{"id":124,"date":"2012-05-29T14:55:07","date_gmt":"2012-05-29T18:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=124"},"modified":"2012-06-01T12:41:14","modified_gmt":"2012-06-01T16:41:14","slug":"zervakan-free-fantasy-novel-chapter-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=124","title":{"rendered":"ZERVAKAN – Free Fantasy Novel – Chapter 14"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"\"<\/a>
Cover by TJ Lomas.<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\n[Sorry this one is late. Holiday weekend, and all. :-)]<\/p>\n

I’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan<\/a> above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling\/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me at robsteiner01 [at] gmail [dot] com.<\/p>\n

If you’re uncomfortable getting something for nothing, you can hit the PayPal Donate<\/a> button in the Tip Jar section to the right. If you donate more than $3, I’ll send you a non-DRM ebook once the book is published (summer 2012). If you donate more than $20, I’ll send you a printed copy.<\/p>\n

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ZERVAKAN<\/h1>\n

by Rob Steiner<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 14<\/h2>\n

Karak sat in his carriage watching the cargo ship Hutina<\/em> float toward a deepwater stone pier at Yaro Docks.\u00c2\u00a0 The time was close to midnight, so gas lamps hung on hooks above the pier, providing the four longshoremen with enough light to gather the Hutina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em> lines.\u00c2\u00a0 The longshoremen securely tied the ship to the dock within a minute.\u00c2\u00a0 As soon as the gangplank was lowered, Karak watched the crew and the longshoremen haul a large crate off the ship.\u00c2\u00a0 A Compact customs official\u00e2\u20ac\u201dsomeone Karak had bribed dozens of times before\u00e2\u20ac\u201dapproached the crate, stamped it with the Compact seal without even opening it, and waved it on toward the nearby wagon.\u00c2\u00a0 The longshoremen threw oiled tarps over the crate, concealing it from the curious eyes of unbribed authorities and other onlookers.<\/p>\n

Karak smiled.\u00c2\u00a0 The whole process took less than five minutes.<\/p>\n

Karak knocked three times on the interior ceiling of his coach.\u00c2\u00a0 His driver turned the horse to follow the wagon transporting the crate.\u00c2\u00a0 They wound their way through the Low City, the quarter of Calaman that most respectable citizens declared immoral and filthy, but where they all ended up at one time or another in their lives.\u00c2\u00a0 It was Karak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s home and place of business.\u00c2\u00a0 He knew there would always be a flourishing trade of gambling, whorehouses, and opium dens, no matter how many laws a government passed against them.\u00c2\u00a0 Karak understood human nature, understood that even in the darkest times there were certain businesses that would always prosper until humanity faded from history.<\/p>\n

Once the wagon reached the Low City, Karak knew they were safe.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of the people wandering the dark streets were alone, with hoods over their heads or wide-brimmed hats pulled low.\u00c2\u00a0 Karak knew of several Parliamentarians who frequented his establishments, along with many powerful merchants and military officers.\u00c2\u00a0 None would comment on anything they saw here, for that would only raise questions on what they were doing in the Low City to begin with.<\/p>\n

Businesses in the Low City did not advertise their wares like the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153legitimate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d businesses in the rest of Calaman.\u00c2\u00a0 Whorehouses and opium dens were illegal in the Compact (though it was relatively easy to bribe an official here and there to look the other way), so they could not post signs above their establishments.\u00c2\u00a0 Word of mouth was the only advertisement these places had.\u00c2\u00a0 All of the buildings along the winding cobblestone streets would have looked deserted had it not been for the people walking\u00e2\u20ac\u201dusually stumbling\u00e2\u20ac\u201din and out of their doors.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of the gas lamps on the streets were dark, for the city government had ceded de facto<\/em> control of the Low City to its denizens…which Karak controlled.\u00c2\u00a0 Though he had the power to order someone to keep the lamps lit, he knew the Low City\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clientele preferred the shadows.<\/p>\n

