After wiping off the royal family of Nehoviah from the surface of the earth, Kyron and his men ventured into endless days of journey to return back to Galvestone.
There would be pauses in between the journey, and they would camp in the wilderness, their tents spreading out.
It has been three days since Kyron departed from Nehoviah, along with his remaining men, five thousand solid soldiers.
Before they departed from Nehoviah, they had taken spoils for themselves; they raided the villages and raped the women, took some of the children as slaves, and killed the husbands of a lot of women. They left Nehoviah in ruins.
Today was one of the nights Kyron and his men laid out their tents. It was a starless night, yet they made merry, drinking to stupor, eating wild meat, and taking delight in satisfying their pleasure by exploiting some of the women they had taken along with them from Nehoviah.
The soldiers sat in groups around a fire, roasting dead animals plunged with a stick and set in the fire to cook. The aroma of rabbit skin cooking filled the air, there was enough drink to go round, and some men were already staggering in a drunken state.
Kyron was seated inside his huge tent, his moody face a bit cheerful. Of course he would have liked to join his men and celebrate, but he wasn't a fool. Getting drunk outside of the walls of Galvestone could prove fatal.
He was seated in front of a wooden desk going through some letters, his hawk eyes glancing through them, when one of his men, Lucan, came in.
Lucan was one of Kyron's royal advisors. A man in his late thirties, with dark hair, blue eyes, a masculine structure, and a carefree attitude.
"You overwork yourself, Kyron." Lucan said, bringing a wine bag to his lips, he drank from it, then fixed his eyes on his master.
"Get lost, Lucan; I do not need disturbance." Kyron said with a gruff tone, his eyes not breaking away from the letters he was scanning through. He took out a blank scroll from the bottom drawer of his desk.
"There is a red-haired bitch prepared for you, with a pecky breast and…" Lucan burped; he has had too much to drink.
"You all can have her tonight; I am busy." Kyron said, itching his black and gray beard. He brought out a feather quill, dabbed it in an ink bottle, and then began to write on the blank scroll.
Seeing that his master was insistent on not joining in the celebration, Lucan groaned tiredly.
"The rest of the men want their share of the bag of coins; they grow impatient with each passing minute."
"Then they will learn to be patient the hard way." Kyron said nonchalantly, the quill in his left hand moving from left to right on the scroll. He had a horrible handwriting, but it was still readable.
Lucan dropped the wine bag in his hands at a corner in the huge tent.
"At least give Fray his share; he did marvelously on the battlefield. A lot of soldiers fell by his sword." Lucan said, inching closer, his worn-out boots dragging along the carpet floor.
Kyron was silent for a while, then he finally dropped the ink pen in his hands and raised his gaze. Crossing both his hands on the table, he glared at Lucan.
"If you weren't one of my valuable men, I would have gotten rid of you long ago. Your mouth is like a flowing river; it never stops moving!
Kyron said and then pinched the bridge of his nose. Lucan shrugged lightly.
"I only speak the truth; I didn't mean to sour your mood. Let's change the topic then. When are we setting off tomorrow?"
Lucan asked, taking hold of a dagger on another table at the corner of the tent. The blade of the dagger had intricate designs, very rare. He allowed his thumb to trace the edge of the blade while waiting for Kyron to answer his question.
"Before the sun rises fully, I want us to be in Galvestone by nightfall." Kyron said after thinking for a while, his fingers drumming on the desk.
"That's nearly impossible; it takes two days to get to Galvestone from here, unless you are insinuating we don't get to rest throughout the journey." Lucan creased his brows; he fixed his gaze on Kyron, his face emotionless.
He got the message just by scanning his face.
"You will have us march under the blazing sun until nightfall, and you didn't inform the men?" Lucan arched his brows in realization.
"Do you still feel like making merry all night?" Kyron asked, rubbing his palms together; a mocking smile tugged on his lips.
"Get some rest; we have a long day ahead of us." He said, pushing the chair he was sitting on backwards, he steadily rose to his feet; his protruding stomach came into view.
Kyron opened the bottom drawer and brought out a bag filled with coins, then threw it at Lucan.
Lucan staggered back, his eyes fixed on the bag of coins flying towards him; he caught it midair, a bright smile plastered on his face.
"That should keep your running mouth shut for a while. No one must know about it, or else I will cut your tongue and shove it down your throat." Kyron threatened; he moved away from his desk, walking across the tent to a table where a jar of wine was placed with a brass cup beside it.
"I give you my word, not a soul will hear of it." Lucan was greatly pleased.
Kyron picked up the brass cup beside the jug filled with wine.
"Bring the red-haired bitch to my tent." He said, pouring himself wine.
Lucan smiled knowingly.
