5: ... and Sharp Objects

"I need to stop, Lincoln."

"We can't stop right now."

"I'm going to throw up."

"Try not to get it on your horse."

"Lincoln, I killed a man! I'm going to throw up!"

"That's why we need to keep moving. We left a man alive. I want us safe at the Inn in the next town before we stop."

"That's mean!"

"That's Chaos."

I knew I was mean. Cadence had killed a man. The alternative was that she'd be dead. But I saw the look in the accomplice's eyes. I knew he would be on our tail soon, and probably trying to get ahead of us to set an ambush. I didn't know if he would come alone or with a gang. What I knew was that alone on the open road, we were vulnerable and every second we wasted got them closer. I would bathe Cadence tonight, massage her, let her cry, make love to her, or whatever else she needed.

I wouldn't stop on the road.

We were both sore from the day's ride yesterday. The pounding of our asses in the saddle for a second day was brutal. It was two days' hard ride from the Risk River to the Copper River where the next large town was. Halfway between was a sizable village. The caravans that started from Mule's Crossing and went South took nearly a week to make the journey if they had wagons. Those that had only pack animals moved only slightly faster. Lisa was two months ahead of us and in two days we would be a week closer.

I glanced at Cadence to make sure she was still in the saddle and saw the tears running down her cheeks. Shortly, they were washed away by rain. Just what we needed. At least it might discourage pursuit until a sunny day.

We pressed onward.

Even on good mounts with good pack animals, you don't go galloping down the highway. Our horses could go miles on the relatively flat lands without a break. At a walk. If we didn't have pack animals, we could trot most of the day, but you don't drive beasts of burden like that if you want to move on the next day.

Our first stop was at the campsite used by most caravans on their first day out from Mule's Crossing. No one was there, of course, and there was no sign of recent activity. Trade on Chaos was regulated by weather. The longer caravans were all headed South before the winter storms set in. We watered the horses and I held Cadence against my sodden chest to comfort her. I gave her a sip of watered wine from my bota bag and helped her back into the saddle. Then we were off again.

There were two more stops. We chewed a hard biscuit and some jerky at the second and Cadence seemed to revive a bit. It was nearing dark when we finally approached the village and we had seen no one on the road since leaving the ford at Mule's Crossing.

The inn was nearly deserted so I didn't bother with trying to entertain for our dinner. I paid the quad each for our dinner, wine, breakfast, and stabling for our animals. Our bed was only a little mildewed. Everything was damp.

There was a fire in the main room, though, and the innkeeper brought us a good meal that we shared with his family sitting around one table. They had a mixed heritage. It wasn't uncommon in the borderlands. I'd seen mixed couples even in Mule's Crossing. In the inn, the family was used to seeing Caucasians in the caravans, though it was less common at this season. Our race would stand out more the farther South we traveled.

I volunteered no more information than was necessary about our journey and left a clue that we would be heading upriver from the next large town. We would actually cross and head downstream. I wondered, in fact, about taking one of the barges east, but at this season, even river traffic was probably slow.

In the morning, we broke fast with the family, checked our gear, and continued the ride. We had both simply been too sore to make love during the night, but I'd held Cadence's naked body next to mine, both for warmth and comfort. We continued to stop at the normal caravan campsites that were all abandoned for the season. We reached the city walls while there was still daylight and found an inn. I paid nearly double what we'd been charged in the village and the food was not as good. We were able to dry our woolen coats by the fire, though, being careful to avoid melting or even cooking the tallow in them. At least they would be more comfortable to ride in the next day than they had been while sodden.

As I suspected, barge traffic was at a minimum, but the ferry across the river was running twice a day. The circus would have continued along the north side of the Copper River eastward to the next large town, nearly three days' ride from here. There, they would cross the bridge. With just horses, though, we could make use of the ferry and not risk having Accomplice cross to get ahead of us. And I knew there were other villages on the south side. On the north, we would have to camp.

Cadence was sedate as we continued our journey, but I noted that she moved her sabre to the saddle scabbard instead of wearing it under her coat. I wondered where she'd learned that. We were both still sore after three days of riding, but we were both determined to press onward. In three more days, we were tired, but had gained another week on the circus.

Five miles east of the town, the Copper River was joined by the Refresh River. We turned south to follow the Refresh. I remembered the route we took on my first journey in the South and knew that each day we were getting closer to Lisa. I reminded Cadence of this when she complained of her sore butt and she resolutely continued. I promised to rub the sore spots as soon as we were settled in an inn.

Along this section of the road, we began to meet other travelers, some traveling the same direction we were and some headed north. By mid-afternoon, we'd shed our woolen coats, and basked in the afternoon sunlight for a change. It would still be freezing cold at night, but at least we would not spend all our time shivering as we rode.

The rule of the road on Chaos is to never let your guard down. Even when we passed the occasional traveler, both he and we were on alert. He could be just a farmer going home from an all-night drunk or he could be a decoy, set to keep you off-guard while a band crept up on you from behind. Much to both our relief, we'd stayed clear of trouble and had lived modestly as we journeyed. I'd sung and danced in several taverns and inns, so it wasn't hard to determine the direction I was headed. Cadence and I figured we were within a few days of where the circus should be. In the last large town we stopped at, they were just two weeks ahead of us.

We crested a rise anticipating the campsite and a water source we'd been told about when we left that morning. It was a lush valley with a stream that we knew flowed to the twisting river off to our left where we anticipated intersecting with the circus. We dismounted, stretched as we looked around, and led the horses to the stream.

"Now I've got you," came a growl and I saw a flash as four men came from the copse of trees around us with bows. They looked pretty rough and ill-kept—northerners who had been marched long and hard to get ahead of us. Growling his command to throw down our weapons was the accomplice. "Don't kill them unless they move," Accomplice called. "We'll have music from the minstrel tonight while we have pleasure from the woman. We can kill them in the morning." They laughed.