After a twenty minute ride through the Low City, the wagons arrived at the rendezvous point inside a complex of abandoned grain silos.\u00c2\u00a0 The night outside was moonless and cloudy, the only illumination coming from the glow of thousands of gas lamps in the city.\u00c2\u00a0 Once Karak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s carriage passed through the doors, they closed behind him.<\/p>\n

Crane, dressed in an impeccably tailored blue suit and matching blue tri-corner hat, stood in the center of the silo holding a torch.\u00c2\u00a0 Five cloaked and hooded men, all holding torches, stood behind Crane.<\/p>\n

Karak stepped out of his carriage and approached Crane and his men.\u00c2\u00a0 The cloaked men gave Karak an uneasy feeling, like when he saw what Crane had done to his plant several days ago.\u00c2\u00a0 Every bit of their skin was covered, and they stood unnaturally still, holding the torches above them with cloth-wrapped hands.\u00c2\u00a0 The horses harnessed to Karak’s carriage and the wagon pulling the crate snorted nervously.\u00c2\u00a0 The drivers got down from their seats and patted the noses of each horse, soothing them with soft words, though the drivers looked as uneasy as the animals.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your package is delivered, Mr. Crane,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Karak said.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now I believe we have a transaction to complete.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Crane walked around to the wagon, swinging his walking cane as if on a noonday stroll along the waterfront.\u00c2\u00a0 He used the cane to lift the oiled tarp and inspected the crate.\u00c2\u00a0 He leaned in, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath through his nose.<\/p>\n

He smiled.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You are a man of your word, Mr. Frost.\u00c2\u00a0 But there is one more task I must ask of you before our transaction is complete.\u00c2\u00a0 You must kill your drivers.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

This drew shocked gasps from the drivers, and the horses began to whinny, sensing their masters\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fear.<\/p>\n

Karak laughed.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153These men are Klahdera.\u00c2\u00a0 They are sworn to me and I to them.\u00c2\u00a0 They would sooner slit their own throats than talk to the authorities.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t worry, your secrets are safe.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Crane shrugged.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Very well.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The men in cloaks behind Crane dropped their torches.\u00c2\u00a0 Tentacled arms shot from out of their cloaks with sickening cracks and moist slithering sounds.\u00c2\u00a0 The ends of the tentacles wrapped around each driver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s neck before he had time to scream.<\/p>\n

But Karak had a revolver in his hand aimed at Crane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face just as quickly as the disguised monsters had struck.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Release them,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Karak growled.<\/p>\n

Crane laughed.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Or what, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll shoot me?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Karak pulled the trigger and blasted a hole in Crane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s forehead, spraying the cloaked men behind him with Crane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s blood and brains.\u00c2\u00a0 Crane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body fell to the ground on its back.\u00c2\u00a0 From the rafters above, revolver fire opened up on the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153men\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in cloaks.\u00c2\u00a0 The cloaked men unwrapped their tentacles from around the drivers, the men slumping to their knees gasping for air.\u00c2\u00a0 The cloaked men fell to the ground as holes exploded all of their bodies from the Klahdera men Karak had posted in the silo’s rafters before Crane had arrived.<\/p>\n

He always had a back-up plan.<\/p>\n

The cloaked things stopped moving.\u00c2\u00a0 The gunfire stopped.\u00c2\u00a0 Besides the sounds of Karak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s men coming down from the silo rafters, all was quiet.\u00c2\u00a0 Karak walked over to Crane and stared at his body.\u00c2\u00a0 There was a small hole in his forehead and a large pool of dark blood spreading on the ground from the back of his head.\u00c2\u00a0 Crane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes stared up at the ceiling, and his lips wore with the same grin he had just before Karak shot him.<\/p>\n

