Chapter 29

Hugh continued his story.

I left early the following morning. It was a cold and blustery day. It suited my mood perfectly. I had loaded my things onto one horse and rode the other two for an hour each, turn and turn about. I was able to make good time, but after six hours in the saddle I was feeling the effects. I stopped for lunch, then with great reluctance remounted and rode on. As evening fell I entered a small village — well, a hamlet, really. It was just an inn at a crossroads, with a stables and a forge.

I went to the stables and looked round for the owner. A large powerful man came out of the forge.

"Yes, how can I help you?" He took one look at me and snorted. I could see the disgust and contempt in his eyes.

"I'm stabling my horses here for the night. Take care of them for me," I told him rudely.

His eyes narrowed as he said, "Three pinches each, nine pinches in all."

"I'll give you eight and be thankful I don't have you assessed for taxes," I said, placing the money on the table.

He growled as he took the cash, muttering under his breath.

I collected my things and entered the inn. The place fell silent as I entered. I waited for a moment as my eyes adjusted to the dim, smoky atmosphere within. I walked over to the counter where a large slatternly woman stood behind the bar.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" she asked in a bored tone.

"A room, a meal, and a hot bath. In that order," I replied.

She took a good look at me, and seeing my uniform, went quite pale. "Yes, sir, right away, sir," she stuttered, quite flustered.

Other folk, seeing my uniform, quickly vanished from the premises. I looked round at the departing patrons. "Quiet in here tonight, isn't it?"

"It is, now!" the woman muttered, silently cursing under her breath.

I pulled out a shell and placed the coin on the counter. "That should cover it."

She took the coin, and looked at me. "The meal will be in ten minutes. I'll start getting the water ready for your bath. Room's the last on the left at the top of the stairs."

I thanked her and took my things up to my room. I came down when the food was ready. To my surprise it was very tasty. It was a rich and satisfying stew, with plenty of meat and dumplings. I complimented her on her cooking, and then went for my bath. I had just finished and was just drying off, when I heard a commotion in the bar.

I slipped my surcoat on, belted up my belt with my sword and dagger and then walked into the bar. Standing there were eight men demanding to be fed but refusing to pay!

"We're the Brotherhood. We're in charge, and you'll do as I say. Just consider this as part of your taxes!" the largest of the men was saying.

The large man from the stables had come in and was looking very, very angry. I walked up to the big mouth and asked, "Who are you, that you disturb my bath?"

He turned towards me with a clenched fist. He was a big man, standing at least a head taller than I, and built like a brick outhouse!

"Who the fuck are you?" he sneered, until that is, he saw my surcoat. Then he nearly shat himself. "Oh! I'm sorry, sir!" he stammered. I didn't realise you were here! We'll just have our meals and then leave."

I turned and asked the woman, "Tell me, my dear, how much do these gentlemen owe you?"

"Eight pinches," she stuttered.

"Pay the lady," I said, turning to the big man while still smiling.

The man felt into his purse and paid, giving me black looks as he did so. I turned and returned to my bath. I finished getting dressed and sat in the bar quietly drinking a mug of ale. We watched the men as they ate their meal. It was a most uncomfortable sensation for them, knowing they were being watched, but unable to do anything about it. They quickly finished their meal and left going back out into the windy and rainy night. I returned to my room without a word and slept until dawn.

I left early the next day, my bum protesting against the hours spent in the saddle. I smiled as I passed the men that had left the inn the evening before. They had spent a cold and miserable night huddled together under the shelter of a large tree.

I continued on my way like this for several days, riding until I just couldn't take any more, then spending the night at some inn, spreading my own version of gloom and despondency throughout the Brotherhood's forces wherever the opportunity presented itself. I had travelled half way across the country when I was faced with the next challenge. I had just left yet another flea- and bug-ridden pit that passed itself off as an inn. This one was so bad that I got up well before dawn and left. This one I refused to pay for!

I was just passing a small wood when I heard a woman scream! I know I should have just kept on riding, but I just couldn't. I hid my horses and made my way towards the sounds of the screaming. I saw seven men holding down three women. A man lay on the ground not moving with blood pouring from a wound on his head.

I could see that one of the women was just a girl. "Mummy, he's hurting me! Make him stop! Help me! It hurts!" she screamed.

The others were screaming and moaning as well. I drew my bow, took very careful aim, and shot the rapist straight up the arse. I quickly laid the bow again and shot the next rapist and then the third. By now the rest of the men were looking round to see who was shooting at them.