"Oh, look, Lincoln," Cadence said lazily as she unbuckled her sword belt. "The fat accomplice has lost weight. Not been eating well on the road? Tired? Low energy? Doubt you'll be able to get it up for that pleasure you were talking about. Not that I'd be able to tell the difference."

"Maybe if I shoot you in the leg it will shut you up," he said. He drew his bow and it snapped in half springing back at him. The arrow went into a tree. Cadence had her sword out of its scabbard and was near him as he wailed, "Shoot her!" Nothing happened. He turned to look toward his gang and found them all face down on the ground with arrows sticking from their backs. "What is going on?"

"Highway robbery," said a man to my left as a dozen armed men emerged from the thicket. "You dare to rob and rape on my road?"

"You've got it all wrong!" Accomplice said. "These two were lying in wait as me and my boys stopped to water our horses. "I'll bet they even have the ones they stole from us last night hidden back there in the trees." He pointed off to his left and one of the band slipped off that direction. "I demand you arrest these brigands!" he finished with bravado. He should have made his career in theater where he would only be booed.

"What do you think I am? The sheriff? Lord Chang? The Keystone Cops?" the leader laughed. "I'm Genghis Fucking Khan and I am the only one who preys on travelers on this road. You are poaching on my territory." Well, maybe we weren't saved after all. He turned to me. "Are you the crippled Minstrel Lincoln?" he demanded. I waved a cane at him.

"That would be me."

"Don't you know who you were tangling with?" the leader asked. All bows had been lowered. Only Cadence's sword was still out of its scabbard. "The legends of Minstrel Lincoln are known all over the South. The Minstrel's Traveling Show even has a performance of the famed slaying of seven slavers with one blow of his sword. It would take a mad man to attack the minstrel and his body guard. He is known to travel only with the best swordsman on Chaos. As you can tell by the saber held to your throat. Look. Even there, he slew four of your men with four arrows fired from his bow at the same time."

I what???

"Now hold still while your betters remove your weapons and money. You don't want to accidentally die of a sword stroke. It's very messy." Accomplice stood perfectly still while one of Khan's men stripped him. Finally, he stood naked in front of Cadence and Khan. Cadence flipped the end of his dick with the flat of her sword.

"Just as I thought," she mumbled.

"Is there anything else you want of him?" Khan asked. Cadence shook her head. I still didn't know where we stood with the brigand, but he was making no move to disarm us. "Very well, take him away and hang him," Khan said. Two men grabbed Accomplice's arms behind him and marched him away.

"But you said I wouldn't die!" Accomplice shrieked.

"I said you wouldn't have a messy death with your throat slit. Hanging is much neater." We could hear his bellow and pleading for five minutes as he was dragged away. Eventually they went silent. Khan's man led seven horses and two mules into the clearing, all loaded with gear.

"Now, Lincoln Minstrel," Khan said, "what do we do with you?"

"You might take the horses and gear as compensation for your day's labor and allow us to continue our journey. We are attempting to catch up with the circus you mentioned," I said.

"Hmm. Might. Then again, if I were less than hospitable to you, Master Lees might not bring the circus back."

"You know my ... Master Lees?" Cadence burst out. "Is sh ... he well?"

"Well and expecting you. Has been expecting you for five years, though I'd guess you were no more than a child when he last saw you."

"Tell us, Mister Khan. How do you happen to know Master Lees and the Minstrel's Traveling Show?" I asked.

"Well, that's a story for the fireside. We're unlikely to be disturbed here. It is known as a safety rest. Let's make camp and share stories and songs." I hesitated. "I assure you, tomorrow you will catch up with the circus."

This would be a new experience for Cadence and me. In over three weeks on the road, we'd managed to make it to an inn each night. Usually, we paid for our room with music and for information with pinches. In all that time, we hadn't unpacked our camping gear. As we turned to our horses, four men came up to us with the clothing and personal effects of the four slain men and laid them in next to the pile of Accomplice's gear.

"Your spoils, Minstrel," one said.

"What? These should go to the men who killed them."

"We heard Khan say that you had killed them with four arrows at the same time. 'Twas not us who killed them. We could hang for that."

"And I couldn't?" I asked.

"Well, yes you could, but they can only hang you once no matter how many you kill. You just need to get rid of the evidence."

"I'm holding an auction," I yelled. "Bring me one of those saddled horses. Now here are the remaining possessions of a man who was lost in a storm. We know that there is a horse and saddle, some clothes, sadly blood spotted, a bow, a sword, and a knife. I'd suggest you test the bow before you try to use it. Don't much like what happened to the last one I saw pulled. Now, who'll give me a pinch for it." The men laughed and one raised his hand. "I've got a pinch, got a pinch; give me two? Who'll give me two? That's two; give me three. Three pinch for the lot. Going once. Going twice. You want in? It's a quad to you. Sold! To the handsome man with a feather in his cap. Pay my lovely cashier. Now someone bring me that sorrel mare. Here we have a fine specimen of horseflesh. She comes with bridle, bit, and saddle, and this lovely pile of slightly soiled clothing. This is a low-mileage model, only ridden by a little old lady to visit her granddaughter on Sundays. Who'll start us with a pinch?"

In fifteen minutes, the men were all laughing. Cadence had collected six quads and we were left with a packhorse and two mules, loaded with gear. The men were a jovial group as we went about setting up camp and they kindly ignored our incompetence in sorting out our tent and getting it erected. Eventually, we had everything unpacked, the horses tethered, and a fire going. Three of the men dragged the carcass of a deer into camp, hoisted it in a tree, and began butchering.

"I hope you like venison," Khan said.