Young Lord of Khadora Read online

  “Squad Leader Marak,” Grefon began, “the visiting soldiers are also being feasted this evening. Your men who serve as liaisons must continue their duties until the morning, but the rest of your men may join the guest soldiers at their feast if you wish. I will have no further need of your services.”

  Marak went around and dismissed his men with Lord Marshal Grefon’s invitation to feast. All of the men opted to join the visiting soldiers and Marak joined them as well. A huge bonfire roared in an open area among the barracks and a huge wasooki was being roasted over it. Marak inhaled the aroma of the searing meat and realized how hungry he was. The Fardale contingent had brought a variety of squash, beans, carrots and peas. From Raven’s Point there were crab and clams and the River’s Bend contingent contributed clova meat, which was a little tough, but extremely tasty.

  The Stony Brook boys were the favorites of the camp, though. They had managed to bring two barrels of mountain ale, which they had kept tied to a bridge in the cold river. Feeling slightly outdone, River’s Bend offered up a large tin of bocco and everybody stuffed their pipe and lit up.

  Marak truly enjoyed himself for the first time in many years. He drank and smoked and feasted on large chunks of wasooki. Ironic, he thought, feast tonight, starve tomorrow. He quickly pushed his morbid thoughts away and listened to a soldier from Fardale telling tales about the Chula. The listeners marveled at the images of barbarian warriors riding tigers into battle. Another soldier from Fardale retold the last battle from the words of someone called Togi, a lumberman who was the sole survivor. Outraged cries rose from the fireside as he described the wagon loaded with dead bodies and body parts that Togi had been forced to drive home. The Fardale contingent seemed to drink more than the others and none of them expressed relief that they were leaving in the morning to return home. Eventually, everyone partied out and Marak returned to the barracks and fell asleep instantly.

  The morning came and Marak was resigned to accept it. He dressed quickly and assembled his men for the farewell. He marched his squad to the front of the mansion and arranged them as he had for the greeting.

  Lord Ridak and Lord Marshal Grefon came out the front door with Lord Lashendo and Marshal Garouk. After short farewell speeches, Lord Lashendo dismissed the liaisons and the Fardale contingent mounted and rode off towards the main gate.

  Lord Horkad and Marshal Simi of Forest Deep left next, quickly followed by Lord Caruko and Marshal Flutay of River’s Bend. Lord Zerik of Raven’s Point held a prolonged conversation with Lord Ridak until Marshal Roak interrupted and led him to the waiting horses. Lord Wernik and Marshal Cadam from Stony Brook were the last to go, with Marshal Cadam making some joke about mountain ale on his way past Marak’s men.

  Everyone stood and watched the Stony Brook warriors leave through the gate. As soon as they disappeared, Cortain Koors emerged from the barracks and strode over to the steps to the mansion.

  “I believe we have a meeting scheduled, Lord Marshal,” smiled Koors.

  The Lord Marshal nodded and started inside with Koors and Marak right behind him. He caught motion out of the corner of his eye and quickly twirled to see what it was. Every one of Marak’s men had turned their wristbands inside out. Grefon gazed into the fields and saw that Tagoro’s men had done the same. Fury filled the Lord Marshal’s eyes when he looked for Squad Leader Rybak and saw that his men, who were returning from the main gate, also had their wristbands inverted.

  He waited impatiently as Rybak and his men approached the mansion. He noticed that Rybak was the only one besides Koors and Marak who had not turned his wristband.

  “Squad Leader Rybak,” commanded the Lord Marshal, “instruct all of the men in the proper wearing of their wristbands. Anyone who hesitates to make it right is to be flogged on the spot. I will have no insubordination under my command. Report to me as soon as you are done.”

  Rybak smiled and saluted as he turned to administer the Lord Marshal’s wrath upon his fellow soldiers.

  Turning to Koors and Marak, Grefon snapped, “Let us find out what folly has been happening behind my back. Both of you to my study, now.”

  Chapter 4

  Lord Marshal Grefon

  Lord Marshal Grefon led the way into his study and sat behind his desk leaving Cortain Koors and Squad Leader Marak standing in front of his desk. For several moments the Lord Marshal straightened his desk and ignored the two soldiers standing before him. Eventually, Squad Leader Rybak entered the study and the Lord Marshal looked up.

