Swords without Souls: Two Days Late So Far… B31

Two Days Late So Far…

(Swords with Souls)

Fantasy Fiction

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

(Adult content)

Naked, he enters his stone and mortar house with its sod roof and pulls a pewter mug off a bronze hook he made himself and a pinch of dried mint from a clay pot. The mint and other dried herbs he traded for with a farmer who wanted a small bronze shovel. He grabs a wool blanket and throws it around his shoulders before walking to the river and carefully filling up the cup in the tributary. He places the filled cup near the fire before sitting nearby, huddling inside the blanket.

He was orphaned as a young child when his father, a metallurgist, and mother, a weaver, died of the first plague. So many children were taken to the Buttigieg Gardenery that there was hardly food or space enough for all the newcomers. That’s when he came into contact with Lord Idris. Average height, with a stalky build, and sharp grey eyes, partially covered with a thick bang of dirty blond hair, Lord Idris looked like something chiseled out of granite. And his voice, soft and silky as a trader’s when he spoke alone, and as loud and powerful as the roar of a waterfall in spring when he commanded. No one but his brother and some of the other nobles disliked Lord Idris.

Back then he was called Egbert of Buttigieg Gardenery. The surname was given to all the orphans. His days started with a breakfast of oats and goat’s milk before dawn. He stretched and did warm-ups followed by wrestling and knife practice in a group until the sun was at its highest. Next, he learned letters and numbers until supper. Then he helped clean dishes, wash sheets, followed by a bitterly cold sponge bath in the river Massika. After that he slept in a cot with two other orphan children. At eleven he was given his own cot. Under the guidance of Lord Idris, older orphans taught the wrestling and fighting. And under the guidance of Lord Ysbail, older female orphans taught numbers and letters. He enjoyed and excelled at both.

Someone to follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nht6LjdUnLk&list=RDnht6LjdUnLk&index=1

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Swords with Souls: Two Days Late So Far…B30

Two Days Late So Far…

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

Liam Nestor was described as tall and lanky with broad shoulders and long wavy hair and thick eyebrows. His wife Cara was short, upright, and buxom. It was believed they came from an unfamiliar island in the west. Together they worked for a local farmer. They became so popular for their knowledge of crops, weaving, and for sharing their extra food with the less fortunate that they were given land to create what would be called a gardenery. King Durmad wanted the gardenery to include a section for orphans of the latest war and Idris to train them as warriors. The girls would be brought up by other nobility that couldn’t inherit their own land. Everyone knew that these nobles were also deviants. Especially the third oldest brother of the king, Lord Ysbail, who was sent to oversee his overly popular younger brother. Lord Ysbail would look after finances and the girls’ dorm. Rumors abounded of the gardenery becoming more about wealth than helping the less fortunate.

Whether Liam and Cara were sent away or left of their own choice was a point of contention. However, before he ever arrived, they had departed the gardenery, and no one seemed to know where they went.

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Swords with Souls: Two Days Late So Far… B29

Two Days Late So Far…

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

In the twilight, the Sword Maker throws another log onto the fire he’s built on the stony shore of the tributary near his home. Occasionally, he glances across the water to the other shore. The eyes of a few wolves glow back at him. He strips off his apron and clothes and holds them in his lap as he sits near the fire. When he can’t stand the heat anymore, he steps into the frigid water. At first the cold water is a release as he washes his clothes but when his teeth start chattering, he hurries out. Standing near the fire again he droops his clothes over nearby rocks. He waits until his body is unbearably hot again and plunges back into the water. This time he uses a cloth to rub the grime from his body. He stays in longer this time, to cool off his anger. Lady Hekpomahcep and her entourage are two days late. He sits on a rock a little farther away from the fire and rinses out his hair. As water drains from his beard, he contemplates the latest king’s plan to divert the River Tyne. When he was a youth, another king did the same to the River Massika.

The grandfather of the current king, King Durmad had a very popular brother named Idris. Lord Idris was the fourth son of King David. Considered the runt of the family because he only grew to average height, he was none-the-less also the most athletic and wisest. King Durmad wanted his youngest brother out of the way so he sent him to oversee a strange man named Liam and his wife Cara, at the village Buttigieg.

Interview with blacksmith Sandra Dunn of Two Smiths

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Swords with Souls: Not Fair B28

Not Fair

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

Taking her grandfather’s soul was so emotionally draining that Lara just wants to head out on her own. But the funeral arrangements need to be prepared and performed. She will ride out to give Haashir, Madame Swan, and Crimthann’s nephew, Sir Oliver, a message to pass onto his uncle. There were others as well. It would mean she would be at least two dates late in meeting the sword maker. In the meantime, her sister would help her grandmother wash their uncle.

