Thread Slivers

Chapter 14 Journeys Begin With a Step

-Dhoma-

 “M’Lord, His Excellency requests your presence.”

Dohma looked up from the papers his sister had been showing him. The valet before him wore Duke’s livery, but was young. He was short, with a soft, smooth face and the friendly, happy smile of a child raised in a good home. The boy’s name popped into his head on cue. “Yes, Brolle, I’ll attend at once.” Dohma handed the papers back to his sister, grinning. “Duty calls, Sis.” She frowned at him as he stood and stretched. Any excuse for getting away from paperwork. I can’t see how my brother and sister can spend all day looking at papers. Moving to follow the boy, he asked, “Is he up yet?”

“No, m’Lord. His appetite returned, but he still has pains when he moves.”

Brolle lead him out of the palace’s cool air into the impressive heat outside and down the main road. Sweat had started running down his back by the time they approached Duke’s home. Hard to believe it has only been three weeks since I walked this path with guards at my back to order Duke to the palace. Now I give the orders, and Duke is a trusted friend. Duke’s guards opened the residence’s gate, so he didn’t have to break stride.

The courtyard was a busy place. Two new hay carts were shined and polished, their sides replaced with a fine-grained wood, oiled and rubbed to a beautiful, rich look. The wheels had been painted a glossy black with red trim. If it wasn’t for the gruesome materials being arranged on the first cart, he might have taken it for a party cart for an extravagant celebration. Instead, one cart was being loaded with the severed heads of the Nhia-Samri after a slip of paper had been rolled and inserted into each of their mouths.

The second cart held just as strange a sight. Four blacksmiths had been called in and instructed to use their thickest gloves in handling the odassi blades. They worked in pairs. Each blade was lifted by one blacksmith and held in an exact position on an anvil. The second one would then position one of the commander’s odassi at a specific angle, so the straight edge at the tip was across a symbol on a copper band at the base of the odassi blade. Then the two would look at each other to be sure each was ready. Finally, the one holding the commander’s odassi would strike the back of the blade with a hammer, driving the commander’s blade through the copper band. The effects of this were dramatic, to say the least. The commander’s blade would spark and glow red; the second blade would make a sound like a cry of pain. Fire would explode from the symbol, and the copper band would snap open; the blade fractured in a perfect line down the middle. When complete, the commander’s blade looked as if nothing happened. The other blade was split, and the copper band remained attached, but with its edges curled outward. The broken blade would be placed in the cart, and then the process repeated on others. On the side of the yard, were some tools Duke had special-ordered, which would be used to break the band of the commander’s last blade when the last odassi band had been split.

Not really sure what it is about those blades, but seeing this, I am not sure if I should be more afraid of them or that Duke knew how to do this. The boy ran ahead to open the door for him. He walked into the welcomed coolness of a beautiful foyer, which was a complete contrast to the scene in the yard. The air held the pleasantly soft scents of forest conifers. Following where the page pointed, he walked to another set of doors, which the page jumped ahead and opened for him. Stepping through the doors, he was in a grand hallway that led to Duke’s private rooms. He marveled at the size of the doors and the unique large handles that would allow Duke to open and close them himself if he wanted to. Everything in this place is scaled to Duke, which makes it grand by design. Two guards were stationed at both ends of the hall, as well as a pair flanking the double doors to Duke’s sitting room. A guard opened the door for him, letting him walk in unimpeded. The level of service Duke commands is amazing. These people serve him with a rapidity I didn’t think possible, and they all love him, which tells much about that old wolf.