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The Bridges of Morganita
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Commencer à lireLongueur: 219 pages3 heures
- Éditeur:
- Gilbert M. Stack
- Sortie:
- Apr 25, 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780463325391
- Format:
- Livre
Description
Marcus has defeated the smaller half of the army of Thegn Chilperic by the skin of his teeth, but now he must rally his legion and its allies to stop the Thegn’s main force from rolling back all of his victories. Yet even as he fights for control of the strategic bridges on the Rio Rocoso, Marcus’ allies remain as fractious as ever. The rebellious Gente of Morganita continue to fight among themselves for leadership of their cause, while the Gota also violently question the leadership of Marcus’ friend, Evorik. As if all of this weren’t bad enough, the mighty Thegn of Granate still tries to walk the middle path in this war, telling both Marcus and his enemies that he is loyal to them. Too soon now, Marcus will find out which side Granate betrays at the Bridges of Morganita
Informations sur le livre
The Bridges of Morganita
Longueur: 219 pages3 heures
Description
Marcus has defeated the smaller half of the army of Thegn Chilperic by the skin of his teeth, but now he must rally his legion and its allies to stop the Thegn’s main force from rolling back all of his victories. Yet even as he fights for control of the strategic bridges on the Rio Rocoso, Marcus’ allies remain as fractious as ever. The rebellious Gente of Morganita continue to fight among themselves for leadership of their cause, while the Gota also violently question the leadership of Marcus’ friend, Evorik. As if all of this weren’t bad enough, the mighty Thegn of Granate still tries to walk the middle path in this war, telling both Marcus and his enemies that he is loyal to them. Too soon now, Marcus will find out which side Granate betrays at the Bridges of Morganita
- Éditeur:
- Gilbert M. Stack
- Sortie:
- Apr 25, 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780463325391
- Format:
- Livre
À propos de l'auteur
Gilbert M. Stack has been creating stories almost since he began speaking and publishing fiction and non-fiction since 2006. A professional historian, Gilbert delights in bringing the past to life in his fiction, depicting characters who are both true to their time and empathetic with modern sensibilities. His work has appeared in more than a dozen issues of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Michelle, and their son, Michael.
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The Bridges of Morganita - Gilbert M. Stack
author.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to William L. Hahn for his amazing Shards of Light series. Deft characterizations combine with a tight plot and incredible battles to make this series a memorable exemplar of the fantasy genre. It’s also for anyone who has wondered just why the legionnaires were so superior to their contemporaries beyond their borders. With your shield or on it, Marcus!
Table of Contents
Dedication
Map of the Jeweled Cities of the North
Map of the Bridges on the Rio Rocoso
Prologue
Chapter One: It Must Be Me
Chapter Two: The Principal Problem
Chapter Three: Thousands Are Dead
Chapter Four: Cavalry Coming
Chapter Five: Assassin
Chapter Six: You Put Gota on Those Crosses
Chapter Seven: Drive All the Gota from the Jeweled Hills
Chapter Eight: We’ll Attack Now
Chapter Nine: Masters of the Wind
Chapter Ten: My Curse on You
Chapter Eleven: Fulgus Has Decided
Chapter Twelve: Shall I Tell Him You’ll Be Coming with Guests?
Chapter Thirteen: I Cannot Trust the Gota
Chapter Fourteen: Why Not Let Fulgus Decide?
Chapter Fifteen: They’re Fucking Angry Now
Chapter Sixteen: You Need a Woman to Fight Your Battles
Chapter Seventeen: We’re on Our Side
Chapter Eighteen: The Southerners Have Outthought Me
Chapter Nineteen: I Must Catch the Thegn of Morganita
Chapter Twenty: Now They Know You’re Serious
Chapter Twenty-One: Do You Know What I Don’t Like?
Chapter Twenty-Two: He’s Changed Warfare Forever
Chapter Twenty-Three: A Man’s Reward
Chapter Twenty-Four: They Are Going to Be Here Soon
Chapter Twenty-Five: It’s Time to Kill
Chapter Twenty-Six: Stand Fast!
Chapter Twenty-Seven: To Victory!
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Retreat Simply Wasn’t an Option
Chapter Twenty-Nine: They Were All Enemies Now
Chapter Thirty: Join Me Now, My Brothers
Chapter Thirty-One: Don Fermin’s Charge
Chapter Thirty-Two: Madre Tierra Is Not Finished with Us Yet
Epilogue: Thank Madre Tierra
About the Author, Gilbert M. Stack
About the Map Maker, Chris L. Adams
Other Works by Gilbert M. Stack
Contact Gilbert M. Stack
Map of the Jeweled Cities
Map of the Bridges on the Rio Rocoso
At the bridges of Morganita, Prefect Marcus learned that in the Jeweled Hills, winning battles alone was not enough to ensure victory.
Seneca Liberus
Prologue
Arm yourselves! Thegn Chilperic has returned with the army! We’ll all be killed!
Mago Vito sat up with a start, dumping the expensive prostitute off of his lap and out of the tub. Hot water splashed onto the floor of the high-class inn he’d taken a room in to recover his strength before embarking on his mission to assassinate Prefect Marcus Venandus of Aquila.
