The Chernagor Pirates Read online

Page 5


  “As you were earlier,” Lanius replied. “Shall we both settle down to business now, and speak of what Prince Ulash wants of me, and of Avornis?”

  Before answering, Farrukh-Zad gave him a long, measuring stare. “Things are not quite as I was led to believe.” He sounded accusing.

  “Life is full of surprises,” Lanius said. “I ask once more, shall we go on?”

  “Maybe we had better.” Farrukh-Zad turned and spoke in a low voice with one of the other Menteshe—the one who had started when Lanius warned him. They expected me to be less than I am, Lanius thought. That must be why the embassy came when Grus was away. I’ve surprised them. That was a compliment—of sorts. The ambassador gave his attention back to the king. “In the name of my sovereign, Prince Ulash, I ask you what Avornis intends to do with the thralls who have left his lands and come to those you rule.”

  “Do you also ask that in the name of Prince Ulash’s sovereign?” Lanius inquired, partly to jab Farrukh-Zad again, partly because he did want to know. Thralls—the descendants of the Avornan farmers who’d worked the southern lands before the Menteshe conquered them—were less than full men, only a little more than barnyard animals, thanks to spells from the Banished One. Every so often, thralls escaped those dark spells and fled. Every so often, too, the Banished One and the Menteshe used thralls who feigned escaping those spells as spies and assassins.

  Again Farrukh-Zad conferred with his henchman before answering. “I am Ulash’s ambassador,” he said, but his hesitation gave the words the lie. “These thralls are Ulash’s people.”

  “When they wake up, they have a different opinion,” Lanius said dryly. He wished Avornan wizards had had better luck with spells that could liberate a thrall from his bondage. The Banished One’s sorceries, though, were stronger than those of any mere mortals. If all of Avornis fell to the Menteshe, would everyone in the kingdom fall into thralldom? The thought made Lanius shudder.

  Farrukh-Zad said, “You have in your hands—you have in this very palace—many who fled without awakening. What do you say of them?”

  “Yes, we do,” Lanius agreed. “One of them tried to kill me this past winter, while another tried to kill King Grus. We hold your sovereign’s sovereign to blame for that.”

  “You are unjust,” the Menteshe envoy said.

  “I doubt it,” Lanius said. “Thralls who stay thralls usually stay on the land. Why would these men have crossed the Stura River into Avornis, if not through the will of the Banished One?” There, he thought. Let Farrukh-Zad know I’m not—much—afraid to speak his master’s name.

  Now the ambassador’s companion leaned forward to speak to him. Nodding, Farrukh-Zad said, “If you admit that these men belong to the Fallen Star, then you must also admit you should return them to him.”

  Lanius would sooner have been pawing through the archives than playing verbal cut-and-thrust with a tool of a tool of the Banished One. No help for it, though. He said, “I did not admit that. I said the Banished One had compelled them to cross the river. Compulsion is not the same as ownership, and certainly not the same as right.”

  “You refuse to give them back, then?” Farrukh-Zad’s voice was silky with danger.

  Avornan wizards still studied the thralls, learning what they could from them. Maybe the Banished One wanted them back because he was afraid the wizards would find out something important. Maybe. Lanius didn’t know what the odds were, but he could only hope. “I do,” he said. “As long as they have done no wrong in Avornis, they may stay here.”

  “I shall take your words back to Prince Ulash,” the envoy said. “Do not believe you have heard the last of this. You have not.” His last bow held enough polite irony to satisfy even the most exacting Avornan courtier. Having given it, he didn’t wait for any response, or even dismissal, from King Lanius, but simply turned and strode out of the throne room, the other Menteshe in his wake.

  Lanius stared after him. He’d always thought about the power that went with being king in fact as well as in name. As he began to use it, he saw that worry went with the job, too.

  Riding as usual at the head of his army, Grus got his first good look at Nishevatz. Seeing the town did not delight him. If anything, it horrified him. “Olor’s beard, Hirundo, how are we supposed to take that place?” he yelped.

