The Road to Kalbakar

PAUL E. HORSMAN

THE ROAD TO KALBAKAR

BOOK 1

WYRMS OF PASANDIR

THE ROAD TO KALBAKAR © 2016 - Paul E. Horsman

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, peoples, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, peoples, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Editor: Kira Tregoning

Book cover and map designed by Deranged Doctor Design

For more info: paulhorsman-author.com

There is a list of names at the back of the book.

A Red Rune Fantasy Book

Paul E. Horsman’s books:

Zilverspoor Uitgeverij (Dutch Editions):

Rhidauna – Schaduw van de Revenaunt #1

Zihaen – Schaduw van de Revenaunt #2

Ordelanden – Schaduw van de Revenaunt #3

Red Rune Books (Dutch Edition)

De Shardheld Sage

Red Rune Books (English Editions):

The Lioness of Kell

The Road to Kalbakar – Wyrms of Pasandir #1

Shardfall – The Shardheld Saga #1

Runemaster – The Shardheld Saga #2

Shardheld – The Shardheld Saga #3

The Shardheld Saga, trilogy

Rhidauna –The Shadow of the Revenaunt #1

Zihaen – The Shadow of the Revenaunt #2

Ordelanden – The Shadow of the Revenaunt #3

Vavaun – The Shadows of the Revenaunt

MAP OF THE REGION

The Weal of Four Nations is the political union of Kell, Vanhaar, Unwaar and the Chorwaynie Archipelago

Kells: The tall, bronze-brown people of the Radhaijan Plains in Kell; famed for the fighting prowess of their warriors and the quality of their ordnance.

Vanhaari: The warlock people of Vanhaar, masters of magic and learning. They are of small stature and possess curious complexions, ranging from a rare, eerily pale white to dark gray.

Chorwaynies: The coppery-brown coastal people of the Chorwaynie Archipelago. A nation of sharp merchants and privateers.

Jentakan: The golden-brown inland people of the Chorwaynie Archipelago. Fishers and sailors, their painted fabrics are priceless works of art.

Unwaari: The Singers of Aera; priests and mages, living in Unwaar. They are Vanhaar’s brother people, though far more religious.

The People of Malgarth, the small continent to the east

Garthans: The High Kingdom of Malgarth. A rural people of pinkish-white to beige complexions.

The Five Tradeports (Brisa, Reveul, Lismer, Dibloon and Veurdel): Hotbeds of piracy and crime. Populated by Garthans and renegades of all the peoples in the region.

Thali: The dark-brown people of the frozen south of Malgarth; inventors and technicians, who develop wonders like steam engines, airships and other contraptions.

Both Kells and Vanhaari have settlements on Malgarth: Tar Kell, the cave city, and New Winsproke.

Nanstalgarod (the Hellesands) is a lost land full of magnificent ruins, totally covered by the desert.

CHAPTER 1 – SHIP’S BOY

‘Out of my way, bilge rat!’ the first officer snarled as he pushed past me on the sloop’s crowded quarterdeck.

I shuffled my feet and mumbled. ‘Aye aye, sir.’

Idiot, I thought, irritated. You’re a boor, Lieutenant Wylmer; a flat-footed imbecile. I had totally had it with the Tipred sloop, her first lieutenant and the endless days of choking heat on this useless patrol.

Around us the sea was still and the wind dead as a six days old corpse. To starboard, the shimmering line of the Hellesands desert coast seemed glued to the sky and the dullness of it all made me want to scream.

I shifted my weight from one tired foot to another and leaned my back against the railing. Stand still, curse you! I watched Wylmer’s enormous bulk pass four feet away and fumed in silence. I’d been on duty since sunrise and after nearly six hours dodging my officer’s booted feet, all I wanted was my hammock.

‘You’re just lazy, boy,’ Teodar said in my head.

‘I’m not!’ I knew he was teasing me, so I sent him a funny picture of me being terribly exhausted.

He snickered. ‘Slouch!’

‘It’s hot,’ I complained. Teodar didn’t answer. Of course he didn’t; voices don’t feel the heat. Still, just knowing he was there made me feel better. Teodar’s bodiless voice had whispered to me for as long as I could remember. At first I’d thought he was a ghost living inside my skull somewhere. I even asked him once, all serious. He laughed in my face and teased me with ghostly boos in the middle of the night for the next week. It was funny, but he never did tell me what he was, and why he was helping me of all people.

I didn’t complain. Teodar was the one who’d practically raised me. He probably wasn’t all that much older than me, but he knew everything. He taught me magic, watched over me and kept me company, those early, wandering years in the Borderlands.

I remembered those mountains, the snow, and the company of people who said they were my parents but never proved it by showing a moment’s tenderness or even feeding me. Teodar told me how to catch rats and eat them raw. My parents would have let me starve, so I’d say he saved my life.

