Chapter 16

By the end of the week they were ready to leave.

Wagons were packed, weapons were cleaned and sharpened, and men were dressed and formed up in columns. The army numbered some five hundred, with the promise of more when the current batch of recruits was deemed ready.

Tom and Aurora had continued to enjoy each other's company, but by the end of the week Aurora told him that she really wanted to finish her project. If she went with him, she didn't think she would ever be able to walk in a straight line again!

Tom felt the same way. He loved having her around, but he knew that whenever he looked at her, all he wanted to do was make mad passionate love to her. He couldn't think of anything else; she was a real distraction. It was with real heartache and with many tears shed, that Aurora decided to remain at Bridgetown.

It was a cold, bright winter's day when the column set off. There were also many tears as the men left their loved ones behind. A few had smiles as the women accompanied their menfolk on the journey. Some, mainly the younger men, were looking forward to what they saw as a great adventure. Others were more realistic, and knew that many would never see their families again.

Paul and Janice had packed their field hospital into the wagons. With little Martha seated between them, they readied themselves for the trip.

Paul had been very busy. He had been cram training as many of his Angels as possible. He had three whom he considered capable. These he left at the hospital he had established in Bridgetown. With the emphasis on personal hygiene, and with Aurora's sewage system, he was hoping that they could keep the sickness levels low.

Finally, they were ready. With a blast of a trumpet (Tom just couldn't resist a bit of the theatrical), Captain Simon lowered his hand, and they were off. Men marched, wagons rolled, townsfolk cheered, and several young women rushed forward to give the intrepid warriors one last kiss.

They followed the road to Dampford, and at first they made good time. Tom looked around as he rode. He saw green fields, and neat little farms clustered into hamlets. The fields radiated out from the villages.

Occasionally they would pass a solitary farm with the barns and animals clustered around the main house, as its fields stretched out from it. Sometimes, the locals would stop and wave. Other times, they would run for the woods. There they would hide until the column had passed.

Tom had sent scouts on ahead, and these returned with news of a small town up ahead. They decided to stay there that night, and get what news they could from the locals.

The town was typical of small towns. It was a group of houses huddled round an inn, with a blacksmith, a baker, and a general store all grouped in the centre plaza.

There was a large meadow just outside the town, and that is where the army set up camp. The men were in good spirits, for they had made good progress that day. They had covered over eighteen miles for the day! The camp was readied, and meals were prepared.

As things settled down some of the locals came out towards them. They looked worried, as they had never seen such a large force of fighting men before. They wondered who they were.

Their leader approached the camp.

Tom was in his tent. Captain Simon approached with an apprehensive looking delegation, and announced his presence.

"Sire," said Captain Simon "these men wish to speak with you."

"How can I help you?" asked Tom as he came out of his tent.

"Well, Sir, we were wondering who you were, and what you were doing here?"

Tom smiled and replied, "I am King Tom, and we are on our way to Dampford to stop the slavers. If they are allowed to succeed, there, then no one will be free. We intend to stop them, and drive them back into the sea!"

"Well, Sir, I am Matthew. These men are Tobias and Roger," he said, pointing to the men on either side of him. "I am the headman of this town, and the innkeeper. Tobias is the blacksmith and Roger is the baker. We have had some people come through here on their way to Bridgetown. They say they will be safe, there. Some of the tales they tell are truly horrific and I'm glad someone is doing something about them."

"We would be grateful if you could sell us any surplus food," Tom replied. "We have enough for now, but you never know when we will need more. There are rather a lot of us, and we dogo through quite a few supplies in all too short of a time."

"I will see what we can do, although I'm afraid it may not be much. We sold much to the folk coming through here. Some of them were in a bad way. We have one family who we took in, as they just couldn't go any farther. The mother is really sick. The father is working with Tobias, and the daughters are working with me."

"In that case I will send Lord Paul over to see you. He is a healer. He is the man who founded the Angels. I will ask him if he can do anything to help," Tom said. He asked a guard to fetch Lord Paul.