  “Good question, Your Majesty,” his general replied. “Maybe the defenders inside will laugh themselves to death when they see we’re crazy enough to try to winkle them out.”

  It wasn’t quite as bad as that, but it wasn’t good. Nishevatz had originally been a small island a quarter of a mile or so off the coast of the mainland. Before the Chernagors took the northern coast away from Avornis, the townsfolk had built a causeway from the shore to the island. The slow wheel of centuries since had seen silt widen the causeway from a road to a real neck of land. Even so, the approach remained formidable.

  King Grus tried to make the best of things, saying, “Well, if it were easy, Vsevolod wouldn’t have needed to ask us for help.”

  “Huzzah,” Hirundo said sourly. “He was still in charge of things when he did ask us here, remember. He’s not anymore.”

  “I know. We’ll have to see what we can do about that.” He called to Vsevolod, who rode in the middle of a small party of Chernagor noblemen not far away. “Your Highness!”

  “What you want, Your Majesty?” Vsevolod spoke Avornan with a thick, guttural accent. He was about sixty, with thinning white hair, bushy eyebrows, and an enormous hooked nose.

  “Do you know any secret ways into your city?” Grus asked. “We could use one about now, you know.”

  “I know some, yes. I use one to get away,” Vsevolod replied.

  “Vasilko know most of these, too, though. I show him, so he get away if he ever have trouble when he ruling prince. I not show him this one, in case I have trouble.” He jabbed a large, callused thumb—more the thumb of a fisherman or metalworker than that of a ruling prince—at his own broad chest.

  “Can an army use it, or just one man?” Grus asked.

  The ousted ruler ran a hand through his long, curly beard. A couple of white hairs clung to his fingers. He brushed his hand against his kilt to dislodge them. “Would not be easy for army,” he said at last. “Passage is narrow. Few men could hold it against host.”

  “Does Vasilko know how you got out? Or does he just know that you did?”

  “He did not know of this way ahead of time. I am sure of that,” Vsevolod replied. “He would have blocked. If he knows now … This I cannot say. I am sorry.”

  Hirundo said, “Maybe our wizard could tell us.”

  “Maybe.” Grus frowned. “Maybe he’d give it away trying to find out, too.” He frowned again, hating indecision yet trapped into it. “We’d better see what he thinks, eh?”

  Pterocles seemed determined to think as little as possible, or at least to admit to as little thought as possible. “I really could not say, Your Majesty. I know little of the blocking magics the Chernagors use these days, and how they match against ours. We haven’t warred with them in their own lands for a long time, so we haven’t had much need to learn such things. Maybe I can sneak past whatever wizardly wards he has without his being the wiser, or maybe I would put his wind up at once.”

  “Helpful,” Grus said, meaning anything but. “Duke Radim is bound to have a wizard or two with him, eh? Talk to them, why don’t you? You can see what sorts of things the Chernagors do. Maybe that will tell you what you need to know.”

  “Maybe.” Pterocles seemed glum, not convinced. Grus longed for Alca. He longed for her a couple of ways, in fact, even if he had made up with Estrilda.

  He would have pushed Pterocles when the army camped that night, but a courier galloped into the encampment with a long letter from Lanius. Reading about the visit from Farrukh-Zad, Grus wished he were back in the city of Avornis. By what was in the letter, Lanius had done as well as anyone could have hoped to do. Grus wondered how closely the letter reflecte
d truth; Lanius was, after all, telling his own story. Even if Lanius had gotten everything straight, was that all good news? Would he decide he liked this taste of real kingship and crave more?

  Grus summarized the letter in a few sentences for the courier, then asked, “Is that how it happened?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty, as far as I know,” the man replied. “I wasn’t in the throne room, you understand, but that pretty much matches what I’ve heard.”

  Ah, gossip, Grus thought with a smile. “What all have you heard?” he asked, hoping to pick up some more news about the embassy, or at least to get more of a feel for what had gone on.

