The Sorcerer's Vengeance: Book 4 of the Sorcerer's Path by Brock Deskins Page A

terrorizing its prestigious citizens for the better part of the day. Groveswood had a large guard force that did an excellent job of keeping the thieves and commoners out of the town, but they were poorly equipped to take on five hundred mounted mercenaries who lived for battle and mayhem.
    Ulric sent a messenger into the city to inform Kayne that he would be driving him out that night and to have his men prepared to depart with their substantial plunder. Once the night fully arrived, Ulric led his men through the lightly guarded gates. Kayne’s men held the gates not to keep Ulric out but to keep any citizen of Groveswood from fleeing the town and sending for help until they were ready for them to do so.
      The battle at the gates was quick and Ulric rode at the head as his army as they raged through the streets “battling” the invaders wherever they found them and routing them out of the west gate of the town. Within an hour, not a single raider remained inside the town’s walls. The “dead and wounded” were taken away in the duke’s wagons where Ulric promised to dispose of the corpses and captives alike so that they would not sully the pristine air of Groveswood any longer.
    The mayor lauded Duke Ulric as well as bestowing the town’s highest honor upon him for their deliverance from the hands of the invaders. Ulric nearly choked stifling the laughter that threatened to overcome his amusement at the irony of the award.
    The pillaging had not been bloodless but it had been acceptably controlled. As per Ulric’s directive, Kayne and his men killed only a small number of the lesser citizens, those merchants with minimal political influence that he had denoted as expendable. There was more than enough degradation, humiliation, brutalization, and assault to help properly enrage the citizens and bend their favor and gratitude towards the duke.
    Duke Ulric found Kayne and his men at the agreed upon campsite, well off the traveled roads where anyone would chance upon them. Once again, Ulric failed to spot the sentries that he knew Kayne had posted at several points leading up to the campsite. He found Kayne and his officers still tallying and recording the wealth of treasures that had been carted off by the wagonload during the night. Once he had an accurate accounting, Kayne would then distribute the plunder among his men as their contract and pay dictated with the bulk of it going to Kayne himself.
    “It looks like you fared quite well, Kayne,” Ulric called out as he approached with his men.
    Kayne handed the ledger book and quill to one of his trusted men and strode towards the duke, smiling brightly.
    “Aye, we certainly did. May I presume that you fared equally well in your own way as well?” Kayne asked, smiling up at the mounted duke with his hands on his hips.
    “You may, Kayne, you most certainly may. I must congratulate you once again on you and your men’s excellent performance. You are going to make me have to change my rather poor opinion of mercenaries,” Ulric said pleasantly as he dismounted.
    Kayne chortled loudly. “Don’t do that, Ulric. No other mercenaries are Hell’s Legion. Stick with your first opinion it will serve you better in the long run. Care to share the next step in your grand plan, Duke?”
    “Now is the time to call up your infantry and support personnel. Coming from the south, they should have no problem marching as far north as Southport even in the winter unless you know a place further south that will be warmer to sit out the remainder of the cold season. It would have to be out of the way enough to minimize accidental discovery but close enough to move north on short notice.”
    Kayne rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “There are canyons in the Bloodstone Mountains where I could hide them. They could reach Southport in two weeks at the latest. When do you plan to use them?”
    “Jarvin has sent out three armies to secure the roads between the four major regions. I had