He invited the men to sit and wait. He asked them what the town was called and about life here. The town was called Braton and life there was good. The land was fertile, and they didn't suffer too badly from flooding. They kept cattle, and were well known for making cheese. All in all, their life was good.

Paul arrived, along with Janice and Martha. He was told of the sick woman, and immediately went to see what he could do.

Paul entered the room where that sick woman lay. He looked around at the worried faces of her husband and children, as they cared for the woman they loved. His heart went out to them; for just by looking at her, he knew there was nothing he could do.

She lay on the bed, a pale and emaciated shadow of her former self. Her eyes were sunken, and her skin had a yellowish hue. It was obvious to all that she was dying.

He walked over to her and held her hand. It was cold and clammy.

"How are you feeling?" he asked

"It hurts!" she replied weakly. "It hurts so much!"

"I can give you something for the pain. It will help," he told her, taking a small flask of poppy juice from his bag. "Here, drink this."

Paul helped her lift her head as she drank from the flask.

A few minutes later, the contents of the flask worked their magic, and the woman sighed and relaxed. She closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

He husband looked up at her as she slept.

"Will she be all right?" he asked, with the hope of one who in his heart knows all hope is lost.

"I'm afraid not," Paul told him. "She has something called cancer. It eats away the body, from within. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do, other than ease her pain. I'm so sorry."

The two daughters came over and put their arms around their father. They clung to him as they all gently wept.

Janice came over to him and put her arm around him. Paul looked down at her and saw tears forming in her eyes.

"Is there nothing to be done?" she asked softly

He shook his head as he said, "No. I've seen this before. I'm afraid I can do nothing. I reckon she only has a very short time left. All we can do is make her comfortable and ease her pain."

As he left, he pressed the flask of poppy juice into the man's hand, and told him how it was to be used.

The man looked up and smiled weakly at him.

"Thank you," he said, nearly breaking Paul's heart.

"I'm so sorry," Paul responded.

They left and closed the door on the private tragedy that was entering into its final phase.

It was a subdued Paul and Janice that returned to the tent.

"How is she?" asked Tom.

"Not good," replied Paul. "She has cancer. I don't think she'll last much longer. I've left some of the poppy juice. It's all I can do."

Tom came over and embraced his friend. Tom knew how much it hurt Paul when he couldn't do anything and how impotent it made Paul feel.

"At least you have been able to ease her suffering. You have lessened her pain, Paul."

"Yes. And in this case, that's the best we can hope for," Paul replied sadly.

The following morning dawned cold and grey, and the dark rain clouds billowed. The camp was packed up and they had just headed out when the rain started, and soon it was pouring. It rained solidly all day turning the roads into swamps, bogging down the wagons, slowing down progress. The mood of the army changed, gone was the carefree banter and song, to be replaced by grumbling and frayed tempers.

It wasn't until late afternoon that the rain finally stopped, but by then everyone and everything was totally sodden. They made camp at dusk in a meadow in the lee of a large hill. It was a cold and miserable camp. The fires wouldn't light, and those that did only gave off smoke and very little warmth.

The next day was a repeat, except that by now the ground was even softer and the going even harder. The wagons kept on getting stuck, having to be man-handled time and time again out of boggier and boggier ground.

By late afternoon they reached another small town. This looked a poor run-down place, with dilapidated fences allowing livestock to wander where they would, and buildings that looked as if they would collapse in the merest breeze. As they approached they saw the place was empty. However there was smoke coming from the chimneys, and they could see that the people had left in a hurry.

Tom ordered the women and children into the houses to get warm and dry, along with the sickly. He ordered latrines dug and the fences repaired. The livestock was rounded up and put back into their pens. Buckets were found and the cows were milked, the animals were fed and eggs were collected. The tents were erected and those who were able to light fires did so. Food was prepared as best as could be in the houses, and as many of them as possible were given hot food. As soon as they had eaten, the guardsman went back on sentry duty.

