Chapter 1

The first time I saw her in person, she was hanging on the Blytheton Tree naked. This was what I had been told to expect. I didn't like having another vision come true. That meant the others probably would also.

Calling it a tree is not really correct since this Tree, like all town Trees, is actually a vertical X frame to which a man or woman can be tied or nailed in a spread eagle position. In itself, it's very painful as your feet can't push your body up very well and you must pull yourself up with your arms to keep from suffocating similar to being crucified. I have seen men and women die from the cross and from Tree. I personally think the Tree might be worse though never want to be on either one. Sometimes, the hands were tied lower forcing the legs to try to spread putting preassure on the pelvis. No matter how you were attached and no matter what position you were in, it was painful.

To have been put there meant she had failed to obey some law of the town. I had come up behind her so I couldn't see the law board. As I walked closer, I could see that she had been whipped and then bludgeoned. I could see welts and red lines on her buttocks and lower back and upper thighs from the whipping she had received. The bludgeon pole was not used very often but it was well up her ass and her cunt. As I walked closer, a young man moved toward her from in front and, reaching down, shook the bludgeon pole causing her to moan.

A bludgeon pole is actually a two-headed pole. Each head is about two inches thick and ten or eleven inches long. When a woman is placed on a town's Tree, she is occasionally mounted on the bludgeon pole to add to her pain. Men are also given this treatment with one head going in their asses like is done to a woman, but instead of the other head going into the cunt they don't have, it goes between their balls pushing them apart and then the head of their cock up. It can be quite painful whether you are male or female.

I also noticed that she had a great body and what was probably a pretty face when it wasn't contorted in pain and covered with dirt and spit. As I went in front of her, I was sure she was the one in the vision that the old witch gave me. Seeing her there was strange because Blytheton didn't have enough pretty women and treating one this way wouldn't convince her to stay when her punishment was complete. Of course, that didn't matter since I wanted her to come with me. I checked the posting by the Tree to determine her crime. I read that she had failed to pay for room and board after having spent the night and consumed two meals. Further on, she admitted that she had no money claiming it had been stolen from her while she was in town. She then hit the innkeeper when he started stripping her down to take her room and board out in trade. The failure to make payment explained her being tied to the Tree and whipped. Hitting the innkeeper and denying him sex for pay to cover her debt resulted in her being bludgeoned in addition. According to the notice, she had another eight hours to serve. She must have hit the innkeeper hard. She was one of two that I had come here to find.

I continued into the center of town and looked around for an inn. Seeing one, I went over to it and entered. As usual, the saloon part was on my right and the desk was to the left with a staircase between them. I went to the desk and paid for a room for the night in advanace. I went upstairs to my room and left my bag. I decided a drink would be good and would clear my throat of the travel taste. I went downstairs to the bar and ordered a whiskey shot with a beer chaser I leaned against the bar to listen to the piano player as I drank.

The bar wasn't crowded and I could see the other patrons and the bar girls. Bar girls are the same everywhere, I guess. They're hired for their bodies, easy attitudes and low intelligence. I watched as one girl was made to lean over a table, her short skirt lifted, and her "friend" of the minute pushed his cock into her cunt or her ass. At another table, one was under the table sucking one cock after another. At still another, the bar girl was sitting on her customer's lap with his pants down and her skirt up. It didn't take long before one of the girls made her way down the line at the bar trying to generate some interest and payment for her favors. She got no takers and proved the statement about too few pretty women in Blytheton. While her body was not bad, her face was not even pleasant to look at. I don't know about the others, but she did not turn me on.

As usual, swords and knives were everywhere. Most societies have rules. One of the ones with which I lived was that you fought with the same weapons as those used against you. If the other guy came at you with just a knife, you responded with the same even though you had a sword on your hip. On the other hand, you could respond with a lower weapon. I frequently fought with just a knife against a sword because I'm particularly good with a knife and it humiliates a swordsman to lose to someone wielding a knife though you won't be embarrassed long if you're dead.

Violations of this rule would result in death usually in some painful manner. I saw one man boiled alive. He was tied by his hands and suspended with his feet in a huge pot of water. A fire was kindled under that pot and the water was heated and finally boiled. The screams were agonizing coming from his tortured throat. It took him a long time to die. Dying by a knife or sword hurts. If you violate the rules and customs of our society, there are a number of very painful ways to die. Either way, you're dead.

This inn's bar did not serve food so I left in search of a meal and the town office after finishing my drink. Across the street was the town office. I paid the debt for the woman and arranged for the bludgeon to be removed and she be untied from the Tree. It cost extra because of the innkeeper's injuries. Two doors down, I found a restaurant, stepped inside, and found a seat. The server gave me a menu. After looking at it, I made a choice and he took my order. Shortly thereafter, he came out with my food. After eating, I went about my other business. I had been hired to find and kill a card cheat who had taken a rich man's son for a fair chunk of money and then killed him. The father would have lived with the monetary loss but killing his son was too much. I had some maintenance that was needed on my equipment. I arranged for that to be done and for the completed items to be delivered to the stable. I also had a haircut.

I had seen the man in the bar earlier at a table playing cards. I returned and found him still playing poker with a small group who were not very happy since they were losing. I watched for a while and noticed that my target was cheating. This was not surprising but the skill level of the other players was so poor that he probably could have won anyway. One of the players was tapped out and I moved to take his place. No one even looked up. The dealer said, "Draw, nothing's wild, and ante is a buck." I placed my coin with the rest and the cards were dealt. I won the second hand. Now, it was my turn to deal and I set up my swindler with what looked like a great hand except that I set up another player with an even better hand. My target bet high and lost. He looked at me with a little bit of anger. The cards were dealt by the winner of the previous hand and my target won that hand. Now that he was dealing, I watched carefully and easily saw his false deal. I placed my hand on his firmly and stopped the play.

"Dealing from the bottom is not considered fair play," I said.

"Are you calling me a cheater?" was the response.

"Of course, asshole. You're not good enough a player to win otherwise." I taunted.

He pushed back his chair and said, "Your choice of weapons."

"Let's go outside for a little swordplay." I replied.

We went out and he drew first swinging at me violently and without warning. That was not mannerly but I was ready for him and simply parried his blow. Then I jumped back and raised my sword in a mocking salute which is what he should have done before coming at me. When he came at me again, I again parried his swing and then removed his head. The crowd moved back to avoid the blood spurting from the trunk as it folded back and down. The sword fell from his lifeless hand. They also jumped to not be in my way as I made my way back to the table. Resuming my seat with the others, I said, "I guess we need a new dealer."

"You deal," was the reply from one of the guys.

"Okay," I said and shuffled and dealt the cards. Outside the local burial guy picked up the body and head and took them away. A recorder came to the table and asked my name for the record since it had been a fair fight officially. I told him my name and asked for a copy to be sent to my room when it was completed for my records.

We played out a few hands with various ones of us winning. I was a little bit ahead when I got up. I said, "I've had enough for now. Thanks for the game." They all nodded a cordial good evening to me as I left and went to my room.

She was there when I went in. "Locks aren't worth much." I said quietly.

"No, they aren't. You killed the guy who took my money that I had for the room. He then lied about his theft, of course. I still hurt from what they did to me."

"I can understand that. The bludgeon is not fun. Whipping may be worse. What are you going to do now?"