Sauragia

Chapter 2

Many miles away beneath the same rising sun, King Edward of the Saltrak was wide awake with his advisors. There were six of them all told. They sat gathered around a campfire in a more heavily wooded region of West Aldock, just a few miles from the border with Cardolin. Most of Edward’s soldiers were asleep at this hour, preferring not to roust themselves before noon. And normally these chieftains would have been too. But circumstances were different today. Something very special was happening that no one among the higher officers wanted to miss: King Edward was holding a council of war.

The rather mysterious Edward of the Saltrak was not a king in the usual sense—with a crown, a sceptre, and a throne—though he hoped soon to remedy this. Known widely as “the Slayer,” King Edward was a most brutal and savage kind of ruler, willing to do anything to attain his goals. His methods of death and destruction were widely known throughout every kingdom south of the Sauragian Mountains. For although he did look after his subjects, he did so solely because they were a means to power—his one and only true love. The only reason he was called a king at all rather than just another warlord was that he had successfully united the bickering tribes of the Saltrak into a single fighting force. With him at their head they had conquered first East, then West Aldock, pillaging and plundering the rocky scrubland realm along their way. Now, with his tribes solidly behind him, King Edward the Slayer had set his sights on the crowning jewel of them all: Cardolin.

He cast an eye about these, his most loyal followers, sitting in a semi-circle before him. These six chieftains and the tribes they led were mostly Gorvosaurs—who were much like Alvarosaurs, save for their stouter limbs, darker greyish green scales, and more warlike attitudes—and a few Alvarosaurs whose lifestyles and attitudes had led them far astray from the roots of their noble species. Edward himself was of the Gorvosaurus bunch: one of the biggest, toughest around. Merely casting his inscrutable pale green gaze over one was enough to make a dino shudder, and none dared challenge him when he did. His subordinates leaned in and listened intently as he spoke.

“I have had visions of late, my warriors. Visions of great things.” He paused to allow someone to ask the obvious: “What sort of things, lord?”

“Wealth, power, position,” replied Edward with practised coolness. “All just waiting to be attained, and in our near future at that.”

“Where do we get all this, lord?” inquired the nearest Gorvosaurus, a somewhat dim-witted creature named Yarwig.

“In the place we’ve not yet entered, Yarwig. The rich lands of the west beckon us. Cardolin is ready to fall, and once we have conquered it, all of its treasure and prestige will be ours for the taking!”

There were murmurs and grunts of agreement from everyone around the campfire. All except one whose name was Carl. Carl was an Alvarosaurus—the only one to be chieftain of a tribe—and therefore not well liked among the leaders’ circle. He was stubborn and contrary at times, but because he was also clever and ruthlessly efficient, Edward kept him around.

“And how do we know Cardolin is ready to fall?” he questioned. “When last I heard, Saurahall was still the seat of the king, and will be well defended, I should think. Not to mention the other massive cities to the north.”

Edward gave him a withering stare, which silenced him. Even Carl knew better than to challenge him when in that mood. He was not called “the Slayer” for nothing. When he was forced to look away, Edward continued his speech.

“Ulric,” he went on. “I understand your warriors are getting a little restless?”

“Aye, lord.”

“And yours too, Yarwig?”

“Aye, lord. They’ve been wanting to move on for a good while now. They’re just spoilin’ for a fight.”

“Then we must appease them,” said the barbarian king with a sagacious nod. “My chieftains, summer begins in two weeks. And with it begins our greatest conquest. We will cross the river Andarus and move into Cardolin. We will strike deep into the heart of the kingdom and claim it for our own. We will lay siege to Saurahall and it will fall.” He glanced pointedly at Carl as he said this. “The weaklings of Cardolin have not fought a war for a long time now, and our host greatly outnumbers the defenders of the famed Saurahall. Once it is in our claws, the other cities of Cardolin will crumble before our very presence. Mark my words, my brethren, by the time winter’s first snow falls…Nay, ere autumn’s first brown leaf falls, we will be living comfortably in our new home with the entire Realm of Cardolin in our claws!”

Several hoots and sniggers arose from the six chieftains as they imagined the wealth and plunder that awaited them beyond the river to the west. They trusted and admired every word of their benevolent lord, King Edward the Slayer.