  That wasn’t what he got. The courier hesitated, then shrugged and said, “Well, you’ll have heard about that other business by now, won’t you?”

  “I don’t know,” Grus answered. “What other business?”

  “About your son.”

  “No, I hadn’t heard about that. What about him?” Grus tried to keep his tone as light and casual as he could. If he’d asked the question the way he wanted to, he would have frightened the courier out of saying another word.

  He evidently succeeded, for the fellow just asked, “You haven’t heard about him and the girl?”

  “No,” Grus said, again in as mild a voice as he could muster. “What happened? Is some serving girl going to have his bastard?” Next to a lot of the things Ortalis might have done, that would be good news. The only real trouble with royal bastards was finding a fitting place for them once they grew up.

  But the courier said, “Uh, no, Your Majesty, no bastards. Not that I know about, anyhow.”

  That Uh, no worried Grus. Carefully, he asked, “Well, what do you know about?” Staying casual wasn’t easy, not anymore.

  “About how he—” The courier stopped. He suddenly seemed to remember he wasn’t passing time with somebody in a tavern. “It wasn’t so good,” he finished.

  “Tell me everything you know,” Grus said. “About how he what? What wasn’t so good?” The courier stood mute. Grus snapped his fingers. “Come on. You know more than you’re letting on. Out with it.”

  “Your Majesty, I don’t really know anything.” The man seemed very unhappy. “I’ve just heard things people are talking about.”

  “Tell me those, then,” Grus said. “I swear by the gods I’ll remember they don’t come from you. I don’t even know your name.”

  “No, but you know my face,” the courier muttered. King Grus folded his arms and waited. Trapped, the man gave him what was bound to be as cleaned-up a version of the gossip he’d heard as he could manage on the spur of the moment. It boiled down to the same sort of story as Grus had already heard about Ortalis too many times. At last, the man stumbled to a stop, saying, “And that’s everything I heard.”

  Grus doubted it was. Such tales were usually much more lurid. But he thought he would need a torturer to pull anything else from the fellow. “All right, you can go,” he said, and the courier fled. “I’ll deal with this … whenever I get a chance.” Only he heard that.

  He looked ahead to Nishevatz. The Chernagor city-state would take up all of his time for who could guess how long. He sighed. Whatever Ortalis had done was done. With a little luck, he wouldn’t do anything worse until Grus got back to the capital. Grus looked up at the heavens, wondering if that could be too much to ask of the gods.

  Every once in a while, Lanius liked getting out of the royal palace. He especially liked going over to the great cathedral not far away, partly because some of the ecclesiastical archives went back even further than those in the palace and partly because he liked Arch-Hallow Anser.

  He didn’t know anyone who didn’t like Grus’ bastard son. Even Queen Estrilda liked Anser, and she’d borne Grus’ two legitimate children. Prince Ortalis liked Anser, too, even though they had quarreled now and again, and Ortalis rarely liked anybody.

  That didn’t mean Lanius thought Anser made a perfect arch-hallow. He’d been a layman when Grus first named him to the post, and had worn the black, green, and yellow robes of the ascending grades of the priesthood on successive days before donning the arch-hallow’s scarlet garb. He still knew—and cared—little about the gods or the structure of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. His chief passion, almost his only passion, was hunting.

  But he was loyal to Grus. To the man who held the real power in Avornis, that counted for much more than anything else. Lanius might prove a problem for Grus. Ortalis might, too. Anser? No. Anser never would.

  He bowed to the king when Lanius stepped into his chamber in a back part of the cathedral where ordinary worshipers never went. “Good to see you, Your Majesty!” he exclaimed with a smile, and he sounded as though he meant it.

  “Good to see you, too, most holy sir.” Lanius also meant it. You couldn’t help being glad to see Anser. He wasn’t far from Lanius’ own age, and looked a lot like Grus—more like him than either Ortalis or Sosia. They favored their mother, which probably made them better-looking.