I was so incensed, I dropped the bow and charged out, drawing my sword as the surprised men started to react. I caught the first one in the act of drawing his sword. I sliced at his arm, severing it at the elbow. He screamed as blood spurted out on his severed limb. I turned to the next one as he swung his sword at me. I parried his blow and thrust my dagger into his belly. Five down, two to go. These had time to prepare, and to my horror were working together. I was completely on the defensive, fending off blows from two assailants. This continued for a few minutes until one of the men suddenly stiffened and fell with a dagger planted firmly in his back. Being able to focus on just one man, I quickly got inside his guard, and ran him through.

I looked at the woman. I then said a really stupid thing. "Are you okay?"

She looked at me. "Do we seem that way to you?" she asked, scathingly.

She ran to her youngest daughter who was weeping on the ground. The older girl just laid there her clothes ripped from her body without moving. I moved among the rapists, and killed the wounded. I went over to where the man lay. It was obvious he was dead. The back of his head was totally caved in.

The woman looked up. "Peter? Peter, where are you?" she looked round to see where her husband was then screamed when she saw him. "Peter!"

She ran to him, hugging him. She broke down completely. The girls joined her, their wailing ripping through the forest.

I waited until they had calmed down slightly, then I went to them. "Come away, now. There's nothing anyone can do. The men that did this are dead. Gather your things. It's time to leave."

I led the women away from the dreadful scene and took them to where they could no longer see the bodies. I returned and went through their things. I found a large bag of money on Peter's body. I also found substantial amounts of cash on the rapists. These obviously weren't the only folk they had attacked and robbed.

I gathered the things together and returned to the women. "I've found this on your husband, I believe it's yours. I also found this on the one you killed. Thanks for that. It really made a difference," I said, handing her two bags of money.

I looked at the children. One was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, the other was only eleven or twelve. It made my blood boil as to the type of men who could do this kind of thing! Doing it to women was bad enough, but to rape children! It was lucky they were already dead, for I would have killed them many times over if that were possible. I found the rapists' camp, and there discovered a wagon full of loot. In it I managed to find some dresses for them that almost fitted. I sat them up on the wagon, and tying my horses to the rear of the wagon we rode away.

I discovered that the woman's name was Olivia, and her children were Giselle and Rose. They were shopkeepers that had sold their shop when the Brotherhood arrived. One of the men had taken a shine to Giselle and wouldn't take no for an answer, so they had decided to move away to save their daughter. It was that decision that had cost her husband his life.

"What am I to do now? Wherever I go I know they will try to take advantage of me. What can I do, a woman on my own?"

I'm afraid I couldn't answer her. She was right. A woman on her own, especially one with children would be seen as an easy target. She could travel with me, but I would be gone in a matter of weeks. What would happen to her then? I decided I would be truthful with her.

"You may travel with me for as long as our paths match, but know I have a mission to undertake. I will help you where and when I can but I cannot stay."

She nodded, and then climbed back into the wagon, cuddled her children close, and again began softly weeping. We made camp later that day. I wanted to put as much time and space between us and that terrible place as possible.

I did a proper search of the wagon, and discovered a concealed hiding place. In it was another large bag of coins. These bandits seemed to be very successful at what they did. I sorted out the goods in the back and found a veritable treasure trove. There were furs, spices, leather goods and knives. There was one particularly good set of throwing knives, with a very discreet holder. I practised regularly with them and soon became very proficient.

"Do you know what? I think this was a merchant's wagon that those men attacked and stole. There's just too much stuff here for it to be booty from robbing people on the road."

Olivia looked at me. "You're right. Some of these things are really valuable. If they knew the value of what they had, then they wouldn't have bothered attacking us."

I thought of what she said, and a travelling merchant's wagon made the perfect cover for why a man should be moving around the countryside. I turned to her. "I'm travelling to Belariak. If you wish you may stay with me until then. I will then have other things to do."

"Belariak is as good a place as any, I suppose. At least it will give us time to grieve and decide what to do next."

As we travelled across the countryside Olivia showed herself to be a shrewd and capable trader. Every time we stopped she would open her shop from the back of the wagon. At first the girls would just sit and stare ahead blankly, as they tried to come to terms with what had happened to them. Then gradually they started to come out of their shells.

Giselle was growing into a charming and beautiful young lady. I could see why the soldier in her hometown was so taken with her.

Rose was a bubbly, lively little thing sometimes. Other times she would slip into depression which could last for days, not eating, barely speaking and would burst into tears at the drop of a hat. It was at those times that I regretted that I could only kill those men once.

Slowly, though, they recovered. To watch these girls was like seeing the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. Dark and dull at first, one would see only small glimpses of the sun. Finally, one would see the glory of the full radiance of their light.