  “Your report, Squad Leader Rybak,” ordered Grefon.

  “All wrist bands are properly displayed, Lord Marshal,” reported Rybak.

  “Is there further need for disciplinary action on this matter?” quizzed Grefon.

  “No, Lord Marshal,” stated Rybak. “No one hesitated to make the wristbands correct.”

  “Very well, Squad Leader,” accepted the Lord Marshal. “Please wait in the sitting room until I need you and close the door when you leave.”

  Squad Leader Rybak closed the door to the study and disappeared.

  “Now, Cortain Koors,” began the Lord Marshal, “you have a disciplinary item that needs to be discussed. What is it?”

  “Squad Leader Marak has broken his Vows of Service, Lord Marshal,” smiled Koors. “He has broken the rules by speaking to slaves without orders. As the Lord Marshal is aware, his acceptance in the Army is now forfeit as is his freedom.”

  Grefon sat and stared at the two men standing before him, switching his gaze from one to the other. He knew them to be two soldiers who were loyal to the Situ Clan and the Army, but he also knew them as bitter enemies.

  “Are you stating your claim to his person?” asked Grefon.

  “Oh, no, Lord Marshal,” grinned Cortain Koors. “The violation was not against me, but against the Lord of the Situ Clan whom the Squad Leader gave his vows. I am merely performing my duty in reporting the infraction.”

  “I see,” Grefon said straight-faced. “This is an extremely serious matter. You saw this Squad Leader talking with slaves and have verified that he was without orders?”

  “I did not actually see Marak talking with a slave, Lord Marshal,” answered Koors, “but it is common knowledge that the Squad Leader went to speak with his mother. As for his orders, I am his Cortain and issue his orders personally. His orders did not include any association with slaves.”

  The Lord Marshal stared at Marak, looking for any signs of emotion, but the Squad Leader just stood at attention and looked straight ahead. “A man is not stripped out of the Army and into slave browns on common knowledge, Cortain,” instructed the Lord Marshal. “If you did not see him talking to slaves, then what is your evidence?”

  “His own admittance,” beamed Koors. “I was waiting in his barracks for him to return and I asked him straight out if he had been in the slave compound. His own admission is sufficient guilt.”

  The Lord Marshal rose and walked to the window overlooking the orchard and barren field. The men of Tagoro’s squad were performing their duties, but each of them kept an eye on the Lord Marshal’s window.

  “Squad Leader Marak,” asked Grefon without taking his gaze from the window, “is the account given by Cortain Koors accurate?”

  “It is, Lord Marshal,” Marak answered.

  “You have shown great promise, Squad Leader,” declared the Lord Marshal. “You were raised to Squad Leader after only four years and your efforts have proved to me that it was a wise decision on my part. Your men are the most efficient and best trained in the entire Army. What could have been going through your head to risk all of this and your own freedom on a whim?”

  The Lord Marshal returned to his chair and watched Marak as the Squad Leader tried to justify his actions.

  “Lord Marshal,” stated Marak, “I have enjoyed my service to the Army of the Situ Clan and I have always tried to perform at my best, but since I joined the Army, I have not been allowed to speak with my mother. While I would not hesitate to pu
t my life on the line for the Situ Clan, I could no longer tolerate the injustice which has been forced upon me by my superiors. Five minutes of speaking with my mother does not make me any less effective as a soldier, which is the function I perform for the Situ Clan.”

  “So,” summarized Grefon, “you feel that following orders and honoring your pledge to Lord Ridak are not the proper duties of a soldier? Do you think an Army can be run with every soldier interpreting the rules as he sees fit?”

  “Certainly not, Lord Marshal,” agreed Marak, “but I also do not believe that a just ruler intentionally inflicts pain on his loyal supporters. Does Lord Ridak think that I kill his enemies for the food he puts on my plate? Do you believe that I put my own body in harms way for the fine bed and roof that has been provided? Men serve for a number of reasons, Lord Marshal. Some serve out of fear and some serve out of loyalty and respect. Still others join to aid in a cause they believe in.”

