Dark Obligations: Book One of the Phantom Badgers Read Free Page A

going to have to adapt damn quickly to stay ahead of the game.” That had their attention.
    “Helvin and his company will be done in just a few weeks’ time, likely a month and a few days. That means they’ll want their payment before long, or at least double payment to wait for the tiles until spring. That is an annoyance, but we could work around it. What is worse is we have received an envoy from the wizard Bluefire.”
    “If you have to receive bad news, than an envoy like Bluefire’s is the best medium I could imagine to carry it,” Rob in laughed. A concurring grunt from Dmitri and a covert wink from Axel seconded his observation. Gabriella sneered openly, and Bridget’s sniff was audible.
    “Whatever,” Durek wondered for the thousandth time at the Human predisposition to look at life from the perspective of sex. “At any rate, the Wizard has taken upon himself to order an immediate raid into Gradrek Heleth for the purpose of recovering a set of books that a previous expedition into the hold discovered, acquired, and then lost.”
    “ What is so damned urgent about getting those books right away?” Gabriella irritably swirled the wine in her glass. “Doesn't that bastard know what time of year it is?”
    “Bluefire gives us one order, and then we’re even,” Axel smiled ruefully at the dark knife fighter. “We owe him from two years ago when he got the White Necromancer off our backs, at least temporarily. The wizard is nearly as dangerous as the liche, and a damn sight closer, so we can't afford to renig. As for why it has to be right away, apparently others are looking for the volumes as well.”
    “Speaking of the White Necromancer, we’re going to have to do something about that bastard one of these days,” Bridget observed grimly. “It moves slow, but sooner or later it’s going to come for us.”
    “Sooner rather than later, if we keep running afoul of its plans,” Durek nodded. “This summer’s incident did us no good, wiping out one of the liche’s own pet necromancers going about Eight knows what sort of dark errands. And how we are going to deal with an Undead spellcaster who never leaves that pile of ruins in the Wastes is sometime I spend a lot of time worrying about. But those are concerns for later. For now we concern ourselves with a raid into Gradrek Heleth . We cannot afford to alienate Bluefire, nor sully our reputation for honoring our contracts. After all, we’ve seen winter campaigns before.”
    “Not north of the Ward, we haven't,” Robin observed sourly, the prospect of such an action wiping out the good humor brought on by the speculations about the envoy.
    “The snow hasn’t fallen yet,” Bridget pointed out. “If we move fast it may be possible to be southbound before the real winter weather hits.”
    “And until th e snow is on the Wastes to stay the Orcs will be resting up and reorganizing,” Dmitri observed. “There will a few weeks where the chances of encountering a war party will be lower than any other time of the year, excepting the spring mud.”
    “That’s the way I see it,” Durek nodded. “Decisive action, hit hard and run with the loot: practically our trademark. We’ll lay out the plan tonight, prepare tomorrow, ride the day after.”
    “Fast action,” Dmitri nodded. “No point in waiting. Are we going to get the tiles while we’re there?”
    “Yes, no point in making two runs into that death-pit. What I’m planning is a precision raid using a portion of the Company, as too many troops will just slow us down.”
    “The troops are pretty worn down after the summer,” Robin observed. “This won’t be a quick operation, or an easy one.”
    “Volunteers only,” Durek studied the swordsman thoughtfully. “Handpicked volunteers, only the best.”
    “We’ve thirty under the standard at the moment,” Bridget mused. “How many were you thinking of?”
    “Twelve: ten to enter Gradrek Heleth and two to guard the mounts outside.