Travellers (Warriors, Heroes, and Demons Book 2) Read online

  Travellers

  Travellers

  By Dave Skinner

  Warriors, Heroes, and Demons

  Book 2

  Copyright © Dave Skinner, 2017

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

  Published by Dave Skinner 0-9918966

  Haliburton, ON.

  Edited by Ann Westlake

  Writer’s Cramp Editing Consultants

  www.wcediting.com

  Additional editing by Elaine O’Reilly and Laurie O’Reilly

  Map by Xanworx Studio

  http://xanworx.com/

  https://www.facebook.com/xanworx/

  Cover art by Laurie O’Reilly

  Cover design by Jonathon Ciordas

  Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 978-0-9918966-5-3 (eBook)

  Synopsis of Book 1, My Father’s Swords

  When his father, Crown Prince Argon, is killed in a pirate raid arranged by Argon’s brother, Artan, Bray survives by escaping to the Tawshe peninsula. An act of bravery sees him adopted by the Tawshe who normally kill everyone who trespasses on their land. Bray is educated and trained as one of their own, although he is never accepted by his peers, and always thinks of himself as Nadian. His intent is always to return to Nadia after retrieving his father’s swords from the pirate who has them.

  A decade later, while taking his manhood (trueone) challenge, he kills a wizard while the madman is attempting to bring what he thinks is a demon across dimensions. Bray is unable to stop the spell and ends up being linked magically to a woman named Mearisdeana who is from the dry hot world of KaAn. Before Bray can reach him, the wizard kills three of the four Tawshe warriors he has captured. The one saved, T’Ran, had been Bray’s tormentor for the past ten years. Tragically, Bray is unable to save his adopted brother, T’Shawn.

  The Tawshe shaman/teacher, T’Waycan, decides that Bray and Mearisdeana must travel to Waysley to see a wizard who may be able to help return her to her world. T’Ran, struggling with his devastation over the death of his squad mates, decides to accompany them. While travelling to Waysley, they have numerous adventures and meet the Bentmen—a criminal guild, and Manda of Gore, captain of the Red Witch merchant ship. On the last leg of their journey, they realize that Yucan Vee, the leader of a pirate horde and the man who killed Bray’s father and stole his Nadian swords, is headed for Waysley to capture the city. Bray and Ran lead the defense of Waysley.

  Adamtay, Mearisdeana’s betrothed, is trying to find a way to follow Mearisdeana across the void and return her to KaAn. To do this, he and his best friend Nailmoe must acquire a magic sword—the Sword of Sacrifice that is being guarded by a dragon—and steal crystals from a wizard’s keep that has been sealed for thousands of years. Succeeding in their quests they cross the void in time to help defend Waysley.

  Characters and Places

  Mearisdeana’s world (KaAn)

  For millennia, the world of KaAn has been getting hotter and drier. The people and animals have developed scales referred to as dayskin that protect them from the sun and from injury. They can revert to their original skin (nightskin) by choice. Crops are grown in filtered light. Water has become a delicacy. The population has decreased as resources have become fewer.

  KaAnian names consist of a given name and a family name which are spoken together. For example, Prince Adam of house Tay is known as Adamtay.

  Characters:

  Adamtay:Crown prince of house Tay, Mearisdeana’s partner.

  Terrintay:King of KaAn.

  Saratay:Queen of KaAn.

  Neventay:Royal wizard to the court. Brother of Terrintay.

  Mearisdeana:Adamtay’s partner.

  Nailmoe:Adamtay’s close friend.

  Bray’s World

  Land of the Lakes

  The land where the lakes are located is a young world containing grasslands to the south, and mountains and dense forests to the north, east and west. Animal references, such as giant sloths, glyptodons, cave bears, sabretooth cats, and teratorn birds, suggests a period similar to our world in the Pleistocene epoch. It is populated by faeries and humans. Hobs, brownies, leprechauns, far derrigs, nymphs, gnomes, water sprites, kobold, hob-goblins, sirens, selkies, and sylphs make up the magical creatures of the faerie population. Wizards and witches are common.

  Tawshe/Travellers

  The Tawshe live on a peninsula that extends into South Lake. They are believed to be a savage race that kill everyone who enters their territory. Although trained as warriors (trueones) and fierce fighters, they are not savages. Unbeknownst to outsiders, they are information brokers known as Travellers, who travel all around the lakes as craftsmen and entertainers in order to gather information.

  All Tawshe names start with the letter T. Male names start with T’ (e.g. T’Ran) while female names start with Ta’ (e.g. Ta’Lee). These are their formal names which are shortened for daily use by removing the prefixes. (Ta’Lee becomes Lee).

  Characters:

  T’Ran:Traveller, Bray’s childhood enemy

  T’Tom:Traveller, Ta’Mara’s companion.

  T’Waycan:Shaman of Tawshe village where Bray grew up.

