Dragonlord greymantle ch.., p.1
Dragonlord: Greymantle Chronicles: Book Five, page 1
DRAGONLORD
Greymantle Chronicles: Book Five
J DAVID BAXTER
Copyright © 2022 by J David Baxter
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actions, events, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Design, production and editing by Silver Paw Publishing.
Cover Design by J David Baxter
Hardcover: 978-1-953708-24-3
Paperback: 978-1-953708-23-6
Ebook: 978-1-953708-22-9
For more on the Greymantle Series see: JDavidBaxter.com or GreymantleChronicles.com
This book is dedicated to:
My wife for her support, patience and invaluable assistance in getting this novel polished and completed.
My children for inspiring me.
My oldest friend, Lawrence, without whom this particular world would never have evolved.
My beta readers, especially Martin, without whom the story would have suffered.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Also by J David Baxter
Afterword
About the Author
Chapter One
Nate kissed Wren goodbye and wished that moment could last forever. It ended sooner than he would have liked, and they had parted.
After watching her walk away surrounded by her guards and elven companions, Nate found himself walking down the palace halls with his sister and friends, his mood rapidly becoming bleak. He and Wren were a couple now, officially, if not publicly. He knew he could go and see her whenever he wanted, but the reality wasn’t so simple. She had duties, and so did he.
Unfortunately, his new duties worried him. Even so, he couldn’t help the feelings of sadness and separation, knowing they would be hundreds of miles apart and that it might be months before he could see her again.
He sighed and tried to take his mind off Wren’s departure by thinking of the bombshell the king had dropped on him during dinner.
King Toril the Sixth had unexpectedly promoted him to the nobility with the rank of Earl and announced that he would be receiving one-third of all House Ladir’s wealth. That was a shock, to say the least. Based on the king’s past generosity and friendliness, he had expected a reward even if he hadn’t done anything for the sake of getting one. He hadn’t expected it to be so big, though…
He looked to Hamil walking next to him and said in a bewildered tone, “An Earl? And one-third of all the Ladir’s wealth? I figured he might cover the cost of the contract with the Spellswords, or maybe give me another hundred gold marks on top of that or something.” He shook his head as they walked, trying to really let it all sink in.
Nate stopped suddenly and exclaimed to his friend, “I mean, sure, I kinda expected he’d bestow an Honor or two, but Earl?!?” He knew he was freaking out a little, but it was just such a big jump from Knight right over Baron and all the way to Earl. There were people who worked their entire lifetimes focused on nothing but trying to become a noble or rise up in rank. And here he was, jumping all the way to the third tier of the nobility in less than a year.
He had kept it together during the dinner, not being willing to let any of the nobles see him sweat or show weakness, but now it was just his friends. He wasn’t scared of the responsibility, just shocked and a bit overwhelmed.
Hamil laughed at him. “King Toril is crafty. Despite what just happened with Illrune and his brother, House Ladir, had always been a supporter of the royal family, at least from a political standpoint. He just lost a very wealthy and influential pillar of his faction, and they not only abandoned him, but they also did it in the most spectacular fashion imaginable. You’ve only been here a short time and haven’t really seen the intrigue side of things since joining the Guard and then becoming a Wizard apprentice. Trust me, though; it can get ugly. His majesty just somewhat mitigated the betrayal of one of his supporters by creating a new one all in one action, and he gave you enough wealth to be influential in kingdom politics.”
Nate had suspected it was something like that. The problem was he had trained three years for one fight, and now he was facing a completely different kind. He didn’t even know the combatants in this fight.
“Good thing the king promised me a teacher. I just hope I don’t let him down.”
The others were listening to the conversation, and Mersyn clapped him hard on the back. “You won’t. We’ll do what we can to help.”
Hamil nodded in agreement with their friend’s statement. “I don’t know who the king will assign to teach you what you need to know, but the King informed me that we would be your guards for now, at least until the threat of the Blood Mages has passed. Believe it or not, that will work in your favor. I am one of the King’s personal guards, having been assigned to both his majesty and his heir for the last few years. The other nobles will see that you’ve been assigned Royal Guards, and that will raise your prestige. It will show you have strong backing from the king.”
Balt chimed in, “I doubt any of the factions will try anything any time soon. You are an unknown, they will try to learn more about you before they start anything.”
