Chapter 9

With the strong wind nearly directly at my back, my feet gained wings. Indeed, with but a bare thought I allowed the wind to wrap around me and grasp me, as if it were a hand, lifting up from the ground and above the fields of rye-grass. Thus enveloped and with a single directed thought, I arose up into the air and quite nearly flew, allowing the wind to bear me about ten feet off of the ground ... and with far greater speed than I could have run. I couldn't say with any certainty that I actually was flying, but with the aid of the approaching storm I had lifted myself from the ground using my powers, and from there it was mostly just a matter of letting the wind do the rest of the work.

Within a few minutes I was nearly back at my destination, our scouting outpost and to Black, my awaiting horse, who usually was of none too patient a disposition, at best. If he was concerned that I had just dropped in apparently from the sky, out of the teeth of a growing storm, Black showed no apparent signs of it.

"Oh ... there you are, finally." Black thought towards me with a sigh, pretending casualness and indifference to my presence but not quite able to pull the act off. In fact, Black's actual surface thoughts were entirely ones of relief and immense satisfaction. He'd had quite a good feed today as well, devouring in full a good section of ripening thick rye-grass. The big stallion wouldn't be confused for an overly plump stable horse, but a few good days of relatively quiet feeding had added a hint of some extra flesh over his rather boney ribs.

"No Black, you worrying hen ... you'll not be pulling a plow in peaceful harness just quite yet. Lots of time yet for crazed gunmen and near-sighted cannibals to be shooting your ass full of bullets still yet, not to mention a race or two yet for our lives, mostly likely in the pitch black where you'll be certain to break a leg in a sunken dire-rat hole. Think of the full that we will soon be having!" Black snorted and pretended to be more interested in yet another mouthful of rye-grass. He thought about biting me when I put the saddle back on him, but really he was a bit too stuffed and pleased with himself to put much sincere effort into it.

"Lads," I continued, looking at my two anxious young scouts, "gather up your gear here, all of it, and gather in the folks at the other three outposts with you back to the main camp. It's going to be pitch black soon, even before dusk, and with the rain storm that's coming you'll not see your hands in front of your faces pretty soon. Get everyone to base camp on the double, but try and make an effort to stay out of sight in the process. We've done very well these last two days so let's not bollocks it up here at the very last. It's going to get rough tonight, so let's get assembled and prepared to make the best of it, so now get to it!"

The young riders already had their packs and sleeping rolls bundled and were scampering off head down low under the rye-grass and putting ass to elbows on the double. It was getting dark fast now and I wanted all of our lads back at camp by the lake with a hot meal in them and maybe even a quiet nap before things got interesting later on. I wanted that bit of a nap too, but I wasn't likely to get it now. Rank has its privileges ... and many more responsibilities!

"Open the damned gate!" I shouted out over the thundering sound of pouring rain. "That is, if you'd like to get your asses out of here before the bastards outside start heating up the family sized stew pots."

"Fuck you! Whoever you are ... that gate, and the others, is going to stay closed, but orders of the Assembly." The Gypsum guardsman replied. He was a cheeky bugger and I could just tell that he was thinking about shooting at me on general principle. Fortunately I had him nicely confused about the hows and whys of what I was doing there sitting there already on top of his town walls. Heck, the stupid bugger wouldn't even have seen me at all if I hadn't just now thrown a rock at him that bounced off of his helmet!

"About that ... nice job there piling a few old cars to block that gate. The problem with that is you've sealed yourselves in just as much as you've barricaded the barbarians out. By tomorrow there's going to be a lot more of them than there are of you, so I'd start thinking about an exit strategy fast."

"Passably true," he replied after thinking about the matter for a minute, "you may have a point with that, still ... a man scaling the city walls after dark could certainly be considered an intruder at best, and a villain at worst, and it is my duty to prevent such."

