The plains of diamonte l.., p.1
The Plains of Diamonte (Legionnaire Book 16), page 1
LEGIONNAIRE
BOOK 16
The Diamonte Arc Book 4
THE PLAINS OF DIAMONTE
By Gilbert M. Stack
Amazon Edition
Copyright 2024 by Gilbert M. Stack
Cover Copyright 2024 by Shirley Burnett
Map Copyright 2018 by Chris L. Adams
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedication
This one is for Chris L. Adams, but not for the obvious reason—the stellar map he painted of the Jeweled Hills of the North. No, this one is for his novel, The Banshee of the Atacama, and the interesting creatures his heroes encounter there. He inspires me to think about the edges of my worlds. And as always, this novel is also for anyone who loves stories of ancient Rome and enjoys wondering how those legions would have fared against the great threats of fantasy literature. With your shield or on it, Marcus!
Table of Contents
Dedication
Map of the Jeweled Cities of the North
Map of the Southern Jeweled Cities
Prologue: I Need to Get Out and Use My Sword More
Chapter One: The Most Popular Spectacles
Chapter Two: I Am Not at War Anymore
Chapter Three: On His Feet and Fleeing
Chapter Four: A Raincloud Over Their Heads
Chapter Five: Don’t You Dare Spread Such Slander!
Chapter Six: Loyal to Our Gota Patrons
Chapter Seven: Have You All Heard the Story?
Chapter Eight: Well Fuck!
Chapter Nine: He Didn’t Know How to Fix This
Chapter Ten: Andrés Lay Paralyzed
Chapter Eleven: They Liked Being Given Their Own Reins
Chapter Twelve: The Phalanx Will Advance
Chapter Thirteen: Some Fucking Great Ideas
Chapter Fourteen: If We Ever Get Out of Here
Chapter Fifteen: Who Do You Want to Win This War?
Chapter Sixteen: It Follows Wherever We Go
Chapter Seventeen: Why Not Try It?
Chapter Eighteen: He’s Trying to Make You Angry
Chapter Nineteen: I Can Keep a Secret Too
Chapter Twenty: Where Is the Fucking Legion?
Chapter Twenty-One: Fire Flew in All Directions
Chapter Twenty-Two: What Do We Do?
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Phalanx Will Advance
Chapter Twenty-Four: Even Gota Women Are Dangerous
Chapter Twenty-Five: I’m Just a Black Vigil
Chapter Twenty-Six: They’re Pillaging My Father’s Palace
Chapter Twenty-Seven: He’s Your Friend
Chapter Twenty-Eight: I Made a Mistake
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Time for Us to Get Out of Here
Chapter Thirty: A Tremor of Uneasiness
Chapter Thirty-One: You Could Die
Chapter Thirty-Two: Lord Evorik Lost
Chapter Thirty-Three: I Am a Legionnaire
Chapter Thirty-Four: We Are Going to Strike Again
Chapter Thirty-Five: You Weren’t Going to Ransom Me
Epilogue
Musket Men
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 Southern Jeweled Cities
Like many great prefects of the past, Marcus Venandus understood well that there was a time for politics…and a time for the sword.
Seneca Liberus
Prologue
I Need to Get Out and Use My Sword
“You’re wrong, Ildefons!” Haruwulf, Master of Horse of Ópalo, shouted the other lord down. What he wanted to say was you lie but he couldn’t prove to the rest of the lords’ satisfaction that Diamonte had paid the miserable excuse for a Gota to argue that their enemies feared to start a war with Ópalo. “My spies tell me that the decision has been made and that within two or three handfuls of days, Diamonte will cross the border and invade our homeland. Even now they have begun to push their warriors and their soldiers north out of Azurita to prepare for their strike.”
“The only reason they’re pushing their warriors north is that imbeciles like you keep talking of war between us—you and that madman, Marcus of Aquila, who pretends that he has an alliance with us to stand against Diamonte in the coming war.”