Els was a little shocked and poked Nate in the ribs, “I thought you said this kingdom was peaceful and idyllic?”
Nate shrugged. “I thought it was….”
Mersyn chuckled but gave Els a ‘don’t worry’ shake of her head.
“We are. At least when it comes to external enemies, we present a united front and stand together. Always! That doesn’t mean things don’t get heated between the noble factions. Illrune was an aberration; it’s been hundreds of years since the last time there was an armed coup attempt like this. Even so, the Houses jockey for position, and they rise and fall over time.”
What Nate heard was, ‘This is a fight, but the daggers will be hidden.’
“Fine. If that’s the way it is, then I’ll prepare and make myself ready for their attacks.”
Els patted him on the shoulder sympathetically while suppressing a yawn. “Let’s talk about this tomorrow. We only had a few hours of sleep before we had to wake up for the dinner.”
That brought up another problem. Where were they all going to sleep? His house had only two bedrooms. If he was assigned guards, they wouldn’t have any place to stay.
“You guys coming back to my place, or should we try and find rooms for the night in the palace?”
Hamil seemed to have already thought of that. “Two of us can stay at your place tonight, and the other two will head home and get some sleep, and we can meet up in the morning. One of us will need to be at your sides at all times.” His gesture included Els. “Until you get married and have a child, Els is your heir, and his majesty wants her protected just as much as you.”
Nate was more worried about letting them out of his sight than the other way around and said as much, adding, “The bleeders will target you all to hurt me. In fact, I expect it’s more likely you’ll face assassination attempts than me. How about you all crash at my place for the night, and we’ll figure out other arrangements tomorrow?”
There were nods all around, but Balt seemed hesitant. “Do you think Wendan will be safe?”
Nate thought that over before nodding. “Yeah, I’m sure it will be fine for now. They don’t really care about you except as a way to hurt me, so I doubt they will target your boyfriend or your families.”
They lapsed into silence for most of the way home. It was only when Eltan’s stomach growled loudly enough to be heard over the horse’s hooves that conversation resumed.
“We should stop in at the Champion’s Blade and get some dinner. You may have just eaten with the King and been treated to a feast, but the rest of us were on guard duty and didn’t get to feed ourselves.” Eltan grumbled.
Nate felt terrible about that. He’d been so wrapped up in what had happened to him that he didn’t think about his friends and the fact that they had been standing guard during the feast. He remembered what that was like, to see yummy meals being carried past him where he’d stood and having to
“Ugh, I’m really sorry, guys, I didn’t even think about your hunger, I was so focused on my problems. I’ll buy everyone dinner and drinks to make up for it!”
That got a round of cheers.
As they entered the pub and headed to their usual table, it was a hit of nostalgia for Nate. He’d been watching them sit there with his younger self laughing and having a good time for the last month leading up to the coup. Now he was finally joining them, and he felt like things were right with the world.
Well, some things anyway! He thought to himself. Never mind the bleeders or the nobles, that crap can wait til tomorrow!
He called over to Mik at the bar, “Whatever these guys want tonight is on me.”
The bartender raised an eyebrow, “You sure about that? They can eat a lot.” He chuckled as if at his own joke.
Eltan smirked and walked over to the bar and leaned close but didn’t bother to lower his voice, “That’s Earl Marche now! The king raised him up tonight at the palace. I reckon he can afford to buy dinner.”
Mik waved the comment off, thinking it a joke, but then second-guessed himself and called to Nate, “Is that true?”
Nate sighed, knowing it would change how the former Guardsman, turned pub owner, would treat him. “I’m afraid so. Don’t worry, though; this is still my favorite pub in the whole world. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m still the same old person.”
The pub owner looked skeptical at that. “As you say, my lord.”
Cringing at the first use of that title, Nate’s shoulders slumped in defeat. He was going to have to get used to that. At least his friends hadn’t started doing it. Thank heavens for small miracles!
As the others were getting settled at the table, Nate nudged Els, “Let’s go clear the rooms upstairs while we wait, and we can give the keys back to Mik while we are here.
It didn’t take long. Despite staying in those rooms for a month, they hadn’t left much lying around, thanks to their storage rings. Just to be safe, Nate used a couple spells to check the rooms to ensure nothing was missed and cleaned them as well. When they came downstairs, Nate tossed Mik the keys. “Thanks for the use of your rooms. Els and I were using illusions to hide our presence while we set things up to foil Illrune’s treachery. It’s a long story, and best not to ask too many questions, but know that it was appreciated.” He held his bank token out to the other man.
