Traitors of the Realm - Kingmaker Book 1

Lobo - Honor Isn't Dead Chapter 24

"What do you think about the boy?" asked Sir Elroy, leaning against the tree as Old Lobo drank his drink. He licked his lips, wiped his mouth, then he stroked his beard.

"He's seems like the son I could've had if I hadn't told the whore to toss him into the latrine," Old Lobo confessed. "He's more man than all these duds combined, but he's too broken to be a leader. Broken men do not care if the world crumbles, they just stand aside hoping the pillars do not fall upon their own feet."

"We need to head back to Alcadia," said Micah, approaching from behind. "The longer we stay here, my family is at risk of being taken away and becoming slaves."

"I need to talk to him," said Lobo, staring at Kaelan as he stood by the road, trying on clothes that were relatively new. He tried on a few different shirts before settling for a plain white. He took a black cotton pants for himself, along with a blue leather jerkin. The boots he wore was black, that matched well with his pants.

Lobo left them there, walking toward him as Kaelan sorted through the things, handing out a few boots for his men to try on. He found a leather belt in the pile, engraved with patterns of waves. He took it immediately, sending it through the loops.

"All you need is a proper shave and you'd steal hearts from here to south," said Lobo, as he approached him, fixing the collar that stood up still.

"Your flatter me, Sir."

"I speak truthfully," Lobo told him. "I sometimes get myself in trouble for speaking to many facts."

"Truth is welcome at my court," Kaelan swore. "Is there something I can help you with,"

"My niece and my nephew's wife is still in Alcadia. Damien has it occupied with his men. I was wondering if you could help us recapture the city and save them."

"I will," said Kaelan, "we have the numbers and we can't go to the port."

"Why can't we go the port?" Lobo asked.

"I heard the men speaking," confessed Kaelan, "you used to be Kade's brother-in-law. You're Lobo Mortenson. Your brother was Lord Arthur of Ashalon. He refused to bend the knee to Ryker, and he was flayed in front of his wife and children."

"Yes," said Lobo, bowing his head, before nodding. "It still seems like yesterday when I heard the news of what had happened to my brother and his children. His wife, she...uh, she was raped by the soldiers. My sister and her son was kicked out of their home, they became an outcast in a land their ancestor's built for them."

"That's him, isn't it, Kade's boy," asked Kaelan, as he stared toward the man who was standing not too far from them.

"Yes," said Old Lobo, taking a seat upon the wagon, shifting the clothes aside. "My sister sold her body just to keep him fed, something she should have never been in a position to do."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kaelan told him, taking a seat beside him, departing the men momentarily with the flick of his wrist. "We will restore this country to what it was," he promised.

"No," said Lobo, staring into his eyes. "It can never be how it use to be, but it can be better with the right leader."

Kaelan nodded in agreement. As they sat there, they heard screams coming from the inner parts of the forest. As they entered and walked toward the noise, it sounded more like a burst of excitement as the crowd gathered around, forming a circle. When Lobo circled around, he saw what he had thought to be long gone. A dragon, small in size. He was hissing as the people laughed and cheered at the tiny beast.

"He's magnificent," said Lobo, staring at the black creature.

"He is," said Kaelan, entering in. He lifts him up from off the ground, watching Saria as she entered in afterward. The dragon sat on his shoulders, hissing at Saria as she came near him.