Dungeon Corps by Jaxon Reed - Book Tour + Giveaway
Dungeon Corps
Crypts of Phanos
by Jaxon Reed
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Deep under the city of Phanos, the crypts are filled with monsters. Dungeon Corps works hard to contain them.
Recruited from prisons, outcasts, misfits, those expelled from academies and even rare volunteers, Dungeon Corps produces outstanding fighters.
When an ancient threat troubles the Queen’s Land once more, a grizzled veteran leads his young team down into the depths to rescue the lost and slay a horror known as Ludge.
But two on his team hold closer ties to the monster than anyone realizes. They are elves, running from assassins tracking them relentlessly since birth.
Ludge should have died 50 years ago. Now it’s up to the team to finish the job. In doing so, they uncover startling secrets known only to a chosen few.
They discover the elves’ forbidden existence and their raw untapped power can reshape the world.
If they survive.
**only .99 cents!!**
Percel
sat in the back of an inn’s tavern, listening to the bard strumming his lute
and reciting “The Ballad of Melody Hall.” The bard, a young fellow who looked
altogether too pretty for a man, Percel thought, closed his eyes and
sang.
He
sings too good, too, Percel thought, taking another sip of ale. He’s altogether
a feminine fella.
Now
the bard came to the end of his long song.
And the last man died and the prince stood
aside
And said, This be it for me boys, this is
the place I die
And the boys said, You’re not gonna die,
sire, you’re not gonna die today
But the prince moved ahead with his sword
in hand and met Ludge straight away
And Ludge and the Prince fought hard that
day . . .
And the prince’s soul flew away
The prince’s soul flew away . . .
The
bard ended the song on a mournful note, and when he finally opened his eyes
they glistened with unshed tears.
Everyone
stood, clapping hard and cheering, many openly crying and wiping away their own
tears. But Percel remained seated, tossing back the last of his ale in the
pewter mug.
Someone
passed a hat for the bard and the sound of copper and silver clinked as it went
around. Percel had no doubt the lad would collect quite a bit after that
song.
He
really is too good for this rundown place, Percel thought.
Somebody
shoved the hat in his face. He grunted and tossed some coppers in.
At
last he saw the tavern’s wench and he raised his mug at her. She smiled
brightly and headed his way, lifting a tray of fresh drinks above her head, and
above the grabbing hands and pinching fingers following her through the
crowd.
Bessa
liked Percel because he kept his hands to himself and he tipped well. Her only
complaint, if she had one, was the old man never smiled. Not once in all the
nights she’d seen him in here.
She
finally made it to his table, with one mug of ale in reserve. She set it down
in front of the old curmudgeon and took his ha’silber. He never expected change
back and she dropped the coin in her purse gratefully.
“Isn’t
Meener great, Percel?”
When
Percel spoke it was low. But his voice was so deep it carried through the crowd’s
noise easily.
“Meener.
An odd name for a bard. But, yes he’s good. Too good for the likes of this
place. Doubt you’ll have him again tomorrow night.”
Bessa
laughed as if he were joking. The old man with the scarred face never laughed,
though. He met her eye steadily and took a sip from the new mug.
“Well,
I must say his recitation of the Ballad of Melody Hall was just wonderful. He
should make plenty from that one alone, even if we’re not the finest inn in the
city.”
Percel
grunted. “A passable job. I’ve heard better. Heard worse, too.”
Bessa
sighed, setting the tray down and leaning over the table, happy to duck away
from the rest of the inn’s patrons for a moment.
“How
I wish I could have been there with the Children Soldiers, watching the Prince
fight like that against Ludge!”
Percel
grunted again, taking another sip of beer. “It wasn’t anything to be proud of.
We watched him die, same as the others. Only a few of us made it out to tell
the tale.”
Bessa’s
head jerked up in surprise.
“You
were there? You fought with Prince Synthan in Melody?”
She
could not keep an incredulous tone from creeping into her voice.
Percel
nodded with neither modesty nor pride. He spoke in a matter of fact tone, his
low voice rumbling.
“I
fought as a Child Soldier in service of the Crown. I accompanied Prince Synthan
in his efforts to clear Melody, and watched as he died fighting the monster
Ludge. I was one of only four to survive that dungeon run.”
He
took a long swig of ale. When he pulled the mug down from his face, Bessa stood
staring at him with her mouth open. His eyebrows went up as he glanced around,
but no one else had heard his announcement in all the hubbub of the busy
inn.
“That’s
. . . that’s great, Percel! Is the song right? Did the Prince do all those
things?”
Percel
shrugged. “It’s mostly right. Pretty boy there took some liberties. But yes, we
fought hard. And yes, Ludge killed Synthan in the end. It’s essentially
correct.”
Bessa
looked at the scars on his face, the obvious marks left by swords and knives,
the portion of his right earlobe that was missing . . .
Everything
about the old man suddenly took on new meaning.
She
lost her train of thought when somebody came up behind her and slapped her
bottom, hard.
