OK?”

  The brown skinned man nodded, searching the sands for weapons. He picked up a long wooden stave with a single chained length at the tip.

  The clashes and screams had died down a little while Kayden turned his back to his new allies and looked at the other surviving combatants. Ther
e were two more of the earless creatures standing near each other, clearly they had been allies and the dead littered the earth beneath them. Further along there was a single man with long thick hair. He had large rippling muscles and though he was not as large as Rulaf, he looked imposing. He was armed with a double bladed hand axe in one hand and a sword in the other.

  “Six.” The brown skinned man said.

  “Two… uh… Three…” Rulaf was busy counting to himself and stared at his fingers for a moment. The giant’s brow was drawn into a frown as he concentrated.

  “Well well well!” The presenter bounced on his podium, making his girth bounce and jiggle. “Six combatants still live and only five may leave! One group of three warriors sided together! Two Jhakarti warriors and a lone Turka! Who will be the first to fall? Who can make it…”

  The presenter was interrupted as the larger of the two creatures, who Kayden deduced were Jhakarti, dropped his weapons. It then reached out with both clawed hands to grip the other creature’s head. Twisting violently, the Jhakarti snapped its kinsman’s neck and let the twitching corpse drop to the sand.

  “ Awooooooooooo!” The presenter cried while the crowd went mad, cheering and screaming. Kayden felt a bit ill as he watched the large Jhakarti raise its hands in the air, bellowing wordlessly, people in the crowd tossing strips of coloured cloth at him.

  “Aww.” Rulaf moaned. “They give favour-cloths to the no-ears beast! Rulaf wanted favour-cloths!” The brute raised his blood spattered maul on to his shoulder and began striding purposefully to the Jhakarti creature.

  “Five contestants remain and the match is over!” The presenter cried. “Ladies and Gentlemen, what a show… hey! Hey! Rulaf!” The presenter sounded angry.

  Rulaf stopped in his tracks and looked at the presenter, blinking his eyes. “Huh?”

  “Fight is over.” The presenter said slowly. “Go back now.”

  Rulaf snorted and smacked his lips together, sucking on his teeth and throwing a glare at the remaining Jhakarti who still bellowed in triumph.

  Kayden saw the dark haired fighter stoop to strip some armour from a fallen man and turned to see that the brown skinned man was doing the same. “Hey.” Kayden started, realising that his mouth was really dry. “What’s your name?”

  The brown man didn’t look up from what he was doing, gaining a pair of leather braces that he strapped on to his arms. Kayden looked for something that he could use, but he didn’t like the look of any of the armours. He was a sailor and never had learned to fight wearing armour. He did however find a basket hilted sword amongst the dead and took it as well as a sheath and threw down the simple sword he had wielded before. The weight and balance of the weapon was perfect and he flourished it in the air before him. Castle forged… no doubt.

  “Shadi.” The brown skinned man said.

  “I’m Kayden.” He introduced himself and nodded his greeting to the other man who nodded back.

  “I am Rulaf!” The giant strode towards them, smiling as he bellowed his proclamation. Putting his arms into the air, the maul went up with the gesture, an effortless show of might. It was all the more impressive as it was obvious that it was unintentional.

  “Yeah, I gathered that when…” Kayden began.

  “Tonight we drink and be merry for we live!” Rulaf interrupted them and grabbed each of them in his massive arms, lifting them into the air effortlessly. He strode back towards the gates. “We go drink! We go drink!” The brute sang tunelessly as he strode.

  “Let us down!” Kayden tried the shout out under the pressure of the brute’s grip but Rulaf never heard. They passed through the stone archway and into a walled off cage similar to where Kayden had spent the last two nights. This room however had an opening on the other side and Rulaf walked through it and set Kayden and Shadi down.

  Kayden winced at the pain the brute had caused in his arms. Kayden came face to face with a half dozen spearheads the moment he had a chance to look up.

  “Drop your weapons slaves!” The order was barked. Beyond the spears Kayden was aware of more men armed with crossbows.

