Release date: April 12, 2015
Subgenre: Sword and Sorcery
About Crepier:
The scene shifts to Hartshire in the Earth Realm from Nambroc in the Nether Realm in Crepier, the third novella in the Nambroc Sequence, a fantasy series.
Crepier, an accountant and black market financier, wants to retire and be financially set for the rest of his life.
To achieve this goal, he convinces Watley Greywall, local crime lord in Hartshire, to get behind his idea of establishing Hartshire Bank.
Other elements of the Hartshire criminal underworld are of two minds about this possibility.
One segment of the Hartshire criminal underworld wants to get involved with this opportunity to start a bank because it is a legitimate commercial enterprise and a way to launder their ill-gotten gains.
Another segment believes the bank will the draw attention of the Hartshire Constabulary, which would be more problems than it is worth.
All that matters to Crepier is establishing the Hartshire Bank, and nothing or no one will stop him.
Excerpt:
Earth Realm – Continent
– Weyland – Cremner Pub – Private Dining Room – Evening
Fox
Duarte licked his lips as he raised his hands while perspiration beaded his
forehead. “Listen, Tiger, no reason to do anything that I’ll regret. Didn’t
anticipate that one of the Guyles Gang would be implicated in the forgery
scheme.” The wood elf shook his head. “Really sorry about that.”
Tiger
Keegan held the dagger as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I
would like to believe you. Sander and Crandall Guyle would like to believe you,
Fox.” The mountain elf nodded. “The problem is that you have a reputation as a
liar.” He chuckled. “A well-deserved one at that.”
Duarte
clenched his jaw. “No reason to talk like that, Tiger.”
“Sure
it is, Fox.” Keegan reached for his tankard of ale. “What do you think, Gesby?
Can you trust Fox Duarte?”
A
woman stood near the door and held a small double loaded crossbow aimed at Fox
Duarte as she held a cracked and chipped gold coin in the other. “Trust him as
much as I trust this counterfeit mark could get me a hot meal and a warm bed
for the night at any nice inn in Weyland.”
“You’re
right about that, Gesby.” Tiger took a sip of ale. “Three moneybags filled with
these cracked coins isn’t good for business. The Guyles Gang paid for you to
make these coins with understanding they would look like the genuine queen
marks. No one could tell they were counterfeit. That is what you told us, Fox.
We planned to use them in the money changer shops owned by the Guyles Gang.” He
grimaced. “How much did we pay for the three bags, Gesby?”
“Two
thousand queen marks per bag.” Gesby put the coin in her pocket. “Six thousand
for three bags, Tiger.”
“How
many marks were supposed to be in each bag, Gesby?” Tiger put his tankard on
the table.
“Fifty
thousand queen marks per bag, Tiger.” Gesby scowled.
“The
problem is that Sander didn’t give me enough time to produce the coins.” Fox
shrugged. “I did the best I could with what I had to work with, Tiger.”
“When
I approached you with this job, you assured me that you could have it done on a
shorter deadline.” Gesby reached for her tankard of ale. “Were those assurances
nothing more than puffery and bluster, Fox?”
Fox
cleared his throat. “Of course not, Gesby. You know me better than that.” The
wood elf clasped his hands. “You and I had something very special.” He
sniffled. “You were the reason I came to Weyland. When I first saw you, I knew
you were the one for me.” He turned to Tiger Keegan. “Maybe I didn’t have a
clear head when I produced the coins because I was distracted by this vision of
loveliness.” He pointed to Gesby. “I admit I could have done better work, but I
don’t think that means you have to point weapons at me, does it?”
Tiger
glared at the woman. “Is this true, Gesby? You suggested this counterfeiting
scheme to me and to bring in Duarte to engineer this. Based on what you told me
about Duarte, I went to Sander and Crandall Guyle with this forgery scheme.” He
clenched his jaw. “I vouched for Duarte and this scheme because you are in love
with him?”
Amazon
About R.D. Henderson:
R.D. Henderson is a writer of fantasy and sword & sorcery
stories featuring elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, kobolds, goblins,
mages, clerics, rangers, and other characters prevalent in fantasy
stories.
He, however, does not write stories in the same vein as LORD OF THE RINGS by Tolkien or fantasy writers that have followed him.
Besides reading fantasy, GODFATHER by Mario Puzo, NOBLE HOUSE by James Clavell, and the trilogy by John Gardner about Professor James Moriarty as the gaslight godfather are among some of his favorite books.
He has taken the above as inspiration to create fantasy and sword & sorcery stories that meld the criminal with the fantastic.
R.D. Henderson is a pen name for the author. He and his family live near Seattle, Washington.
R.D. is currently working on the next installment in the Nambroc Sequence.
He, however, does not write stories in the same vein as LORD OF THE RINGS by Tolkien or fantasy writers that have followed him.
Besides reading fantasy, GODFATHER by Mario Puzo, NOBLE HOUSE by James Clavell, and the trilogy by John Gardner about Professor James Moriarty as the gaslight godfather are among some of his favorite books.
He has taken the above as inspiration to create fantasy and sword & sorcery stories that meld the criminal with the fantastic.
R.D. Henderson is a pen name for the author. He and his family live near Seattle, Washington.
R.D. is currently working on the next installment in the Nambroc Sequence.
No comments:
Post a Comment