Fantasy fiction; Imaginary wars and battles -- Fiction
But Corinius, who stood no longer in the battle but by the King, full
of spleen and his wrist all bloody, cried out, “You do us wrong, O
King. Juster it were to praise my great deed in ambushing this mighty
company of our enemies and putting them all to the slaughter. And if
I prevailed not against this Brandoch Daha your majesty needs not to
marvel, since a greater than I, Gorice X. of memory ever glorious,
was lightly conquered by him. Wherein methinks I am the luckier, to
have but a gored wrist and not my death. As for these twain, they be
stick-frees, on whom no point or edge may bite. And nought were more to
be looked for, since we deal with such a sorcerer as this Juss.”
“Rather,” said the King, “are ye all grown milksops. But I have no
further stomach for this interlude, but straight will end it.”
Therewith the King called to him the old Duke Corsus, bidding him take
nets and catch the Demons therein. And Corsus, faring forth with nets,
by sheer weight of numbers and with the death of near a score of the
Witches at length gat this performed, and Lord Juss and Lord Brandoch
Daha well tangled in the nets, and lapped about as silkworms in their
cocoons, and so drawn into Carcë. Soundly were they bumped along the
ground, and glad enow were the Witches to have gotten those great
fighters scotched at last. For utterly spent were Corund and his men,
and fain to drop for very weariness.
So when they were gotten into Carcë, the King let search with torches
and bring in them of Witchland that lay hurt before the walls; and any
Demons or Goblins that were happed upon in like case he let slay with
the sword. And the Lord Juss and the Lord Brandoch Daha, still lapped
tightly in their nets, he let fling into a corner of the inner court of
the palace like two bales of damaged goods, and set a guard upon them
until morning.
As the lords of Witchland were upon going to bed they beheld westward
by the sea a red glow, and tongues of fire burning in the night.
Corinius said unto Lord Gro, “Lo where thy Goblins burn their ships,
lest we pursue them as they flee shamefully homeward in the ship they
keep from the burning. One ship sufficeth, for most of them be dead.”
And Corinius betook him sleepily to bed, pausing on the way to kick at
the Lord Brandoch Daha, that lay safely swathed in his net powerless as
then to do him harm.
VII: GUESTS OF THE KING IN CARCË
OF THE TWO BANQUET HALLS THAT WERE IN CARCË, THE OLD AND THE NEW,
AND OF THE ENTERTAINMENT GIVEN BY KING GORICE XII. IN THE ONE
HALL TO LORD JUSS AND LORD BRANDOCH DAHA AND IN THE OTHER
TO THE PRINCE LA FIREEZ; AND OF THEIR LEAVE-TAKING WHEN THE
BANQUET WAS DONE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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