The Half Dwarf Prince: 02 - The Dwarf War by J. M. Fosberg Page A

would be considered an average-looking woman, but she attempted to be more attractive by letting her hair hang down over one side of her face and wearing a blouse that just barely covered her chest. She smiled flirtatiously at Rupert.
    “Oh, I’m just fine, Mister Rupert. You want the pies this morning?” she asked, slurring her words heavily.
    “Two of them, fresh ones now , Miss Patricia. This is King Bergmann. You want to make a good impression.”
    “Ah, good morning, Highness,” she said, looking over at Bergmann.
    Bergmann just stared at the woman. She shrugged her shoulders and turned away from the window. She returned with two thin , tin plates with some kind of pie on them. The dough had been baked into a shallow bowl shape and inside were chunks of meat and vegetables with some kind of sauce over them. Rupert handed the woman a couple of coins and took the plates.
    “Thank you , Rupert, you have a good one now,” she said, turning back into the shop.
    Rupert turned to Bergmann and held out one of the plates. “Something like this could never be served in the palace. I am sure you can understand why, but I believe it will be to you r liking.”
    Bergmann picked the pie up off the plate and bit into it. Rupert was right. This would never be an acceptable meal in the palace. It was messy , and the only way to eat it was to pick it up and bite into it. The meat was juicy and tender, though, and the sauce was salty and spicy. It was actually pretty good. He wouldn’t have thought he would have enjoyed any of the food in the city, but this surprised him.
    “This is good , Rupert. Maybe we will hire someone to come with the army and make this. Now let’s head over to the assembly area and watch the show.”
    Rupert led him there, and when Bergmann saw the huge open area at the edge of the city, he stopped. “Hold up, Rupert.”
    “Would you like me to take you to a place where you will have a good view of the entire parade field , King Bergmann?” Rupert asked, guessing why they had stopped.
    Bergmann nodded, and Rupert led him to a three -story building two streets away. There were stairs on the outside of the building leading all the way to the roof. Rupert led the way up the steps. From the rooftop Bergmann could see the entire field. It had to be a thousand paces across and five to six hundred from front to rear.
    It was another hour before the first soldiers began showing up. It was only one company. One hundred soldiers came out and fell into ranks. Their commander walked out in front of them and began giving them commands. They marched around the parade field. They went through the drills that were no doubt planned to be Bergmann’s first impression of the army. All of the soldiers drew their weapons at one time and pointed them in the air. On the next command, all of the soldiers brought their swords down in front of their faces. On the next command, all of the swords pointed to the ground as one. The next command brought the weapons back up in front of the soldier’s faces. The final command sent all the swords back into their scabbards as one. This group was well trained. They had discipline, and their commander was capable. They went through the drills a few more times. Eventually they broke into smaller groups and began some fighting drills. He watched as the men moved in fluid movements, slashing and stabbing. Bergmann observed the techniques and made mental notes.
    It was another hour before the next group of soldiers showed up —a full battalion of five companies. These soldiers spent all of their time going over the parade drills the first company had started with. Not long after that group showed up, another battalion arrived, and the first company went and fell into their ranks.
    This battalion was terrible. The men struggled through movements, they were undisciplined, and their commander was weak. Other than the first company, which had come out early, the other companies’ commanders