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.He shrugged and returned to his work.Within a few weeks he would start actively recruiting mercenaries.He had inquired about the difficulties he faced in building a private army and had been told that he could do pretty much anything outside the city as long as local officials were bribed.The power in the region was divided equally between the Lord Mayor of the city and his ruling council and the local Baron, Lord Reslaz.An independent navy, funded by everyone along the coast with an interest in keeping their own ships afloat, was based out of Traitor’s Cove.When it came time to secure transport for his army, Tal would have to talk to them; they had an office and a representative in Karesh’kaar.Tal had introduced himself to the Lord Mayor and offered him a sizable gift.He had done the same with Lord Reslaz.By the time he had left the Baron’s castle, they had consumed a great deal of wine and Reslaz had let Tal know that if he was looking for allies in some great undertaking, Tal could count on his support, for a reasonable split of any booty.Tal was sitting at the table pondering the situation when Quint entered and said, “You look lost.”“I was just thinking.We’ve landed in a nation of pirates.”Quint pulled up a chair and sat down.“There are moments when Kaspar’s desire to bring order to the region looks attractive.”“It’s how he wishes to bring order I object to,” said Tal.“He regards people as disposable.”“He wasn’t always like that, you know,” said Quint.“I’m not trying to make excuses for him.He was always a hard man, even when he was little more than a boy; he could be beaten bloody by older boys in a game of ball and want to get right back in to give as good as he got.But he was never murderous.” Quint reached over for a pear from the nearby counter and took a bite.“I mean, if he had an enemy, he could be ruthless, but that was only with enemies.Now he just doesn’t care who gets hurt.” Quint shrugged.“I think it’s Varen.I think he’s the cause of Kaspar’s change.”“Whatever, he’s got to be stopped.”“You’ll need more than that bunch of babies out in the pasture learning to ride.”Tal laughed.“I know.I’m keeping them around mostly because I don’t know what else to do with them.I can’t get them back home, and I won’t sell them, and I would like to have at least a dozen or so men with swords walking around when I start to recruit.”“When will that be?”“A couple more weeks.I’m waiting for a message from up north.”“From whom?”“An old comrade in arms.Man by the name of John Creed.He helped me in that business with Raven.He’s smart, tough, and knows mercenaries; he’ll get us men who won’t run at the first sign of trouble.”“I don’t know, Tal,” said Quint.“You’re going to need more than just a few mercenary companies.You’re going to need a real army, and I mean support, food, weapons, chirurgeons, porters, boys for the luggage, commissaries, engineers.You’re going to need horse, siege machines, and that doesn’t even start to touch on what to do about that evil bastard Leso Varen.”Tal said, “You’re wrong.I’m only going to need a crack company of maybe three hundred mercenaries, handpicked and ready to ride at my command.The others, the engineers, the support, all that, will be provided by others.”“Who?”Tal shrugged.“Roldem and the Isles.” He shrugged again.“Maybe Kesh, Miskalon, Roskalon, some others might want to get involved to.” He hiked his left thumb over his shoulder, in the general direction of Lord Reslaz’s castle.“And we have no shortage of volunteers to help sack Olasko right around here.”“Finding people to take booty is one thing; finding those will fight before there’s booty to take, that’s another.Remember, I built up Kaspar’s army for the past eleven years.It’s the best force in the region.”“I know, and I’m counting on you to help me take it apart.”“That won’t be easy, either in the doing or for me: a lot of those lads are friends, and others I’ve trained.”“How many of those men would die for Kaspar?”Quint shrugged.“I know a lot who would stand with me until the end.”Tal nodded.“But how many would willingly stand against you? For Kaspar? Look, if facing men you’ve trained and served with is too difficult, you know that at any time you’re free to leave, Quint.”The old soldier shrugged.“Got nothing better to do for the time being, so I might as well stay.”“Good,” said Tal, standing up.“I’m going to head into the city and visit a friend.”Quint grinned.“A lady friend?”“Just so,” said Tal as he departed.Over his shoulder he said, “Don’t bother waiting up for me.”Weeks passed, and Tal saw the very best of the freed slaves turn into soldiers before his eyes.Twelve of them, seven women and five men, had turned into decent riders, adept with the sword and bow and able to take orders.The only thing he didn’t know was how they would react when blood started flowing.Two gave up on trying to serve and arranged passage to the east on caravans, hoping to return safely home.The others were put to work in support capacities.Tal noticed that several of the girls were establishing alliances with particular men and hoped he didn’t regret including women in his army.Jealousy could tear apart his little force before it ever became a coherent company.Still, what else could he do? Turn them over to a brothel-keeper?His arm was starting to drive him to distraction.Two nights ago he had taken off the bandage to bathe the stump again and found it transformed.The five little bumps had lengthened and what appeared to be a tiny hand was growing on the end of his stump.It didn’t look so much like a baby’s hand as it did a tiny replica of his own before it had been severed.He wondered how long it would take to grow to full size, if it ever did.Given Nakor’s quirky nature, discovering the priest did a half-baked job wouldn’t surprise Tal.By the end of the second month at the farm, Tal had recruited a core of seasoned fighters.He had decided to hire only the very best, both in terms of experience and reliability.He wanted a cadre of men around him he could rely upon, and knew that if things turned sour in battle, many mercenaries would throw down their weapons rather than fight to the death [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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