An excerpt from – Kriki’s Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power
The next day dawned clear but much colder. Kalmyk was pleased that it was so cold
for it gave him the opportunity to order the men to wear their heaviest winter gear. They
would be better equipped for mountain travel because of it. All were tired from the
previous day’s patrol so there was little conversation as the group left the barracks to
head for the barn to saddle the horses.
As usual, Kalmyk’s troop arrived at the gates of the city just before they were opened
for the day. The men waited in bored silence while they watched the Guardsmen go
through the motions of first raising the portcullis and then lifting the heavy timber from
the steel brackets barring the main gates. They swung the gates open and gave
Kalmyk a rather unenthusiastic salute as he led the troop through. His rank required it,
but they weren’t about to show undue deference to a Ranger. Kalmyk ignored the
subtle insult. He knew that they were merely echoing the disdain Storos felt for the
Ranger Corps. Once the troop was beyond the gate, he smiled grimly for this day was
the start of trouble for Storos and his pet Guardsmen.
“Scouts forward,” he ordered as raised his arm and pointed in the direction of Kazat.
Gwher and Kaiko reined their horses out of the column of riders and galloped around
them to the front. They continued to gallop south until they disappeared from view. It
was normal procedure for the scouts to ride a mile or so ahead of the troop. Two riders
could often spot smugglers better than twenty could for they didn’t draw as much
attention. Kalmyk noticed Gwher carefully kept his eyes forward as he passed. Nothing
must seem out of the ordinary today.
The lieutenant glanced back to see if the troop was in proper formation. He nodded
in satisfaction at how orderly they closed ranks, filling in the gap the scouts had
vacated. Storos’s pet Guardsmen pulled into position with practiced precision. They
were hardly the novices they purported to be.
These men would have been far more successful in uncovering information if they
had joined the troop offering open friendship. As it was, they had all remained aloof,
cool, and brazenly insulting to Queen Flindra. Odd thing really. One would think they
would have been ordered to befriend Kalmyk’s men. Their commander must not be a
very clever man to have missed the chance to gather real information. A friend heard
more confidences than an enemy did.
Not that it really mattered for all for were soon going to die. Kalmyk knew that none
of his men were going to be overly upset to see them die either. All had grown weary of
hearing these men repeatedly insult the Queen of Wesperos. They were Flindra’s men
and fanatic in their loyalty to her. The situation could have easily resulted in violence if
Kalmyk hadn’t ordered them to avoid such a response. His men were too disciplined to
ignore his command, but he knew they had chaffed at their inability to defend Flindra’s
honor. The Heir of King Meldh had served with them, shared their hardships, and had
made their lives safer and easier because of her efforts. She was a comrade as much
as a queen. They would be furious to hear that she had been poisoned and that Storos
was the culprit who had ordered the attack. They were good men to assign to the
protective force hurrying to save Flindra’s family from the soldiers hunting them. It put
them into a situation to fight against her foes and what greater act of service could there
be than for a soldier to wield his sword in a just battle.