  “What can I do for you today?” Anser asked. “Did you come to visit me, or shall I just send for Ixoreus and wave while you wander down to the archives?” He grinned at Lanius.

  Ixoreus, one of his secretaries, knew more about the ecclesiastical archives than any man living. But Lanius smiled back and, not without a certain regret, shook his head. “No, thanks, though it is tempting,” he said. “I wanted to ask you a question.”

  “Well, here I am. Go right ahead,” Anser replied. “If I know, I’ll tell you.”

  And he would, too. Lanius had no doubt of it. He thought back to the days of Arch-Hallow Bucco, Anser’s predecessor. Bucco had been a formidable scholar, administrator, and diplomat. He’d been regent during part of Lanius’ childhood; he’d even sent Lanius’ mother into exile. He wouldn’t have told anyone his own name unless he saw some profit or advantage in it. All things considered, Lanius preferred Anser.

  He said, “What I want to know is, did you write to King Grus about … any troubles Ortalis has had lately with women?”

  “Not me,” the arch-hallow said at once. “I’ve heard a few things, but I wouldn’t send gossip to … the other king.” The hesitation was so small, Lanius barely noticed it. Anser really did work hard at being polite to everybody.

  “It’s not just gossip. I wish it were,” Lanius said. “But I’ve heard about it from Ortalis himself. He didn’t want Grus to find out. Now Grus has. By the letter I have from him, he’s not very happy about it, either.”

  “I can see how he wouldn’t be. Ortalis … I like my half brother, most ways,” Anser said. He saw the good in people—maybe that was why everybody liked him. He proved as much now, for he went on, “He’s a clever fellow, and I enjoyed hunting with him, at least until he.…” His voice trailed away again.

  “Yes. Until he.” Lanius didn’t finish the sentence, either. Ortalis would sooner have hunted men, or rather women, than beasts. And what he would have done when he caught them … was one more thing Lanius didn’t care to contemplate. “Somebody told Grus about this latest news.”

  “It wasn’t me,” Anser said again. He looked up at the ceiling, as though hoping to find answers there. “I wish we hadn’t had that … trouble with the hunting. It did seem to help, for a while.”

  “Yes, for a while,” Lanius agreed. For several years, Ortalis had held his demons at bay by killing beasts instead of doing anything with or to people. But that hadn’t satisfied him, not for good. And so … And so I’m hashing this out with Anser, Lanius thought unhappily.

  “I wish I knew what to tell you, Your Majesty. I wish I knew what to tell Ortalis, too,” the arch-hallow said.

  “No one has ever been able to tell Ortalis anything. That’s a big part of the problem,” Lanius said.

  Anser nodded. “So it is.” Suddenly, he grinned again. “Now don’t you wish you’d gone down under the cathedral with Ixoreus?”

  “Now that you mention it, yes,” Lanius said. They both laughed. Then Lanius had another th
ought. He asked, “You grew up down in the south, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, that’s right—in Drepanum, right along the Stura River,” Anser said, and Lanius remembered that Grus had captained a river galley that patrolled the Stura. Anser went on, “Why do you want to know?”

  “I just wondered if you knew anything special about Sanjar and Korkut—you know, things you might hear because you’re right across the border but would never come all the way up to the city of Avornis.”

  “About Ulash’s sons?” The arch-hallow frowned and shook his head. “The only thing I ever heard is that they don’t like each other very well—but you can say that about half the brothers in the world, especially when they’re princes.”

  “I suppose so.” Lanius had no brothers. When King Mergus, his father, at last had a son by his concubine Certhia, he’d married her although that made her his seventh wife. All the ecclesiastics in Avornis had screamed at the top of their lungs, since even King Olor up in the heavens had only six. A lot of them had reckoned—some still did reckon—Lanius a bastard because of Mergus’ irregularities. Thanks to his own past, he had a certain amount of sympathy for Anser. He wondered if that sympathy ran the other way, too. Anser had never said a word along those lines—but then, Lanius was known to be touchy about his ancestry.

