The Plot

Sitting alone, by the fireplace in his drawing room, gulping down one glass of wine after another, Rugera Rugis was a fearfully bitter man.  Fortune had done anything but smile on him for many years now. He had been born a child of privilege to a family of wealth and power, but had seen nothing but bad circumstance and sorrow as the years progressed. Now, his view was bleak and he blamed the war and the people of the north-lands for his situation. He blamed, most especially, Ana, Bjorn and above all Melki. And, he had decided he would have his revenge against all of them.1

As a child, he had been a friend to all of them. Bjorn and he had gone off hunting and fishing, along with Korok and whatever his parents had given him; he shared with Bjorn and Korok. By the time Bjorn and Korok had gone to market together, Bjorn for his first time, he had a significant amount to spend, all from Rugera’s allowance. Rugera had befriended Ana and Melki while they were nothing but urchins running wild in the market. He had taken them food, clothes and even books to read. He had taught both of them to read. They had him to thank for their education. Though his mother had scolded him for keeping the company of such as them, he had loved to be included in their adventures. He thought highly of Melki’s cunning and of Ana’s. Her magic and her unruly nature was something he envied and wished he could possess. And, he had developed a deep crush on Ana, thinking that one day they would together, when he inherited his father’s property and position. Knowing she and Melki were the last of a heritage of their elfin ancestry, he believed it was his destiny to take the princess of royal blood for a wife and Ana was such a girl. But, such was not to be the case and his life had begun to fall apart with the war.2

At first things had gone well. The demand for timber gave his father contracts to fill and people coming north from the province of Sudra; needing jobs gave him workers who would toil for low wages in exchange for a place to build a home for their families and food to eat while they put in their first crops. This the Rugis clan provided asking only that the families share crop the land and give them part of their crops in payment. To the north, the clan Rogin, had the same offering, but the people seemed devoted to the master of the Rugis estate and worked hard to build a small settlement and bring in a bountiful crop. All that ended when the Kensen came in the first years of the war and many fled, leaving the crops unattended, timber uncut and their farms to fall apart, in exchange for the plantation to the north, where the Kensen could not penetrate in their raids. From that day forward things had gone bad. The crop had been stolen that year by the Kensen raiders and even though the Lord of the Rogin estate had come to the rescue with his men, driving the Kensen bandits away, and all the profit had been lost. Lord Rogin had offered to lend Rugera’s father funds to rebuild, but his pride was such that he would not allow himself to take it. That pride would be his downfall. 3

When the people left the land and the crops were lost, the Rugis clan could not make the payments on their war taxes. A fire had burned up a part of the forest land that year as well, and more had been lost. Having nothing to offer to the war effort but the land itself, Rugera’s father had to sell some of his land to the Lord of the Rogin clan. The sovereign of Nartac had demanded more to cover the cost of the war taxes and taken more land, including some of the best timber property the Rugis clan had. Unable to recover, the family had been reduced to toiling in the soil to raise their own vegetables and cutting timber along with their slaves to break even. Rugera’s father was a broken man and died nearly penniless, destroyed by bad fortune. His mother soon followed her husband, spending the last of her days in a with drawn state, regardless of what Rugera tried to do to bring her out of it and he was left alone, a bitter young man with few friends, save a small faction of loyal workers and little to show for his life’s work. Though the last few years things had picked up, with the war ending and the fortunes of the new empire of the north affecting everyone, he was hardly a man of power such as his family had once known and Melki was now heir to the largest estate in the Northern Province. And, he had married the Lady Lashir, who all men longed for, but none so much as he, since the day he had first laid his eyes upon her. The tall beauty inspired such jealousy in him that his one time love for Ana was dwarfed. Seeing Melki with her, knowing he had grown up a ragged animal in the streets of Quanx made his blood boil. Still, there was Ana and he believed he would one day marry her and then Melki and he would be equals.4

All that had ended when Ana came to the reserve one day to see Bjorn, after meeting him in the market place in the settler’s village. She had instantly fallen in love with the gentle warrior and the two of them had become inseparable. Rugera’s hatred now knew no bounds. Not only had Melki come to acquire all the wealth of the Rogin clan and the blessings of the Lord of the Northern Province, but Ana had married a commoner as well. When Rugera learned that Bjorn had been named heir to the Lord Maltac, he knew the God’s had conspired against him. No one could have such bad luck unless there was some sort of divine inspiration for it. He felt betrayed, his hatred for his former friends and their good fortunes making him ever bitterer. Where were they, with their good luck and new wealth when he needed them? Had they forgotten who had befriended them and given so much of himself when they were nothing? How could they allow him to grovel before them this way? They must surely be enjoying it, he decided. Well, they would learn that he was not to be tossed aside like that. He had plans and he would get revenge on the cruel fates that had been cast him and the lot of them would suffer for a change.5

