Valdemar 05 - [Vows & Honor 02] - Oathbreakers Read Free

You’ve gotten about as far as you can as an independent pairing. Now me and Ikan, we had the opposite problem. We’re just ordinary fighting types; a bit better than most, but that’s all that distinguishes us. We had to join a company to get a reputation; then we could live off that reputation as a pair. But you—you’ve got a reputation that will get you high fees from the right mercenary company.”
    Tarma had shaken her head doubtfully at that, but Justin had fixed her with his mournful houndlike eyes, and she’d held her peace.
    â€œYou, Tarma,” he’d continued, “need much wider experience, especially experience in commanding others—and only a company will give you that. Kethry, you need to exercise skills and spells you wouldn’t use in a partnership, and to learn how to delegate if your school is ever going to be successful, and again, you’ll learn that in a company.”
    â€œLong speech,” Tarma had commented sardonically.
    â€œWell, I’ve got one, too,” Ikan had said, winking a guileless blue eye at her. “You also need exposure to highborns, so that they know your reputation isn’t just minstrelsy and moonshine. You haven’t a choice; you truly need to join a company, one with a reputation of their own, one good enough that the highborns come to them for their contract. Then, once you are ready to hang up your blades and start your schools, you’ll have noble patrons and noble pupils panting in anticipation of your teaching—and two not-so-noble aging fighters panting in anticipation of easy teaching jobs.”
    Kethry had laughed at Ikan’s comic half-bow in their direction. “I take it that you already have a company in mind?”
    â€œIdra’s Sunhawks,” Justin had replied blandly.
    â€œThe Sunhawks? Warrior’s Oath—you’d aim us bloody damned high, wouldn’t you?” Tarma had been well taken aback. For all that they were composed of specialist-troops—skirmishers, horse-archers and trackers—the Sunhawks’ repute was so high that kings and queens had been known to negotiate their contracts with Idra in person. “Good gods, I should bloody well think highborns negotiate with them; their leader’s of the damned Royal House of Rethwellan! And just how are we supposed to get a hearing with Captain Idra?”
    â€œUs,” Ikan had replied, stabbing a thumb at his chest. “We’re ex-Hawks; we started with her, and probably would still be with her, but Idra was going more and more over to horse-archers, and we were getting less useful, so we decided to light out on our own. But we left on good terms; if we recommend that she give you a hearing, Idra will take our word on it.”
    â€œAnd once she sees that you’re what you claim to be, you’ll be in, never fear.” Justin had finished for him. “Shin‘a’in Kal‘enedral—gods, you’d fit in like a sword in a sheath, Hawkface. And you, Keth—Idra’s always got use for another mage, ’specially one nearly Masterclass. The best she’s got now is a couple of self-taught hedge-wizards. Add in Furball there—you’ll be a combination she won’t be able to resist.”
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    So it had proved. With letters in their pouches from both Ikan and his partner (both could read and write, a rarity among highborn, much less mercenaries) they had headed for the Sunhawks’ winter quarters, a tiny hill town called Hawksnest. The name was not an accident; the town owed its existence to the Sunhawks, who wintered there and kept their dependents there, those dependents that weren’t permanent parts of the Company bivouac. Hawksnest was nestled in a mountain valley, sheltered from the worst of the mountaintop weather, and the fortified barracks complex of the Sunhawks stood between it and the valley entrance. When the Hawks rode out, a solid garrison