  Anser didn’t say anything about ancestors now, either. He said, “Sorry I can’t tell you more about them.”

  “Who knows when it might matter?” Lanius replied with a shrug. “Who knows if it will matter at all?”

  Slowly—too slowly to suit King Grus—twilight deepened toward darkness. The tall, frowning walls of Nishevatz seemed to melt into the northern sky. Only the torches Chernagor sentries carried as they paced along their stretches of walkway told where the top of the wall was.

  Grus turned to Calcarius and Malk, the Avornan and Chernagor officers who would lead a mixed assault party back through the secret tunnel Prince Vsevolod had used to flee the city. “You know what you’re going to do?” he said, and felt foolish a moment later—if they didn’t know by now, why were they trying it?

 

    King of the North Read onlineKing of the NorthWe Install Read onlineWe InstallThe Grapple Read onlineThe GrappleIn the Balance & Tilting the Balance Read onlineIn the Balance & Tilting the BalanceCurious Notions ct-2 Read onlineCurious Notions ct-2A World of Difference Read onlineA World of DifferenceAftershocks c-3 Read onlineAftershocks c-3Krispos Rising Read onlineKrispos RisingRunning of the Bulls Read onlineRunning of the BullsThe Thousand Cities ttot-3 Read onlineThe Thousand Cities ttot-3In the Balance w-1 Read onlineIn the Balance w-1Sentry Peak Read onlineSentry PeakTypecasting Read onlineTypecastingHomeward Bound (colonization) Read onlineHomeward Bound (colonization)Krispos the Emperor k-3 Read onlineKrispos the Emperor k-3An Emperor for the Legion (Videssos Cycle) Read onlineAn Emperor for the Legion (Videssos Cycle)Colonization: Aftershocks Read onlineColonization: AftershocksColonization: Down to Earth Read onlineColonization: Down to EarthBeyond the Gap Read onlineBeyond the GapBlood and Iron Read onlineBlood and IronAmerican Front gw-1 Read onlineAmerican Front gw-1Tale of the Fox gtf-2 Read onlineTale of the Fox gtf-2Krispos the Emperor Read onlineKrispos the EmperorManuscript Tradition Read onlineManuscript TraditionReturn Engagement Read onlineReturn EngagementThrough Darkest Europe Read onlineThrough Darkest EuropeThe Eighth-Grade History Class Visits the Hebrew Home for the Aging Read onlineThe Eighth-Grade History Class Visits the Hebrew Home for the AgingHow Few Remain (great war) Read onlineHow Few Remain (great war)Hammer And Anvil tot-2 Read onlineHammer And Anvil tot-2The Victorious opposition ae-3 Read onlineThe Victorious opposition ae-3The Road Not Taken Read onlineThe Road Not TakenAlpha and Omega Read onlineAlpha and OmegaUpsetting the Balance Read onlineUpsetting the BalanceThe Big Switch twtce-3 Read onlineThe Big Switch twtce-3The Valley-Westside War ct-6 Read onlineThe Valley-Westside War ct-6Walk in Hell gw-2 Read onlineWalk in Hell gw-2The Great War: Breakthroughs Read onlineThe Great War: BreakthroughsArmistice Read onlineArmisticeCounting Up, Counting Down Read onlineCounting Up, Counting DownBreath of God g-2 Read onlineBreath of God g-2Opening Atlantis a-1 Read onlineOpening Atlantis a-1Or Even Eagle Flew Read onlineOr Even Eagle FlewThe Sacred Land sam-3 Read onlineThe Sacred Land sam-3Jaws of Darkness Read onlineJaws of DarknessOut of the Darkness Read onlineOut of the DarknessEvery Inch a King Read onlineEvery Inch a KingDown in The Bottomlands Read onlineDown in The BottomlandsThe Bastard King Read onlineThe Bastard KingBreakthroughs gw-3 Read onlineBreakthroughs gw-3Last Orders Read onlineLast