Tomb of the Warlord King

Part 1

            “Haskul, we need to stop and tighten up our clay!” Remmy said, and huffed when her husband kept his eyes locked on the road. Sure enough, not a moment had passed before one of the wheels hit a small hole in the road and Remmy heard the tell-tale clinking and shattering of a pot. She had some momentary satisfaction as she saw a grimace pass over her husband’s face. “See? What’d I tell you?” She said smugly. “Perhaps now would be a good time to re-tie the back of the cart?” She barely felt the pain in her back through the satisfaction of seeing Haskul proved wrong.

            “Goddamnit woman!” Haskul burst out, his face purple from anger. “Fine!” He jerked the reins sharply, the mule brayed at the sudden stop. Haskul was off the bench before the dust had settled from the mule’s hooves. “I’ll fix the goddamn pots, I’ll fix ‘em just to keep your gums from flapping all the way to Orderic!” Haskul stormed to the back of the cart. Remmy didn’t watch but sat with a small grin on her face as she heard her husband huffing his large bulk up into the back of the cart. “Goddamn rope went and loosened, just like everything on this forsaken cart, falling apart or broken already.” Haskul muttered as he tugged and pulled at the fastenings keeping their wares in place. Remmy tuned out the noise her husband made, retreating in to the sense of calm she had learned long ago to visit during his episodes.

            Remmy felt the cart shift and jostle as her fat husband lowered himself from the back, and then climbed back up to the bench again. The shifting of the cart caused her lower back to ache, but she kept the pain from her face, she wanted Haskul to see the look of serene calm on her; it would keep his ire up and she took pleasure in that.

            “There, woman, it’s all secure. You can rest easy on that fat behind of yours now…oh, wait, you never got off that fat behind in the first place!” Haskul nearly shouted. Remmy smirked, she knew that even if she tried to help, it would cause nothing but trouble as Haskul would yell at her for getting in the way.

            “Can we please continue? I’d like to get to Orderic before this road is lost to night.” Remmy said calmly.

            “Aye.” Haskul agreed, and Remmy was taken aback slightly at how calm he sounded, and without his customary quipping. “I heard that orcs have increased in number along these parts, not to mention the normal banditry that we’re exposed to.” They had been traveling the road between their small shire and Orderic for years, and the fear of banditry was every present; but Remmy had never known her husband to be so outward with his fear. 

            “Where’d you hear that?” Remmy asked, she felt her heart flutter at the mention of orcs, she knew about the bandits, but wasn’t worried about them so close to the capital. Orcs, on the other hand, were altogether brazen, and likely to attack anywhere and at any time.

            “Bascom made mention of it, he had just been back from Grayson Fort and heard a few reports from some of the soldiers there.”

            “Bascom?” Remmy looked incredulous, feeling the fear that had rooted in her stomach almost immediately dissipate. “He’s only got drink on the mind; most likely addled when he told you.” Remmy waved dismissively.

            “He’s a good man, and you would do well not to speak ill of him.” Haskul growled.

            “Bah, you go to the pub with him and those louts far too often.”

            “Not this again!” Haskul threw his hands up in frustration.

            “All I’m saying is you spend too much of our hard earned copin on drink.”