  “And which reason has you serving the Army?” interrupted the Lord Marshal.

  “I have served out of loyalty and respect, Lord Marshal,” answered Marak. “Loyalty and respect are attributes that swing both ways, Lord Marshal. Every day of my service in the Army has become harder to bear. Every day that I watch my mother in the fields being abused by the Lord I serve becomes another day in which my respect dwindles. Every day I watch men being belittled by superior officers, whose only existence is seen as that of a tormentor, and it lowers my respect.”

  “Are you quite through Squad Leader?” snapped the Lord Marshal.

  “No, Lord Marshal, I am not,” retorted Marak. “The men under my command perform well because I treat them with respect, respect they deserve. The men in this Army are paid the same whether they excel at their job or not. My men do not excel because they are getting more than the next man, they excel because it is appreciated. I know you agree with what I am saying because you treat your own men with respect, but your Army is large and those under you do not follow your ideals. Cortain Koors has intentionally been after this moment for six years, six years in which he has done everything he could to get me out of the Army.”

  Koors started shifting uneasily, but his face still held his wide grin. Lord Marshal Grefon shook his head and stared at the Squad Leader.

  “Are you now going to place all of the blame for this incident on Cortain Koors?” sighed Grefon.

  “No, Lord Marshal,” replied Marak. “The incident is my own doing and no one else deserves the blame. I am not trying to escape your justice. I am explaining what path brought me to this office so that you may help others avoid a similar mistake. I am leaving some good men behind, men who have been treated with respect and need to be treated so in the future. If they are not, you will lose their efficiency. I guess what I am trying to say is simple. Do with me what you will, but for the sake of the Army, make the changes that are necessary to ensure that it does not happen to others.”

  “Are you suggesting that I get rid of Cortain Koors?” questioned Grefon.

  “No, Lord Marshal,” Marak sighed. “Koors is only a symptom of the problem. His removal would help only three squads. What I am suggesting is that part of your training be to instill respect for the rest of the men who constitute your Army. Treat the men with respect and they will respect your every order.”

  “Lord Marshal,” interrupted Cortain Koors, “with all respect, I do not have to stand for this insolent slave deriding my character. What his justification is for his outlandish behavior is unimportant. The fact remains that he has violated his Vows of Service and the punishment is quite clear. Not even the Lord Marshal can override the Vows. To do so would violate your own Vows. You cannot allow Marak to remain as Squad Leader any longer, not even until the official sentencing by Lord Ridak.”

  “I am quite aware of my Vows, Cortain,” snapped Grefon. “The fact is, Marak is no longer a Squad Leader. Marak, did you discuss this problem with anyone?”

  “Only Squad Leader Tagoro, Lord Marshal,” answered Marak. “He was present when Cortain Koors and I spoke on the evening in question.”

  “In your opinion,” quizzed Grefon, “would he discuss this problem with anyone else?”

  “No, Lord Marshal, he would not,” Marak replied.

  “I am, then, puzzled by the annoying show of support for you this morning,” commented Grefon. “I do not appreciate such displays in my Army. I find them insubordinate. Cortain, who have you spoken with concerning this affair?”

  “Everyone in the Corte knows about it, Lord Marshal,” stated Koors as his smile turned to a tight-lipped grimace.

  “And how do they know?” prompted the Lord Marshal. “I wish to hear how this confidential matter has become common knowledge.”

  “Well, Lord Marshal,” fretted Koors, “one of Rybak’s men spotted a soldier leaping the fence into the slave compound and reported it to Squad Leader Rybak. Rybak immediately informed me and I waited for Marak in his barracks.”

  “That explains how two men knew that some soldier was in violation,” remarked Grefon impatiently. “What I asked was how the entire Corte knew that soldier was Marak.”

  Beads of sweat formed on Koors’ brow. While he had been successful in getting Marak forced into slavery, he had erred in letting the knowledge out before sentencing. It was not a serious offense, but Grefon could take his yellow plume for it and lower him back to Squad Leader if he was angry enough. Koors contemplated lying about it and decided to just stretch the truth a little.