"There are two of them, one with a pecky breast and the other with a…" Lucan wanted to enlighten him, but Kyron grew irritated.
"For heaven's sake, just bring a woman I can fuck." He said and then took a sip from his wine.
Lucan nodded and then quickly scurried out of the tent.
"I don't even know why I keep this fool around." Kyron grumbled to himself before emptying the cup of wine in his hand.
There were men seated around a fire talking loudly; they were so absorbed in their discussion they didn't know when Lucan sneaked up behind them with a can of water. He poured it on the fire, and it extinguished.
"You little cunt!
A man spat out when he turned around and saw it was Lucan.
"Get back in your tent and get some rest; you will need all your strength conserved for the journey tomorrow." Lucan said and then started walking away.
The men began to grumble.
"Kyron must have filled his pockets with coins, cocky bastard." They all began to lay curses on him.
"Tonight I will have one of his men bang me from behind, his favorite…Danro." A man said, and Lucan halted in his tracks.
It was no secret that Lucan had unnatural affection for his fellow men. He was ashamed of it and tried to get over it. But when one of the soldiers said it out in the open, it really brought out the devil in him he had been trying to hide.
Lucan turned around and began to make his way to the man who uttered those words.
The man who had uttered those words said it playfully; he didn't mean any harm, but Lucan took it personally. He walked up to the man and punched him in the face.
"How dare you talk about me like that?!
The man groaned, feeling his facial bone snap under the weight of Lucan's fist.
Kyron was still in his tent; the red-haired woman had already been brought to him and was already stripped naked. She made her way to where the wine was and lifted it up from the table; she took a brass cup and was about to pour some wine for herself….
"Get your filthy hands off my wine." Kyron said in a dreaded tone. The red-haired woman was mesmerized.
"I am only trying to lighten the mood." She said, quickly placing the jug of wine and the cup back on the table.
"You mean to say lighten your mood." Kyron snapped, emphasizing the word "your."
"Don't try and get yourself killed over some expensive wine; come and sit on my lap." Kyron's voice echoed from where he was seated on the edge of his bed.
The red-haired lady was afraid of him; she trembled. Inside the tent was lit up with oil lamps, and Kyron could see the fear in her eyes.
Just then loud noises from the background began to pierce the air. Kyron creased his brows; he fastened the rope of the nightrobe he was wearing and then strolled outside his tent.
When Kyron stepped outside his tent, he stood at the entrance of the tent; for all he cared, there could be an intruder in the camping ground. But that was not the case; when he gazed ahead, he was baffled to see Lucan beating up a soldier.
The soldier already had a broken nose oozing out blood; the other men gathered around but didn't try to stop the fight. They were afraid of Lucan; he was the closest to Kyron, and offending him could prove foolish.
"Lucan!
Kyron called out, with clenched jaws from where he stood.
Lucan was sweating profusely, his fist smeared with blood. He lets the man go, then straightens up, wiping his hand on his clothes.
"How is that for being stupid?! Lucan muttered, trying to catch his breath; he wiped his sweat and then turned around only to lock gaze with his master… His eyes were red with anger.
Kyron made his way to where Lucan was; he seized Lucan by the collar of his shirt, then pulled the lad towards himself.
"I put you in charge because I thought you were sensible enough to understand the ethics of brotherhood." Kyron said with gritted teeth, Lucan was literally choking, trying to gasp for breath.
"He crossed the limit." Lucan pressed the words out breathlessly.
"You also cross your limits sometimes. Do I try to kill you in order to knock some sense into your brainless head?!
If we become divided, then the enemies can succeed against us…you fool!
Kyron screamed, pushing Lucan away. Lucan's breath was unsteady; he felt a lump in his throat as he lowered his gaze.
"You always like to get ahead of yourself. You have lost your favor in my eyes; I strip you from the position of my royal advisor." Kyron said, and Lucan's eyes widened.
"You can't do that…please."
Lucan said, trying to go after his master, who was already walking away.
"Stay away from me, you bloody lich!
Kyron shot back, and Lucan was gripped with fear.
"Take that soldier inside and get him treated; we need all the men we have…healthy and ready to draw blood if an enemy should attack." Kyron added.
"There is no herbalist amongst us; those knowledgeable in the field of drugs died on the battlefield." A man among the crowd that had gathered said, and Kyron massages his temples.
"The red-haired lady…the one I brought to your chamber. She is skilled in herbal medicine; she treated some wounded soldiers." Lucan stuttered, his throat dried.
"Send for her then, and have her minister to the soldiers before it is too late." Kyron said, gazing at the injured soldier, and then he turned to look at Lucan.
"Pray to the gods he survives; if he dies, I will gladly see to it that you join him—a life…for a life!