Summoner: The Novice (Book 1) SAMPLE OF NOW PUBLISHED BOOK

Chapter 21

When consciousness returned, Fletcher could hear the sound of Ignatius hissing. He opened his eyes to find Jeffrey and Sir Caulder watching him from across the arena. Sir Caulder was swearing foully and there was the stench of burning in the air.

'Goddamned demons, they should all be shot. It's good, solid fighting that will kill orcs, not these abominations,' he grumbled, fingering a blackened patch of cloth in the breast of his surcoat. Ignatius must have flamed at him when Fletcher fainted.

Fletcher rubbed his bruised throat ruefully and sat up. What was it with people trying to strangle him? Even Ignatius liked to wrap himself around his neck.

'There's something you're forgetting,' Fletcher croaked. 'The orc shamans have twice the number of these abominations, as you call them. Do you think good solid fighting will beat them too? Why do you even teach here if you hate them so much?'

Sir Caulder and Jeffrey crossed the arena towards him, pausing every few steps in case Ignatius attacked again. Fletcher calmed Ignatius with soothing thoughts and then picked up the khopesh, buckling it back on to his belt.

'I'm sorry, laddie. I was just blowing steam. The surcoat was my old uniform. It's all I have left of the old days,' Sir Caulder said, kicking at the sand with his stump.

'Well, it is my fault too. I should have told Ignatius that this was a play fight, though I think we stretched the definition of the word play this time round. I'm sorry about your uniform. Can I replace it?' Fletcher asked.

'No. I fought under the Raleighs,' Sir Caulder said, as if that explained everything.

'The Raleighs?' Fletcher asked. 'Are they a noble family?'

'Aye, that they were. Not any more though,' Sir Caulder muttered. Fletcher could see pain in the man's eyes, but his curiosity got the better of him.

'Why? Did they fall out of favour with the King?' Fletcher had never heard of that happening before, though Pelt was so far removed from the machinations of Hominum's upper class it could be a regular occurrence for all he knew.

'No, nothing like that, you idiot! I served under Lord Edmund Raleigh, a long time before the war. He was one of the nobles who owned estates on the southern frontier, so our lands were being constantly raided by orc marauders. In those days the military was too focussed on keeping the dwarves in check to send us any help, so as part of Raleigh's bodyguard we had to deal with it on our own. Lord Raleigh was a good man and a close friend to the King, so don't you go thinking he wasn't!' Sir Caulder ranted.

'I meant no disrespect,' Fletcher said, trying to be polite, 'but I don't understand how the Raleighs fell out of power.'

'The orcs, boy. That's who are to blame. They came in the dead of night, sneaking by all the livestock and the grain and everything else that my lads were protecting. We thought that was what they wanted, so why protect anything else?' he said bitterly, clenching his fists at the memory.

'They slaughtered everyone in the Raleigh family home; the women, the young children. When we got word of it, they were gone, taking the dead with them as trophies and tying them to the trees on the borders of their territory. Lord Raleigh put up a terrible fight. His Canid took three of the orcs out before they slit its belly open and left it to bleed to death. I put it out of its misery myself, poor thing. So don't be thinking I have something against summoners either!'

Sir Caulder shuddered at the memory, then walked up the arena steps to an open door in the wall.

'You're not a bad fighter, but you're going to need to learn how to fight against an orc. That shoulder barge wouldn't have any effect and you'll be fighting against heavy clubs and axes, not precision weapons. Come see me again and I'll show you how,' he said from the doorway, then disappeared inside with a satisfied grunt.

Jeffrey walked him to the entrance and lifted the torch to Fletcher's face so he could see better in the dim light. Ignatius crawled on to Fletcher's shoulder and purred at the sight of the flame.

'He really did a number on you. That's swelling up something fierce,' Jeffrey said.

'It doesn't hurt that much.' Fletcher touched the welt on his face and winced.

They returned in silence to the atrium, pondering Sir Caulder's story as they made their way back up the tall staircase.

'Tour's over,' Jeffrey groaned as they emerged into the atrium. 'I need to get back to work now.'

'Did you know about Sir Caulder and the Raleighs?' Fletcher asked Jeffrey as the servant began to clean the floors again.

'I knew about the Raleighs, but I had no idea Sir Caulder served under them. I do know the Raleigh incident was what set the war in motion. The King and his nobles began to expand Hominum's borders in retaliation; cutting down their trees and razing their villages year after year. It was only when the albino orc began uniting the tribes that it became a proper war though,' Jeffrey replied, scrubbing at the floor.

'I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before.' Fletcher scratched his head. It seemed that living so far north of Corcillum had limited his education on the politics of the wider world.

'You wouldn't. It was kept very hush-hush. The King doesn't like the commoners to know that a noble line can be snuffed out, just like that. It's only because noble offspring go here that I know about it; Sir Caulder never mentioned anything like that before,' Jeffrey replied.

'He must have cared about that uniform very much,' Fletcher said, stroking Ignatius's head.

'Speaking of which, I can't believe you haven't had your clothes cleaned yet! It was a little nauseating in the confines of the corridor downstairs, Fletcher. Go back to your quarters and I'll send someone to collect your clothes and take you to the baths. Seriously.'

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