“Lara, Lara,” she hears her grandmother’s gentle voice call.

She gazes at the shelves of books and trinkets that surround the fireplace but can’t bear to look at her grandfather’s corpse wrapped in blankets. His essence isn’t there anymore, he’s in a tiny bag she keeps separate from the baron’s.

“There is a concern we must think on, Lara,” her grandmother says touching her shoulder.

“I must ride and tell others about the funeral,” she replies absent mindedly.

“First, we must consider who will take over the house and land.”

“What do you mean?” she asks in an agitated voice. “You will.”

“Not now, with the new king,” her grandmother says seriously. “Only males can inherit a house and land. That is the current law of the land.”

“Madame Swan owns the brothel,” she argues.

“That’s a business transaction. And who know how long that will last.”

“What are our options?” she asks glancing at the front door.

“Your father is mad; it wouldn’t be long before he lost the rights to either the house or the land. You must marry.”

“I’ve not met a man worthy,” she scowls.

“It would be a marriage of convenience,” her grandmother says. “We should have discussed this before but so much else was happening.”

“What kind of man do you suggest?” She pulls her boots on.

“One you can control,” her grandmother says with no hint of humour.

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Swords with Souls: Unexpected B27

Unexpected

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

“Legends passed down amongst my people say they came long ago across a vast ocean in long boats oared by slaves our size. They survived by catching fish with their bare hands and rain water captured in troughs along the centers of the boats.” Endellion moves the torch side to side so he has a better view. “The slaves were both for labour and food as these giants, who their slaves called moon people, enjoyed the taste of human flesh and bone.” She pauses and stares directly at him. “Eventually, some of the slaves escaped and were adopted into native tribes. The moon people were hunted down. But some are believed to have escaped into the mountains. To disguise their true identity, they wore the skins and heads of bears and wolves and only attacked at night. Your people, thinking they were giant wolves and bears, hunted down almost all these noble creatures in retaliation. My people wonder if the moon people did survive and now are mating with the current giants sent into the north by your kings.”

He gazes at the corpse again. “If the giants are breeding with these monsters, they will become emboldened. War might be coming,” he blurts out.

“You need to train us,” she says. “Not just because of your people.”

“I don’t have time to train all of you, and,” he touches his ear, “it would be too dangerous to train you outside the Dark Forest,” he continues with one more weary glance at the corpse of the moon giant.

“Then I’ll find someone else for you to train, who can then train the rest of us,” she says with a smile. “A woman without quarter moon ears.”

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Souls with Swords: Unexpected B26

Unexpected

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

As he watches her walk alongside the narrow river that flows down the centre of the valley, he feels hollow. For comfort he places his hand on Alberta’s chest. The mare’s heartbeat gives him strength.

“We travel deeper into the forest for foraging and to learn it’s secrets,” Endellion says from a short distance ahead. “Together we learn what animals are female and whether they are pregnant or not, including the water creatures. We have forbidden each other from hunting those.” She stops and whistles.

Alberta rears up as two young wolf pups, a black bear cub, and more slowly an old fox rush towards Endellion. He is shocked once again. These are horrible monsters who kill human babies and livestock. He begins to draw his sword.

Endellion starts scratching the back of one of the wolf cubs. The fox barks at the bear cub and one of the wolf pups as they begin to fight. The bear cub puts it mouth around the wolf pup’s neck but doesn’t bite down. It’s at that moment he realizes they are playing, much like he would play wrestle with his brothers when they were younger. The fox barks angrily and the bear cub and wolf pup abruptly sit.

“We consider the children of all creature’s sacred,” Endellion says. “Lemmitty was already living with us for a few years when the pups and cub were brought home. She’s mothered them along with one of the goats named Minna.”

“Never name something you plan to kill,” he warns her.

“Of course not. So far, amongst men, I have only named you and your uncle. There are at least ten soldiers I will never name.”

He lifts his face to the light drizzle and curses. Maybe those soldiers will die quickly in battle. It would be better for them than whatever fate she has planned for them. There is no doubt in her tone that vengeance will be hers.

One of the wolf cubs moves towards Alberta. At first the mare steps back. The pup barks up at her without a worry. He is finding his day full of shocks as Alberta tenderly lowers her nostril to the pup.

He is in a daze as he watches the two wolf pups, bear cub and old fox follow Endellion along the river bank past the mini orchards and garden patches. After a while they veer left towards one side of the valley. As they get closer to the hillside, he notices a curtain of ivy. Endellion pulls some of the vines to the side and gestures him to go inside. She follows him in. On a boulder near the entrance is a partially used torch. Beside the torch is a flint and a pyrite stone. She holds up the torch as he strikes the stones over it. Once the beeswax covered jute ignites, she starts to walk farther into the cave.

