Tori

Through the slowly deflating clouds the stars shone like multicolored diamonds. The snow glittered just as fiercely, as it crunched under their feet. The young boy cast a pale glance back at the village painted crimson, as it was, against the night sky, and wept.

Fire spread through his skin as he was jerked forward by the rope around his neck. “Quit that howling boy!”

The boy stared ice at the pirate who held his rope, but kept walking. He cursed the pirate for being so fast; every time he lagged, the pirate would jerk him forward by the rope.

He might have been glad for the respite when they reached the ship, but he couldn’t feel enough of himself to care. The Pirates’ leader came out shortly, and they commenced inspecting him, none too gently. The leader, whose name was J’dal, was a well-built elderly man of 62 who spoke through his beard.

At length J’dal started asking him questions: Did he speak the Common Language; How old was he; Did he have any sicknesses…etc. And finally, “What’s your name kid?”

The boy looked at his feet as he said, “I aint got one!”

J’dal looked at the boy almost humorously. “Then let’s hope your next masters don’t give you a bad one, eh?” With that they took the boy below decks.



The boy spent the next few months with J’dal and his pirates, visiting many towns and cities; selling their wares. Whenever they dropped anchor the boy was one of the first ones off the ship; bringing out other cargo, setting up the stall, and doing any other number of things to show off his strength. However, the boy was not sold, and it became increasingly vexing for all involved!

The day was warm when they reached Barreton, a port close to the border in Iralgea, though the clouds were dense. The boy looked out into the city from his crow’s-nest, and took a deep gasp at the sheer size of it. Regaining his composure, he climbed down the rigging to help bring the cargo to port.

The day waxed, and waned. Many things were sold, some were bought, but nowhere among their number was the boy. The boy smiled sweetly to himself; he would not make the pirates any money in this manner!

A man approached the stall as the boy was starting to help take it down. The amount of clothing this man wore was almost ridiculous, and some of the things he wore certainly were! He looked directly at the boy for several moments, studying him. The man looked on the boy’s tousled white hair, his fair features, his large green eyes, his lightly tanned facial skin, and lastly upon the rest of his comparatively small figure. He then turned to J’dal, and said, “Think me, good pirate, that boy is worth a pretty pence! I shall attain him at the price!”

J’dal looked queerly at the strange man. “Name it.”

A smile came over the man. “Ten-thousand, in Emeralds.”

J’dal looked lame-faced at the man for a second, and then he broke a smile too. ”So it shall be, my good fellow! So it shall be! But, you should know, the boy don’t have a name.”

“Ah, by the hairs! They remind me of a bird’s feathers, so, Tori!” The man turned again his eye to the boy. “Are you agreeable to Tori, boy?”

The boy thought for a second. “I never had a real name. I don’t know if it’s good or not, but it's better’n ‘boy’!”

The strange man pulled from the uncountable folds of his clothes, a bag one-quarter the size of Tori and handed it to J’dal saying, “Never have the eyes of Reidr, Governor of Barreton, ever dwelt upon anything as prize as this and spared an expense. Take this payment and rejoice, good pirate, for you have paid me here more than I have paid you! I will not forget it!”

Thus, Reidr and the newly unbound Tori, left the company of J’dal and his pirates. Reidr saying to Tori, “First we’ll take you to the tailor and get you properly clothed. Then…”



The balustrade was stiff under his elbows. The breeze was soft as it fluttered through the smallish trees to greet Tori in his nightly vigil. He looked out into the near-darkness, past the gardens, past the courtyard, past the trees. He looked to the far-away fence wall that was something imposing, even from his distance!

The invisible cicadas chirped to the tempo of the wind as Tori thought of when he first arrived at the Governor’s manor-house. All those ten years ago the high fence wall had unsettled him; rightfully so. But he was not a boor, so he adapted himself to his new life as soon and well as possible. Through his compliance he was useful to the Governor. Through his usefulness he was granted large favor with the Governor, and made head of the manor-slaves before he was even twenty years old.

He was shaken from his thoughts as a young woman entered the study. Tori eyed her with a mirthful gleam. “Lisandra that was brilliant, what you did today!” His face became immediately more dour and grounded. “But, how long do you think I can get away with what I do, when you run around breaking all the few rules I actually enforce? With the damage you do, I am thoroughly impressed that Reidr hasn’t noticed yet!”

