Take the body and give me the rest (24 page)

Rosen and his
friends made room at the table. Seth and the two others sat down
and were thankfully handed a glass of ale from the serving
lady.

‘You’re two
weeks early, but I’ll be glad to have you. Does this mean you’re
coming with me for the return trip?’ asked Rosen.

‘Indeed we’ll
be more than happy to come along with you,’ said Seth.

Rosen looked at
him a little hastily, taking in the new clothes, armour, and
circlet on his head. ‘Good grief, you’ve become knighted in just
four days.’ He looked at the wolf pin and started laughing. ‘And
into the Order of Black Rock Gatherers. How did that happen?’ he
asked.

‘We’re friends
of the family.’ Seth said.

‘Are you sure?
The Gatherers is a passing joke in these parts. It’s given to the
people they want gone from the Keep. The Order of Crazy Old Men is
the real name,’ Rosen said, laughing loudly. The other less drunk
men at the table looked a bit nervous about his outburst.

Seth hid his
anger and spoke quietly. ‘I intend to change that reputation; never
fear on that count.’

Rosen suddenly seemed to remember whom he was talking to and
stopped mid-laugh. ‘Of course, if anyone can, it’s you and your
good men. Now, to business. Anything you need? We’ve got more than
a few weeks
to
equip properly.’

‘I’m glad you
asked, as I want your help sourcing a few more men for the ride
home if we can,’ said Seth.

‘There is an
excellent if small slave market in the city and a few more men
would certainly be a good idea to bulk up the troop. Any numbers in
mind?’ Rosen asked prying a little.

‘Only a good
handful and I want mercenaries not slaves.

‘Mercenaries
you say? We’ll at least they pay for their own food and bring their
own horses, maybe tomorrow after lunch time’ Rosen said.

‘Maybe now.’
said Seth. ‘Finder’s fee?’

Rosen looked at
him for a long moment, eyes almost drooping shut ‘of course now,
why not. I know all the right people.’

Chapter 26

Drinks were
finished, horses saddled, and Rosen called to have a carriage
brought around. It was a small black two seater drawn by just two
horses. Intended for two people, Rosen sat happily in it by himself
and led the way through the throng of people to the slave
markets.

Like all slave
markets, it was in the worst location in the city: far off to the
right, away from the city proper. The smell of human shit, smoke
and unwashed people came to Seth’s nose, as did the view of row
upon row of makeshift wooden cages with people inside. It seemed
he’d picked the right time to visit the market. Seth was unsure of
how to proceed but, taking advice from Yend’s years of deception,
acted with complete confidence anyway.

Seth stepped
off his horse into the muddy ruts made by wagons and horses’ hooves
and went with Goldie, Grimm, Rosen and his guard to walk through
the market. The young guard lent his shoulder for Master Rosen to
use to help support him as they walked along past the cages and
people all roped together. Of all the people in this city, it
seemed that every freeman owned a slave. It was a wretched
situation and clearly why men like Rosen could be so generous.

A thin man who
was sitting next to one of the few permanent stone and metal
structures smiled at them as they approached. He was dressed like
Rosen in what Seth was now taking to be the fashion for traders in
this country. Bright silks, lots of fabric and no swords.

The man smiled,
lifting himself from his small cushioned chair and walking towards
them. He shook Rosen’s hand warmly. ‘Master Rosen, so very good to
see you. Looking for some more pleasure slaves for that new villa
of yours we’ve all heard about?’ he said. ‘We have some great ones
from the south and also from right here in the city.’ He gestured
to the cages and they looked inside. Inside was a garish imitation
of a bedroom with six women with only sheer silk clothing sitting
on the ground, the bare bed and one leaning against the bars, her
blond head slumped forward with hair dangling down covering her
face. Being well fed was about the only good thing in their
situation.

Rosen went even
more red-faced. ‘Oh no, no, no. We’re here for my friend Sir Seth,
a knight, you know, looking for some fighting men for his caravan
troop.’

The slaver
looked crestfallen. ‘I see. Fighting men, not my area. I’ll pass
you on to a good man down the line, by the name Dagosh; that’s more
his line. We respect each other’s areas of operation down
here.’

Goldie grinned
at the man. ‘Makes for less bloodshed, right?’

He laughed
nervously. ‘That’s right, but do tell him that I sent you down,
won’t you?’