“As we were exploring one of the girls found this cavern,” she tells him.

The cave’s ceiling is quite high. He and two of his brothers would have to stand on each other’s shoulders to touch the top. The walls are moist and covered in moss and split into two tunnels.

“The left tunnel goes a long way in but we want to go into the right one,” he hears her voice echo.

What he sees at the far end of the right tunnel gives him the shivers. The skeletal figure of a giant lies against the back wall. This giant is close to twice his own height. The skull has a hole above the right eye socket. What is most terrifying is the open mouth. He steps closer. There’s two layers of teeth. He looks along the arms and notices the skeletal hands have six bony fingers.

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Swords with Souls: Unexpected B25

Unexpected

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

That the girl his uncle saved is now in charge disarms him. Some of the girls have been here much longer. And some of the faie are here hidden within trees, the swamp he sometimes smells but has never seen, and the deeper parts of the River Tyne.

The archer takes him to a hot spring surrounded by a naturally occurring ground elder hedge. The steam coming up from the pool reminds him that his uncle believes there is a volcano not far away but hidden within a circle of the distant mountains.

Aquamarine eyes peer at him through the steam. He watches, stunned as she rinses out her hair and steps fully nude onto the shore beside a pile of clothes. She stands there a moment so he can fully gaze upon her pale skin as water gradually runs down it. Her eyes are large and farther apart than he is accustomed to seeing. And her neck is longer as if she has more neck bones than most. But it only adds to her beauty. He doesn’t miss the double-edged stone knife in her left hand or the archers hidden in openings within in the hedge. His mind tries to justify why she would want to ambush him. But her nakedness suggests something else. A challenge to his manhood? Even when he visited Madame Swan’s brothel as a young man full of desire, he never forced himself on a girl. It was always reciprocity. And he was always tender. But he also listened, and instead of just seeing objects of desire, he started seeing daughters, sisters, and sometimes mothers. He started caring about the girls and occasionally protecting them even when they didn’t want it. So, he stopped going. Now, he wonders if his absence has Madame Swan intending to remove him as co-owner?

Endellion’s eyes are not full of lust but venom and distrust. Yet he doesn’t believe its directly towards him, but his entire gender. At first her expression says, you men are failures and we no longer want you. He watches without moving as Endellion slowly pulls on her clothing without ever setting down the knife. When she’s done, she steps up close to him. “You are the nephew of Crimthann and the Sword Master?” she asks with her chin up and eyelids narrowed.

“I am,” he says in a neutral tone. He never gloats about others calling him the Sword Master, but he is that good, and this will not go well for her or the archers she thinks are hidden, if they attack.

To his surprise he does nothing as she places an edge of her stone knife against his neck. She stays like that a moment then nicks his throat ever so slightly. He watches in complete confusion as she puts the trickle of his blood on her knife between her lips and licks the blood off. What she does next baffles him even more. He watches aghast as she nicks her own neck and places the edge with her own blood between his lips. He’s even more concerned that he willingly tastes her blood. He had heard her people were enchanters but never believed it.

“We are family now,” she tells him. “Not cousins, but sister and brother. Now come with me.”

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Swords with Souls: Unexpected B24

Unexpected

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

Sir Oliver rides his destrier mare, Alberta, along the dirt road through the farmland at the back of his fiefdom. He makes sure to go slow enough to wave at the farmers in the field. Most of them are family. His parents had no love of the city, nor did his brothers. Alberta automatically slowed as they neared the edge of the Dark Forest. He needed to warn the women in the hidden valley of the possible war coming. A short distance in, he dismounts and pats Alberta’s shoulder. He tosses the reins over her neck. If there was trouble, she knew to flee and let one of his brothers know. Even though it was early, the thick canopy of the forest cast a dark shadow over everything below. He listens and watches intently. Beside an ancient oak he hoots like an owl. Two hoots come back in reply. He hoots again. A barely visible figure with a cocked crossbow steps into view.

“Oliver, nephew of Crimthann,” he says and waits.

“I remember you, come,” a female voice tells him.

He has exceptional sight but her face is too shadowed for him to make out and he hasn’t been here for at least three or more years. As he steps closer, he notices she is wearing a dark green gambeson and leggings. Her boots and belt are both brown. From her wrists to almost her elbow she has boiled leather tied on; the same as he does. He wonders if she also has the crisscrossing leather straps, he wears under his shirt. Hanging from her belt is a hunting knife. It’s in a poor position to draw. He would have to correct her and the others on that.

Half an hour passes before he sees light shining ahead and hears water running. The scent of pine and skunkweed fades as they come into an open area. Down a sloping hill is the valley.