“Your memory is as short as your pecker, Ildefons!” Haruwulf insulted him. “For you stood here in this hall when Thegn Athanagild swore to Amatista’s Master of Horse Ansila that in exchange for our shares in the Silk Association we would be friends forever and stand by our ally through thick and thin.”
“And where are the profits from this silk?” Ildefons demanded.
“Difficult to have profitable trade when your enemy besieges your city and your ally cowers at home hoping the lion won’t notice it skulking in the shadows” Haruwulf replied.
That insult got a lot more men grumbling at him.
Thegn Athanagild raised his voice to answer it. “Haruwulf, your argument is both good and bad. When we made that pledge, we were told that Granate stood firmly with the alliance, but that proved not to be the case. Ópalo, Granate, Amatista, and Topacio—we could have made a stand against Diamonte, but without Granate—with Beremund of Amatista too injured to fight, our options were sorely limited.”
Not our honorable ones, Haruwulf wanted to argue, but insulting the thegn was not going to win him his way.
“That was in the beginning of the war,” Haruwulf permitted it to look like he agreed, “but circumstances have changed. The new Qing emissary to Clovis. This Wū Shī Huan Liu,” it was difficult for Haruwulf to wrap his tongue around the foreign name but he made a valiant effort. “He has convinced Clovis and his court to invade us now.”
“And how do you know this?” Ildefons demanded.
“For the same reason you do,” Haruwulf spit the words right back at him. “I have spies in Clovis’ court.”
“You don’t need spies, Haruwulf,” Ildefons snapped. “What are you? On Diamonte’s payroll? You’re trying to give them the excuse they need to assault us.”
Haruwulf took a very deep breath and drew his sword. “Ildefons, you are a greedy, cowardly, treacherous cur who argues that defending ourselves is treachery while pulling down our pants and presenting our asses for Thegn Clovis’ pecker is the path of honor. But you’ve finally said something that can’t be forgiven. Get out your sword. I don’t care if you’re fifteen years younger than me. I’m going to kill you for your slander.”
“None of that!” Thegn Athanagild roared. “I can’t have my lords dueling each other at a time like this.”
“There can be no other choice, my Thegn! He has—”
“Ildefons apologize!” Athanagild ordered.
A crafty smile bent the other lord’s lips. “How can I do that, my Thegn, when I know it to be true? Haruwulf here is just counting on you to force me to back down. It cannot be so.”
“Ildefons!” the thegn warned.
“Let it be a trial by combat!” Lord Ethelwand suggested.
Haruwulf’s eyes narrowed. He was quite certain that Ethelwand was another on Diamonte’s payroll. Was he pushing for the combat because he thought that Ildefons would win, or because he was trying to get rid of a rival before Diamonte took over?
“Haruwulf is an old man,” Athanagild argued. “Ildefons is in his prime.”
“And yet,” Ethelwand reminded everyone. “It was Haruwulf who issued the challenge.”
“And my challenge stands!” Haruwulf assured everyone. “Ildefons may be in better physical shape than me, but he has a merchant’s heart, valuing Diamonte’s money more than he loves his Gota ancestors and the path of honor.”
Strangely, Ildefons did not shout rebuttals of these insults, but stared hard at Ethelwand.
“And as for excuses to fight, Ildefons, Diamonte didn’t need excuses when it invaded Amatista. They didn’t even bother with a declaration of war.”
“And neither do you!” Ildefons seized on the chance to argue with words rather than weapons. “You want to invade them without—”
“I do not!” Haruwulf cut him off. “I want to properly garrison our fortresses with Gente soldiers. Diamonte has raised thirty thousand Gente against us to support their proud warriors and we leave most of our Gente in the fields as if a great threat has not massed on our border.”
“The harvest is coming,” Ildefons reminded everyone. “We need those Gente in the fields.”