"Fair enough, but if you don't lower that weapon I'll find some anatomically challenging place to jam it! I pounded on your gate for a full ten minutes without a response ... and I'm not leaving without one! Now be a good soldier and take me to your commanding officer ... and then he'd better take me to see your mayor or your Assembly, or whomever is in charge, so be quick now about it! It's starting to rain even harder and we're going to need all of the cover and noise tonight we can get if we're to even get some of your townsfolk off to safety before this night is over!"

The guard still stubbornly considered shooting me anyway, but decided that someone other than himself might actually want to talk to me instead. I just didn't want the sound of stray gunshots alerting the outside horde that anything whatsoever was afoot tonight. With the heavy rain, the sound might not carry very far outside anyway, but I didn't want to take any chances. With the new cavalry reinforcements due at any moment, our odds of a clean getaway were declining precariously by the minute. With Jodi's assistance we had both crept right up to this northeastern gate without being spotted by anyone. The opposition was taking the night off, getting under whatever cover they could find from this growing rain storm, and I didn't want to waste a minute of this otherwise golden opportunity. She was waiting for me outside still by the closed gate and I didn't want her to get bored and distracted enough to go head hunting.

The town's guard didn't quite seem to be the amateurs I'd initially made them out to be. The guard captain took one look at me and knew that I was over his pay grade and didn't even try and hassle me, even to find out what I was up to. The magic word 'Witchfinder' opened every door wide and with disturbingly little fuss or inconvenience I was promptly led to the town's Guild Hall, where the Master of the town (about like a mayor, I suppose, but with fewer and more irregular elections) was holding a meeting of the Assembly with a dozen or so of its prime functionaries.

At just a first glance I could tell that he was going to be another part of the problem, rather than any part of the solution. His Assembly buddies, apparently the guild masters of the town, weren't much of an improvement. I guess that being invaded with a cannibalistic horde was rather bad for business as usual, and they looked entirely too comfortable and pleased with themselves and quite appeared to be unconcerned about their near future. Obviously, they thought they'd paid off the hard boys with a bit of the old-ready, maybe a bag or three of silver and thought themselves quite safe from the nasty barbarians outside their gates. Clearly I was dealing with idiots and decided that I wasn't going to waste too much time with them winning hearts and minds!

On the other hand, one rather hard looking fellow sort of had a uniform, complete with a pistol holster at his belt and we marked each other as 'professionals' of sorts, and after a moment of inspection he nodded at me and gave me a bit of a sincere bow in greeting. The guard captain greeted him as well as a superior officer, so I decided that if I absolutely needed to start lopping off heads to clear out the deadwood at the top ranks, that these two fellows seemed more practically minded.

The rest of the assembly was much rather less impressed with me, but no one looks quite their best after being out in the rain for over an hour. Perhaps I should have tried to overawe the locals and filled my hands with black baleful witch-flame, but I was still tired from keeping my stealth field active all afternoon and thought before the night was over I'd need all of the witch-power I could manage to summon ... and not just waste it on pismires. Besides, I'd decided that I wasn't here to make friends and influence people anyway. This petty prince was going to do what I ordered or I was going to create a job vacancy and find a replacement that would!

"Alright, who the fuck are you, and how did you get over the goddamned walls?" The Master enquired. He had a rather snide tone that I didn't quite appreciate and after I walked up close enough to him to read his surface thoughts, I decided that my first instincts had been pretty spot on, and that perhaps a change of leadership might be the best solution for everyone.

"I'm the fucking Witchfinder, asshole. The man sent here to rescue you. No, not you personally, but the rest of you ... or at least some of you anyway. Unless you're waiting for a warmer reception inside of a horde cookpot."

"Won't happen!" The Master snapped, as if this discussion had already been argued out a dozen times or more already. "They've been paid in good coin already and they'll be leaving probably in the morning, after the selection. We have their word that they'll then leave us alone. We don't need rescuing. They even signed an agreement giving the Assembly and our families and properties full protection!"

"Then you are stupider than I thought. The horde is most certainly not leaving, or at least not until the rest of their cavalry gets here tonight or tomorrow morning, and the rest of their horde army shortly afterwards. Within three days they will storm these walls and then things are going to get rather nasty. If I were you, I'd rather not still be here when it happens."