Seth turned to
regard Rosen ‘I said I wanted Mercenaries not slaves’

‘I know good
sir but this is still where you find them, they get the business of
those who can’t afford slaves, but we’ll have to see I’ve heard of
this Dagosh and he sound like a strange character’ Rosen said

‘How’s that?’
asked Seth

‘He does
strange things like gets in fist fights with slaver about the way
they treat their chattels and is always buying the one near death
for a couple of coppers and giving them paid jobs. Paid jobs!’ he
was outraged. Seth thought it did sound like strange behaviour for
a mercenary Captain.

They walked on
past the cages of slave women and Seth tried not to think too
deeply about it. If he was honest, he was glad that none of them
had so much as looked at him. He could hardly buy and free a whole
city’s worth of them. He stopped and looked around the markets at
all the different cages, groups of people roped together or chained
by the foot to the ground with metal pegs. All told there would
have been a few thousand, as the Pellosi say. More than the
families in the Bloodcrest duchy.

They soon found
the man they were looking for. He had the look of a fighter, around
fifty years, no hair except a short red wiry beard and a very
tanned bald head from the sun. He looked stern and not at all like
a thug, much more like a soldier or field commander. He wore worn
leather armour but had a very well used, but well cared for,
looking short sword that hung at his side.

Rosen spoke
first as they approached. ‘Master Dagosh, may I please introduce my
friend Sir Seth?’

Dagosh nodded
at Rosen and shook hands with Seth, ‘Well met, sir. And Master
Rosen, hope you’re well, I hear your caravan trip was quite the
adventure. Would these be your Northern friends, then?’

‘The very same
ones,’ said Rosen.

Seth looked at
him in the eye and found he liked the man. He had a strong grip and
callused hands of someone who held a sword every day. ‘I’m after
some good fighting men for my caravan troop,’ Seth said.

‘That is well.
I have the best trained men and the most disciplined; we’re not
some marauding rabble but a proper, if small, army. I take my work
very seriously, as you can see.’ He gestured to four men who were
standing behind him. One was a Pellosi man with a bow across his
back and a quiver of arrows; no barbs, Seth was assured. Two others
were in matching clothes and held the pikes of men of the line;
they looked solid. The last was a wild haired, dark skinned
man.

‘I don’t think
I’ve seen anyone like him,’ said Seth.

‘They are from
a people deep in the desert, very fierce, good horsemen.’ He had a
strange small bow strapped to him and a long curved sword—blunted,
Seth was told.

‘They look like
solid men, but I was hoping for more than four,’ Seth said.

‘Of course.
These are but a few men to show the quality of our troop, but if
you would like to come to my property, you can even see where they
are trained. How many men are you thinking? And what’s the term of
engagement’

Seth turned to
Rosen who was like looking his mid-morning drinking was catching up
with him. He passed him a small gold coin, his very own bonus back.
‘A small token for the introduction; we’ll take it from here, if
you like.’

Rosen smiled at
him, looking relieved. ‘Fine, fine, bring your new men along to the
merchant tomorrow and I’ll have a look. Try not to get more than
ten, I won’t be paying you that much,

‘Of course,’
said Seth.

His young guard
lending him his shoulder, Rosen worked his way back through the
market to the carriage and slowly go it. Once he was gone, Dagosh
asked him again.

‘So how many
men were you thinking of getting? Ten isn’t really worth our time’
he asked.

Seth leaned forward and whispered to him ‘As many as I can get
for three hundred gold pieces, a handful of silver and a ruby
chip
.

Chapter 27

The sun was
still bright in the sky and yet to begin to descend when Seth and
his troop of Northmen trotted on hired horses along a road leading
them outside of the city walls. The villa was a few hours ride, as
Dagosh said to them. As soon as Seth had whispered his intention,
Dagosh had quickly packed away his signs, coins and ledgers,
saddled his horse, got his men in a wagon and said, ‘Follow
me.’

They were now
following his wagon as it led the way to the villa and to his new
troop. Seth was still so unsure if this was the right path of
action, but at least they were progressing along it quickly. They
had only arrived in the city in the morn, and now they were on
their way to hire an army. Seth liked Dagosh and thought he’d done
well to find him. He’d been expecting a mercenary Captain to be a
gold chiselling drunk but this man seemed serious and focused.