She moved the loose, golden strands of cinnamon-scented hair from her face. “An interesting manner of tone for one not much my elder; that you should rebut me while you personally do everything within your power to undermine him smells mildly of hypocrisy!”

“Yes, but my power is large, as to hide all my actions. Your power is to mindlessly cause damage and be far from it, so that there is blame, and it falls upon any other!”

She stared hotly at him. “Then shall I stand nearer, and take all blame? He won’t hurt me!”

“No, he would not hurt you. But he would punish the rest of us harder! At such an incident I would never again hold the power I hold now! And it would a harder world for all of us servants!”

“Then we should escape! Surely you could arrange it!”
He looked stricken for a moment. ”Where would we go? Nailand? They would kill us for being Iralgean!”

Lisandra smiled impishly at him. “We could steal a boat and sail south, to Biars! Or we could join the fight, and win our freedom!”

“Sail!? I’m the only one who’s ever even been on a ship, and that was over ten years ago! Join the fight indeed! And what experience at war do we have?”

“We all have some arms training and what more we would need I’m certain the army would be glad to give us, fore the prospect of a hundred new recruits! Some of which are powerful gladiators.”

He sighed, and fell leaden into an armchair as he sarcastically said, “And we should go down in history: Tori and Lisandra, heroes of the Nailish War! Granted their freedom, and high powers in the court of Iralgea for single-handedly turning a losing war into an Iralgean victory; they went on to free all the slaves in Iralgea, and create a revolutionized government, that developed into world-peace! “

She smiled wryly at him. “Why not, Tori?”

“If I had not been born with hair the color of snow, those words alone would have turned it thus!” He said facetiously.

She turned immediately stiff, and serious. “I was not being playful, I am being honest when I suggest escape. Why shouldn’t we take our chances in a failing world?

He searched her face for a moment. “As you say, the world is failing us. Even with some hundred or so added to their ranks, I doubt our country will live through to end of this war. If we stay here, I believe we could survive for some time!

She looked quizzically at him, and said flatly, “At either case we shall eventually die at Nailish hands. Nice as the gardens are, if I am to leave this world, I would like to see more of it first. Wouldn’t you? ”

Tori thought on this last statement for long, then he sent for several of the other servants, and at their arrival they planned their escape together.



All was quiet, as the group moved phantom-like through the warm night. They aimed themselves down the hill towards the outrageously large encampment before them. Even from their distance of several miles they could smell the sweet iron of blood, and the foul soot of upturned desert sand. A few hours earlier they would have heard the fierce roars of men in discord, also.

Presently the leader of the group called out for them to slow, saying, “Let’s slow our pace a little. I worry that they might be a little jumpy after the battle they just had. Besides, they’ve probably already noticed us and sent out some chevaliers to greet us.”

The group stopped moving altogether when the chevaliers were close. The chevaliers stopped about one-hundred yard away from the large group, and their leader came warily forward. When he was close enough for pleasant conversation, he said, “Which of you represents this group?” while scanning the crowd.

A younger, white-haired man stepped forward. “I, Tori the slave, am the head of this precession.” He looked directly into the eyes of the chevalier, daring him to dispute his claim.

The chevalier returned Tori’s stare in a softer tone. “Interesting for one who looks so young. But that is irrelevant! What is your purpose in approaching this military camp, unannounced?”

“We have hopes to join you in this war, and win our freedom through service to King and country.”

The chevalier softened even more, and nodded. “Then it is well, we have just had an altercation with the Nailish and won but marginally. They may not be much, but what they are, is good fighters! But, I am confused, surely not all of your party is for the war; you have some women among your number.”

Tori adopted a devious grin. “Aye, all of us! Some of these women are the best female-gladiators in the Theatre!”

The chevalier’s eyes went wide. “If, as you say is true, the commander would much pleased for you to join us!”

The chevalier turned his horse around, and rode back to his men. Tori faced his group then said, “We have won entrance! Next, we win script! After that, we win freedom!” Short, but extremely well received was his speech; he had to wait several minutes for them to calm down, before starting them forward!



The inhuman screams, the blinding flashes of sun on steel, the roiling stink of blood and sweat, the heat and weight of plate armor; Lisandra had become accustomed to these things in war, but they still upset her.
She was a fair fighter, she had learned at least that much in the months she had been with the army. It infuriated her then, that every time they engaged the enemy they mocked her, and went easy on her! She had slain many counts of opposing soldiers, simply because they did not guard themselves against her attacks! They were fools! All of them! And her current adversary was no exception. He saw her and stopped, smiling, to say some rebut about her being on the battlefield; before he could utter even a single word, Lisandra’s steel was through him, and his smile was no longer very sweet!