We slowly made our way towards Belariak, taking in the news as we travelled from town to town. We had sold the horses as this would have attracted far more attention than we wished for. I had taken the time to really study the papers I took from the three Regulators I killed. There seemed to be a lot of messages from a man called Vladik. It appeared he was the man in charge. He was demanding more slaves be brought to Belariak, to be sent on to his palace. There was another man mentioned, General Hagrith. He was the man in charge of Belariak. There was another man, a General Oswin. He had been sent to an island on a special mission.

As we drew near to a small town, we were approached by three men who walked up to the wagon. I was sitting on my own in the front as Olivia and the girls were resting in the back.

"What have we here? It looks like tax collecting time! Have you paid your taxes, lately?"

"We don't owe you anything. If you want money, then go and work for it," I retorted. I was sick of these bastards just going up to folk and robbing them of their hard earned cash.

"Well," he said, walking up to the wagon, "you have to pay your taxes. We have to be paid, after all."

"What for? You lot don't do anything. No one carries out patrols to stamp out bandits. The place is infested with them like flees on a dog! No, you can piss off. You're not getting anything from me!"

He looked over at his companions. "Get him down from there. We'll teach him some manners."

They moved towards me. I waited until the first one reached the wagon and then threw my knife, hitting him in the throat. The man staggered back, clutching at the knife as his life bled out of him. The leader's eyes went wide. He never expected anyone to fight back. He and his colleague jumped back, drawing their swords.

"You are so dead!" the leader shouted at me.

I smiled, pulled out another knife, and looked at him. I then spun round and threw the knife at his comrade. I hit him in the chest. He gasped once, and then collapsed to the ground. This caused the leader to step well away from the wagon. I drew my sword, and jumped down. "Let's see how brave you are now, shall we?"

We circled each other, each testing the others defences. I soon had the measure of him. He was no swordsman. He was a bully with a sharp stick. I smiled at him, and blew him a kiss.

Olivia, hearing the commotion came to the front of the wagon. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"It's okay, dear. I'm just taking out the rubbish," I replied, never once taking my eyes off my opponent.

The man growled and rushed at me. I parried his blade with my dagger, and gutted him with my sword. He screamed and fell to his knees, trying to hold his guts in. I then swung the sword again and removed his head. I looked over towards the terrified townsfolk.

Olivia screamed as the man's head bounced into the dirt. Blood spurted out in great gushes as he collapsed to the ground. I retrieved my knives as I went through the men's bodies. I found significant amounts of cash and a small medallion. Well, more a miniature painting with the remains of a chain attached to it. I also found a large bunch of keys. After taking what I wanted from the bodies I climbed back up onto the wagon.

"What happened? Why did you kill those men?" Olivia asked, almost on the brink of hysteria.

"They said they wanted taxes. As soon as they saw you and the girls they would have wanted more than just money. I wasn't about to let that happen to you and the girls again."

She went pale at this. Just then three more men came running up. "Hold it! Stay where you are! You just killed our squad leader!" the first man shouted

"No. I just killed three men who tried to rob me. You're not going to make the same mistake are you?" I said, getting my bow and laying an arrow on the string.

He looked at me and then looked at the arrow. I could see his mind working. His answer would determine whether he lived or not. "Look, let's be reasonable about this," he said, as his two companions moved farther away trying to get out of sight.

"Tell your friends to get back where I can see them or you will join your squad leader. I'm going to count to five. If they are not where I can see them, you die," I drew back the bow. "One—"

"Palik, Nokas, get where he can see you!" the panicked man squealed.

"Good," I relaxed the bow. "Now you can tell me how you can justify taking things from these honest, hard working folk without payment."

"It— it's called taxes. You have to pay for things like security and our wages and ... well ... stuff."

"If you provided security, then I would gladly pay a reasonable amount, but you don't. As I explained to your squad leader this place has more bandits than flees on a dog's coat! Why should I pay you for something you do not provide? Now, you and your comrades are going to work for your wages. You and your men can clean up this town. You can go to the stables, get a barrow, and pick up every bit of shit in this place. Once you have done this, then you can consider yourselves to have earned your wages."

"I'm not doing that! Who the hell do you think you are?" one of the men declared, reaching for his sword.

"Wrong answer," I told him, as I quickly drew my bow and shot him through the heart.

The young man in front of me lost it then. He realised that if he crossed me he died. He pissed himself. I looked at both of them. The other one was no more than a boy. The reality of the situation hit home to him, and the tears ran down his face.