OrdersOut of the Darkness d-6 Read onlineOut of the Darkness d-6The War That Came Early: West and East Read onlineThe War That Came Early: West and EastThe Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century Read onlineThe Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th CenturyIn High Places Read onlineIn High PlacesStriking the Balance w-4 Read onlineStriking the Balance w-4The Golden Shrine g-3 Read onlineThe Golden Shrine g-3Thessalonica Read onlineThessalonicaThirty Days Later: Steaming Forward: 30 Adventures in Time Read onlineThirty Days Later: Steaming Forward: 30 Adventures in TimeDrive to the East Read onlineDrive to the EastVidessos Cycle, Volume 1 Read onlineVidessos Cycle, Volume 1Colonization: Second Contact Read onlineColonization: Second ContactSomething Going Around Read onlineSomething Going AroundWalk in Hell Read onlineWalk in HellLee at the Alamo Read onlineLee at the AlamoThe Chernagor Pirates Read onlineThe Chernagor PiratesThe Gryphon's Skull Read onlineThe Gryphon's SkullSecond Contact Read onlineSecond ContactThe Grapple sa-2 Read onlineThe Grapple sa-2Down to Earth Read onlineDown to EarthOver the Wine-Dark Sea Read onlineOver the Wine-Dark SeaJoe Steele Read onlineJoe SteeleDown to Earth c-2 Read onlineDown to Earth c-2Days of Infamy doi-1 Read onlineDays of Infamy doi-1A Different Flesh Read onlineA Different FleshThings Fall Apart Read onlineThings Fall ApartThe Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century Read onlineThe Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th CenturyThe Gladiator ct-4 Read onlineThe Gladiator ct-4The Gladiator Read onlineThe GladiatorCayos in the Stream Read onlineCayos in the StreamFallout Read onlineFalloutAmerican Front Read onlineAmerican FrontSwords of the Legion (Videssos) Read onlineSwords of the Legion (Videssos)Breakthroughs Read onlineBreakthroughsSentry Peak wotp-1 Read onlineSentry Peak wotp-1The Valley-Westside War Read onlineThe Valley-Westside WarFox and Empire Read onlineFox and EmpireBlood and iron ae-1 Read onlineBlood and iron ae-1Herbig-Haro Read onlineHerbig-HaroCoup D'Etat Read onlineCoup D'EtatRuled Britannia Read onlineRuled BritanniaIn at the Death Read onlineIn at the DeathLast Orders: The War That Came Early Read onlineLast Orders: The War That Came EarlyGunpowder Empire Read onlineGunpowder EmpireSupervolcano: All Fall Down s-2 Read onlineSupervolcano: All Fall Down s-2The Disunited States of America Read onlineThe Disunited States of AmericaWest and East twtce-2 Read onlineWest and East twtce-2Upsetting the Balance w-3 Read onlineUpsetting the Balance w-3Tilting the Balance w-2 Read onlineTilting the Balance w-2An Emperor for the Legion Read onlineAn Emperor for the LegionStriking the Balance Read onlineStriking the BalanceWe Haven't Got There Yet Read onlineWe Haven't Got There YetThe Golden Shrine Read onlineThe Golden ShrineThe Disunited States Read onlineThe Disunited StatesThe Center Cannot Hold ae-2 Read onlineThe Center Cannot Hold ae-2The Stolen Throne tot-1 Read onlineThe Stolen Throne tot-1Atlantis and Other Places Read onlineAtlantis and Other Places3xT Read online3xTSupervolcano: Things Fall Apart s-3 Read onlineSupervolcano: Things Fall Apart s-3The Scepter's Return Read onlineThe Scepter's ReturnReturn engagement sa-1 Read onlineReturn engagement sa-1Owls to Athens sam-4 Read onlineOwls to Athens sam-4The Man with the Iron Heart Read onlineThe Man with the Iron HeartAdvance and Retreat wotp-3 Read