The Warrior Returns - Anteros 04 by Allan Cole Read Free Book Online Page A

noble feelings, forming and cementing my notions of right and wrong and honor. It was also through him that I'd been infected by the Antero family obsession to explore new lands and see new things. And when my mother carried my wishes forward, telling him that above all things I wanted to become a soldier, my father'd made certain I had the chance to achieve my heart's desire.
    I was always his darling daughter no matter how rough or boyish my play. When I was a child, I'd sit on his knee night after late night, winding and unwinding my fingers in his beard while he regaled me with tales of his early adventures in the lands of the South.
    He told me of the oyster beds along the Straits of Madacar, where the pearls were plump and glowing. He showed me one rare pearl he'd found that was as big as my childish fist and black as the deeps of the deepest sea. He had a little fertility idol, a fat little woman with great breasts and an oversized pudendum, that he prized above all his treasures. He said it came through many hands from the true end of the world and was a goddess to the People of the Edge who lived on the bottom of the earth. It had been his lifelong desire to go to that place, but he'd never had the time to undertake such a journey.
    I've been there since those days of pigtails and scraped knees. I've seen what my father ached to see. I remember gazing out on those wild and lovely wastelands for the first time and thinking if things had been different, Paphos Antero would've been the first great Orissan explorer instead of
    Amalric. Who knows what the world would be like if that had happened?
    And how much larger it would be.
    I suppose it was because of his dreams and tales that I'd concentrated on southern exploration and trade since I left the Maranon Guard and joined my brother. Perhaps the threat I sensed from the false Ice Bear King made me more anxious to secure those regions for Orissan trade.
    As I viewed the matter, any losses suffered to that pirate devil would be as much a blow against my father as myself.
    When I set out to investigate the extent of the danger, if danger existed at all, I did so with more resolve than someone seeking mere profit. I'd be damned if I'd let some barbarian upstart interfere with my plans. And if he'd harmed any of my people, I'd hunt him down and rid the earth of his flea-riddled carcass.
    I was a warrior in wizard's robes, and by the sweet eyes of Maranonia, I swore to have my will in this matter.
    we made a fast run south. We flew n o flags. We used sails dyed a t awny blue so as not to stand out on the horizon. And we avoided even the most innocent traffic.
    My ship was the Tern, a single-masted, shallow-drafted vessel built for speed in any waters, from stormy seas to placid river currents. I carried a crew of ten, which was more than I needed to sail her, but all were skilled fighters as well, so we'd make a nasty little force to be crossed. There was a short single bank of oars on either side to get us out of trouble if we were becalmed. And I'd fitted her out with all the most modern devices, such as the small pump just out of our Evocator's shops, that'd keep her dry and light in any weather.
    The pump ran on a mild spell of perpetuation, so it never needed manning, other than someone to clear the hose if oakum or some other debris clogged it. The pump was only one of many useful devices Orissans had devised in recent years, combining the magical knowledge my brother brought back from the Far Kingdoms with our native ingenuity for mechanics.
    Once again the captain was Carale, whom I was delighted to sail with again. The first mate was Donarius, a big blustery fellow with a bad temper and keen weather eye. He also swung a two-handed sword with impressive and ferocious ease, and although he grumbled some, he always followed orders exactly.
    One of the practices I'd instituted since joining my brother was building a stable of men and women trained both as sailors and