It was much later in the evening that several people were brought in by the guards. It seemed that they had heard the stories of the slavers raiding towns and villages. When they had seen all the soldiers moving towards the village, they had decided to hide in the woods.

It was only when they saw the men with the women, and how they helped the women, and how they helped care for the animals that they realised that these people couldn't be the slavers. They were still frightened, but when the children started to cry and it was obvious they were hungry, they had decided to come home.

Tom explained who they were and what they were doing, and thanked them for the use of their houses. He then ordered that food be prepared and that the children be fed and bedded down for the night. Many of the locals found themselves sleeping in their own barns as several children were already asleep in their beds.

The following morning dawned bright, but cold. They had managed to dry out some of their things, but not much. It was mid-morning when they encountered the first of the refugee columns.

Three families were travelling together. The scouts found them and brought them to the column. Tom could see they were frightened not knowing who or what Tom's intentions were.

"Welcome," said Tom as they were brought before him. "I am King Tom, and let me assure you all that you are safe with us."

They looked around at the soldiers surrounding them, and at first were not too sure.

"We are on our way to Dampford. There we intend to defeat the slavers and drive them back into the sea. Tell me, where have you come from?" he asked one of the men.

"We are from a place called Little Pailing. It is near the coast, and we have been trying to get to Bridgetown. They say that we'll be safe there, as they have strong walls and plenty of food," the man replied.

"Yes, that is true. I know, for I built the walls and oversaw the harvest. However, you cannot run forever; eventually you have to stand and fight. We have decided that Dampford is where we will fight."

He looked at those in front of him. Some of them looked all in.

"Tell me," Tom asked, "When was the last time you had a good meal?"

"Two days ago," one of the women answered. "We were hoping to get some food in the next village."

"Well, I think we may have cleaned that place out of spare food when we left there, this morning. However, I'm sure we can spare you some food. Tell me, why did you leave Little Pailing?" Tom asked

"We had some men turn up saying they were now in charge, and we had to give them our food! They also wanted our women and children! We told them exactly where to go with that idea, and that's when they attacked us. We managed to get away, but a lot of our friends and neighbours weren't so lucky. That was two months ago, and we've been on the move since then."

"How did you cross the river?" Captain Simon asked.

"We crossed at Dampford," one of the men said. "We managed to get past the patrols those slavers had set up. We left there two days ago. We have no money to buy food, and we've nothing left to trade. We were hoping that the people in the next village would have some work for us, and we could earn enough for some food."

"I doubt if they would, but we always need more people," said Tom. He looked at the men. "You men could join the militia, and I'm sure we could find the women and older children work in the camp. That way you would be fed, and have the protection of the army. Captain Simon, do you think you could use these men in your ranks?"

"If they are willing to join, we can train them; but most of the work will be digging ditches, chopping trees, and mending. It just depends on what skills they already have," Captain Simon replied.

"Well, what did you do in Little Pailing?" Tom asked.

"My family were basket weavers, and Thorin here was the baker. Harris was the miller. We also had small plots of land where we used to grow vegetables. We would collect the reeds from the marsh, dry them, and weave our baskets. We know all the safe paths through the marsh around Little Pailing."

"That may be very useful to know," said Captain Simon.

"Yes, it may," agreed Tom. "Very well, if you wish to join us, gather your things and we'll find you something to eat. I'm sure the good Captain Simon will be able to find a place for you."

"Thank you, Sire. We won't let you down," they replied.

There were several more families that attached themselves as they approached Dampford. After two more wet and miserable days they finally arrived. They stood on the ridge and took in the scene before them.

The town was spread out before them. Around the town, which was mainly on the high ground on the far side of the river, was a stout wall and ditch, which had been connected to the river forming a moat. These had gatehouses with drawbridges, effectively turning the town into an island.

Construction of a bridge had been started over the ford, but due to the rainfall, the river had risen and was in full spate. The river itself was wide, fast flowing, and had steep banks. Where it formed the ford, it sloped down to the bank. The river did widen at that point. Ropes spanned the river, and a rope-stayed ferryboat struggled against the current. Beyond the town they saw the campfires and encampments of the enemy troops. They were constructing some form of siege tower, and the sound of axes could be heard drifting across the river.

