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    Other Realms: Volume One
    Other Realms: Volume One
    Other Realms: Volume One
    Ebook173 pages2 hours

    Other Realms: Volume One

    By Shaun Kilgore

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    About this ebook

    Other Realms: Volume One is the first book in a new series that collects original short stories by fantasy and sci-fi author Shaun Kilgore. In this volume, you’ll be taken to far off fantasy worlds filled with magic, adventure, and the games of noble houses and the plights of brave warriors. This book contains ten stories, including “A Reckoning,” “Death To The Messenger,” “Midwinter Night,” “Oathsworn,” “The Beast Of Mern,” “The Prophet’s Return,” “The Risen Queen,” “The Ruling,” “The Traitor,” and “Winds Of Fate.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFounders House Publishing LLC
    Release dateMay 28, 2014
    ISBN9781310942525
    Other Realms: Volume One
    Author

    Shaun Kilgore

    Shaun Kilgore is the author of various works of fantasy, science fiction, and a number of nonfiction works. His books appear in both print and ebook editions. He has also published numerous short stories and collections. Shaun is the editor of MYTHIC: A Quarterly Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine. He lives in eastern Illinois.

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      Book preview

      Other Realms - Shaun Kilgore

      OTHER REALMS

      Volume One

      Shaun Kilgore

      Copyright Information

      Other Realms: Volume One

      All Stories Copyright © 2014 by Shaun Kilgore

      Published 2014 by Founders House Publishing, LLC

      Cover art © Coreyford/Dreamstime.com

      Cover Design © 2014 Founders House Publishing

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      For more information visit www.foundershousepublishing.com

      Start Reading

      Full Table of Contents

      About The Author

      Copyright Information

      Introduction

      You are reading the first volume of short stories I’ve published in some time and the first one of a new series of collections I’ve decided to do on a regular basis. Other Realms will be a regular release from Founders House Publishing and an outlet for my short fiction. This first volume contains ten never before published short stories that I wrote or edited from past works in the earlier months of 2013. Considering the fact that I write in the fantasy and science fiction genres, readers of Other Realms can expect lots of new fiction in those genres in the coming months.

      There are no rules for me in how I put together content but I have chosen stories that take place in secondary worlds for this first volume. Subsequent volumes could contain more of the same fantasy or a mix of urban fantasy and sci-fi, or whatever strikes my fancy (and, of course, whatever I’ve written). That’s one of the best things about this new world of publishing. Whatever vision I have as an artist remains under my control. I get to set the tone for this collection. I make the decisions and maintain the control. Indie publishing is empowering and I hope to make 2014 a great year for new work.

      I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.

      ~ Shaun Kilgore

      April 2014

      THE BEAST OF MERN

      That which prowled the forests of Mern beneath a midwinter moon was a hideous beast. It was a creature of shadows and nightmares, with grotesque appetites. The hunters had found the bones and shredded clothes, the abandoned jewelry. The townsfolk bolted their doors at night and secured their window latches. Few, at all, ventured outside when darkness truly fell. Mern was being terrorized. Its people were spread across multiple settlements that were not easily defensible. It all seemed like such a bloody mess, thought Averess. He’d heard the tales on the Dukat Road, mostly the drunken rambles of peddlers. But it had been enough to draw him in. No promises of gold or glory.

      I’m a bloody fool, Averess muttered.

      He slumped in the saddle, his shaggy brown gelding, Oros, snorted like he thought something funny. Yes, I certainly deserve to be mocked, you bleeding animal.

      For the tenth time, Averess turned Oros around and started back down the white road, the packed snow crunched beneath the horse’s hooves loudly. He was alone on the path. It was just after dawn and all was quiet on the forested roadway. The fact that Mern had been settled haphazardly helped to explain the lack of cohesion between the towns. Most of time they were used to going it alone. Independent-minded folk, one and all. Averess admired that. It beat serving nobles. Mern was an isolated place, and was often forgotten by those that lived in the bigger cities of the kingdom. It was a province in name only--just marks on some king’s map.

