Chapter 3

Rolly looked at the brothers and said, "I think we should have a little party here. My leg has about had it so I want one of you to go back to town and bring back some food and a wineskin or two, not the watered down shit. She looks like a fighter so I want the other here to help hold her down. You'll get a taste after I'm done. You two decide."

Martus was the older brother so he sent a grumbling Ferb on his way. Martus was also the getter swordsman.

Rolly wanted some time to pass before doing anything else, to ensure that Ferb would not rush back if the situation got noisy. So he said to Martus, "You circle left and I'll circle right, let's make sure no one is around to interrupt us. We're close enough to town that there might be hunters close by."

Martus left, and Rolly looked over the situation and formed a plan. Susan had told him that a damsel's hormones sometimes kicked in as soon as she realized that she as being rescued, and since Rolly needed to control the situation he wanted the woman to stay as she was, scared.

The woman had an iron slave collar around her neck that was tied to one of the ceiling beams with just a rope. It was spliced rather than knotted, and would have been difficult to get undone, but with hard work she could probably have gotten free and broken out of the barred cabin. What kept her from trying was an ankle shackle with a three foot bronze chain that was attached to a heavy rock.

As soon as Martus returned, Rolly said, "Good, let's get started. I haven't had any pussy in weeks."

"No don't! Please! I'm a burner. You don't want to touch me."

"Shut up bitch! I don't believe that 'burner' bullshit, and even if burners existed anyone would say that just to save themself."

"Martus, hold her arms while I gag the bitch, I don't like having them scream in my ears."

Martus grabbed the arms of the struggling woman and gave Rolly an opportunity to get behind him.

Rolly pulled the sap out of his pocket and put some momentum behind his swing.

Martus went down like a sack of turnips.

Rolly calmly pulled his dagger and slid it into Martus' heart to make certain the man wouldn't cause any more problems.

Rolly looked up to see the terrified woman huddled in the corner of the cabin. He wiped off his dagger, stood up, took a step forward and said, "Hello Damsel Debora, School Teacher of Cassandra, my name is Hero Roland and I'm here to rescue you." Rolly had been thinking up ways to introduce himself during his long walk, and he thought that saying such a cheesy line would be pretty funny.

She fainted as he calmly sheathed his dagger.

After a few minutes, Debora came to and looked at Rolly's long greasy unkempt hair, thick beard, and ratty clothing. "You don't look like a hero."

"That's what everybody keeps telling me. What's a hero supposed to look like?"

Debora started describing the hero fan posters found on Cassandra. They were not allowed photographs of the heroes, so drawings and paintings were usually made from the damsels' descriptions. As a result, the heroes looked like they came off of the covers of romance novels, and vice versa.

"Sorry about that, I can leave. Ferb will be back soon and he'll be happy to put you back in peril."

"No thanks, you'll do."

"Speaking of Ferb, I still need to take care of him so I'll need you to keep playing the part, but in the mean time let's see about getting you out of these ropes and chains."

It took a bit of doing, but Rolly was able to get the chain unhooked from the rock and get the rope free from the ceiling beam. After that was accomplished they discussed a plan of action and headed back down the trail.

When they neared the edge of the woods they sat down and waited. A half-hour later Ferb appeared in the distance. Rolly stepped out into the open and started yelling, "Ferb! Come quick, the bitch escaped and Martus has been hurt! Hurry up!"

That caused Ferb to run, and by the time he reached Rolly he was gasping for breath.

He was bent over with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath and ask for details at the same time when Rolly calmly slipped his dagger around the man's arm, through the side of his rib cage, and into his heart.

"Why did you do that?"

"Blood would have gotten all over everything if I had slit his throat. Let's get you to the blacksmith."

After Debora was free of her chains, Rolly stopped at the tavern to apologize to the serving wench and explain what was going on. He then got a room so that they could clean up and get a good meal.

After leaving Debora at the inn Rolly spent the rest of the day buying and bartering for supplies, and telling the good people of the village what had happened. He also stopped at the general store and asked if he could rent scissors to improve his appearance. The shop owner's wife sat him down in a chair out back and trimmed his bushy beard and long hair into something a bit more stylish. They had a nice time talking and flirting.

When she was finished he was quite a looker, for a village peasant. The woman also pointed out that although this was a safe village most of the time, a tavern inn wasn't the best place for a lady to spend the night, and she offered to rent Debora their spare room.