When Mik held out his own, Nate transferred 25 gold marks, shocking the other man.
“Wow, you really must have been made an Earl!” He chuckled as he said it but then added, “My Lord,” at the end.
Nate shrugged. “I guess you have to say it, but please don’t treat me any differently. I like this place because it feels like home when I’m with my Guardsman friends.”
Mik grinned, “Guardsmen for life!”
“Guardsmen for life!” Nate echoed and grinned in return.
Sitting there and finally getting to eat and drink with his friends was like medicine for his soul. He had daydreamed about this moment for years. The thought of saving his sister and reuniting with the people he cared about most was the thing that kept him going during the long grueling training with Belan. It had been his goal and his motivation. For a couple hours, he put all the worries about nobles and blood mages and who had kidnapped him to this world aside and just lived in the moment.
When they finally finished at the pub and remounted their horses for the short ride home, he was feeling much better. They were all together, and he wasn’t alone any longer. He had everyone he cared for all in one place, and they would face the challenges as a group.
Even Els had become part of the group. During the dinner, she laughed and told jokes and fit right in with his friends as if she belonged and had always been there. As they were riding home, she was telling them about the time they had been trail-riding back on Earth, and Nate had fallen off his horse into the mud and had to ride all the way home covered in it. The way she gestured and told it had them all rolling with laughter.
Nate poked her back and told a couple tales about her own embarrassing moments, like the time she had gotten food stuck in her braces when she was 13 and had walked around for an hour talking to her friends without realizing she looked like she was missing her two front teeth. Unfortunately, that ended up with them explaining what braces were and why people got them. Which in turn got them both unexpected sympathy from the group.
Eltan patted Nate on the arm. “Your world is so primitive. I forget sometimes how difficult your life must have been growing up. We have healers here who specialize in problems of the mouth. All it takes to straighten teeth is a couple hours, and it’s painless. And these cavities you mention… That is so terrible! I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
Els chimed in. “It must be because of the cleaners. They keep the sugar and bad bacteria from eating away at your teeth, so you never end up with problems. Must be nice.”
Chuckling, Mersyn replied. “You don’t ever have to worry about those things again now that you are here and have a cleaner, and if you ever need to get your teeth fixed, I know a good healer who is very skilled with teeth.”
The conversation had turned in a very unexpected direction as they wound their way through the streets, but despite their good spirits and chatter, they were keeping careful eyes on their surroundings, and Nate had spells ready to defend in the event of an assassination attempt. Not that he was too worried so soon after cleaning house by catching all of Illrune’s people. Still, he would not let his guard down completely when all their lives were on the line, and he could see that his Guardsman friends were just as alert.
When they finally made it back to Nate’s house, he cast wards to protect them all, and they figured out their sleeping arrangements. Mersyn and Els shared the front bedroom. Balt and Eltan crashed on the couch and livingroom floor, and Hamil made a pallet in the study. Nate was the only one in the house with a room and a bed all to himself, and he gratefully sank into it once everyone was settled. The morning would come all too soon, and with it, all the new and old challenges that needed to be faced.
Chapter Two
The next day started leisurely enough, with the group gathered around the big kitchen table eating pancakes, hash browns, eggs, bacon, and sausage. Since they were now assigned to Nate and Els as their guards, there was no rush for them to run off to the palace or some other duty.
That gave Nate the opportunity to finally share the full version of what he had been doing for the last four years or so. As they sat around the table listening to his tale, they were enthralled by what the ‘Great Empire’ had been like and were horrified at how the entire human race on Greymantle had been enslaved and treated by the Bane. They cheered his victories over the Bane that had tried to kill him when he’d first arrived and his ability to seek out and find Belanor.
Mersyn, in particular, was practically enraptured with Nate’s description of Belan and his training. The human Champion had been her hero and idol growing up, and she had always dreamed of what it would be like to get trained by him. She wanted to be the greatest human swordswoman of her generation and to be remembered by history for her skill.
There were parts of the tale that she had a hard time believing because she had a particular image of her hero built up in her mind, and Nate’s descriptions were not what she had pictured. Still, she didn’t doubt the truthfulness of his words; she just had difficulty reconciling it.
