Chapter 13: Judge and Jury

Eric the miller and his family were battered but not so badly beaten that they wouldn't recover. Young Johnny, Eric's son had a knot on his head the size of an egg, Millie, Eric's wife, was scratched and bruised. Eric himself might have suffered a cracked rib. His daughter Emily was none the worse for wear physically, but her emotions would take a while to heal.

Their three assailants weren't in much better condition. Their apparent leader had regained consciousness and attempted to raise his head and get his bearings. The other two lay on the ground next to him silently nursing their lacerated limbs. They were careful in their movements so as not to unnecessarily arouse the four large dogs guarding them.

Guessing that Emil would need some time to deal with the three attackers and that the dealings could be violent, Diana urged the miller's family toward the small dwelling adjacent to the mill. Eric remained, and when the rest of the family was out of earshot Emil began to question the men.

"Turn and sit facing me," he commanded. The men moved cautiously to sit as Emil had instructed.

"There's nothing to keep me from killing you except for my good nature," Emil growled. "Your lives are in the balance, so you'd best be honest with your answers."

The three men seemed to realize the truth of Emil's words, and they all gave slight nods of acknowledgement.

"Where are you from?" Emil asked.

"We come from the city a few hours to the north," replied the largest of the three who appeared to be the leader.

"Did you come here to rob?"

The leader hesitated, considering his answer. "No," he replied, hanging his head. "We came here to take the girl."

"You came all that way just for this one girl?" Emil wondered.

"No, we needed to capture three young women for wives, and this girl is the first we've come across."

"You wanted my daughter for a wife?" Eric interjected incredulously. "She's only twelve!"

"No, we didn't want any women for ourselves. They were for a man who holds our wives and children hostage. He promised he would free them if we found suitable substitutes."

"Who is this man that holds your wives?" demanded Emil.

"He calls himself Luther," spat one of the men. "Before he came, we were honest farmers. He and his men descended upon us one day and took everything we had. They gave us a choice: Give up our families and join Luther as soldiers or die. We chose to live, if that's what you can call our lives now."

When Emil heard the name Luther, his blood ran cold. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the same man who had murdered his parents. His mind raced as he considered how he might finally revenge his parents' death. It would be serious business and there was much to plan.

"Are there more of Luther's men nearby?"

"There are others like us. Luther sends men out on raids all the time, but no two groups are ever sent in the same direction," one of the men answered.

"If I let you live, will you return to Luther without harming any others?"

"You might as well just kill us," lamented the man. "If we return to Luther's camp without some prize, either women or gold, he'd kill us himself. If we don't return, our wives and children will remain his slaves."

Emil thought on the situation for a long while. Finally he came to a decision.

"Would you fight Luther for your families?"

"Fight him? How could we fight him? He's a warrior from the old times and he has a gang of hundreds of men."

"From what you tell me, most of his followers would probably wish him dead," Emil observed. "How many are really loyal to him?"

"You make a good point, but he still has dozens of lieutenants who're just as ruthless and violent as he is. They're the ones who share the wealth and the women and slaves from his raids. They would be loyal."

Emil paused for a moment and made sure that he had each man's attention. Then he spoke with fierceness in his voice. "I have a personal matter to settle with Luther. It may take some time to set things in place, but I will fight him, and when that time comes, I will kill him."