Some of the braver guild masters sniggered and almost laughed, but the Master wasn't nearly so amused at me.

"So, one horde army brings just one Witchfinder? A meddler, who like a thief in the night comes to us to interfere in our own personal local affairs. Uncalled for, unwanted and most certainly unneeded. Away with you! You have no authority here!" He called for the guard to escort me away but quite understandably they weren't in any hurry to get in my way. I think there was something in my facial manner or the look in my eye that they were frightened of and to a man they remained frozen behind me, unwilling to interfere with what was going to happen next.

"One horde of cannibals – one Witchfinder. I am sufficient unto the need. As for your Assembly and the deplorable state of your affairs, you may remain to attend to my instructions only for so long should it continue to please me ... or shall I make alternative arrangements? As an old mentor of mine used to joke when I was a boy, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help'. You can serve me, or I shall find others more willing who shall!" No, I didn't really understand that joke either, but it was one of old Grampy's favorites, and this seemed like an appropriate place to use it.

Really, it was all becoming a waste of time, because I didn't need to read the Master's rather greedy and malignant mind to know what was about to happen next. I did it anyway, but I rather quite immediately regretted the experience. The bastard, along with nearly the entire Assembly had quite sold out the town! They'd paid quite a bit of good silver for their own personal safety and forged an agreement to open the gates of the town to the horde at noon tomorrow. There would be of course the usual plundering and rape (Assembly homes and family excepted) and the standard decimation of the captured population to become stewpot fodder, with the survivors given the usual choice of eating their friends, family and neighbors – and joining the horde, or becoming a sacrifice themselves. With their own lives and fortunes protected, the Master and the Assembly would then be allegedly given safe passage to travel far away from their treason. Frankly, I didn't trust the horde to keep their word about even minor matters, and if I were the general or witch-priestess running things, I'd have the scheming traitors be the first ones on the menu. There'd be little chance of convincing these lying bastards of that however ... not that I had the patience or inclination to try.

The Master didn't need more than one glimpse into my eyes to tell which way trouble was heading and once again he cried out for me to be taken out from the guild meeting room ... but again not one of the guards wanted to risk their life or limb by confronting me. Sensible men. I was quickly mental sorting out the room for triage and deciding that perhaps some slightly restrained mayhem might be necessary. I understand the need to follow orders down the chain of command but sometimes stupid orders get good men killed and I didn't want that. I was bigger, faster and stronger than any of them and probably could have taken the entire room down with minimal physical force without any guns, but frankly I didn't have the experience to do this cleanly. The Master's next bad idea would offer a simpler solution anyway.

The rogue Witchhunter Justin had the ability to read minds, but had never sensed a thing when I escaped from my bonds and blew out his brains with my old small revolver. Being balls deep in my so-called wife Nancy at the time, this lapse in concentration was understandable. Now the Master tried much this same trick on me, pulling out a small hidden revolver of his own when he swiftly drew and fired at my own head, but I was more than prepared for treachery. Now I had Justin's ability to read minds and even as my eyes left the Master's, I kept my thoughts upon his. I'd sensed his gun (and the will to use it) hidden on him earlier and as the bullets were not silver my shields were already prepared and I in no danger. In fact I thought it was rather on the whole deliciously educational to let the frightened wicked Assemblymen see the five lead bullets now suspended in mid-air between us.

His third and final mistake was not to drop the weapon and either run for the door or surrender and plead for mercy while I was feeling mildly charitable. His removal from office did not necessarily need to be a terminal undertaking, but when he next reached for a knife in his pocket that did have a silver blade that could be a threat to me, I decided that enough was enough.

With an almost casual wave of my hand, as if in mundane boredom or exasperation, I shrouded the former Master in magical flame and he was consumed to bare ashes in but a moment. This wasn't quite what I had in mind from the very start, but I had to admit that it was effective.

"Enough foolishness!" I announced, after casually picking up and pocketing the silver bladed pocketknife. A useful tool someday perhaps ... and not a trinket to leave casually in the hands of others.

