An Excerpt From Sapphire Crucible @Solsticepublish

It’s official.  “The Sapphire Crucible” will be released on Amazon Kindle on Thursday, April 10th.  In the meantime I have decided to whet your appetites with some small excerpts from the new book.  Enjoy…
At that moment a goblin along the side of the wagon struck Linvin again with his spear handle. From the front of the column came an order to halt. “Assembly.” cried the voice. The escorting soldiers fell into line along the road and stood at attention.
A human soldier mounted on a horse rode slowly before them. He wore a fine suit of plate-mail armor and a red tunic, which ran diagonally across his torso before changing into a cloak across his back. A short sword hung at his side and a long sword was sheathed on his saddle.
The man handled his horse with such precision that his mastery on the stead was evident. He addressed the goblins like children. “Were my orders unclear?”
The goblins answered in unison, “No Captain.”
Reaching the end of the formation, the Captain turned his horse about and slowly went back the other way. “Then either you chose to ignore the orders or you are too dim-witted to comprehend them.” He dismounted in front of the last goblin to strike Linvin. Drawing his short sword, the Captain towered over the soldier at such close range he could see the goblin quiver. “So which is it, soldier? Did you choose to ignore me or are you just a two legged animal?”
The goblin weighed the choices and could not find a response that would exonerate his behavior. When he did not answer, the Captain’s annoyance increased. In a fluid movement, he seized the soldier by his filth-laden hair and slit his throat. The goblin fell to the ground and died moments later. His murder drew no gaze from the other soldiers. The rest of the troop remained at attention and did not dare to follow the fall of the body with their eyes. Such empathy could prove fatal.
The captain wiped the blood from his sword on the dead man’s shirt. Then he replaced the weapon and mounted his horse. “His lack of answer leads me to believe you are all feebleminded and unwilling to follow orders. Perhaps now you will understand my directions. You will not converse with the prisoners. You will not harm the prisoners. You will not come into contact with their property. You will not unshackle them for any reason. These are the standing orders of Lord Necromancer. If you feel inclined to disobey ANY of these orders, I will kill you where you stand. Your friend was fortunate. Had Lord Necromancer been here your comrade would have died a prolonged, agonizing death. If he is displeased when we arrive, we may all share in such a fate. He does not have my sense of mercy. Am I not merciful?”
“Yes Captain.” yelled the goblins.