As they assembled on top of the ridge, the town below exploded into a hive of activity. The drawbridges were raised and men swarmed on to the battlements. Tom and Captain Simon sat on the ridge.

"Looks like we arrived just in time," the Captain noted.

"Yes indeed. Let's get the men together and get down there. I've a feeling they do not yet know who we are. I wonder where Rolof is amongst all of that," Tom replied.

Tom, Captain Simon and the guard went forward towards the town under a banner of truce. As they approached the drawbridge was lowered and a group of men rode out towards them. They halted as the two groups met in the middle of the road, surrounded by a boggy field.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" said a large and belligerent man as they approached.

"Greetings," said Tom. "I am King Tom, and we have come from Bridgetown to help you drive off the slavers. I take it that you do want help, and that we haven't come all this way for nothing? Tell me, whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?"

"I'm Ethelwold. I'm in charge of the defences on this side of the river. You seem to have brought quite a crowd with you. King Tom, you say? Hmm, you wouldn't be connected to Rolof, now would you?" the man asked, his tone softening though still wary.

"Yes. I sent him on ahead, some time ago. He was the one who sent me the message to come quick. We got here as soon as we could. This is Captain Simon, and we have over five hundred men with us, as well the healer, Lord Paul, and several of his Angels. Where is Rolof, by the way? I'd like to see him as soon as possible."

"He's on the other side of the river. It's in spate, now, which always gives us problems. As you can see, we were trying to build a bridge, but the rains came too early and washed most of our efforts away. We've still got the ferry, but even that struggles in these conditions."

"Well, my men are cold, wet, and hungry. I'd like to get them down into the town and get them fed and dried off," Tom said.

"Ah, that might be a problem. I doubt we have room for that many men in this part of the town. We'll certainly help where we can, but we're a little down on supplies, ourselves. These bastards have destroyed a good part of the harvest. Most of the good farmland is on the other side of the river. We have a lot of hungry folk over there. It's starting to get a little desperate around here."

"Very well, it looks like we got here just in time. I'll get the men bivouacked," Tom said.

Turning to Captain Simon, he gave the order to set up the camp. The Captain rode back to the men and they started to make camp. Ethelwold accompanied them. The camp was quickly established. Before long they were sitting in Tom's tent. It was then he told them of what had happened.

"It started last spring. We started getting people coming through telling of bandits raiding farms and stealing women and children. Then we had these men arrive saying that they were now the government and they were now in charge. Well, we soon told them where to go. Magnus, who was our leader, well, he assembled the townsfolk and we threw them out.

"We had heard about a group last year who had come around by Bridgetown and tried to do the same thing. They were thrown out by a Lord Tom, and a Lord Paul. We had a few folk tell stories that they had united all of the Hunter tribes, and were held in very high regard by the Medethi. We figured that this lot were of the same ilk, so once we had driven them out we set about building ourselves some defences.

"It's just as well we did, for we hadn't long finished them when a band of about fifty of them turned up and demanded we surrender to them. We were lucky we had prior warning, and we closed the gates and drew up the drawbridges.

"They then went about ravaging the countryside and that's when things got bad. We're not trained warriors! We are just farmers and townsfolk with a few crossbows and pitchforks. What chance do we stand against them?" he said despondently

At that moment Paul came in.

"Hello," Paul said, "Who's our guest?"

"Hello, Paul, this is Ethelwold. I was just about to tell him how we defeated the slavers at Small Cove, earlier this year. He's worried that just because they are only farmers, they will be beaten."

"Well, most of those we face will be farmers. They have either been offered some land, or have been forced to join up. The quality is not all that good," Paul declared.

"No, but those we faced earlier in the year were their crack troops. We beat them because we were behind defences and could fire straight down into them. I don't see much difference, here. We can sit behind the walls and watch them starve," said Tom.