Primas Maed stood next to Karak, while Castle, leading the rest of Karak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s men, aimed his two silver revolvers at one of the cloaked men he had killed, poking its body with a toe.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trust anybody these days, my Lord,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Primas said, looking down at Crane and holstering his revolver.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I keep you around,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Karak said.\u00c2\u00a0 He walked over to the wagon carrying the crate and whipped the tarp off the back.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s see what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in this thing.\u00c2\u00a0 Castle, those things are dead.\u00c2\u00a0 Come over here and help me with this.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The large Klahdera man holstered his revolvers in the belt around his hip, then leaped up onto the wagon with Karak.\u00c2\u00a0 Another Klahdera man tossed Castle a crowbar, which Castle used to pry open a corner of the unmarked wood box.\u00c2\u00a0 Karak used another crowbar to pry open the other ends, and they soon had the lid off and leaning to one side of the wagon.\u00c2\u00a0 A terrible odor sprang from the box, making Karak wince and Castle begin to cough.\u00c2\u00a0 It was as if a thousand rats had rolled in their own dung and then died inside the box.\u00c2\u00a0 Through teary eyes, Karak looked inside.<\/p>\n

The crate was filled mostly with straw, but in the center was a chest made of black stone about two paces wide and long.\u00c2\u00a0 The chest looked extremely old, for the white paint in the carvings on its lid was nearly gone from weathering, as were the rounded corners.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bloody Mercy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Primas said, covering his mouth and nose.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in there?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Karak pulled a handkerchief from his coat pocket and put it over his mouth and nose.\u00c2\u00a0 It did not help.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My Lord,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Castle said, covering his nose with his sleeve, and looking at Karak with more fear in his eyes than Karak had ever seen before.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This stench is supernatural.\u00c2\u00a0 Those men<\/em> over there were supernatural.\u00c2\u00a0 We should leave this place now.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Karak was inclined to agree with Castle.\u00c2\u00a0 Nothing about this whole job was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153natural.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 He almost wished he were a good Pathist, who could simply shrug off his nervousness\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand yes, fear\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand leave the boxes here in this crumbling silo.<\/p>\n

But that was a luxury he did not have.\u00c2\u00a0 The Klahdera Overlords would be most displeased if he happened to return to them without bringing the item for which Crane was willing to pay forty thousand han<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean he had to open the box right now.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153All right, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s get the lid back on,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Karak ordered.\u00c2\u00a0 Castle was only too eager to comply, practically lifting the lid and placing it back on the crate by himself.<\/p>\n

As Karak pounded the nails back into the crate, he heard Primas say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lord Karak…\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

When Karak looked up, he saw Crane standing in front of Primas with his same death smile.\u00c2\u00a0 He wiped away the blood trickling from his forehead with the back of his hand, then licked it with a nauseating slurp.<\/p>\n

Primas fired at Crane, emptying his revolver into Crane’s chest by the time Karak and Castle were able to draw theirs.\u00c2\u00a0 Primas\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bullets did nothing to stop Crane, who strode over to him, stuck his fingers into Primas\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s throat and ripped it out.\u00c2\u00a0 Primas fell to the ground, his body jerking, while Crane threw the bloody gore in his hand to the ground.<\/p>\n

Karak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s men fired at Crane, but the bullets affected him less than a stiff morning breeze.\u00c2\u00a0 The cloaked men behind the Klahdera rose up and wrapped their grotesque tentacles around the necks of Karak’s men.\u00c2\u00a0 The Klahdera men screamed as claw-tipped tentacles began tearing at their throats.<\/p>\n

Crane leveled his black eyes at Karak and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kindly step away from my crate, Mr. Frost.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Then his hand shot toward Karak, elongating into a tentacle with five taloned fingers.\u00c2\u00a0 Karak dove off the wagon and ran for the closed doors to the silos.\u00c2\u00a0 He did not think, could not think.\u00c2\u00a0 He acted on animal instinct alone, not bothering to look back as the screams of his men ended in wet gurgles, cracking bone, and rending flesh.<\/p>\n

Karak used his shoulder to slam the doors open, and then ran until he collapsed in front of his tavern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cover by TJ Lomas. [Sorry this one is late. Holiday weekend, and all. :-)] I’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling\/grammar mistake. If […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,28,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-stuff","category-novels","category-zervakan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}