What the fuck?
the woman cursed in a most un-Gente like fashion.
What did he say?
Vito sputtered. He surged to his feet completely ignoring the fact that he was naked. Water ran off his body in streams as he climbed out of the tub. In his haste he stepped on the woman’s thigh, slipping and sprawling on top of her.
Ouch! That hurt you stupid fool!
she snapped.
Get out of my way, you whore!
Vito growled back.
He clambered past her, receiving a blow from the woman’s knee that almost hit the vital piece of his anatomy hanging between his legs, and finally found his feet in time to open the door to the ridiculously expensive room and stride out naked into the hall just as a Gente señor hurried past him.
He reached out and grabbed hold of the man. What’s going on?
The man jerked his arm free, a look of panic on his face. Let go of me, damn you! Don’t you know that Thegn Chilperic has returned with the army and sworn to kill every Gente in Morganita?
Vito let him go, turning back toward his room even as an elegantly dressed Gente señora caught sight of his naked body and screamed. He re-entered his room where the floor ran wet with water that had splashed out of the tub to find his prostitute—he couldn’t remember her name—drying herself with a large fluffy towel. She’d given up all pretense at liking him after he dumped her from the tub and glared unhappily as he closed the door behind him. I suppose you want one last fuck before the Gota return?
she said.
Get out!
Vito told her. He needed a few minutes of relative quiet to think in. If Thegn Chilperic had truly returned, he would have to move quickly to claim the fifty thousand sceatta bounty he’d been promised for the head of Marcus Venandus. Otherwise, one of two things was likely to happen—either Chilperic would get credit for killing the man or Prefect Marcus would flee south with his army before the full might of the Thegn and Vito would have to chase him again. In either event, he ran the serious risk of losing his bounty and he didn’t want to give up on that money.
He noticed the woman was still drying herself, staring at him. I said get out!
he told her. When she didn’t move, he strode across the room, grabbed her wrist and began dragging her toward the door.
I’m not dressed yet!
she protested. Let go of me!
Vito ignored her. He enjoyed showing how powerful he was, even if it was only to this so-called high-class whore.
The woman brought her knee up into the fork of his legs again, this time much more successfully than she had the first time and Vito doubled over. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and threw him against the wall so that he finished losing his balance and fell hard against the floor.
You stupid whore!
he gasped. I’ll kill you for this!
You would if you were a real man,
she told him as she gathered up her clothes without bothering to put them on. But my little finger is bigger than your dick so I think you’re all bluster with no substance.
No substance?
Vito was still clutching himself and struggling for breath but he managed to express his outrage. I’m the man who killed Thegn Beremund of Amatista. I’ll—
Oh, you are, are you?
the woman asked with obvious disbelief and scorn. She carried her clothes to the entrance to the room, her perfectly naked ass taunting him. You know, I find that hard to believe, but I’d find it harder yet if the Thegn had actually died. You do know the assassin failed, right?
Failed?
The suggestion so startled him that he almost forgot the pain in his testicles. I didn’t—I stabbed him—I—
She laughed at him. Sure you did! Anyone looking at you now would believe you’re the worlds’ greatest assassin.
Without a backward glance, she slipped out of the door without ever bothering to put on her clothes. As the door closed, Vito heard her speak to someone in the hall. Oh, good Señor, please help me. The gentleman in this room was so unmanned by the news that Thegn Chilperic has returned that he lost the strength of his passion and has thrown me out into the world so he can pack and run away.
That scoundrel!
the señor in the hallway announced while probably getting an eyeful of the admittedly superior body of the prostitute. Have no fear, good woman, I will teach him to treat you more respectfully.
The threat suddenly focused Vito’s attention despite the pain.
Oh he is not worth the effort,
the woman protested. If you could just help me by taking me to your rooms where I might recapture my modesty, I would be ever so grateful.
The heat of outrage left the man in the hall’s voice for a different kind of warmth. But of course I will help you. My room is just down this corridor.
He also stole all my money,
the whore lied.
I can help you with that too,
the señor assured her. What an unbelievable cad you have had the misfortune of encountering.
"Oh, handsome and generous, she said.
I am so very fortunate to have run into you."
As the voices disappeared down the hall, Vito’s rage continued to build. How dare she insult him this way? And what did she mean, Thegn Beremund wasn’t dead? He’d stabbed him himself, hadn’t he?
Contemplating the loss of the first fifty thousand sceatta he’d thought he’d earned, Vito picked up his killing knife. He’d dress quickly and journey to the legion camp outside the city. He’d have to move fast or that coward, Prefect Marcus, might try and escape south again, fleeing before the superior force of Gota that Thegn Chilperic would bring with him.
He looked over his baggage which he had already managed to scatter across the room. There was no need to pack up his things yet, he could return to the city after he’d earned his fee and gather them then. As long as he hurried there should be plenty of time to kill his target and escape before Thegn Chilperic laid siege to Morganita.
He looked at his knife again and wondered if perhaps there wasn’t also enough time for him to take vengeance on the whore who’d just insulted him and the lover who was trying to supplant him.