She cursed herself, her sword was stuck in his body! She simply took his sword, marking where his body and her sword was, and moved to the next foe-man.

This next foe-man, she thought would be just the same. However, he had seen her take his comrade with no hesitation. So, being not a boor, he did not hesitate either! His purpose was clear, so were his actions, for this very reason he gave her one of the hardest fights she had had yet. But in the end, he lost that duel mortally.

His death was not fruitless though, for it gave another of his comrades the chance to wound her the same.

She was kneeling, though not of her own volition. Blood and sweat sheeted down into her eyes. Her armor weighed her down. She saw him coming at her sidelong, but she could not move fast enough to stop him. :-

Tori did not see it fully, but he could feel it; he definitely heard the reaction of it, in the Iralgean men and the foe-men. Lisandra, the best female warrior in the 5th Eastern Battalion had fallen. He did not have time to feel, or think anything about it. The only thing he had time to do was decide how to end this battle.

The man that had felled Lisandra was, coincidentally, the commander of the Nailish force that was opposing them. He was a strong man, smart too, and very good with his weapon. He passed through the Iralgean ranks destroying all of his enemies in his way, and heartening all of his own warriors to victory.

Tori had had enough! He grabbed the Iralgean standard from the flag-boy, and yelled into mass of fighting, “Men and women of fighting Iralgea, why do you cower at this enemy!? Follow me! Avenge the Battle-maiden! And show these Nailish dogs where they should lay!”

With those words, Tori leaped into the path of the Nailish commander. The battle stopped, as this unknown took off his glove and hurled at the feet of the commander. The commander looked at the glove, then bent gracefully to pick it up. When he stood again erect, he said, “Let us have some sport! There is time enough to deal with these Iralgean fools later the day. For now, clear us space!”
Everyone quitted the fighting, and gathered in a broad ring about Tori and the Nailish. The commander spoke so only Tori could hear him. “Who is this that challenges Xi’an, commander of the Nailand’s Eastern army?”

Tori smiled, and spoke with a proud voice. “I am Tori, the slave!”

Xi’an narrowed his eyes at Tori. “Well, Tori the slave, tell me this before we duel; why does your hair have white spots? Are you so afraid that the color has started to desert your hair?”

Tori renewed his smile with a vengeance. “Are all the Nailish so dull-witted, as this? My hair, good sir, is white from the day of my birth! It is, now, spotted red with the blood of your fighting men!”

All of a sudden, Tori’s whole visage took on a more ghoulish, and malevolent light. His eyes looked darker, his fore-head more prominent, his teeth deceptively longer. Many of the men on both sides became frightened, believing they were in the presence of a demon! Seeing none of this Xi’an said, “Come! We fight!”

It was two hours, when Tori, still holding the Iralgean standard, stood over the Nailish commander Xi’an, victorious. As he pulled his steel from Xi’an’s mortal wound, it scraped against the latter’s armor, creating a horrible peal that signified the doom that would surely befall any of Tori’s foes. So, being of this mind, many of the Nailish dropped their weapons in defeat.

The rest of the Nailish forces were soon forced to surrender, for their hearts were no longer in the fight.

Thus Tori stopped the Nailish eastern campaign, freeing the Eastern Iralgean forces to join the Western, and win the war. That battle and Tori's duel went down in history as The Battle Of The Heavens because of the awe-inspiring sword-play of Tori and Xi'an.


Tori hated having to coil his hair so tightly, just so he could use a hair-pick to make sure his hilariously tall hat did not fall off! He stood in front of the burnished, body-length mirror. He liked the new clothes,with their many vibrant colors and patterns, and their airiness, and their lightness. And he liked his new quarters, filled with thick cloth tapestries, and many rugs, and much furniture, and many large windows, and even a balcony! And he liked how they smelled of rubbed sandalwood, and how, when he closed the light silk garter curtains, the light of his windows became a kaleidoscope of colors, and in those times his apartments looked even more richly colored.

But, his lead-glass windows were open, and the curtains tied off. A strong breeze hurried through his rooms, upsetting the hanging-cloths and desk-papers alike. It carried with it the thought of rain, and the light, sweet undercurrents of the cherry trees that were flowering just outside his windows. Forgetting his image, he went to windows to see day outside closer.

