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The Certain Rewards of Hard Work

from the book: Life Will Get You in the End:
Short stories by David Satterlee

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Life Will Get You in the End:
Short Stories by David Satterlee

My first wife used to claim that "No good deed goes unpunished." Maybe she was right. A seasoned warrior's obviously-skilled accomplishments are noticed by his king. What could be better than being an honored leader of men?

The Certain Rewards of Hard Work

“A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God “
Ecclesiastes 2:24 NIV

“Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.”
Proverbs 22:29 NIV

Nonak is a warrior. Let us not be coy about it; his profession is killing men. In fact, not to put too fine a point on it, his job also calls for killing women, children, and livestock as well. The essence of his craft is to weaken and demoralize competing peoples and to repurpose their valuables for the benefit of those left back home. His work demands that he be skilled at murder, mayhem, looting, plundering, and rape.

Now, before you start to smirk, consider how difficult it is to organize the systematic rape of every woman and maiden in a territory, the difficulty of