A trickle of sweat running down my spine called me back to the present and the hot tropical sun. With my dark gray skin, I didn’t have to worry much about sunburn, but the perspiration on my neck had dried to a horrible itch. Almost ritually, I scratched at it with the hook I have for a right hand and wished I could scratch at the boredom as well. Here we were, nearly a week out from Dvarghish Harbor, and not a single ship sighted.

The lieutenant shifted his bulk again, and I eyed him warily. It wouldn’t be the first time those heavy boots of his mashed my toes.

Suddenly, a flash of sky-blue uniform on the companion-ladder and a hearty laugh froze the lieutenant in mid-step. My exhaustion evaporated as the broomrider set foot on the quarterdeck.

We all stepped aside to make room for our passenger. Kellani of the Kell was a powerful girl with straight, short hair, a hawkish nose and a grin that nailed me to the deck planking as she lifted one reddish-brown hand in a salute.

There haven’t been many girls in my life; only the little shrews at the orphanage who were as horrible as the little bullyboys. I had avoided both like the plague.

Then I joined the navy. The Tipred was a mixed crew, but all female sailors were ancient; way past twenty. That made the arrival on board of a tough girl of my own age a Major Event. Especially one who was both nice to look at and one of those awesome broomriders. She was much bigger ‘n me, but I’m used to that. I’m disgustingly small for my seventeen years. Skinny little beast, the nice orphanage keepers used to call me.

I peered around the lieutenant’s back, hoping beyond hope the girl would discover I existed. I’d seen her often enough since she came aboard, but she never ever noticed me.

This time I must’ve breathed or something, for she did see me and winked. Navy discipline went by the board, and I grinned back like a maniac.

‘Strange ship at forty-one!’ The hoarse cry from the masthead made us all jump. The girl craned her neck, but then she must’ve realized the other ship wasn’t visible from the deck yet, for she smiled ruefully. Her hand went to the crooked broomstick on her back, and for a long second she looked about to fly away and investigate.

Then she relaxed as another cry followed the first.

‘Ship’s a threemaster barkentine; Ahaude, out of Dvarghish.’

I knew Ahaude. She was a Kell ship, a coal carrier. Like us, she’d be bound for Port Naar, the navy outpost on the desert coast.

The broomer caught my eye and gave a regretful smile. Maybe she’d also hoped for something exciting, like pirates.

I gave her a slight shrug and an apologetic grin. Welcome to the Tipred. Nothing ever happens here.

Lieutenant Wylmer had his usual moment of indecision. Big body, slow mind.

‘Let’s check up on her, Quartermaster,’ he said finally. ‘Show the navy’s presence.’

The petty officer was a stolid type, a real seaman, and he saluted without showing his thoughts.

‘Aye aye, sir.’ He relayed the order to the helmsman beside him, and the Tipred turned to intercept the big coaler.

Wylmer looked around the quarterdeck. ‘Where’s the little runt?’

Another of his games, I thought, exasperated. I’m at my post, fool; right behind you. Where else would I be?

Wylmer turned, his puffy face scowling like a rabid pug dog.

‘What do you think you’re doing, ratface? Stop hiding and warn the captain I’m changing course.’

‘Aye aye, sir.’ Knowing the broomer’s eyes were on me, I gave the lieutenant my No. 1 salute. He scowled suspiciously, but couldn’t find fault with it.

Without looking, I skirted his bulk and sprang down the companion-ladder to the main deck and Captain Malkim’s great cabin.

‘Watch out!’ Teodar shouted in my head.

Only then I saw the Old Man was already on his way aft and I froze in mid-jump.

A strong brown hand grabbed my collar and pulled me up before the unthinkable could happen.

The captain stepped onto the quarterdeck and halted in front of me. My cheeks burned as I urged the planking to burst open and swallow me.

Old Man Malkim didn’t say anything. He just raised an eyebrow at me dangling from the broomer girl’s big fist. Hurriedly, I brought up my iron hook in salute.

‘First-officer’s-compliments-sir-and-he’s-changing-course,’ I gargled, slowly choking to death in the girl’s grip.

‘I see,’ was all Captain Malkim said. ‘Thank you.’ With a nod, he walked over to the wheel.

I sagged as the girl transferred her hand to my shoulder. ‘Phew. Thanks, broomer; you spared me a hiding for sure.’

My savior grinned. ‘Next time, choose someone your own size to play bump with.’

‘There ain’t any,’ I blurted. ‘I’m seventeen, I think, but do I look it?’

The girl held me at arm’s length and looked me over. Her face was friendly, without even a trace of mockery.

‘No,’ she said finally. ‘You look younger to me. You said you think you’re seventeen?’

I wiped my nose on my sleeve, my heart still drumming. ‘Yeah. The orphanage wasn’t sure, you know.’ I glanced up at the girl. She wasn’t laughing at me; she looked interested. Nobody had ever been interested in my life.