The clouds lay all over the sky, as a heavenly sea of malcontent, and dark they were also. But the day was not cold, yes, it was comfortably warm. And there was a gale blowing that mildly disturbed every tree in his sight, that their slips of petals were shaken fully through the air. And there the young man of 23 years, with vibrant green eyes, and almost six feet's stature, and strong muscles, and handsome features, and hair the color of fresh-fallen snow, thought of the day he had first seen the man who now prosecuted him.

His thought were interrupted when his close friend opened the over-sized double doors that permitted entrance to his apartments. "Tori, what are you lolling about here for? If we are to be present at Learis's court on time, we must leave soon!"

Tori vaguely formed a sad half-smile. "Yes, Ciun, we shall give Reidr all the accounting we can."

They left the manor, and headed up to the palace-courts of king Learis, in Tergeul, the capital city of Iralgea.

When they reached the palace Tori was glad that he had the foresight to close his windows before he left, for it was raining quite heavily as they arrived! Tori and Ciun walked through the many marble-pillared hallways, to The Magisterial Inner Law-Court.

As they walked through the doors Tori noted all he could about the room; it was not as large as the king's public courts, but it was still something impressive! It was arranged quite strangely, the room was centred around the raised dais in the middle of the room where the king sat, at the head of the room were two rostrums facing the dais, at the rear of the room were the rows of benches for nobles and peers and those specifically invited by the king himself; there were three entrances to the room; two on either side of the king's dais, and one at the rear of the room. Tori and Ciun entered through the doorway on the right of the king. The walls were very intricately carved brass facades. The room was mildly dark, being lighted only by three chandeliers, one over each rostrum, the last over the king's dais.

The Magisterial Inner Law-Court was the farthest underground room in the entire palace, and the least used. Thus, it was very cold, and the air quite stale; having a small hint of mold. But, there it was that Reidr brought his grievances against Tori, and Learis, and the Iralgean Commander who had signed Tori's script; as was proper tradition.

Reidr’s grievance was that, he believed that Tori still belonged to him, and that Learis should pay him damages for improperly freeing his slave, because the script that Tori received was invalid as Tori did not have his permission to join the army. And that the Commander should lose his position for issuing illegal scripts, and that he should also be charged with a debt to Reidr for giving scripts to rest of his escaped slaves. And his final movement was that, all of Tori's titles and possessions should be defaulted to him, and a fine be applied to Tori for having stolen his property by helping the other slaves escape.

Tori refuted Reidr's claims, and counter-offered that Reidr should lose his position as Governor of Barreton, because he was "a fancifully boorish degenerate, who fairly ignored his subjects save to collect taxes!" and also, "If he is lax minded enough to let his entire host of slaves escape, then surely he is not properly adequate to the task of protecting the king's citizens, or enforcing his majesty's laws!"

Tori also stated, "The Commander's scripts are not, and cannot be invalid! For, they are a contract binding one to the service of the king in his army, second in their power only to the king himself! To attain script is to be conscripted! Thus, Reidr has no room to doubt their validity. Furthermore, my freedom is perfectly applicable! It was not gained as a price of completed script! It was gained because I proved so valorous in my service, so loyal to my king, so instrumental to the victory that has been ours, and of such military prowess, that, to continue to call me servant to a man other that our king would be tarnish upon our great country! Thus I am free! Thus neither king nor commander owe Reidr recompense! Thus Reidr should not be allowed to preside over any host of men!"

Learis, King of Iralgea, heard all this, and could not decide how to rule on this, so he turned to the audience and picked thirty-three of their number to fairly decide this matter for them all. Twenty-seven of this number were men, five were women.

This congregate jury was, until then, fairly unprecedented! So, while most of them were of good wit, it took about three hours to reach their decision. A navy captain, who was picked to be in their group, was chosen as the spokesman because he was the highest ranked of the group. Thus he spoke, at the end of their deliberations, "We, this unnatural 'jury', are finished with our thoughts. We believe that Tori is as rightfully free, as any else who stands in these chambers! We believe also, that neither the commander, nor you, King Learis, could be at fault for acting under Royal Diction. We do not, however, believe it to be our place to tell your majesty how to deal with Reidr! We do believe that Tori should pay Reidr in recompense for all slaves that were destroyed before being awarded their freedom, as they were still Reidr's property then, and Tori effectually stole them."