  “Oki doki boss!” Rulaf shouted and dropped his maul to the ground. The weapon crashed down on hard flagstones, flipped a little forward and the head smashed onto the foot of one of the guards. The man screamed and dropped his weapon. “Oops!”

  Kayden and Shadi set down their weapons on the floor more carefully even as the leader of the guards strode forward and berated the giant. The big man held a stupid expression on his face and looked quite apologetic. Kayden decided that it was sincere and that the incident was indeed an accident.

  Next to Kayden the dark haired warrior seemed reluctant to let go of his weapons, his eyes flicked from guard to guard in the grey stone room. Besides the threat of dozen spears and half dozen crossbows, there was no other way out. The man silently set down his arms. The bald headed monster had to be struck with the butt of a spear to make it relinquish its hold on the weapon it carried.

  The guard captain was a tall man with a bald head, the tufts of black hair on either side of his pate in disarray. He had definitely been wearing a helmet recently. The olive skin between was flushed red in anger.

  “… now the foot’s broken! You can’t keep doing that you know! Your master will find out about this because every time HE has to pay for that sort of thing!” The captain was saying. The man sighed and let go some of his anger and bearing. “I’ve grown… accustomed to you Rulaf, try to die out there instead of in here like a dog.”

  “Aye Captain!” The big man saluted. “Can we go drink now? My new friends can come with!” The giant grinned, showing his crooked yellowed teeth.

  “Well. That remains to be seen Rulaf.” The Captain shrugged. “Your master does not own these slaves and their master might not be as kind as Shi’Caperrnel.”

  “Oh.” The giant’s face fell, then his head fell till his chin was on his chest.

  “Whatever is the matter my dear Rulaf?” A soft and melodious voice called. Kayden craned his neck to see a short man in lavish coloured silks glide over the rough stone slabs towards them. The man had no hair on his head but he grew a short snow white beard. The robes were cream, red and yellow. It ran from his right shoulder under his left arm, leaving his one side bear. His feet were on leather sandals but Kayden could not hear them make a sound over the background noise.

  “Shi’Caperrnel!” Rulaf shouted and took three steps towards the man. Two large and heavily armoured men that flanked the robed man came forward with their halberds as the big man advanced but Rulaf threw himself to his knees and bowed his head forward, his fists on the flagstones. Even in this position, he was still taller than the robed man.

  Shi’Caperrnel smiled and patted the big man on his close cropped carpet of hair. “My dear boy. You fought well today. The crowd was much pleased… and I made some good wagers off you.”

  Rulaf nodded. “It was fun today Master. Rulaf had fun. I met some new friends.” The giant motioned over his shoulder with a thumb.”

  Rulaf’s owner looked up to Kayden and he met the man’s smiling gaze for a moment before the slave master looked onwards to Shadi. “Ah yes. They are Shi’Uzdu’s slaves. They fought well also. Most unexpected how quick things had gone.”

  “They my friends Master. Rulaf want to drink with friends, be merry.” Kayden was almost shocked to see tears in the big man’s eyes. He looked over to Shadi who shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes.

  Another robed man entered the room, flanked by two veiled women. The man had a long full brown beard but had a shaved upper lip. His hair was long and flowing down his back. He was much taller than the other slave master, but his dress was nearly identical. The women bore strange weapons. Short staves with a long blade on either end were strapped to their thighs. They did not look amused or friendly and their eyes studied every single individual in the room as they stalked alongside their master.

  The man came to stand before the dark haired warrio
r. Kayden tuned his ears in that direction while the big man continued imploring to his master about drinking.

  “I am Shi’Janos Weiterhaus.” Kayden drew a sharp breath at the name. The man’s from Railor! “I am your Master. Come with me, you have done well. I will care for you where those that captured you did not.”

  The dark haired man stared at the slave master coldly. Eventually his reply came short and low. “Will I ever leave this place?”

  Shi’Janos smiled. “It’s possible. As long as it’s profitable.” The man held up a hand and rubbed his forefinger and thumb together. The dark haired man nodded and the four of them strode from the room.