  “I did discuss the matter with Squad Leader Rybak,” admitted Koors. “Perhaps some of the men overheard us.”

  Lord Marshal Grefon again rose from his chair and paced to the window. He could strangle Marak for giving in to temptation and Koors for being such a belligerent fool. The worst part of it was that he could come out of this looking like a fool, himself.

  “Both of you wait in the sitting room and send Squad Leader Rybak in,” ordered the Lord Marshal.

  Squad Leader Rybak entered and closed the door before saluting.

  “Squad Leader Rybak,” began Grefon, “how did the men in your squad learn of Marak’s plight?”

  Rybak noticed the lack of the words ‘Squad Leader’ in the Lord Marshal’s question and smiled. Evidently, Grefon was still concerned about the wrist bands and was making it part of the same disciplinary action. It also sounded like Koors had probably tried to blame him for spreading the word. While Koors had been a golden ladder to the rank of Squad Leader, Rybak was not about to slide down that ladder for his Cortain. “Cortain Koors and I spoke of it in the barracks,” Rybak answered.

  “Do you think the men overheard your conversation?” quizzed Grefon.

  “Without a doubt, Lord Marshal,” answered Rybak. “They were all around us. Cortain Koors wanted everybody to know that he had finally succeeded in getting Marak. I can only assume that my men told the other squads in the Corte. I certainly did not.”

  Grefon nodded and was about to dismiss Rybak when another question popped up. “On the morning of the first meeting day, did you hear me give orders to Cortain Koors?” he asked.

  “Yes, Lord Marshal,” admitted Rybak. “I was present at the time.”

  “Was it clear that my orders were for Marak to have slave detail?” queried the Lord Marshal.

  “Yes, Lord Marshal,” answered Rybak. “Cortain Koors, complained that you were ruining his plan before he changed the orders.”

  “Thank you, Squad Leader,” sighed Grefon. “You will not speak of this meeting unless I direct you to. You are dismissed. Send the others in as you leave.”

  Rybak snapped a salute and quickly fled to the sitting room where he informed Marak and Koors to return to the study as he left. Marak and Koors entered the study and closed the door. The Lord Marshal opened a drawer in his desk and withdrew a sheet of paper and handed it to Cortain Koors.

  “As you can see, Cortain,” declared Grefon, “I have a bit of a problem here. You have brought before me a man accused of violatin
g his Vows of Service by talking with slaves. A man in the Army with a rank of Cortain is allowed that privilege. If you read the pronouncement in your hands, you will notice that its purpose is to elevate Squad Leader Marak to the rank of Cortain. It should be duly noted that both Lord Ridak and I signed this document the day before the first meeting day. While you may argue that Squad Leader Marak violated his Vows of Service, the accused may argue that Cortain Marak did not.”

  Marak’s eyes grew wide as he followed the conversation. No one had ever made Cortain in six years that he knew of. The elation quickly subsided to regret. If only he had held out for a few more days, he would have been able to see his mother without this disciplinary action. He had already made his grand speech belittling the Lord Marshal’s Army and Grefon would be within his rights to tear up the pronouncement.

  “But this is impossible,” squealed Koors. “It is not official, no pronouncement was made. He didn’t even know about his promotion when he leaped over the fence.”

  “You are quite right about his knowing,” nodded the Lord Marshal. “Nevertheless, he was officially a Cortain at the time. The announcement was being held back until there was an opening for a Cortain. Lord Ridak is against expanding the Army to include another Corte, so the announcement of his promotion was put off until someone died or retired.”

  “Well, that is certainly not going to happen any time soon,” smiled Koors. “If you do not plan to take any action on this matter, I am within my rights to petition Lord Ridak to rule on it. Whether he was a Cortain or a Squad Leader, he violated his Vows of Service because he had neither knowledge of his promotion nor orders which allowed him such liberties.”

  Lord Marshal Grefon held up his hands in surrender. “If you are adamant about appealing to Lord Ridak, there is nothing I can do to stop you. In all fairness to the accused, though, he should be made aware that I issued orders to you placing him in the fields with the slaves on the day of the first meeting. Technically, his orders were to be with the slaves for the duration of the meeting days.”