King Learis took a few moments to think about these words, then, "I find these thoughts just, they shall be so. As for Reidr, you shall keep your station, but I will be watching you. And Tori, I must ask, do you remember what price Reidr purchased you for?"

Tori thought all he could, but, "I cannot, King."

"Reidr, then, can you remember the price you bought Tori for?"

Reidr took no time in answering. "Exactly nine-thousand, in emeralds!"

The King had an appreciative look on his face. "Then this shall be the debt owed. Tori, you may pay it outright, or you may work the debt off. But, before I ask for your decision of payment, I have decided that you have not been properly rewarded for your service to this country! So, for the sake of not disgracing this court, I award you the highest title one might gain through military service; You are now, Tori Of Iralgea! As such, you are now entitled the Versette Estate; which is several measures South-by-East of Tergeul; and all of its holdings, which are many.

"You must now decide your payment. If you cannot pay currently, and you will not serve under Reidr, you may be escorted to your estate along with Reidr, to attempt payment with any means on the property. Or you may serve a jail sentence, until both King, and Debt-holder are satisfied."

Tori trusted the King, and he fully perceived the out he had been given, but, he was still a little wary. After a few moments his smarter senses took over. "I cannot pay in the required format, and I will not serve under Reidr. Shamefully, I would see what I could attempt at my property."

The King looked to Reidr. "Is this amenable to you, Reidr?"

Reidr was visibly fuming, but he saw the futility of it, and hotly answered, "It is!"

The King turned to the young page, who sat at the foot of his dais. "Fair page, go and draft a squadron of court-guards to escort us!"



The last few drops of rain were splattering themselves upon the ground, but the clouds that engulfed the sky had only gotten darker. It was still comfortably warm, and here the small gales brought the smells of apple and pear trees, and lilac bushes, and early-blooming fragrant roses, as well as cherry trees. The manor-house before them was amazingly large, not as big as any palace though, and stunningly handsome. The gardens they had entered through had been even more impressive than the manor-house.

They walked through the grand marble door-arch, and past the giant carved maple doors, to the resplendent entryway. There they stopped, with Tori in the lead. Tori turned to the King, "Forgive me, I would look first in the treasury, but I do not know where it is."

The King smiled, and led them to it. He had all the guards wait outside the room, so that only Tori, Reidr, and the king were present inside the room. He then waited for Tori to gather the necessary payment. When Tori had all that was necessary, the King appraised it, and deeming it proper, handed to Reidr declaring the grievance fulfilled.

Reidr had tamed his outward emotions before accepting the payment, though, it was doubtless he was still inwardly raging as he left.

King Learis looked full upon Tori, and studied him for some time. "You are still quite young, and even so, you have done and been rewarded more that most men will in their entire lives! I wonder what things you will do next, but understand, if you are not wary you will not live long enough to do those next things! Be careful."



The vibrant turf was soft under him. The air was dead, save for the stark chirping of grasshoppers. The stars colored the night sky fiercely, in their strange heavenly dance. Squirrels and their ilk rustled noiselessly through the boughs of not-too-distant trees. The strong earthy smells of late summer grass, and spices from the nearby garden suffused everything. All that was visible was draped in the ethereal radiance cast from the full Moon who orbited magnificently, overhead.

Tori lay there silently watching the Moon, enjoying the night for it's company, and thinking his own thoughts. He had been laying there for several hours, and he would have simply slept there, but he didn't want to get his clothes too dirty. He lay there for a few minutes more, then got up and stumbled through the gardens towards his home; Tori became quite dizzy, and tired if he spent any amount of time flat upon his back.

He ambled through the many and vast halls of his home, towards his bedchamber. When he reached his bedchamber he disrobed, then crawled into his bed. Propped up upon his many pillows, he fell promptly and soundly asleep.

The group of darkly clothed men followed silently and slowly, as their leader took them through the manor to their quarrel. As they moved through the hallways they noticed the strong smell of incense. Only their leader properly comprehended the irony of the fact that, the type of incense that pervaded their nostrils is only burned in remembrance of the dead.

As the maligned group entered his chamber, the grand doors did the one thing they had hoped they would not, they creaked....

Tori immediately threw his eyes open, and carefully reached for the short-sword under his pillows, making his movements look like a simple shift of the restless. He narrowed his eyes until one could not tell they were open, and he listened very thoroughly.