She
jumped in shock and pain, and the big man behind her guffawed.
“Come
on, Bessa-bitch! Ya done talked with this geezer long enough. Give us some ale.
And gimme a kiss.”
He
puckered his lips and leaned down toward her face, reeking of drink. She put
both hands on his chest and said, “Ew. No, get away!”
“Come
on Bessa! You know you wants to get it on with me!”
He
made some thrusting motions with his waist and several of his friends at a
table nearby cheered, raising their mugs.
“Leave
her alone.”
The
big man glanced bleary eyed over at Percel and chuckled again.
“Leave
the women for us young ’uns, old man.”
He
turned back to Bessa. She pinched her nose as he breathed in her face.
“I
can satisfy a woman like you.”
She
slapped his hand down as he reached for her chest.
A
spark of anger glimmered in the drunk’s eyes.
“I
want ale, bitch! Then I want you.”
“I
said, leave her alone.”
Percel
pushed his chair back and stood, still holding the mug.
The
big man turned his head and stared down at Percel. He looked surprised the old
man was not taller.
He
chuckled drunkenly again. “You want some of this?”
He
stood straight, his full size expanding like a sail filling with wind. Bessa
backed away, hand covering her mouth.
All
the tavern’s patrons turned and saw the genesis of a fight. They stood and
crowded around, forming a half circle. Everyone looked ready for the next round
of entertainment now that the bard had finished singing.
The
big man’s friends stood up from their table, three of them. One swayed heavily.
The other two stared at Percel with ale-blurred eyes.
Percel
moved his chair and stepped around the table. Despite having several mugs
himself, he did not sway and his eyes were clear.
He
looked up at the big drunken oaf staring down at him . . .
Percel’s
hand flew out and he punched the drunk with his mug. It happened so fast his
hand looked like a blur. The big man’s eyes went to the back of his head as his
jaw split open, and he collapsed backward in a heap.
His
three companions moved as one from their table. They rushed Percel, fists
swinging. He threw a chair at the first one, kicked the second in the stomach,
and threw a roundhouse punch with the mug at the third.
The
crowd stepped back in silence. The violence happened so quickly and
unexpectedly from an old, scarred-up man no one thought could fight. Everyone
looked at the moaning and bloody drunks on the floor, then to Percel and
back.
“Step
aside, step aside,” a city guard made his way through the crowd.
“No
fighting, no fighting allowed. Who’s fighting?”
Everyone
in the crowd pointed at Percel, who set the bent up mug back on the
table.
“I
was merely defending myself, and the honor of the lady of this
establishment.”
A
few in the crowd cast perplexed looks at Bessa.
Someone
said, “He talking about her?”
The
guard said, “Well, be that as it may, sirrah, I see four men on the floor and
everyone pointing at you. Let’s go spend the night in the city clink, eh? Sleep
off that ale and talk with the magistrate in the morning.”
“And
let the magistrate fine me several silver or work it off? No thanks. You can
take these drunks to the holding cells, instead.”
“Well,
I’m afraid you don’t have much choice in the matter, sirrah.”
The
guard puffed his chest and rested his hand on the short sword at his belt.
Percel glanced down at the weapon and did not appear impressed.
At
the inn’s entrance he heard a commotion as several more guards made their way
inside.
A
captain pushed his way through the crowd, the red plume on his bronze helm
dancing as if it had a life of its own.
He
said, “What’s going on? What’s happening here?”
Before
the first guard had a chance to respond, Percel said, “I was on my way to the
Dungeon Corps building when I stopped in for a pint and to hear this new bard
they have, when these cretins accosted me.”
The
guard said, “Now wait a minute! That’s not exactly—”
“Shut
it, Joothin,” the captain said. “This man be with the Dungeon Corps. Have you
your badge, sir?”
“Aye,
I’ve got it here somewhere.” Percel reached under his belt to a rarely used
pocket and pulled out a bronze medallion. He held it between his thumb and
forefinger and showed it to the captain. The Dungeon Corps crest showed plainly
in the light.
“Very
well,” the captain said. “Let the man be on his way.”
Joothin’s
eyes narrowed as the crowd parted to let Percel through.
“Just
a minute, old timer. I’ll accompany you to Dungeon Corps. We certainly wouldn’t
want you to get ‘accosted’ again on the way.”
Jaxon Reed is a science fiction and fantasy author. Amazon's Kindle Press selected his book, The Empathic Detective: A Mystery Thriller, for publication through Kindle Scout. Recently, Ghostsuit: An Empathic Detective Novel also won a contract through Kindle Scout.
Other recent books include Thieves and Wizards, an epic fantasy, and The Redwood Trilogy Box Set, a science fiction bundle.
Jaxon is an Aggie, living in Texas on a ranch with his wife and boys, several cats, and one pound dog.
To receive the latest updates on new releases and opportunities for free reader exclusives, please visit www.jaxonreed.com/free/
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1 Comments
I like the use of blue on the cover. Congrats on the release.
ReplyDeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.