“Wait here,” the archer says and he watches as she hurries down the hill.

He gazes over the valley. Thatch roofed houses made of clay, straw, and stone are spread sparsely on the sides of the valley’s hills. Women are working in patches of potato, barley, and other grains and vegetables. Surrounding the patches are fruit and nut trees. He can make out hazelnut, chestnut, and almond trees interspersed with plum, apple, pear, and cherry.  The Chestnut and cherry are set in the middle of the smaller trees. Along the hilltops of the valley are oak, sugar maple, and walnuts. Towards the centre of the valley, where the greatest amount of sunlight reaches, are patches of raspberry, blueberry, and grapes. It will be years before the valley produces a lucrative amount of food. Most of it will have to be sold outside of the kingdom in the form of wines and other forms of liquor. Otherwise, a very greedy king might enquire where these supplies come from. At the far end of the valley, he can see a ridge of mountains.

He sees the archer retuning and turns his gaze to her. 

“Endellion will see you,” she tells him.

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BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone (Arriving July 26)

Paper Back Arriving July 26, 2024

BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Fantasy-Art-Z.com

e-book available now

After Bran gets accepted to the same Bard campus his father once went to his father tells him of the wonders of  becoming a Bard and how it will allow him to travel anywhere in the world. Bran argues that he would rather help his father with blacksmithing. But his father tells him he has to go, and because it’s harvest time, he must go alone. His father also warns him that things are much more dangerous now. Before he leaves, his mother tells him that someday he must return the gemstone necklace he always wears. A necklace given to him by a girl he saved two years before.

Soon Bran will learn just how dangerous things have become as he travels towards the Bard campus, and that the gemstone is much more than just a symbol of its owner’s gratitude.

BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone will take you on a journey of discovery, blacksmithing, and music. You’ll walk and run with Bran as he meets lurking dangers and learns of a constant threat from afar.

EXCERPT

His sight becomes blurry. Images fade in-and-out. Things grow extraordinarily large. Everything becomes unclear and black speckles dance in front of his eyes. He stands up and staggers outside into Cranny’s Forest.

“Off to the Campus, alone,” he sings:

Off alone, to a place far from home
Where the Bards are
So, I can sing to the Earth
Of a love, I don’t understand

Her long brunette hair
The tiny freckles around her nose
Are burned into my memories
And her evergreen eyes
As luminous as a pond,
Under gathering fireflies


For a moment of bravery
When I saved her,
from two ghouls
She clasped a silver necklace,
around my neck

Her farewell kiss,
a bonding reminder
That when we are older,
I must return to her,
This gemstone necklace,
That always rests,
against my chest

EXCERPT

Gently, he lays his lute on his lap, and gazes around at his surroundings. To the east there are alternate clusters of apple and cherry trees. Beyond the clusters he can see a wall of pine and spruce. Behind that wall the Druids roam. Through the rustling leaves, and gentle wind, he can hear the faint whistle of the Druids playing their flutes.  
He places the strap of his lute over his shoulders, and lightly twangs the strings. He wants to synchronize his lute sounds with their flute whistles but they are too distant. Something inside, some hidden essence, makes him sing as he plays:
​​​​​​​

He ran beside the forest to find the place of his destiny
Everything seemed dark and overgrown
Alone, he ran,
Through the dense woods

No one knows what creatures he met,
Nor the men who captured him,
Nor the one who let him go

Who would believe the monsters
he saw,
Two-headed men,
With hatchets
Covered in blood—

Swords with Souls!: The Hunt B23

The Hunt

(Swords with Souls)

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

“Kill him if you do and return with his head so we can show the people what a traitor looks like,” the king replies, and once again waving his hand, “and all of his family. They are all deemed terrorists.”

With a flourish, and without replying, Sir Oisin departs. He has no intention of returning to the king with any heads.

As he’s leaving, he hears the king say to the other royal guards except Sir Olaf and the new guard. “Go to your fiefdoms and prepare your fighting men for possible war.”

It amazes him that most of these propers don’t know how to follow a scent or a track. Maybe it’s because they’re taught they’re more important than other living things. They forget they learned how to build from birds, bees, and wasps. How to dig from rabbits and so many more. How to fish and hunt from bears and wolves and others. How to swim from otters. But that was so far back in their history they probably no longer remember. The exception is the rangers. Unfortunately, they are loners instead of leaders. Sir Ganbold would go to his tiny castle first, to collect his family and he would be prepared for an attack. Every one of his children were trained for battle and to ride a horse. If the party sent hasn’t caught up to Sir Ganbold and successfully killed him; there might be a chance to save him and his family.

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