Rugera started to get another drink. Then, a knock at the door brought him to his senses. He went to the door and opened it just a crack, nodding his head and opening it further. In came three men, in dark robes, their faces hidden in the shadows. He pointed to the table by the fire place and the bottle of wine and glasses and the men all helped themselves to a chalice. Rugera poured himself more wine and settled in the chair across from the leader of the three. He wasted no pleasantries on the three, but got right to the point. “I have a proposition to make of you men.” He waited until all had drunk and then continued. “I know you are trapped here in the north-lands and are on the run. You were left behind by the Kensen when they pulled out of the sea. All you mercenaries who came to fight along side them were.” The men nodded in agreement and poured more wine for themselves. “Now, here is my proposition.” He eyed the leader. “I have lost much because of the Kensen. My family lost property and my parents both died as a result of the war. I have lost most of my fortune and a good section of my land. It’s occupied by the very men who saw to it that you are renegades this day. The rangers of the Sudren Navy and of Nartac have taken up residence on my family’s land and I want it back. You men need money to return to the grass sea and I know where you can get it”.
Now, the men became attentive. “There is a considerable fortune in the caverns of the estate of Bjorn Maltac, given him by the sovereign of Nartac for saving his niece, the Lady Lashir. I know it was you men who engineered that failed attempt to take the caravan which brought her here. Maltac was responsible for seeing that the attempt failed and he was richly rewarded. If you return my lands to me, you can kill all the rangers and have the reward for yourself. I want only the land they now live on. And, the families of the rangers are not to be hurt. I will need slaves to work the land when it is returned to me. And, Maltac must die defending his lady, Ana. I want it to appear he died in such a way to bring honor to his name.”6

The leader of the three men sat up and pushed off his hood. His sallow skin and bleary, slanted eyes could be mistaken by no one. The three men were obviously Kensen. “Why should we do this for you, Rugera?” He slipped his hand down to a dagger. “You have told us where we can get the gold we need to buy our way back into the Kensen empire. And, you have told us how to go about it. We could simply slip down to the estate and take it. And, we could kill you right here and now.” He began to rise, but Rugera was faster, bringing up a small crossbow, aiming it at the man.7

“Make no mistake sir; I will kill you before you can even think of doing so. I don’t fear you mercenaries.” This was no idle boast on Rugera’s part. He had gone to war with the rest of the men on his father’s property and had served well. He had lost three fingers from his right hand and part of one ear in the war and he limped from a painful injury to his left leg. But, he was fearless, having survived this far. He would not have any low life mercenary threaten him. “I hate Kensen as much as any Nartac citizen and that means I would have no compunction in killing all of you right here and now.”8

“The leader started forward. “With that one crossbow, I think not.” He gestured and the other two men began to stand. But, Rugera coolly lifted the cross bow towards the ceiling, smiling.
“Before you try anything, look above you. You see those three balls?” He pointed to three metallic spheres. “Those are filled with a flammable explosive. I only have to touch this trigger and all of them will come down on your heads. “If you even attempt to move, I will do so. I don’t need you three. There are other mercenaries in the woods and any three will do as well. You have men at your disposal and it would be an obstacle for me to have to hunt others down, but I could. So, if you want to share in this little mission of mine, you will do as I say. I have men stationed outside who will gladly kill you and your followers, if you decide to betray me.” He smirked. “I am not a fool, sir and I will not be trifled with.”9

The men settled back into their chairs. The leader leaned back and smiled. “I like you Rugera; you have a rare form of courage and no morality to interfere. Very well, I accept your terms.” He sipped at another glass of wine. “But, let me make one thing clear. I have hundreds of men out there in the woods. All of us were left behind by the Kensen when they deserted the Gulem. I hate the Kensen Empire as much as you do. And, if this Maltac is responsible for stopping the attack on the caravan, as you say, he killed several of my best warriors and my own brother. For this I would kill him without the reward.” He laughed. “But, I suppose you didn’t think of that. Still, I’ll have the reward money and if you interfere with me, I’ll kill you as quickly as I would any other. I have survived by being totally ruthless and I intend to survive a good while longer, so don’t think you have the upper hand. You just be ready with the information I will need to carry out this mission of yours and I will do so. And, the reward had better be there when I do, or your next act should be to find a good place to hide.” 10

With that the three men rose and exited the door. Rugera went to the window and watched. No one had seen them enter or leave, thankfully. If anyone suspected he had been in contact with mercenaries of the Kensen he’d be executed. But, soon enough, it would not matter. When the rangers were dead and Bjorn gone, he’d have all the slaves he needed. The women would need homes for themselves and their children and Ana would need comforting and a provider when Bjorn was gone. This was working out too well. When the mercenaries had what they wanted, they’d be gone back to the grass sea with enough gold to buy land for all of them. Then, he would work slowly and regain his wealth. And, he would become a powerful man. Melki would one day wish he had remembered Rugera. One day, he thought, I will be powerful again.