Chapter 3

We spent months teaching the girls how to use the bows. When Breccia and Coquina were in their later teens, Shale decided it was time to go. I knew I would miss her and the girls, but I would be able to enjoy a few years of solitude.

Little did I know. A few months later when I went into town I heard about a few robberies to the East of town on the main road. This is not good for the towns’ business. After rushing through my town chores, I headed back home and let the mules loose. They usually knew when I flashed them a mental image, what I needed. They’re more than capable of getting back to their munching of grass upon the grassy knoll without me. I did pet them and tell them they were good boys, and thank you for the help.

I put on my homemade Lamellar Torso Armor. Think of your front and back torso, and your shoulders covered in leather armor. Add very small steel plates laced all over with thick leather lacing. I chose this because there were at least two baddies this time and I knew I was going into danger. I left little to chance.

I put on my war belt and attached two large throwing axes. I grabbed a small pack, my war bow, and war arrows and headed back to the area south of town. A war bow is a very large size bow only a giant can use. The matching war arrows are much longer and thicker with armor-piercing bodkin tips. This is likely overkill for a thief or two. If they have armor, it won’t matter at all. My war arrows are as long as the distance from a human shoulder, to the fingertips on the opposite hand. They are as thick as a human thumb. They are capable of stopping a bear or a buffalo with one well-aimed shot.

The only way the thieves had been able to stay hidden was by being south of my mountain and beyond my range. That makes me think they knew about me so extra caution was needed. I had a suspect before I left home. As I got near, I walked along a few dozen yards off the road looking and sensing for someone. I was beginning to get a tingle of people up ahead of me when I saw a fox. I sat down and it approached with care, I mentally flashed it an image of two dirty-looking men.

The fox flashed back an image of three men and a fire burning by a large rock. I recognized the rock. Villagers called it Fat Rock. It’s a huge mushroom head-shaped thing. Crap, it’s looking more like a local is involved than ever. Fat Rock’s about a hundred yards from the road and a couple miles ahead. How convenient for their so-called work.

I threw a piece of jerky to the fox for being helpful. It yipped me a thank-you and went off on his own business.

As it turned towards dusk, I started working my way towards fat rock. I took my shoes off when I got close. That way I could feel everything underfoot and I could stalk upon them without alerting them.

From the other side of fat rock, I heard them talking. One voice seems familiar, but I couldn’t place who it belonged to. One was a deep and guttural voice, a third voice was young-sounding and whiney.

They were plotting to kill me. Seems they liked the robbery business here and knew that the day was coming when I would come after them. Little did they know that day was today.

Then I heard muffled sobbing. Do they have a prisoner? Well, shit, it just keeps getting better. I pulled three arrows. I loaded one on the arrow rest and the other two were jammed between the fingers of my left hand for quick reloads. I drew as I came around the rock.

“You’re under arrest, get down on your belly or I will shoot you!”

One of them made it easy for me as he tried to jump up to throw a knife. The arrow came halfway out his back.

“Anyone else wish to die right now?”

The other two were saying “No, no!”

“On your bellies and stay there. Hands behind your back,” I said as I kicked a homemade club away from the bigger one.”

I tied their hands tight and then tied their feet. A magical touch on each braided leather tie and I had fused the bindings together. I patted them down and threw the contents of their pockets beside them. I collected a small homemade knife from Jazen Wellman, a previous member of the baron’s chain gang. The squeaky voice criminal turned out to be his younger teenage brother. Bubby Wellman is thirteen.

After I was sure the idiots were secure I went to the girl that was tied up.

“Hello, I am Crag, the local ranger. Let me untie you.”

After untying her hands she sat up and removed her own gag and the tie on her ankles.

“Thank you, I am Sigesi Snowman. They captured me about a week ago. The dead one killed my husband Marden and has been raping me all week if you wish to call it that. The other two dipshits only watched me. Damn, I am so hungry.”

I went back and got my waterskin, and a cloth for washing from my pack and passed them to her. “You can go around the rock a bit and clean yourself up while I talk to these idiots, if you want. When you return I will get you something to nibble on.”

“Thank you. These idiots, as you say, never let me out of their sight.”

I went over to the two living idiots. “Jazen, what am I to do with you. Robbery, kidnapping, and rape. These are all capital offenses. No chain-gang for you this time, idiot!”

“I dunno, Crag. I can’t go to jail again. I can’t take that anymore, I recently got out. SHIT! It’s like you said, they will hang me or behead me. Between now and then it is going to be nothing but hell for me. Can’t you uh, “do me” right here? I knew when Artinor killed Sigesi’s husband I was in way over my head. Screw me but the asshole never listened to a word either of us said. It’s all on him. I didn’t know he was a killer and a rapist.”

“Well, you’re an accessory to murder and rape and so is Bubby now. If you had the sand to take Artinor down, you would only be going to the chain gang again.”

“No, not that, I cannot go back to that again.”

“So why are you here and stealing again?”