He smiled. He’d always enjoyed murdering people more than having sex with them.
Chapter One
It Must Be Me
Prefect Marcus Venandus watched over the wall of Fort Prime as four of his best manos quick marched off to the north on their way to secure the two nearest bridges across the Rio Rocoso. The bridges separated the fertile land supporting the city of Morganita from the hinterlands in the far north of the country. The legionnaires, a mixture of Qing shield and spear bands and Gente archers, marched for twenty paces to the count of their vigils, then ran for twenty more at roughly two-and-a-half times their marching step before dropping back to their walking pace again. It was a mile eating stride that they could maintain for hours, hopefully putting the manos at the bridges well before dark and ahead of the Gota cavalry of Thegn Chilperic which they had just learned was moving south.
Marcus knew now that he should have secured the bridges immediately upon arriving in the region of Morganita. It was a mistake he desperately hoped he had time left to rectify, but at the time he had wanted to encourage Chilperic to send forces south. He just hadn’t counted on him sending so many horsemen in the first wave of reinforcements or bringing the entire remainder of his army behind them before he could possibly have learned the fate of his first five thousand warriors. That mistake on Marcus’ part might crush them now. So much depended on whether or not he could reach and secure the bridges now before the leading elements of Chilperic’s army secured them. It could be the difference between a confrontation he believed he could win and the defensive battle that he feared would cost Amatista the larger war.
Yet the bridges were not the only thing that would decide the future of the war and he needed to turn his mind away from the things he could no longer control and give his attention to the actions that could still save the day. He turned back to his allies and his officers who stood behind him waiting for him to show them the path to salvation. They were good men—capable in their own rights—but they needed leadership now and Marcus would do his best to give it to them.
Lord Evorik, my good friend, I need you to give orders to your men to ready themselves to ride out. I’ll share my plans with you later, in private, but if you could get your men moving now, I would appreciate it.
Evorik met Marcus’ eye for a moment, then stepped aside gesturing to a couple of his men to join him where he quietly began to give them their instructions.
Marcus turned his attention to the other, less well-known, and thus less trustworthy, of his allies. Don Fermín, if we’re to succeed against Thegn Chilperic and his warriors and preserve the new-found independence of your city, I am going to need a substantial amount of aid from you.
Prefect!
the Gente lord responded. He was one of five prominent Gente in the city of Morganita who had taken advantage of the Thegn’s absence to stage a rebellion against the descendants of the men who had stolen their ancestors’ land from them two hundred years before. They had been substantially assisted in their ambition by Marcus hammering defeat after defeat upon the men Thegn Chilperic had left behind to sustain his rule in Morganita while he was absent further north. Apparently the rapid return of Thegn Chilperic with his army had broken the confidence of many of Fermín’s fellow conspirators, but the Gente don remained committed to his peoples’ freedom and eager to support his southern allies.
First, I need you and your finest Gente horsemen to recruit all of the Gente you can find who were part of the Thegn’s cavalry force that we broke yesterday.
He glanced at Evorik to make certain that the Gota lord remained out of hearing. We’re going to need every horseman we can enlist not only to counter the cavalry riding with Thegn Chilperic but to make you strong enough to hold this land when Lord Evorik and this legion returns south to fight for Amatista against Diamonte.
Fermín nodded in agreement, clearly pleased that Marcus saw their alliance continuing after this immediate confrontation with Thegn Chilperic. Yes, we will need thousands of Gente to support us if we are to keep our independence—and not just cavalry. We will need strong infantry like your own.
The prickling sensation that Marcus had come to depend upon as a warning that he was in the presence of magic intensified on his skin, making Marcus break off his conversation with Don Fermín and look around him. The only magos in his immediate vicinity were Senior Mago Efraín and Maga Dulce, both of the highly respected Estudioso family. He glanced at the sky and wondered if someone might be scrying their position.
Mago Efraín, Maga Dulce, might I impose upon the two of you to make certain that our conversation cannot be overheard either by those gathered around us or by those who might be spying upon us from afar?
Both magos’ faces showed an immediate recognition of the danger Marcus feared. They glanced at each other and then Maga Dulce lifted her hands before her, open palms directed upward, and began to chant in a low voice, increasing the prickling sensation that had first made Marcus think of the possibility of scrying. Next Mago Efraín made a few gestures with his fingers and the warning sensation intensified. Unfortunately, Marcus wasn’t experienced enough in interpreting the prickling sensation to tell if their efforts had simply added to the magic he was already sensing or had replaced some part of it by blocking it off.
He looked around him again but couldn’t see another cause for concern. Mentally shrugging, he thanked the two magos and returned his attention to Don Fermín.
That brings me to my second request,
Marcus told the Gente leader. I know that your primary concern is to hold the city against its former ruler, but I am going to need enough of your men to push north with me so that I can turn control of the bridges over to them when I cross to do battle with our common enemy. Mostly we will need fine Gente archers, but we’re also going to need sword and spearmen to hold the front lines.
When you cross the bridges?
Fermín repeated slowly.
"Yes, I thought you understood my intentions
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