‘You’re an orphan?’ the girl said. ‘That must be awful.’ The warmth in her voice puzzled me. Why would she care?

‘I don’t know if I am,’ I said. ‘I’m a foundling.’ That wasn’t the full truth; I was the only survivor when my family got themselves killed. But it was near enough to serve. Teodar always warned me not to talk about my past.

‘A foundling,’ the girl said. ‘That must be doubly awful. Wondering who you are and why you were abandoned.’

‘Yeah,’ I mumbled. She was right; I had been wondering who my parents had been. Very often. And that idiot Teodar refused to say a word.

‘It’s for your own safety, kid,’ Teodar muttered inside my head. ‘When the time’s there, you will know.’

‘That’s what you always say.’ I lifted my hook to scratch my neck again. I know I did that a lot. The salt from the sea and the heat made me itch all over.

‘What happened to your hand?’ the girl asked, staring at my ironware. ‘It’s not a battle wound, is it?’

That made me grin. Should little old Tipred fire her guns, she’d spring enough planks to sink her.

‘Nah, I got a knife through my palm. An accident.’ It was another near truth. ‘Damaged a lot of tendons the temple healers couldn’t fix for the coppers the orphanage was willing to spend on me. They didn’t want to cut the beastly limb off, so they gave me this old thing to put on over it. A pros-thet-ic, they called it.’ I sniffed. ‘It’s just a gadget.’

The broomer girl studied my hook as if it were a tool. ‘It looks like a curved dagger,’ she said. ‘I bet you could fight with it.’

I moved my hook in a slash, ripping the guts out of the air. ‘I can, though I never had to. It did work fine against the street gangs of Seatome. I never ran with those guys, or afoul of them, but I had to tell those kids to leave me alone often enough. The hook helped a lot to convince even the bigger ones.’

Her chuckle made my heart leap. ‘It looks quite fearsome. What’s your name?’

I made a face. ‘The orphanage people found it a funny handle. Very un-Vanhaarish. I’m Eskandar.’

The girl frowned a little. ‘That’s a great name. It has a powerful ring to it.’ She looked at me critically. ‘What’s your tribe, Vanhaari or Unwaari? You could be either; though the gray of your skin has a purple shine to it I’ve never seen before. Were you born in Seatome?’

I shook my head. ‘I was in the orphanage there, but they found me up north somewhere, near the Borderland mountains.’ I managed to say it nonchalantly, but those almost-lies gave me a bad taste in my mouth. She was a nice girl, and I didn’t like deceiving her. ‘What about you? How did you become a broomer?’

The girl was silent for so long I caught my breath, afraid she’d be angry at my brash question. Then she laughed softly, and I relaxed.

‘I followed in my father’s footsteps,’ she said. ‘He’s the guy who practically reinvented broomriding. I’m Kellani, daughter of Maud of the Kell and of Jurgis, the First Broom.’

For a second, I was too shocked for words. Maud of the Kell was a famous name – heroine, liberator and queen all in one person.

I searched the girl’s face, looking for the mockery. It was her little joke. She couldn’t be the Queen of Kell’s daughter. Not here on this stupid old tub.

Kellani grinned at my expression. ‘It’s true. My mother is Queen Maud, and my Vanhaari father commands the Broomrider Corps.’

I blindly gripped the railing as my stomach sank into my boots. ‘And you’re talkin’ to me? Just like I’m somebody?’

Now Kellani blinked. ‘Why not?’ she said.

‘People never see me, lady. Let alone speak to me.’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘Cut out the lady, mate. I’m as old as you are and not lady-stuff at all. Call me Kellani. And never forget, you too are somebody. My father was an orphan; a street waif and a thief. Now you should see him in his fine uniform, commanding thousands of broomriders. With a bit of luck and a lot of bravery, you can go far.’

Her large hand shot out and touched my right ear. ‘That’s a curious earring you’re wearing,’ she said, changing the subject. ‘What is it? A claw or something?’

‘Think so; I always had it.’ I grinned. ‘Perhaps it’s a hand, to replace my dead one.’

Then an urgent yell from the masthead lookout nailed us to the deck.

‘Captain! Ahaude is under attack. There’s some… Some sea monster circling her!’

CHAPTER 2 – SEA COWS AND FISHBEASTS

Sea monster! I forgot everything else and stared at the patch of white sails on the horizon. We approached agonizingly slow, as if the Tipred was afraid to commit herself. Finally, we could see the coaler from the deck. The Ahaude’s armament of four wheeled carronades was even less impressive than ours, and of those, only one was still firing at... something big. A puff of white smoke spewed from its muzzle, followed by a muffled bang.

I nearly screamed as a long tentacle rose from the water and swept both gun and crew into the sea. Then it curled around the ship’s hull and held her tight.

Behind me, someone whimpered like a child. I turned my head and