  T’Nav:Traveller, aka Tinker

  Ta’Kat:Woman who adopts Bray

  Ta’Lee:Bray’s adopted sister

  Ta’Mara:Bray’s adopted brother’s fiancée

  Ta’Rese:Traveller, Gaylan’s partner

  T’Ang:Ta’Kat’s deceased husband

  T’Gaylan:Traveller, caravan leader

  T’Shawn:Ta’Kat’s son, Bray’s adopted brother

  Cities

  The cities around the lakes are city states. Some are kingdoms and some are run by councils. Each has a wizard from the Council of Wizards which is located in the delta of the Lazy River on an island named Delta. The North Lake cities of Nadia, Arcadia, and Bernadice are all kingdoms with blood ties to Nadia. In addition to wizards, each city has a guild of criminals called Bentmen in addition to the normal population.

  Characters:

  Karack:from Waysley, innkeeper

  Andoo Toran:from Waysley, wizard

  Micka:from Waysley, apprentice to Andoo Toran

  Adel:from Rainbow, Bray’s girlfriend

  Burton:from Rainbow, village headman

  Grandmother Adel:from Rainbow, negotiates with far derrigs

  Aramas:from Nadia, courtier

  Bray:from Nadia, raised as a Tawshe

  Artan:from Nadia, King, and Bray’s uncle

  Verity:from Delta, Master of the wizard’s council.

  Hengle:from Delta, Verity’s servant.

  Sims:from Delta, Bentman, Verity’s assassin

  Waif:from Point, Bentman, assassin

  Captain Iserhan:from Bernadice’s northern fort

  Sergeant Turin:from Bernadice’s northern fort

  Jeroc:from Bakerstown, sabretooth hunter

  Hender:from Marshtown, Bentman, fish-monger

  Gerrig:from Marshtown, merchant

  Sailors

  Transportation of people and goods is mostly handled by ship, and where there are merchants there are also pirates. Although the Battle of Waysley saw most pirates wiped out, there are still a few around.

  Characters:

  Manda:merchant, captain of the Red Witch

  Coran:merchant, Manda’s father, captain of the Seahawk

  Barb:merchan
t, captain of the Black Bell

  Tyhan Door:first mate on the Red Witch

  Sammy:cabin boy on the Black Bell

  Blackheart:pirate, lost his ship at Waysley

  Kent:Blackheart’s right-hand man

  Demons

  The demon world is ruled by the demon Lord, Transgarin. It is a barren and sulphurous environment populated by demons and ogres.

  Characters:

  Transgarin:the Demon Lord

  Rapterron:commander of the demon army

  Sarinson:Ogre, Transgarin’s Beast Master

  Dragons

  Characters:

  Ichaca:guardian of the Sword of Sacrifice

  Milintica:the white dragon

  Faeries

  Characters:

  Clamcraver:Selkie, teaches Adel magic

  Sinty:Nymph, earth elemental

  Garak:Kobolt, sailor on the Black Bell

  Ripper:Goblin, with rounded tusks

  To-rick:Goblin, tribe leader

  Garnock:Gnome, from the top of the world

  Airis:Far Derrig, from the Skyrider village

  Ara:Far Derrig, Tamican’s mother

  Kerrycon:Far Derrig, Tamican’s father

  Rubic:Far Derrig, Tamican’s brother

  Tamican:Far Derrig, from the Skyrider village

  Amadella:Far Derrig, helps save Grandmother Adel

  Chapter 1

  The KaAnian sun blazed in a cloudless sky as Nailmoe reined in his charger at the top of the hill. Below he could see smoke rising from the village. “Pass the word,” he commanded, “we are going down to take a look.”

  He pushed the hood of his cloak back as did the others in the troop. Even through his protective dayskin he could feel the sun’s heat. Mearisdeana believed the KaAn sun had once been weaker and KaAn had been more like the world she had been rescued from by Adamtay and Nailmoe. He found it an enticing thought but one he gave little credence to. The thought of walking outdoors in his nightskin instead of his dayskin caused the muscles across his back to tighten although the memory of swimming in his nightskin with Tyrese, the barmaid from that other world, was one he cherished.

  After travelling through the rift to rescue Mearisdeana, they had been home for a month before rumours of massacres from beyond the mountains had reached the palace. The king had sent a squad to investigate. Only one man returned, wounded, and almost incoherent. He babbled on about monsters.

  Adamtay was touring the kingdom with his bride, and no doubt demonstrating the magical capability of the Sword of Sacrifice, so command of the next patrol fell to Nailmoe. Behind him ranged the men of the Prince’s Own Lancers, men he knew and trusted. They had tracked the devastating attacks through four remote villages, always too late to catch whomever or whatever was performing the atrocities. His men were veterans, but all had balked at the tortures inflicted on the dead they had found, bodies torn apart or crushed by blows from something with enormous strength. Fear entered the men’s hearts, but they were also angered, ready to inflict damage of their own.

  They were less than a bowshot from the village when a screaming woman ran out from between two houses. She was being chased by something from legend. “Ogre,” Nailmoe heard someone say, or perhaps it had been a prayer to an old god. Whatever the thing was, it died from three arrows before it realized the men were there. The next creature raised an alarm before it died. The squad rode into the village and killed several beasts with arrows before the creatures got organized, and a larger monster made its appearance. It sprang from between two building as the bowmen were ranging forward, landed on a man and his charger, taking both to the ground before ripping their bodies apart. The thing started towards them.