      Averess gritted his teeth and wheeled Oros around again. He was headed back into Mern.

      Maybe this beast doesn’t exist. Probably some fools plunking about the forest riling people up. Averess nodded. The damned peddlers, drunk as they were, could be prone to exaggeration from time to time, he thought. They wouldn’t be a problem for much longer. He patted the blade strapped to his hip. The nodded as he counted the knives up his sleeves, down his boots, and tucked in the back of his belt beneath his fur cloak. A good bow and a quiver bulging with arrows completed his store of weaponry. He was loaded for bear and prepared for almost anything.

      Averess was something of professional trouble-seeker. It wasn’t as though he sought to make trouble though. No, he was in the business of taking care of problems. Small problems and medium-sized problems; if somebody was facing a crisis or was being harassed by base thugs, Averess could provide a quick solution—for a modest price, of course.

      Averess scanned the stands of beeches and evergreens that made up the immediate woodlands bordering the road. He figured the first town, Redgrove, was another ten miles down the way. At his current pace, he’d reach the outskirts by midday. Provided there weren’t any hindrances. He had to be vigilant so he wouldn’t be overtaken by the bandits he felt must be ghosting about Mern. Still, for the first few hours of the day, the only sound was Oros’ hooves clopping on the road. Averess knew he had a suspicious streak. He was always looking for trouble beyond every bend in the road and behind every gnarled trunk.

      The softer sounds of the forest life reached his ears once they entered a thicker patch where the trees grew closer together and the boughs of which stretched out from both sides of the path to create natural arches. He noticed the chattering of squirrels and the soft shifting of the hares on the ground and amidst the underbrush. There were other signs of bigger game too. The marks of the stags’ horns showed on some tree trunks further away from the road and broken branches that indicated where something had pushed through. Averess had learned woodcraft as a boy and only sharpened and honed those skills through tremendous use over the years. He knew himself to be a born hunter. Whatever stalked the forests in Mern would be caught by unawares. It was inevitable.

      After a time, the road broadened. The forest was pushed back away from the path so that open spaces of snow stretched five yards or more. Above him, the sky was pale blue. The sun beamed brightly but its midwinter light gave off little heat. Averess pulled the wolf-skin cloak tighter. Beneath it was a woolen coat and he wore pants insulated by an extra layer of linen pants worn over small clothes. Still, the frigid air found gaps to touch his skin.

      He remained alert up until the point where the first eddies of chimney smoke became visible over the tops of the evergreens ahead. Averess was almost disappointed that he’d made his was to Redgrove without any trouble. He took Oros to a canter and made to make a grand entrance.

      The trees thinned further and then faded away. Redgrove nestled within the clearing. The smoke rose from about twenty simple houses with steeply pitched thatch roofs. There were few people outside in the cold air, though he spotted a lad leading a brown cow down the frozen path ahead of him and noticed a man in a bulky, stitched hat hefting two buckets. Nobody had noticed his arrival. Averess was slightly disappointed, but waved the feeling away. Riding into Redgrove a little ways, he noticed a few more people roaming the narrow paths between the houses. Somebody began chopping wood off to the east.

      I should probably look for the town leaders or maybe the mayor, thought Averess. Maybe I can learn a bit more about this wild beast?

      And maybe I can get a warm meal and some ale while I’m at it. Averess smirked, scratching his scruffy, black beard. I could bloody well do with something to warm my innards, by the gods.

      Succulent smells wafted in the air from lunchtime kitchens. Averess wiped at the drool forming at the corners of his mouth.

      Get on now, Oros. Maybe we can find you some nice oats while we’re in town, eh?

      Someone tromped out onto the path ahead of them. Ho, there. Can you help me? I’m looking for the mayor or somebody in charge here.

