Chapter 16

The men were formed up and they marched towards Balham’s Holm. They kept good formation, and made an impressive sight as they entered through the main gate. The townsfolk were nervous and anxious, that much was obvious from their faces. They were met by a delegation of local worthies. One of the men, an older man with straggly greying hair stepped forward. Donald called the column to a halt.

“My name is Demitris. I welcome you to Balham’s Holm.”

“I am Sir Donald. This is my wife, Lady Isabella. Tell me, who now controls this town?”

The man took a deep breath, swallowed nervously, then said, “You do, Sir Donald. You defeated the previous incumbent, Guthrum. The town and the lives of the people within, are now in your hands.”

Donald sighed. This is what he expected but it was the last thing he wanted.

“Very well, Demitris. I will need all the remaining town guard to report to me. In the meantime I would like to see the lord’s residence.”

“Ahh, there are no town guards. You killed or captured them. As for the residence, it’s the large building on the hill in the centre of town.”

“Very well, have the guild councils report as soon as practical.”

“We are all that is left of the council. Guthrum was, how can I say? Demanding? He killed or drove off all the others.”

“Very well, show me the residence, then we can plan what we will do next.”

As they made their way to the residence, Donald looked around at the town. It was a good sized town, but was very run down. Most of the houses looked rather shabby and neglected. They made their way through what Donald presumed was the merchant’s quarter. It should have been buzzing and teaming with life, but it was empty and desolate. The people they passed looked haggard and drawn. The children seemed thin, hungry and ragged.

They arrived at the residence. It was a large fortress type place surrounded by a high wall, with a gatehouse protected by a portcullis. The portcullis was raised and they entered. The main house, a three story structure, was in much the same condition as everything else. It looked tired and neglected. The place was a wreck. There was furniture strewn all over, clothing, books and manuscripts were lying all around. Every room had been ransacked. Anything of value had been taken.

“What happened to the former rulers? The people before Guthrum?”

“Ah, they sort of disappeared.”

“What do you mean? Disappeared?”

“There was a caravan that came through about three months after Guthrum’s people took over. After the caravan left, no-one saw sight nor sound of them again.”

“Slavers!” Donald spat.

Donald looked around in dismay. He was totally out of his depth. Isabella looked up at him. She squeezed his hand.

“It’s alright. We’ll get this sorted out. Just remember, you have lots of people who can help.” She turned to Demitris “Tell me, what do you do here?”

“I was steward to Sir Theodore Killross. I remained in that position when Guthrum took over.”

“Excellent! You’ll know who is trustworthy and diligent, and who to avoid. Tell us, what happened here?”

The man’s composure collapsed. He slumped into one of the chairs.

“It’s been awful. A living nightmare. It happened two years ago. We were constantly raided by the bandits but we always fought them off. We thought them a nuisance but no more. Then there appeared a caravan, just like any other caravan. Wagons and horses, people walking, some riding. We allowed them into the town and directed them towards the caravan quarter. Once inside the gates, they attacked. They took out all of the town guard. Killed every last one of them. They soon captured the town. They then claimed the men’s wives and daughters as ‘spoils of war’. We could hear them screaming for days. Not all of them made it.

“They ruined this place. Those that could, got out. The rest of us were stuck here. They would charge each caravan a ‘toll’ to allow them to stop here. They would help themselves to whatever took their fancy, goods, women, horses. Word was spreading. We knew that soon there would be no more caravans. They were destroying the place.”

“Well, all that is now over. What I need you to do, is compile me a list of the foodstuffs. I saw a lot of hungry children while we were coming here. They need to be fed. They also looked like a lot of them need new clothes as well. See what stocks of linen, cotton and wool we have. Also send for the cordwainers and cobblers. There are a lot of folk who need new shoes.” Isabella instructed him.

She turned to Donald and said, “Send for Samuel. He knows how to organise a town guard. He can provide security for our town. I’ll organise the women and get this place cleaned up. We’ll need to organise a field kitchen. There are a lot of frightened, hungry people out there. If we provide a meal for everyone, it’ll go a long way to assuage their fears. I’ll get Miriam on it, straight away. I’ll leave you to bring Nathaniel and the rest of the caravan into the town. Have a look at the defences as well. See what needs improving. We have the prisoners as a labour force. We can also use the women and children. At least that way you wont have to kill them, will you?”

He turned to his wife, this wonderful woman who had just taken charge and lifted this intolerable burden from his shoulders. He gathered her up in his arms and kissed her.

“Thank you. I felt I was drowning in all this. I’ll get Samuel to organise a guard and have a look round to see what needs doing.”

Demitris was looking at her as if she were an angel sent from heaven. He was smiling and looked ten years younger as he rose from his chair. He felt suddenly invigorated, and slightly light headed.

“I’ll set to work at once, Milady. I’ll get those figures as soon as I can.”

The place was suddenly transformed into a hive of activity as women descended on the place and cleaned it from top to bottom. Food was found and prepared, tables and chairs set up in the town square. Musicians appeared, ale was brought forth and soon a giant party was in full swing. Donald had asked Samuel to organise a town guard, to which the man laughed and told him he had already done it. Donald smiled and thanked his old friend.

The caravan was brought in and secured. Nathaniel looked around. He could already see and feel the difference that Donald and Isabella had made. There was another caravan already there. The guards were looking around nervously.

Nathaniel went over, introduced himself and asked to see the caravan master. The man came forward. There was a shout of recognition.

“Nathaniel, you old reprobate! What are you doing here?”

“Jeremiah! Who are you calling a reprobate you old scoundrel? Tell me, how are things?”