Two Heirs (The Marmoros Trilogy Book 1) by Peter Kenson Read Free Book Online

to the rules of the company.
     

 
    Chapter 3
    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
    (Arthur C Clarke)
     
     
    He was back in the white room. White walls, white ceiling. But no visual clues as to where he might be. The voices were clearer though. Maybe nearer, maybe louder but pushing this time at the edges of his consciousness. He lay very still and concentrated on the voices.
     
    “...pre-industrial society...nothing more advanced than swords and bows...”
    “...must be able to help... give him some sort of edge...”
    “...toughened steel blade... we could even enhance it...”
    “...no power sources... nothing detectable...”
    “...based on the old Japanese katana... better than any normal sword but completely undetectable...”
    “...need to be a bit creative with his background. Bit more material, few extra memories...”
     
    “What about some armour?”
    “...alloys perhaps... ultralight alloys...”
    “...how can we explain that? ”
    “...Mithril... elven armour... magic armour...”
    “Would they fall for it?”
    “...they'd never be able to tell the difference...”
    He woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of somebody moving quietly inside the tent. He threw off the sleeping furs and leapt to his feet, seizing the katana and drawing it from its scabbard in one smooth motion. There were two tiny gasps of shock as Leyla and Mo cowered back away from the blade.
    “I... I'm sorry, my lord,” Leyla stammered. “We didn't mean to disturb your sleep.”
    “You two. I had forgotten about you two. What are you doing here?”
    “This is our tent, my lord. I mean, we used to share it with...” her voice trailed off.
    “So now we will share it with you, milord,” Mo added brightly.
    “Ah,” said Held. “I see. Let's have some light on the scene, shall we. I think we need to talk.”
    Mo busied herself with flint and steel and a couple of oil lamps sprang into life. As she turned back, Leyla elbowed her in the ribs and giggled. “My lord, I'm not sure which sword we should be most afraid of.”
    Held suddenly realised that he was standing there stark naked with a sword in his hand. Flushing to the tips of his ears, he flung the sword on the bed and reached for a shirt to cover himself.
    “I'm sorry, ladies. You caught me unawares.”
    “But not completely unprepared, it would appear, my lord.”
    “And willing to spring to our aid at a moment’s notice,” Mo added.
    “Stop it you two… and find somewhere to sit down.”
    “Yes my lord.” The two girls grabbed an arm each of Manny’s heavy chair and dragged it into the centre of the tent.
    “I didn’t mean for me,” he started to say, as the girls arranged themselves more or less decorously on the bed. Sighing he sat down in the chair.
    “Look ladies. I’m sorry I startled you just now but there are going to have to be some changes around here.”
    “That’s all right milord,” Mo said. “We weren’t really worried.”
    “It’s just that it was such a magnificent weapon,” Leyla giggled.
    “Cut that out,” he warned. “I know that under the rules of the group I have uhm… inherited all of Manny’s possessions. But that does not include you two.”
    The faces of the two girls fell.
    “Don’t look at me like that and let me try to explain. Where I come from, the rules of society are different. Women are not possessions. They are not somebody’s property to be traded or bartered like a sack of beans. Women are people in their own right. They have the same rights as a man.”
    There was a little gasp of shock from the girls at this.
    “Women can live together with a man... or with another woman if they choose. If they love each other they can marry. But if something happens to that relationship and they no longer want to live together, at the end of the day, the woman can just walk away exactly the same as a man can.”
    There was shock in Mo’s voice as she replied. “That