onlineAdvance and Retreat wotp-3Reincarnations Read onlineReincarnationsRulers of the Darkness d-4 Read onlineRulers of the Darkness d-4Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance Read onlineWorldwar: Upsetting the BalanceTwo Fronts twtce-5 Read onlineTwo Fronts twtce-5United States of Atlantis a-2 Read onlineUnited States of Atlantis a-2Agent of Byzantium Read onlineAgent of ByzantiumThe Breath of God Read onlineThe Breath of GodThe War That Came Early: Coup d'Etat Read onlineThe War That Came Early: Coup d'EtatRulers of the Darkness Read onlineRulers of the DarknessHomeward Bound Read onlineHomeward BoundThrough the Darkness Read onlineThrough the DarknessThe House of Daniel Read onlineThe House of DanielThe United States of Atlantis Read onlineThe United States of AtlantisSettling Accounts Return Engagement: Book One of the Settling Accounts Trilogy Read onlineSettling Accounts Return Engagement: Book One of the Settling Accounts TrilogyGive Me Back My Legions! Read onlineGive Me Back My Legions!In the Balance Read onlineIn the BalanceOwls to Athens Read onlineOwls to AthensSupervolcano :Eruption Read onlineSupervolcano :EruptionDarkness Descending Read onlineDarkness DescendingThe Case of the Toxic Spell Dump Read onlineThe Case of the Toxic Spell DumpConan of Venarium Read onlineConan of VenariumSecond Contact c-1 Read onlineSecond Contact c-1End of the Beginning Read onlineEnd of the BeginningThe First Heroes Read onlineThe First HeroesKrispos of Videssos Read onlineKrispos of VidessosAftershocks Read onlineAftershocks3 x T Read online3 x TShort Stories Read onlineShort StoriesIn At the Death sa-4 Read onlineIn At the Death sa-4Through the Darkness d-3 Read onlineThrough the Darkness d-3The Tale of Krispos Read onlineThe Tale of KrisposIn The Presence of mine Enemies Read onlineIn The Presence of mine EnemiesThe Seventh Chapter Read onlineThe Seventh ChapterWisdom of the Fox gtf-1 Read onlineWisdom of the Fox gtf-1Jaws of Darkness d-5 Read onlineJaws of Darkness d-5On the Train Read onlineOn the TrainFort Pillow Read onlineFort PillowGreek Missology #1: Andromeda and Persueus Read onlineGreek Missology #1: Andromeda and PersueusThe Disunited States of America ct-4 Read onlineThe Disunited States of America ct-4Legion of Videssos Read onlineLegion of VidessosHitler's War Read onlineHitler's WarMarching Through Peachtree wotp-2 Read onlineMarching Through Peachtree wotp-2The War That Came Early: The Big Switch Read onlineThe War That Came Early: The Big SwitchVilcabamba Read onlineVilcabambaAfter the downfall Read onlineAfter the downfallOpening Atlantis Read onlineOpening AtlantisLiberating Atlantis Read onlineLiberating AtlantisDepartures Read onlineDeparturesDown in The Bottomlands (and Other Places) Read onlineDown in The Bottomlands (and Other Places)Gunpowder Empire ct-1 Read onlineGunpowder Empire ct-1American Empire : The Center Cannot Hold Read onlineAmerican Empire : The Center Cannot HoldHow Few Remain Read onlineHow Few RemainShtetl Days Read onlineShtetl DaysBeyong the Gap g-1 Read onlineBeyong the Gap g-1Drive to the East sa-2 Read onlineDrive to the East sa-2Worldwar: Striking the Balance Read onlineWorldwar: Striking the BalanceJustinian Read onlineJustinianDays of Infamy Read onlineDays of InfamyBombs Away Read onlineBombs AwayThe Guns of the South Read onlineThe Guns of the SouthThe Victorious Opposition Read onlineThe Victorious OppositionVidessos Besieged ttot-4 Read onlineVidessos Besieged ttot-4