“Artinor talked me into it. He’s very persuasive and I am weak-willed. Can you let Bubby go? He did none of this and disapproved of the whole thing. Artinor was keeping him here against his will.”

(Thinking Jazon’s weak-willed, weak-minded, and lazy is more like it.)

“Is that true, Bubby?”

“Yes sir. You know me. I am a good kid. I got tricked into coming with Jazen. He told me we would be working and could help Ma with some money. He said he was helping me. He never told me we would-be thieves. I am not interested in his way of life. I only did the scut work here. I did not take part in any of the rest of it.”

“We will see, boys. Jazen, you have a choice to make. I take you to the Baron’s justice, or I do it right here, right now? You need to choose.”

“I chose here and now. I know I am bad, there’s something wrong inside me, and now I’ve gotten my brother in trouble too.”

“You also got your friend killed.”

“Not my friend. I wanted to “borrow” money from a few people, not kill and rape. I had nothing to do with any of that.” “Ahh, but you did. Borrowing it, huh? You stood by and allowed it, then you allowed it to continue. You condone his actions and then you helped him get away with it. I am not sure if you were too much of a coward, or indifferent. It doesn’t matter. Guilty is guilty, now.”

“Well then, let’s get this over with. I don’t think I can wait any longer.”

He was looking towards his brother when he said that and I sent the arrow his way. He had a brief look of surprise when it hit his heart. One thing about my war arrows, they were quick and final.

The young woman came back about then.

She pointed at Bubby and said “He’s innocent and complained as often as that first man, Artinor Nesmi, would let him. Jazen and the asshole argued because Bubby was complaining all the time. He did not like what they were doing, but they couldn’t let him leave. They knew he would tell.”

“Thank you for the murderer-rapist’s name, I need it for my report. So, how are you doing?”

“I’m tired and weak. I’m tied up most of the time for the last week. The experience is all sort of blurred together. My rapist was not very endowed, so there are no damages. Could be a few old bruises. My problem now is my husband is gone and no man would have me. Who wants a woman that’s been raped? I hope and pray that little weasel didn’t knock me up the duff.”

“Are you looking for a man already? I thought you would want to put that off. I can probably get you a job at the inn, or you could be a housekeeper and cook and clean for someone.”

“Hmm, there’s an idea. You’re right, that I am not in the mood for screwing, and won’t be for a while. Housekeeper sounds doable. I am afraid that as a woman working in an inn, I would be expected to service the customers in more than one way. No, that’s out.”

“So who was Artinor, do either of you know?”

Bubby said, “He was in the chain gang with Jazen. They were released a day apart and planned to do some things together. The robbery bit didn’t work well for them. Most travelers had horses and bullied themselves past them. These two only had homemade knives and a club. Neither is in good shape. I set snares, but something often robbed my snares of rabbits often enough that we were not eating well.”

“Uhh huh, might be a fox I met, it let me know you were here. It looked plump and well-fed. OK, well I have jerky, dried apple slices, and some tea to tide you over. I apologize for the travel fare, I wasn’t expecting anyone to survive this. I only have one cup, you’ll have to take turns with it.”

“Please,” they both said.

After they ate a bit, we returned to town. I didn’t have a shovel so had to leave the dead men for now. There was no way I could dig a grave in that hardscrabble rocky dirt using a knife. I planned on going back tomorrow to finish my grisly business.

It seemed nobody needed an extra mouth to feed so Siggy, (Sigesi) the woman came home with me.

Siggy made a quick ham soup with barley which we shared with slices of white cheese and some bread from town. I noticed an open jar of goo with cheesecloth over it.

“What’s this Siggy?”

“It’s wet flour. If you leave it out for about three days, it should start to get bubbly. It’s another method for making bread. You use part of the jar to mix with your regular bread ingredients. It will make a very tasty loaf of bread without using Sodium Bicarb.”

“The remaining part in the bowl will be added to and used to start the next batch of bread, the next day. After that, you must keep it covered with a damp cloth or it can go bad.”

I said, “The bread I get from town tastes OK, but the loaves are large flat circles that resemble a cow patty. You can cut pieces off, but it’s only suitable for dunking. “We will see” I was thinking. Dunking a thick chewy bread seemed right to me.

Little did I know in the future she was going to introduce me to a thin flatbread used to make “meat wraps”. It’s good with fried goat and onions, or fowl and leafy vegetables. You wrap fried goat and onions in the flatbread and it holds together well. This flatbread is also suitable for dipping in the stew.

She makes loaves of bread using a form that goes inside a covered roasting pan for baking. She would also introduce me to egg toast. You slice off a piece of the bread, then dip it into the egg, and then fry it. It’s great with butter and honey, or my apple jam. A great change from my usual morning gruel.

After dinner, I took her to the stream and we both enjoyed a bath. She was not body shy, because she had been married a while and was used to seeing a man, and being seen by them. Then there was the rapist, which she kept laughing about. The rapist it seems was hung like a flee, or so she kept telling me. I could see her eying my alter ego down there when I took off my clothes.