“Oh, yes,” Haruwulf said, “you need those Gente to harvest the grain for your Diamonte masters. There is no justification for what you and Ethelwand and others have argued. Out of one side of your mouth you tell us that Diamonte assembling an army near our border with Azurita is no threat because their warriors and their soldiers are in their own territory. Out of the other side of their mouth you warn our thegn that if we match their build up, we look like we are hungry for war and threaten our enemies. Well, I say Diamo
Around the room, for the very first time in years of arguing, a majority of lords agreed with Haruwulf and a look of concern crossed Ethelwand’s face. He stepped forward. “Ildefons, you cannot take these slanders. He has called you a lapdog of Diamonte. If you do not fight him now, everyone will believe it is true and that your lavish spending is fueled by Diamonte’s coins.”
“I said I don’t want a duel!’ Athanagild snapped.
“And neither does Ildefons,” Haruwulf pushed. “If the lords will stop to think about it a moment, we never heard any stories of Ildefons killing bandits when he led his men out to patrol the border with Amatista. He looks fine holding the sword, but we all know he doesn’t know what to do with it.”
“Are you really going to just stand there and take these insults?” Ethelwand asked his ally. “Now these lords suspect you are a coward as well as a traitor.”
“Enough!” the beleaguered lord shouted. “I accept your challenge!”
“I don’t want—”
“It’s gone too far, my Thegn,” Haruwulf interrupted him. “You’ve listened to this snake’s counsel for years and we missed the chance to fight this war on foreign soil. At least now when Diamonte comes for us, we won’t have to worry about this viper sinking his fangs into our backs.”
“I’ve heard enough out of you!” Ildefons ripped a jewel-encrusted sword out of his scabbard.
“Oh, look, a virgin blade,” Haruwulf mocked him. He knew the other lord was younger and stronger than him. He needed him angry and frightened enough to make mistakes. “Mine, on the other hand, has seen much honorable use in the service of our thegn.”
The master of horse raised his blade. Unlike Ildefons’, it was plain and workmanlike and every lord and warrior in the room knew he had killed many men with it.
Ildefons didn’t wait for a space to be cleared for them. He lunged, drawing boos and hisses from the crowd even as Haruwulf knocked the man’s sword to the side and struck with speed and power right for his enemy’s unprotected throat.
A hand grabbed his arm, saving Ildefons’ life, even as Ethelwand shouted. “Wait, Haruwulf! The trial hasn’t started yet.”
Haruwulf elbowed the other lord in the face while outraged lords grabbed the other man and pulled him back out of the fight. But Ethelwand’s treachery had given Ildefons the opportunity to recover his balance.
Thegn Athanagild stepped forward. “Ethelwand, you disgust me, and you’ve just shown me the truth in what Haruwulf has been warning me of all these years. How long have you taken Diamonte’s money?”
Lord Ethelwand tried to struggle free of the hands holding him back. He realized he had overplayed his hand and his mind was working for a way to talk himself back into the thegn’s good graces. “My Thegn—”
Ildefons struck again with the same beautiful well-practiced lunge, but Haruwulf hadn’t gotten older without learning to keep his eye on his enemies. He stepped to the side, batted down the blade and then backhanded a cut that caught Ildefons on the chin, splitting it open and knocking the man hard onto the floor.
Haruwulf didn’t hesitate.
He stepped forward even as Ildefons looked up at him in terror and hacked down again, half severing the head from his body.
“If I may, my Thegn?” he indicated the still captive form of Ethelwand.
“No,” Athanagild denied his request and Ethelwand’s eyes lit with hope. “That honorless cur does not deserve a duel. Put him on his knees!”
“But my Thegn!” Ethelwand protested as he was forced down on the floor.
“You tried to get my master of horse killed today, Ethelwand. He’s been my stalking horse on this matter of Diamonte for two years. He’s helped me identify all of you who are taking Diamonte’s money.”
Many men took a guilty step backward further identifying themselves.