      The man ahead of him was old and as gnarled as some of the trees in the forests of Mern. His face was a mass of wrinkles that half-hid his mouth. His dark eyes were open to slits. On his back, he carried a bundle of sticks bound by coarse cord.

      You’re talking about Old Gabe aren’t ya then? He’s down the way there. He’ll be in the house with the red lentils. Without another word, the man strode off.

      Humph. Thank you kindly, Averess muttered.

      He rode in the direction indicated by the old man, stopping Oros when he saw the distinctive red lentils on the door of ‘Old Gabe’s’ house. Averess dropped from the saddle, paused to adjust his weapons. There was no one on the street just then. The thatched roof was in decent shape. It drooped down nearly to his waist. The windows were shuttered so he couldn’t see whether there were any lights burning. The chimney was billowing smoke so it was safe to say Gabe was at home.

      Averess knocked on the door.

      A few moments passed and then a tiny woman answered the door, her hair long gone to gray but her face was youthful and quick to smile. Good day to you, sir. Welcome to Redgrove. Her blue eyes darted about, taking in the sword, bow, and other weapons. News has traveled then. Her tone was matter-of-fact. She doesn’t act surprised to see somebody like me, Averess thought.

      There have been hunters from outside of Mern through town?

      The woman nodded. Oh, yes, I’d say about a half a dozen now, counting you.

      Millie, who is that at the door? A gruff voice growled from inside.

      ‘Tis, another of the hunters come to track the beast.

      Ack, not another one!

      Averess waited while Millie retreated inside and a pudgy man with balding blonde hair came into view. He was dressed in blue coat and pants, with knee-high riding boots trimmed with a band of copper. He wore a belt knife but was otherwise unharmed.

      My name is Gabriel Sims. I’m the mayor of Redgrove. He eyed Averess up and down over the tops of his spectacles. So you’ve come to Mern to hunt the beast, have you?

      Averess reached out his hand. Gabriel took it in turn. You’re right. I am called Averess. I have come to see if I can rid the people in Mern of this menace.

      Ack, all well and good, lad. But many have already tried. Damned fools lost their lives mostly. Would you like a bite to eat then? My Millie makes a fine venison stew.

      Just as Averess opened his mouth a woman’s shrill cry pierced the air.

      What in the gods’ names is that? The mayor of Redgrove gaped.

      Without answering, Averess bolted in the direction of the cries, leaving Gabriel standing in his doorway with Oros’ reins in his hands.

      * * *

      The screams came again. A few of the townsfolk of Redgrove were finally coming out of their wintery stupor. Men were out in the narrow street, confused expressions on their faces, some brandishing staves, shovels, and the like. Averess cursed, as he had to shove through the milling people.

      Make way! Make way you bloody.... His words trailed off as the screaming happened again. I should have taken Oros. It’s hard telling where that is coming from or how far away it is.

      Averess drew his sword and the people gasped and fled in all directions. He was generating a minor panic. It wasn’t something that could be helped. Averess listened for the cries again. As he rounded another house, he took in the scene in seconds.

      A group of people—possibly those of Redgrove—had surrounded a young, black-haired woman. She was being jostled about, her face red and swollen, tears blinding her. Blood flowed from a split lip and her brown woolen dress had been ripped at the shoulder. The men shoving her were cursing and making accusations.

      Confess, you filthy woman!

      We know you’re responsible for it, god-cursed witch! You’ve stolen the whole herd by bringing the beast down on our villages.

      Confess your crimes, whore!

      The woman shook her head vigorously. No, it’s not true. I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve only ever done good things. The men spread out from her as she drew her hand out in desperation. Please, all of you must believe me. I have nothing to do with this awful beast.

      Shut, you foul creature. You’re a sorceress, a consort of demons. It’s your wicked ways that have brought the cursed creature down on our heads.

      Another voice cried, Take her and hang her from the sacred tree. When she goes so will the creature!

      Many people in the crowd began to back away, uncertainty painted on their reddening faces. The air seemed to drop.

      Averess’

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