"You sir, in the uniform," I continued to the stunned senior veteran soldier I'd greeted earlier, "The commander of the local guard? Good. Unless anyone else has any objections, you shall be acting Master for the town and give the necessary orders in my name. There is much to do this evening – and not nearly enough time to do it all in fact, but it needs to be done never-the-less. Any disagreement?" No, there was none. The town militia captain's name was Wallace and after just a few short words with him I could tell that he wasn't going to give me the slightest amount of trouble. A better secondary leader than I had hoped for in fact.

Once the shock of the former Master's demise had worn off, the guild masters began to rise their voices in various cries of concern over what I was now ordering, but with a smash of my fist onto (and through) the wood of the table I was once again able to create order.

"Enough debate!" I commanded with a growl to my voice, like the bark of a dire-wolf who has cornered its prey. "It is clear that you have sat on your hands for days and done nothing meaningful except to attempt to buy off your foes with silver. A foolish act under any sort of threat, and even more pitiable now. You would bare your own throats to the bite of the wolves and consider yourself grateful that silver would even spare a few of you for but a short while from the horrors that would befall your townsfolk. Surely, you would find no misfortune in seeing every one of them slaughtered in turn like lambs rather than enduring the slightest amount of peril yourself. The survival of your town now requires strength and much sacrifice, and now it would be most appropriate that you now begin to bear some of this sacrifice that you would otherwise so willing command others to endure in your place! Captain Wallace, we alas do not have the time this night to properly chastise these would-be wolves that hide under their sheep hides. Their wealth will be confiscated of course, but for now is there a secure place under key that they may be kept for a day or so until they can personally be greeted by their so-called benefactors, while they are still outside these walls?"

"A sturdy gaol it is, my Lord, with good stone and iron!" Captain Wallace replied with a smile, with the cheering of his men. The guild masters were apparently not a popular lot, taking the cream of the riches in peacetime and now in war quite ready to sell out their townsfolk for their own personal safety and prosperity. A few of the less smart guild masters were already shouting out bribe offers in return for their release but a few well-struck rifle butts soon silenced their continued treachery. The word of what had occurred had already reached the street and it was clear that for now at least, we had the town's guard and its common people firmly on our side.

With all of the former assemblymen now safely locked up, I gathered the captain and his chief lieutenants together for a quick private meeting and then we threw wide open the guild hall doors to admit the growing crowd of townsfolk that had gathered outside to witness our public meeting. They had all been terrified of their future, fearing rightly that their leaders would dither and negotiate to the very end rather than fight for their lives. Now they knew that there was going to be a fight and they were afraid ... but not entirely unwilling to do what was necessary to save their families and even a few of their possession. Now, with a few words, I hoped to channel their fear into some immediate action.

"Good men and women, mark my words carefully for I shall say them but just once and all too briefly and then the time for words will be over, and we must move to action in its stead this very night! For the continued temporary safety of the town and its inhabitants, we have found it needful to remove from all authority the former Master and his Assembly, the guild masters of Gypsum, who unfortunately did not appreciate the full dangers that the horde outside these walls posed. They sought to buy their freedom with coin, leaving you to your own dire fates. I did not find this dereliction of civic duty reasonable or at all acceptable, so now Captain Wallace has assumed the direct responsibility for your safety. Unfortunately, here we do not have the weapons or the numbers of men needed to adequately protect the town, but refuge has been kindly offered by Ft. Salina, and there we shall all hold firm and make lasting preparing to stop this horde! Accordingly, tonight before the arrival of midnight, every wagon and cart must be loaded full with the women and children, and all such food stores and arms that can be transported, burying or burning all else that remains, leaving nothing of value for the horde to take to give him aid or comfort. This is a hard thing to do, but it is necessary so that you or your children can someday have a home to return to and rebuild. Our escape tonight depends upon haste, for the enemy will take a grim toll of us if they catch us before safety is reached so there is no moment for debate or delay. Now the captain and his men will be giving some specific instructions to you, but now you know of our need – and what must now be quickly done!"