“And do you know what I say about those of you who accepted those bribes?” Athanagild asked. Then, before anyone could panic and do something stupid, he laughed. “Who cares? That’s what I say. Better for the money to be in our coffers than Diamonte’s. As you all know, I’ve accepted a few princely attestations of Diamonte’s eternal friendship myself.”
Several men cautiously smiled at the thegn’s joke.
“But it ends here. We all know they’re coming for Ópalo now. We all know they were always coming for us. That’s why I agreed to join the alliance when we thought Granate was in the fold, but, well, we lost that gamble. Now, when you leave here all of you are going to go home and arrest your Diamonte friends, and you’re going to call up the rest of your warriors and every fucking Gente who can hold a weapon in his hands. And you know what? I hope Diamonte really is coming because I’m tired of waiting on the bastards. I want to give the bards something to sing about besides a foreigner from Aquila humiliating Diamonte with a bunch of Qing and Gente soldiers.”
The warriors cheered and Haruwulf felt hope surge in his chest. There were still men in Ópalo. They would fight when Diamonte came for them.
“May I go home and raise my warriors too, my Thegn?” Ethelwand’s voice squeaked as he pleaded.
Thegn Athanagild drew his sword. “Oh, no, my old counselor. You crossed the line. You didn’t just accept bribes. You acted on them. You helped Diamonte.”
His sword rose and fell and suddenly the cowering lord’s head rolled free of his shoulders. It was a much cleaner cut than the one with which Haruwulf had finished off Ildefons.
“That felt good!” Athanagild said. “I need to get out and use my sword more.”
The men roared with approval.
They all knew that time was rapidly approaching.
Chapter One
The Most Popular Spectacles
“Start the race!” Prefect Marcus Venandus, Patrician of far-off Aquila and Tribune of those legendary legions, ordered.
His only fire mago, Acting Magus Seneca Liberus, stepped forward, lifted his hands toward the heavens, and sent an impressive gout of fire blazing into the sky.
Up and down the docks of Hessonita, a great shout went up and forty-seven fishing boats pushed off into the water, making all possible speed to be the first to reach the far bank of the river and the town of Cantera. Marcus had offered a prize of one hundred sceatta for the winner—fifty days wages for a legionnaire and a hefty amount of hard cash for a fisherman. In the twenty-four hours since the race had been announced, it had generated a lot of excitement in Hessonita, thousands of whose citizens had turned out on the docks to see if the race would end in safety or if the giant serpent who had interrupted the battle between the legion and the Gota of Hessonita would return to investigate the noise and resume eating.
“Well, they’re enthusiastic enough,” Black-Vigil-turned-Capitán Severus Lupus observed in his gruff no-nonsense voice. “If the monster is still out there, this will bring him running.”
“Swimming,” Senior Mago Efraín Estudioso corrected him with mock severity. “Capitán, I am surprised at your lack of knowledge of the world. Snakes do not run, they slither—or in this case, they swim.”
Severus just glared at the old man, giving him the treatment that made green legionnaires tremble until both men broke and cracked a smile.
“Snake! Snake! Snake!” a group of people further down the docks began to chant.
Marcus looked around trying to see any sign of the monster, before he realized that the men and women were not pointing in fear but encouraging the creature to make an appearance. “Do they want it to come and eat more people?” he asked.
“Probably want a show,” Severus grumbled.
“You could be correct,” Efraín considered the problem. “But I will bet that most of the people who are chanting don’t actually want anyone to get hurt. They just want to see for themselves a creature out of legend. Most of these people didn’t actually see the monster when it first attacked because the army of Hessonita was on the docks. Sensible people were either staying in their homes or running to the far side of the city.”
“If they were sensible,” Severus noted, “they wouldn’t be chanting for a giant monster to return.”
“In Aquila,” Marcus observed, “the most popular spectacles involve men fighting beasts to the death and men fighting other men. It’s disappointing that so many people want to see a monster eat their fellow citizens for entertainment, but I guess it’s not surprising.”
