Free The Roar of a Dragon by Robert Blanchard Page B

be going. Sir Norvin will be in command.’
    I smiled derisively. That figures .
    ‘I know you two don’t like each other,’ Garridan went on, ‘but on the battlefield, you do have to follow his orders.’
    ‘I have no problem with that,’ I answered confidently, ‘but every time he makes me clean up after his horse, I will remember it.’
    Garridan shook his head. ‘The knights may be in command, but that authority is not to be used to make the soldiers their own personal handmaidens. I will have a talk with Sir Norvin.’
    ‘No, don’t,’ I said, putting my hand up. ‘That won’t help my relationship with the rest of the army.’
    Garridan was confused. ‘What do you mean?’
    I hesitated before I answered. ‘They see me as your “golden boy”. They’re not very fond of me.’
    Garridan sighed again. ‘I’m sorry, Aidan. That wasn’t my intention.’
    ‘There’s nothing to be sorry for,’ I answered. ‘My road to becoming a soldier has been no easier than anyone else’s. They can’t help their own ignorance and jealousy.’
    ‘Don’t speak so of your comrades,’ Garridan chided.
    ‘It also doesn’t help that Aidan routinely defeats them at sparring sessions,’ Derrick said brightly, clapping me on the shoulder. I accepted this praise with a proud smile.
    Garridan turned toward me and looked me in the eye. ‘Even as I tell you not to speak of your comrades in derision, I tell you not to let the insecurity of others stand in your way.’
    I stood straight. ‘I have no intention of that.’
    ‘Why can’t he simply be under my command?’ Derrick asked. ‘I’ll make sure that little weasel stays out of his business.’
    Garridan gave Derrick a look of admonishment, then answered.
    ‘Aidan’s still not a knight, Derrick, I cannot put him in your unit. As it is, Sir Norvin still outranks you, Derrick. You are a Knight-Sergeant, he is a Knight-Lieutenant. In my absence, he will lead the army.’
    As far as knight rankings go, there was a Knight-General, a couple of Knight-Lieutenants, several Knight-Sergeants — who each commanded their own unit — and the rest were simply knights.
    Something was just starting to occur to me. ‘So, as you are Knight-General, if and when you step down, Norvin would likely be the next general.’
    Garridan sensed what I was thinking. ‘That will be a very long time in coming, Aidan. Trust me on that.’
    ‘I don’t think I’m coming back from this little excursion,’ I said, turning to Derrick. ‘I may just have to set up permanently in Boulton.’
    ‘Make room for me,’ Derrick muttered.
    He took a risk making that comment — such remarks, as we were making, were considered treasonous — but we always backed each other up. I was half-joking, but really, what difference did it make if Norvin was to be the next leader of the White Army?
    ‘There is no need to start packing your bags yet,’ Garridan said sternly. ‘I am still in command here, and have no intention of relinquishing that.’
    ‘I would hope not,’ I replied.
    Garridan smiled, and there was a short silence as he turned back to the blacksmith. Finally, I moved on to the next matter at hand.
    ‘What seems to be the trouble in the west?’
    Garridan gazed into the fires of the blacksmith’s forge as he spoke. ‘A little less than a year ago, the kingdom’s supply of copper was beginning to run a bit low. You may remember hearing about it?’
    I nodded.
    ‘His Majesty sent out small groups of men to all corners of the country, searching for copper mines. A few months later, some men reported seeing some mines off to the west, right on the borders of our country and the country of Boulton. They weren’t being used, so the King sent the miners out there to begin their work. Apparently, a week went by before some soldiers of Boulton saw them and arrested them, claiming that the mines were theirs and we were stealing from them. King Baladir was outraged, but sent an emissary in an