Chapter 5: Robber Baron and the Crossroads

I woke as the sky began to lighten and ate quickly. Getting the packs on the horses and secured proved harder than I thought it would. I was tempted to just lead the horses but knew I would have to relearn to ride sooner or later. I made a last look around and finally climbed clumsily into the saddle. The horse was not like the ones I had ridden long ago.

After I picked myself up and picked the grass out of my hair, I started trying to coax the horse back so that I could try to mount again. This time I was remembering a TV show I had once seen. When I landed in the saddled, I grabbed onto it and leaned forward as the horse started bucking. I slammed my fist against the side of the horse’s neck and to my surprise it locked its legs and froze.

I hesitantly patted the horse, “You and I have a ways to go. If you take care of me, I’ll take care of you.”

It turned its head and I pulled on the rains to make it turn towards the lead pack horse. I pulled my rifle out of the pack and then took the lead rope. Each of the other horses was tied to the packsaddle of the one in front of it. I turned my horse towards the west and as he started walking. I tied the lead rope behind my saddle and settled back. I slung my rifle as we entered the forest.

We weren’t going very fast. At first the horse would grab a mouthful of grass and I had to remind it to keep going. By afternoon the horse was into a rhythm, it would get some grass and then start moving again. It was a few hours before dark when I called a halt for the night beside a small creek. I was sore and tired but unsaddled the horses and put them on a long picket.

I had thought about things as we went along and as soon as I had camp made I set out a few snares. It had been many years since I had practice martial arts and it took awhile to loosen up. I let my mind relax as I moved through the katas and as I finished, I started practicing with two long daggers. After the daggers, I used one of the better long swords as if it was a katana. When I finished, I pulled the longbow out and shot a couple of dozen arrows.

When I was done I washed up in the creek and made dinner. The next day was a repeat of the day before and it was almost five days before I came to a road. I had been catching rabbits and sometimes birds in my snares. Along the way, I had learned that the plants and animals here were both familiar and in some cases different.

My first encounter with another person came a few hours after I had started out for the day. We came out of the woods into a field. I could see some kind of track on my right and turned to ride to it. Twenty minutes later I was approaching several mud brick huts. As I started getting closer I could see a couple of women rushing as if to hide with their children.

It reminded me of some of the third world countries I had been in. By evening I had passed a dozen more small communities. I made camp on the edge of a small group of trees next to a field. I had just finished my exercises when a man came to my camp. He was wringing his hands as if very nervous and waited until I nodded to him.

He looked down, “My lord, word was sent to the baron of your travels. I have been told to ... direct you to his customs stop.”

The man was speaking an old type of Spanish but I could understand him well enough, “Customs? And why does your baron want me to go to his custom stop?”

It was almost as if I could smell the man’s fear. He was shaking as he continued, “You have to pay the baron for crossing his land.”

The image I got was of a robber baron from Europe in the middle ages. I thought about it and nodded, “anything else?”

The man shook his head, “No, my lord.”

I looked out at the narrow track, “Where is this custom stop?”

The man seemed to flinch, “A day’s travel down the track and to the left by his keep.”

I nodded and the man hesitated before turning away. He stopped after a couple of steps and reluctantly looked back, “Be careful my lord. Not many travelers escape the baron’s men.”

I looked at him and then grinned. I fished a couple of silver coins out and tossed them. “Thank you for your concern.”

He caught the coins and looked at them with both fear and gratitude. I watched him walk away and thought about what I should do. If this baron was like the robber barons of Europe then he wouldn’t stop at a simple toll. I made a meal of roast rabbit and wild onions with something that was similar to potatoes. I was worried that one of the locals might try to sneak up on me and slept lightly.

I was up early and took my time in saddling the horses. The track widened as I got closer to the baron’s keep and the gathering of huts became small wooded houses and then larger communities. I was able to buy a rabbit and some cheese at one of the isolated farms and ate a late lunch.

I was close to what looked like a small town with a stone keep on a hill over looking it when I saw a half dozen riders heading towards me. It was only a couple of hours until dark and I stopped to wait and swung out of the saddle. I tied the reins to a small tree beside the road and checked my rifle.

When they came up to me they spread out. I could see the two men carrying what I recognized as crossbows. One of the men was better dressed than the others and rode closer, “You are on baron Tennison’s land.”

He looked at one of the men, “Take the last six horses.”

I cleared my throat, “I don’t thinks so.”

He laughed, “Alright, we’ll take them all.”

I nodded as the two riders without crossbows moved forward. I raised my rifle and shot the man in front of me through the head. I shifted to the two men with crossbows and took them down. The other two men were fighting their mounts until one slipped off and pulled a long sword.

I shot him twice and shifted to the last man as he finally got control of his horse and turned to me with a snarl, “You are dead stranger.”

I smiled, “I was going to pay a toll but I think you can tell your baron I will be coming to collect his head.”

The man backed his horse before turning and riding off fast. It took several minutes to calm my horses and I moved them back into the nearest wood line. I unsaddled and picketed them on long leads. I kept an eye on the keep while I worked and when full darkness came I slipped out of the camp and headed for the keep.

It took a half hour to get close and I moved quietly as I approached the tall wooden walls. I watched the sentries walking along the top of the wall before moving forward. The rough wooden walls were easy to climb and I waited for a sentry to pass before I slipped over. It only took about twenty minutes to take out the sentries.

This baron must be paranoid, the door into the guard barrack had a drop bar on the outside. I was quiet as I put the bar in its brackets and quietly took out two more guards by the main keep and slipped through a side door. I could hear the loud voices from a large room I thought might be the main hall.

I looked though and listened as a large man with a big belly was drunkenly telling several men how he was going to have me torn apart while I was still alive. The servants came and went keeping their heads down and tried to avoid his notice. I had been watching for about five minutes when a girl almost tripped while carrying a tray of food.

The baron roared as he came to his feet, “Fool!”

He backhanded her and she was sent sprawling. I stepped into the room before I realized I had. The fat baron was stalking after the girl while everyone laughed, “Touch her again and it will be the last thing you ever do!”

The room went silent as the fat man turned to me quickly, “Kill him!”