Before heading back to the tavern, Rolly went to the livery to pick up his belongings. With bar of soap in hand he went to the nearby creek, took a bath, and put on his set of not so ratty clothes.

After seeing the new and improved Rolly, Debora was much happier. A meal and bath had also helped her outlook, and smell. Rolly took her to the general store, told her to buy any incidentals she might need for their trip the next day, and then he went back to the paid-for room at the tavern. There he had a tankard of ale to celebrate.

Early the next morning Rolly hooked up his team, settled up at the general store for the things Debora needed, and they began their journey back to the bank.

The first day on the road was uneventful, except for the fact that Debora's hormones had started to kick in. She had spent the night thinking about Rolly. After hearing how personable he was from both the tavern wench and shopkeeper's wife, and remembering how he looked and smelled when he picked her up from the tavern, the image of the surly, blood thirsty madman had faded from her mind by the time he picked her up in the morning. With the constant jumbling and bumping of the freight wagon it was difficult for her to get too turned on, so they enjoyed a nice conversation along the way.

During their midday stop to rest the team and have lunch, Debora studied Rolly's face and wondered what it looked like under the beard. He was pretty good looking with the trimmed beard, but she had been looking forward to a poster hero, not someone who looked like the men of Chaos.

Rolly had also been looking at Debora, but he couldn't tell much since she was in local attire of an ankle length dress of light blue and a patterned bonnet. She was in her mid-twenties, and had a pretty, heart-shaped face, dark brown hair, light brown eyes, and dimples when she smiled.

During the afternoon leg of their journey Debora was full of questions. She wanted to know all about her rescue attempt and why he had done what he did. He explained that it was his first mission and he arrived with only the clothes on his back so he relied on brains instead of brawn. She said that women on Cassandra dreamed of a rescue where the hero fought off several oversized villains at once in front of them.

"That is how many heroes get killed early on, facing trouble head on and biting off more than they can chew. The heroes that have staying power use their heads. In most cases the hero walks into a room, unties the damsel and takes her directly back. No muss no fuss. You got to see two bad guys with swords get killed in front of you by a guy with a rock and a pig sticker, and you got to participate in the planning of the second one. We were able to use the easy plan, but if we had encountered Ferb on the trail or back in town you would have had to do some hostage acting, and I would have had to fight a guy with a sword, head on. We both could have been chopped up. You, because he would have thought his brother was injured or dead. It didn't happen that way, but it very well could have. Most damsels don't even get that. I guess they do get a better looking guy to untie them though, but no matter what, he usually still smells pretty bad."

"I see your point."

"You can always exaggerate the story when you get back, and leave out the part about me falling through the portal."

"But that's my favorite part."

"Maybe I can make your dreams come true when we get back to Crossroads. I'll even let you give me a better hair cut, and a shave if you like."

"Ooooh, I'd like that. I want you to carry me to bed and make passionate love to me twice a day."

"Only twice a day? I haven't had sex since I got out of the Army so I was hoping for a bit more than that."

"What about your caretaker? Don't you have sex with her? That's why women who can't have children want to be a caretaker."

"Susan? I think she's scared of me. Nobody told me sex with her was part of the deal, and anyway, she's awfully young. I don't think she's had sex with anyone, and I don't think that is why she took the job."

"You are the most unusual hero I've ever heard of."

Late that afternoon they pulled off the side of the road. Rolly drove the wagon behind some brush and then hid their tracks.

"We haven't passed anyone in hours, but I'm going to backtrack to see if anyone is on our trail, then we'll set up camp deeper in the woods."

After making sure no one was behind them they had a cold meal and set up a dark and silent camp. They slept under oilskins rather than a tent. About the only way they would be found in the dark was if someone tripped over them. It was much safer than sitting guard around a campfire and losing sleep.

At first light they loaded up and headed down the road. They stopped at the first stream they found to make a fire, clean up, and eat a hot breakfast. When they got up Debora had not taken the time to braid her hair, and she only put her bonnet on so that she wouldn't have to carry it. At the stream she took her bonnet off and shook out her long mane, giving Rolly a better look at her.

Debora had spent the night thinking about the warm body next to her, and about what it would do to her in a few days. Watching him take a cat bath next to the stream with his shirt off didn't help calm her libido.