  “Lances!” Nailmoe commanded.

  The first line of lancers dropped their points and charged. Bowmen scattered while keeping up a barrage of arrows. The thing sprang over the line of charging lancers, beheading one soldier and taking down two more before the second line hit it. The monster tried to escape but ended up pinned to a building wall by six lances. A ferocious battle saw the rest of the creatures dispatched.

  When Nailmoe approached the large monster, it was still alive. He was surprised to realize he could understand the words it spoke.

  “Come closer creature, I will rip your head off and suck it dry. A fitting treat before I die.”

  “Bring me a lance,” Nailmoe told the closest trooper.

  “You can use your long sticks to kill me, but it will not save you. My master is coming. He wants his crystals, and he will kill everything until he has them. You know what I mean. I can smell the crystals on you. Prepare to suffer, little creature. Your weapons will not save you from Transgarin.”

  The monster laughed as the sergeant presented a lance to Nailmoe who leveled it and jumped his charger forward. The lance entered the creature’s open mouth and silenced its mad laughter.

  Chapter 2

  “Destroyer,” Manda cursed.

  “Did you say something, Captain?” Tyhan asked. When Manda failed to answer, Tyhan was torn with indecision. He knew he could not leave her at the helm for a third night. He had to get through to her. She had shut him out, shut everyone out for close to three days. Three days since he watched her storm down the dock and leap onto the deck. “Get us underway,” she had commanded. No explanation about where Ran was, or why they were leaving without him. Three words ‘get us underway’. Not one more word until now.

  Tyhan knew when she stopped talking that trouble had found them, and not just the storm of thunderheads riding the wind across the sky. The Red Witch responded well that morning, springing away from the dock. She had them under sail before the ship’s bow was centred on open water. Then Manda clung to the wheel, alone, for two and a half days. As the sun was setting this afternoon, she had motioned him to the wheel deck.

  “You should rest, Captain. We reach Delvingford tomorrow.” Tyhan tried to hide the discomfort he felt. Her look told him he had failed.

  “Why, Tyhan, was I not enough?” she asked. Anguish rode her words.

  “Some men have a hunger that is never satisfied, no matter how fine the meal. I fear Ran is such a one.”

  “I believe you see the truth.” Manda did not say more for a while. “I have lost it, Tyhan. My cloak is gone—forever. No man will ever wrap me in another. He sat at the card table. As if I was unknown to him,” she finished after a small silence.

  There was nothing Tyhan could say. If Ran was onboard, he would make his life miserable, but if he was onboard, it would not be necessary.

  “Take the wheel, Tyhan, I would go below.”

  Even exhausted, she walked surely to the steps, down them, and towards her cabin door. He watched her disappear from sight and thanked the Mother she finally sought rest. Tyhan had stood beside her as the Red Witch made its way from Barterville harbour and into the face of the tempest. She had stood mast straight and headed them into the storm front. He watched the rain dance on the lake’s surface as it drew closer, like a wall they would arrow through. The torrent washed over them. It had no effect on her although he witnessed droplets of water running down her face. The Mother’s tears or her own he did not know.

  The next morning after the storm, she had not banned him from the wheel deck; rather, she had failed to approve his approach, preferring to be alone for another day and a half. Now the initial pain was past. Ran was gone. Where, for how long, he did not understand. Manda was alone again. The captain sailed without her cloak.

  It did not surprise him. Tyhan never expected Ran to settle. He was not the settling type. Ran was larger than the life he led, and perhaps that was the problem. Could any man be satisfied when everything was easy? Ran was one to throw himself against the confines of life, to make life bigger for all. Ran was a hero, one of the best fighters of his time. Maybe not the absolute best—history had yet to decide that—but definitely one of the deadliest. How can you expect a man like that to come to the same table ever night, no matter how deliciou
s the feast?

  Chapter 3

  “I expected you would awake this day,” Mara said when his eyes opened. When he struggled to rise, she placed her hand on his arm. “You have been ill, Ran. Rest for now. You are with friends.”

  His head spun, and he fell back to the bed. When his eyes focused again, he was the first to speak.

  “Hello, Ta’Mara.”

  “Hello, Ran. Why so formal? You called me Mara for years. We are friends.”

  “Before—we were friends. Before Shawn died ... because of my arrogance.”

  “We are still tribe at least. When we found you in need, we saved you. That is what tribe does.” She stopped there, changing the topic, getting personal, a hint of their school days returning.

  “You were unbelievable, Ran.” Her voice grew soft. “I have never witnessed one so sick. You have been coughing up bile since we picked you up. Tom says you had run yourself to ground. I say you were close to death, close to destroying yourself from excessive drinking and whatever else you were using. Why?”

  “Because their deaths are on my shoulders, and it is bending my back. I am unable to carry it any—” her slap stopped him, but a stunned expression was his only response. Another example of how much he had changed. She had slapped him often when he was a drooling adolescent. However, if by some miracle, she had managed to slap him after he became a trueman warrior, she would have expected something more than the blank stare she witnessed now.