Belly of the Beast by Warren Thomas (story books for 5 year olds txt) 📕

yawning portal. “Move it, people! No more than one hundred at a time, mind you! Corporal Rees, stop them at that Leltic company, ya hear?”

            Tane was pushed forward by the press of the peasants and travelers eager to enter. The gate guards urged them on, then followed after a ways, until more guards took them up. Tane, near the head of the group, was rushed on by waving guards through the twisting, tunnel-like gate until he emerged into an open square.

            Only, the square wasn’t empty.

            Royal Army regulars in the blue and green of Kestsax under heavy mail coats surrounded the square. Their spears were presented, and their faces grim within iron helmets. Officers and sergeants barked orders at the newcomers, ordering them to line up for inspection. Those few astride horses or driving wagons were ordered to dismount and stand in line as well. The horses and wagons were immediately led away, despite the owners’ protests.

            “Order of the king, all hale mounts belong to the army until the war is over,” a gray-haired officer in polished cuirass and plumed helmet declared. His accent said he was a highborn Kestsaxian, therefore a Jarlander. “I am Colonel Hans Hertha, Royal Constable. Now, Captains Chantelle and Manas will be walking among you, looking you over. Follow their orders to the letter, and we’ll get this over quickly. Even look like trouble, and you’ll find yourself in lockup. Understood? Good. Captains!”

            A man behind Tane began cursing furiously under his breath. Hazarding a glance backwards, Tane saw an angry warrior in brown homespun under a faded blue gambeson. Tall and powerful looking, despite being gray-haired and balding, something about him held Tane’s eye a moment. Then it hit him – an elf! An elf with Leltic warrior tattoos under his eyes and on his forehead. Other tattoos were half-hidden by a short, well-trimmed beard. But before Tane could wonder on the oddity of a Leltic elf, the two captains began their inspection.

            Captain Chantelle was probably pretty in her youth. She wore the leather breeches and thigh boots that most mercenary woman cavalry wore, with the jangling spurs that only Amazon warriors seemed to like. Captain Manas wore a standard issue Kestsax army uniform, with no frills. He looked as professional as they came to Tane’s eyes, and he was the one walking down Tane’s line.

            The captains stopped briefly before each man and woman, occasionally asking a question or two, then pointing them toward one of two exits before stepping to the next person in line. Very quickly Tane discovered a frightening trend. The old, infirm, and very young were sent to the east exit, while most of the others were sent to the north exit. Of the young and hale, only mothers holding toddlers and younger were sent out the east exit.

            “North, boy,” Captain Manas said to Tane without so much as asking a question or taking a second look.

            “Move it, boy!” a soldier shouted when Tane hesitated.

            The path Tane was raced down was lined with soldiers, all shouting for him to hurry. By the time he reached the tall stone tower, he was exhausted and confused. Tane was ordered against a stone wall with the others before he could get his bearings. While soldiers held spears on them, more soldiers disarmed Tane’s group, with sergeants badgering them with countless questions.

            “Name?” a soldier sitting behind a field table demanded.

            “Tane Kyleson of Bracklin.”

            The soldier nodded as he wrote, saying, “A Jarlander. Any warrior training?”

            Tane bristled at being named a Jarlander. He was a Lelt! He bore the Tribal Tattoos to prove it, too.

            Bearing his tattooed chest, Tane said, “I’m no Jarlander. I am Leltic, a son of the Coratan Tribe.”

            “Tane Kyleson is Tyrian in form, naming you Jarlander, boy,” the soldier snapped. “What are you trying to pull? Who is your father? Is he a citizen of Kestsax?”

            “Of course my father is a citizen,” Tane said, and instantly regretted it.

            His father was a Jarlander, almost three-quarters Tyrian. Tane’s paternal grandfather was full-blooded Tyrian.

            The soldier grinned at Tane’s deep blush, “He’s a Jarlander?”

            “Yes.”

            “Are you a Jarlander?”

            Tane felt his face heat up again. How could he deny his paternal heritage? Deep down, he knew he was ashamed, mostly due to being raised in a Leltic village by Leltic maternal family members. His Uncle Calvan was the only living member of his father’s family.

            “I am Jarlander,” Tane whispered, wincing at the look of vicious triumph radiating from the soldier.

            “Next,” the soldier said, dismissing Tane.

            A mage in blue robes waited to chant spells over him. Strangely, he didn’t mind, for the mage was a pretty blonde with the biggest blue eyes he’d ever seen. It took him a moment, but realized he was being checked for disease and enchantments.

            She dismissed him a moment later, having never made eye contact.

            Tane silently thanked Kamain when the soldier who had earlier taken his sword and pack handed him a brass token with a number inscribed upon it.

            “Where did you take my stuff?”

            Instead of an answer, soldiers hustled him and the others inside a tower and up a spiraling stone stairway. Another group of soldiers cut them off two levels up, turning them into a large chamber. Moments later, the iron bound door shut with a resounding crash. The sound of a heavy bar being lowered echoed through the chamber.

Chapter 6

            “Damn me for a fool!” cried the tattooed elf Tane had seen cursing earlier. “I knew better than come here! I knew no good would come of it! Sweet Mother, take me for a fool!”

            “Aw, shut up, elf!” a towering Tyrian said. The huge blonde barbarian winked at Tane, a most unsettling act to the Leltic swordsmith. He was big as a bear, and looked twice as strong. “They’re just being paranoid, that’s all. They’ll let us out soon enough.”

            “You’re