Tori saw very clearly the man who stepped in front of him, and the steel this man held at the ready, and waited no longer to find his intentions. Tori swung his steel as hard as he could into the side of the man in front of him, cutting this man fully in twain!

Tori jumped to his feet, and roared his challenge to the remaining four men! The two nearest men rushed him. He quickly slew one, and fully impaired the other, then sped off in search of the other two, who had escaped during his altercation.

Tori saw the men running pell-mell not fifty yards in front of him. He yelled to them, that they had damn well better run faster than that if they were to escape his wrath at their attempted assassination!
One of the shadowed perpetrators tripped and fell. He got back to his feet, and started running as soon as he could, but he was not fast enough. Tori’s thrust his sword fully through the man’s chest without breaking stride. The last man’s escape was almost immediately arrested by the guards, who had been awakened by the great din Tori had been making.



The air was heavy, and stale, having been trapped in the same room for years uncounted. The silence was palpable. It was as if the entire room was laid under a giant bear, that none wished to disturb. The light was still muted, and sparse, from the three chandeliers that produced it. Now, though, Tori stood behind the opposite rostrum.

King Learis was the first person to break the dead silence. “Tori, you would take it so far as to be dealt with in this my most reserved court. So, state here, for official record, your grievance.”

Tori stared with open contempt at Reidr, across the aisle, then turned to the King and spoke. “This,” he pointed, none too discreetly, at Reidr. “‘man’ has openly defied your highness, and myself! Not one week past, five assassins broke into my house in the dead of night, for the sole purpose of disposing of myself. Obviously, they were unsuccessful. However, I did not slay all of them! I kept one alive, their leader, and after some coercing he told me a story that i thought you might also like to hear.

“This leader of assassins said, his very self, that the man who hired him was Reidr! And I have him here in the back room, that your highness may talk to man yourself. Unless he’s already been killed, in which case, I don’t think you’ll really need to ask those questions anymore!”

King Learis was purely shocked by time Tori finished, he knew that Tori had something hard against Reidr, but, he hadn’t heard this much of it until now! “Reidr, what say you to these claims?”

Reidr had looked somewhat pale since Tori had said that he had not killed all the assassins, but now he was a shade purple as well! “I dispute them! Being a member of the Gentry, I am fully aware that I am entitled to challenge any other member to a duel, if I have grievance with them! I am also keenly aware of the penalty for assassination, attempted, or successful! Never to mention the fact that, having been paid in full, I longer have any reason to be against Tori; however rude he may be!”

Tori was quite hot after that! He turned full to King Learis, and brashly said, “King, let me bring this assassin out, that we can hear from his own lips the story that he tells!”

The King narrowed his eyes at Tori with unspoken implications. “Very well Tori Of Iralgea, be quick.”

Tori left immediately to the wall at the head of the room, where hung a great tapestry. He moved a portion of it aside, and entered through the small portal to a storage room.

He returned through this portal with his hand firmly gripped around the upper arm of a large, relatively well proportioned man, who had a very impressive scar trailing down the left side of his face.

Tori presented this bound man to the king, saying, “This is the scoundrel!”

King Learis looked upon the man. “Well? If you have some peace speak it!”

The man gave himself a ghastly smile. “I ain’t sayin’ nothin’ then, or now, an’ you c’n….

Tori struck the man full in the face, interrupting him mid-sentence. “Fool! You may be in the presence of better men, but you will be sorrily mistaken if you believe yourself to be any safer here than you were in my dungeon! Now tell the good King the things you have told me!”

The man’s eyes went wide, and his face slack-jawed. Tori threatened him with his fist again. “No! Awright I’ll say! I’ll say!” He shakily motioned towards Reidr. “Im’ he comes to me in a tavern on the seedy-side, next town over, by Jaers! He says to me, ‘Do I presume correctly that you are some level of night-character,’ like some kind of stiff! An’ I am, so’s he says he’s got a job for me an’ best part is, all’s I got to do is find a way in, and lead some men to the end of some sleeping bloke! Hands me a fat bag of loot and gets a blood-oath out of me, then he tells me m’ target is freakin Tori Of Iralgea and I better get it right or he won’t even have to worry about dealin’ with me!”



Reidr was arrested on the spot; at the behest of the public at large, and with generous heading by Tori himself, slavery was made illegal and all slaves set free. The people then lived in unrivaled prosperity, until the next war arose….