Free Lorik (The Lorik Trilogy) by Toby Neighbors

about Lorik. The teamster was well liked and trusted by the people in Hassell Point, so he had gone to find Lorik in the Boggy Peat.
    Now he needed to find Marsdyn and learn what was going on. It didn’t take him long. The gang leader had been looking for him.
    “Ah, there you are,” said Marsdyn. “I have some good news.”
    “What is that?” Stone asked.
    “It seems that King Oveer and his fellow kings are off to wage war in Yelsia, and we are going raiding.”
    “Raiding?” Stone said, “Where?”
    “We’ll take a ship south, to the coast of Osla. I know a few places where we can have some fun.”
    “You’re going to attack villages?”
    “That’s right,” Marsdyn said. “I’m going to pillage and burn, until I’ve filled our small ship with treasure.”
    “What for?”
    “What do you mean?” Marsdyn asked. His good nature was beginning to fade.
    “I mean, what is the point? Don’t you have everything you want here in Hassell Point?”
    “No, of course I don’t. I have plans that are much larger than this mud hole. Don’t get comfortable, Stone, this is just the beginning. With the kings and nobles away, justice will be the edge of our swords, or knives, in your case. Have you ever been on a raid? You aren’t afraid of sailing are you?”
    “No,” Stone said. “But I’m not going. I have plans here.”
    “What kind of plans?” Marsdyn said growing suddenly suspicious.
    “I’m going to partner with Lorik.”
    Marsdyn stared at Stone, dumbfounded for a moment, and then burst out laughing.
    “Oh, that’s rich,” he finally managed to say. “You really had me going for a moment.”
    “I’m not jesting. I appreciate your hospitality, but I won’t be going.”
    “You really want to be a mud walker?” Marsdyn said, angrily. “You can’t be serious.”
    “I am,” Stone said. “I just came to get my horse.”
    Marsdyn’s eyes narrowed, and Stone tensed. He hadn’t expected the outlaws to be leaving the city, and he wasn’t sure if that made his defection better or worse.
    “We’ll see,” said the outlaw leader. “I plan to sail just before dawn. When I get back we’ll settle our accounts.”
    “There is nothing to settle,” Stone said. He held out his hand revealing a gold coin. “For your trouble.”
    Marsdyn looked at the young fighter. He wasn’t smiling anymore, and his voice held a veiled threat.
    “I don’t want your gold,” Marsdyn said. “Although I’m curious who you killed to get it.”
    “I didn’t kill anyone,” Stone said. “I don’t want trouble.”
    Mert appeared silently behind Stone, as if the very mention of trouble had summoned him magically. Mert was a killer, and Stone knew that neither Mert nor Marsdyn would lose any sleep over his death. Still, he knew that even among the outlaws, he was an intimidating figure. They could all still clearly remember his dance of death among the pirates, and it was highly likely that only Mert was unafraid of what might happen if Marsdyn pushed the young fighter to violence.
    “Trouble has a way of finding us all,” said Marsdyn. “It’s too bad you won’t join us. I liked you, Stone. You always said what was on you mind.”
    “I still do,” he replied.
    “Yes, I suppose you do,” said Marsdyn, “but for how long?”
    Stone didn’t reply to the threat. He simply stepped away from Marsdyn at an angle, so that he didn’t run into Mert. He felt a burning sensation running up and down his back, as if fiery ants had been set loose on his skin. His neck tingled, and the temptation to turn around was almost more than he could stand. Every muscle was tense as he moved slowly away, expecting to feel the agony of cold steel plunging into his flesh. After several steps he turned and walked quickly away. Most of the outlaws were watching him now, but he moved deliberately, even though he felt exposed. He went into the outlaws’ stable and hefted his saddle. He didn’t want to spend any more time than