The wagon
turned off the main road and onto a narrow cobbled way. It was
surrounded by a tall stone wall, but the massive metal gate was
wide open with only two men on guard and both of them gave a
relaxed salute as Dagosh passed. The wagon rolled through the gate
wooden wheels rattling across the slightly uneven stones.

The main house
was a villa, as he knew from memories of Stephan and Dirst, but it
looked over a very large courtyard. At the bottom of the courtyard
were barracks like any Seth had bunked in during training or at
Black Rock.

‘Looks like a
real army, not a ramshackle mercenary camp,’ said Grimm.

‘That’s true
enough. Bodes well for the type of man Dagosh is,’ said Seth.

The wagon had
disappeared around the corner of the villa and Dagosh had
dismounted to stand on the steps of the house. He waved to them and
went into the house. Seth and the men dismounted as well, passing
the reins to two older household stewards and proceeding up the
stairs.

‘Flint, can you
bring that chest?’ Seth asked.

They walked up
the stairs and in through the open door. It was a vast room and,
like everything in this hot country, without many walls. Dagosh sat
at a large dark wooden table and motioned. They came and sat with
him. As they did, a few female servers appeared and served them
some cool cups of water in metal cups. The servers were dressed in
silk dresses from head to toe, no skin showing except for arms,
faces and feet. Most of them were very, very old and moved at a
slow pace, a few faces bore old slave markings, or scars were there
lifelong slave collars had been removed.

‘Welcome to my
villa, sir, and thank you for making the journey. After we discuss
terms, I’ll be happy to show you the rest of the troops,’ Dagosh
said. He then motioned to a steward. ‘Please rally everyone to the
main ground, let them know we have a presentation, thank you.’ To
Seth, he said, ‘So you want as many men as you can get for three
hundred gold coins? Can I see the gold?’

Flint had
placed the chest down on the table and opened it before Dagosh. As
he looked at the copper coins, he started to laugh. As he was
laughing, Flint drew a dagger from his side and, taking a coin,
scraped it along the edge, revealing the gold underneath.

Dagosh looked
up at Seth. ‘Well done. It’s an old trick of the men who collect
taxes for the dukedoms. Less likely to get robbed with a chest full
of coppers. Of course, I’ll have to check them all and count them.
But how many, you say?’

Goldie answered
for them. ‘There is three hundred and thirty four, exactly,’ he
said.

‘You counted
them?’ Dagosh asked.

‘I just know by
looking,’ he said.

‘I’m inclined
to believe him,’ said Seth. ‘But feel free to confirm the
count.’

Dagosh shut the
chest and passed it to a steward who was standing nearby. ‘Check
them as gold and do a count.’

‘
Well, Sir Seth, I have one hundred and fifty men all fully
trained, equipped and ready to fight.’

‘Sounds like
the right number to me,’ Seth said.

‘We’re our own
troop, called the Cold Death and for that price you can engage us
for a season if we like the sound of what your planning and it’s
not going to be too foolish. I’m not in the business of throwing
away my men’s live or my own’

‘Sounds good to
me, if you can supply your own food, mounts and weapons. Plus we
take joint control with you as Captain’

‘Ahh control,
control is different. First tell me why you need us. One hundred
and fifty men, especially my men, is no caravan troop. And from
what I hear of your men, you’re a little more than that
yourselves’.’

Seth thought
about lying to him, but he felt like he could trust this man.

‘I will tell
you our real purpose, but answer one question first. Why is this
place more like a real army, if smaller and not like a rough
mercenary camp, why is it one of the most orderly looking camps
I’ve seen’ Seth asked.

Dagosh sipped his water and spoke. ‘I was a soldier and
fighting man my whole life. We lost a battle against another duke.
He had me and hundreds of others of us sold as slaves, which is
completely against normal practise. Eventually, I escaped, with
only a little blood and started buying back those from my old
troop. Only a few were left, but it started me on this path. I take
the most wrecked, sick, abused and runaway slaves. I buy them or
steal them and give them freedom and a sword. I give them respect,
a chance to live and a chance to get revenge
. We
all need discipline Seth and it make a man feel good to go from
being someone who has no control of his life to one that can stand
on his own two feet and face all comers with a strong sword arm. I
don’t need to tell you that.’