Chapter 19

Kearbel Thicket, Olnfield, the Kingdom of Wuthia, 1125

Bridget (Sesa Faerson)

I crawled forward on my stomach, the clanking of boots echoed up from the hill below, as I peered down at the people who wore those boots: bounty hunters. I came across some of them during my barmaid days in Crowkeep, hauling in wanted fugitives to deliver them to their place of justice, while also drinking down some water-down rum. But these fellows look like the real deal, especially the one with the scar on his cheek. I quickly spotted Richard; he was tied up and bound to a tree. At least he was still alive.

I hoped the guard managed to deliver my message to Mabel and Solomon, but even though he did, they would be a while before they arrived, and from what I could overhear, these bounty hunters were about to leave with Richard. I need to come up with a plan to rescue him, but with only me against these three brutes, I stand no chance. I looked at Richard, who remained still bound to the tree, while both his ankles and hands were tied; his hands remained behind the tree, out of view from the hunters.

Maybe I don’t need to face them, I thought, turning my attention to the hunters who were preparing their journey to leave. Maybe I just need to outsmart them. I looked around me and found a small stone that I could easily throw. Quietly, I tossed the stone north of the hunters, causing a small noise to form at the place where it landed.

“What’s that noise?” One of the hunters said, hand ready on his sword. All three of the hunters were now on guard.

“Crab,” the hunter with the scar said. “You stay with the fugitive; Thatcher and I will investigate the noise. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

“Don’t worry about that,” the other hunter said. “Ain’t nothing getting by me.”

I watched as both the scar hunter and one I assume was Thatcher went deeper north in the woods, leaving the other hunter, Crab, as my only obstacle to deal with. I sneaked down the hill until I crouched right behind the tree Richard was bound to. I gave him a tap on his wrist, which caused him to quickly look behind, and he saw my face. Relief washed over his face. I told him to be quiet as I placed one of my daggers in his hand while I cut his hands free from their bondage.

While Richard worked on getting himself free, he was going to need a distraction for Crab. Good thing he had me with him.

I stumbled out of the bushes, pretending to be lost. I put on my “damsel-in-distress” face and posture as I stumbled into Crab’s visions. “Excuse me, sir. Do you know where the town is?”

“What is a lass like you wandering these woods all alone?” Crab said, as he slowly let his guard down, his hands falling off the hilt of his sword. Typical.

“I was on my way to Olnfield,” I started, pretending to be scared of everything around me. Might be an oversell, but this brute had no idea. “When I was attacked by a wild boar and ran into these woods. I lost the boar, but now I’m lost myself. Can you help me?”

Crab grinned. “Sure, I can help you. But I’ll need some compensation for my assistance.”

I gasped. “But, I have no money on me at the moment. How can I ever compensate you?”

“Well,” he said, rubbing his bulge in his dirty pants. “I may have a suggestion -”

His eyes grew big as he suddenly became frozen in place. It wasn’t long before he dropped to his knees and keeled over on his side. On his neck, a dagger impaled deep. Behind him stood a now free Richard. “I gotta ask,” he said, as he pulled out the dagger from the dead hunter’s neck, “were you really about to let him fuck you?”

“And if I said I was,” I grinned, taking back my dagger from Richard, “would that be wrong?”

He smiled. “No, not all. Quite the opposite, it’ll be hot.”

“We should go before the other two come back,” I said, as I started to head back up the hill. “I don’t know how far I’ve thrown –”

Bushes rattled behind us.

We turned around to find both the bounty hunter with the scar and the one called Thatcher staring us down, their weapons at the ready. Sometimes my luck sticks like shit. I grasped both my daggers in my hands. Richard quickly picked up Crab’s sword from his corpse, grasping it in both his hands.

“Leave it to Crab to fuck it all up,” the bounty hunter with the scar sighed. “Good riddance, I say.”

“Same here,” Thatcher said, his sword at the ready. “Now, what should we do with these two, Mad Scar?”

“We still go along with the original plan,” the one with the scar said, “but we might be able to sell the woman as a slave. After we have our fun with her.”