  Another figure entered the room. Robed like the rest of them, except that his colours were cream, blue and yellow. The little slaver half turned when he saw the other arrive. “Ah! Shi’Uzdu! Good to see you! Fortuitous that your slaves did so well in the game!”

  The thing that came as the worst shock of Kayden’s entire experience up till now came in this moment. Not the battle that had downed his ship, not the capture or enslavement and not even the bloodsport that he had just participated in had prepared him for this moment.

  His owner was not human. He was, in fact Jhakarti.

  Instead of hissing and snarling, this… being walked forward calmly. Its multiple rows of teeth hidden behind the closed lips of a wickedly curved mouth. Instead of the animal posture of the Jhakarti in the arena, it walked upright and nodded at the other slave master before coming to stand before Kayden. It had the same flat nose and had no ears that characterized this race of non-humans.

  Up till now, the existence of non-human beings of intelligence had been a thing of legend and dispute in the Kingdom of Railor and though it had been a shock to find out otherwise, the ease at which others accepted this in this place set Kayden into a frame of mind where he should expect anything at this stage.

  Looking into Shi’Uzdu’s eyes, Kayden saw that its pupils were like those of a cat or a lizard. “So the three of you survived.” The Jhakarti spoke in a clear but accented voice. “Who would have known my luck to run so strong?”

  He didn’t understand. What does he mean the three of us? How is it luck?

  The Jhakarti slave master moved his head to one side and moved over to one side. “Yarishhh!” The slave master spat and hissed in a savage tone completely at contrast to the demeanour that it had but recently exhibited. Shi’Uzdu came to stand before the Jhakarti that had come in from the arena with them.

  The three of us…

  The slaver bared his teeth at the slave, his face set in a snarl and a frown. “Joka du partu beggna!” Within a second Kayden realised something for the first time, this slave master was the only one of the masters that had entered the chamber without his own personal bodyguard. Within the next second he saw the slave Jhakarti’s face turn to a snarl and it lunged for the slave master far quicker than any of the guards would have been able to prevent.

  The slave master dipped for a brief moment and moved in a circle, the assaulting Jhakarti was vaulted through the air and it landed on its back, driving the breath from its lungs. The slave master had gripped hold of one arm and twisted the wrist into an improper angle with a single hand while stepping on the fallen creature’s shoulder with one foot.

  The slave master had a double edged dagger in his free hand that have seemed to come from nowhere. “Saysika, yarishh? Partu sie Joka!”

  “Partu!” The downed creature cried out in a muffled cry, sucking desperately for breath. “Partu Joka!”

  The slave master smiled wickedly and released the slave’s hand, stepping away from him. He looked at Kayden and Shadi and spoke in cultured and calm tones. “Now that that is settled. I take it you will learn from this Yarishh’s mistakes?”

  Kayden and Shadi nodded.

  There was a polite cough from one side of the room and Kayden, Shadi and the Jhakarti slave master all looked in that direction. Shi’Caperrnel smiled, leaning one hand on Rulaf’s shoulder.

  “Most impressive Shi’Uzdu. If you were to step into the arena, I’d be first to put money on your success!” The little man clapped his hands.

  “Is there something that you want Shi’Caperrnel?” The Jhakarti asked flatly.

  “It would be most pleasing for me if your two human slaves were to spend the night at my estate, they can be returned to you in the morning of course, early enough for anything you might need of them.”

  The Jhakarti slaver grunted. “Why do you wish to hire my slaves?”

  The other giggled. “Oh I wouldn’t say that I am hiring them for anything. They would be joining in an evening’s company with my champion. I’ll be housing and feeding them. That much costs me already. No need to pay to provide a service is there?”

  The Jhakarti grunted again. “Fine. But on one condition.”

  “Yes?”

  “You take this one as well,” The slave master indicated at the Jhakarti that was still laying on the floor. “You might as well provide for him as well. Maybe the Yarishh will learn something and become useful to me.”

  Shi’Caperrnel shrugged. “If that’s how it is, I guess it cannot be helped.”

  Kayden sighed. Capture, slavery, bloodsport. Now he has to drink with a merry giant idiot and a savage creature with lizard eyes. Lord of Light save me.