01 - The Price of Talent (6 page)

Raf saw this, and not knowing what else to do, he started backing away from the wagon to avoid the flanking maneuver.

“You four stay back. I am an inquisitor of the holy empire of Pandanu. To strike me down is to tempt the wrath of god!” said Raf.

“More threats? Your only hope now is the troops housed in Caer Sud. Troops who will never hear your fate. We know how to handle your type,” said the woman.

              As she said this, the two teams rounded the front and back of the carriage at the same time. Seeing this, Raf did the only thing he could do. He turned and ran.

“Don’t let him get far!” said the woman.

              And with that the two archers took aim and fired. Raf took both arrows in the back. He took two more stumbling steps, then collapsed.

“Jarvis, go check on the boss. Bevan and Tiernan, you two make sure those three pious asses are dead,” said the woman.

“And what are you going to do, Sapphire?” Said one of the three.

“I am going to try and get the kid out of his cage. I don’t know who he is, but I’m not going to leave him in there,” said Sapphire.

              With that I sat up. I figured there was no point in cowering anymore at the bottom of my cage now that the action was done. As I sat up, Sapphire reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a leather satchel. When she opened it up, it contained a series of small metal picks, hooks and other assorted small pokey devices I could not identify. She took a long look at the padlock to my cage and her tools. Then she laughed to herself and put them away.

“Bevan, Tiernan, either of you find a key on the corpses? As much as I need the practice picking locks, it’s probably best if we get the kid out, clean this mess up, and then get the hell out of here.”

“Sapphire, this one by the cart has a whole ring of keys,” said the one called Bevan.

“Good, toss them to me,” said Sapphire.

              With that, Bevan tossed the keys to her, and she began testing the lock with them. It didn’t take her long to find the right one and unlock my cage. When she opened the cage, she also noticed my sword on the floor of it.

“Kid, how the hell did you manage to get a sword?” She asked.

“Um… Well… It’s mine. And they took it from me, so, well… I kind of took it back.” I replied.

“Good thinking there. Just hold onto that thing, we may need you to use it if a patrol comes by before we have cleaned this place up.” She said. “Wait, you do know how to use that thing don’t you?”

“Um… well… Sort of. I mean… You hit them with the blade and poke them with the point?” I said.

              I didn’t mean it to sound like a question. But in truth, I had no idea how to use a sword beyond that. I grew up a farmer using farm implements. I kind of viewed the possibility of using the sword a lot like a scythe. Swing the blade, cut the enemy. Just like harvesting wheat! Except I knew there was more to it than that. But I didn’t want to appear useless to these people.

“I see…” replied Sapphire. “Maybe you should just stay hidden if we have any trouble.”

              Well, mission failed on not appearing useless.

“Sapphire, we may need to keep that cart and horse!” Jarvis yelled from tending to the fallen brigand. “The Boss is ok, but the arrow he took to the thigh means he can’t walk very well. The good news is that his armor spared him from the worst of the shot to the shoulder. Just a flesh wound.”

“OK, Jarvis, we will bring the cart over in just a second.” Said Sapphire. “So this is where you get off kid. Run home to your family and be thankful that you narrowly avoided the tortures of Caer Sud.”

“But… But… I… uh… don’t have a family. I have nowhere to go.” I stammered out. “They sent an inquisitor to our farm and it got destroyed. My parents died. I was recovering at the town mayor’s house when these goons showed up, attacked me and threw me in the cage.” I said.

“So what am I supposed to do with you?” Asked Sapphire. “You’re a little young to go outlaw with us. If you have anywhere else to go, to resume a normal life, I suggest you go there now.”

“I’m not lying. I really have no place to go. My parents moved to Forsburg and bought a farm outside of town before I was born. They never discussed where they came from. All I ever got out of them was that my family came out of the far East, beyond the Eastern mountains. I have no other relatives. Some of the villagers know me but, well, if the inquisitors were able to capture me in the mayor’s house, anyone in that town I stay with is in danger. I need to disappear. I need to hide. I just… don’t know where to go.” I said, realizing I was babbling a bit.

“Enough of this. I’ll let you come with us to the base. There, when the boss is recovered, he can hear your story and decide whether or not to take you in or send you away. But we’ve wasted enough time on this already,” replied Sapphire.

              And with that I got out of the cage, and stood out on the periphery while Sapphire and the crew cleaned up. The guy tending the boss was removing the quarrels and wrapping up his wounds in some sort of field dressing. The other two were stripping the corpses of the inquisitors of their weapons and armor and leaving them in their small clothes. When that was done, they dragged the corpses over to the forest, where behind the first couple lines of trees, they dug a pit and threw the bodies in. Then they covered the pit, stamped down the dirt as best they could, and covered it in leaves and pine needles so it sort of looked like the surrounding forest area.

              Then, when that was taken care of, Sapphire lead the horses over to where the boss was sitting in the dirt by the barricade. The four of them loaded him into the back of the cart, in the cage I had been sitting in.

“Sorry about the accommodations,” she said to the boss as she laid him inside. “I know how you feel about cells. Still, we won’t be locking the door.”

“It’s ok, Saph, better to ride in a cage than walk with an injured thigh. You just get everyone loaded up on the cart and take us home. Also, before we leave, remove the barricade. It would be better if we never return to this particular spot. Once the patrols are sent out to find what happened, they will keep an eye on this area.”

Chapter 5.

              The trip to the bandits’ home was surprisingly uneventful. I rode in the back of the cart with “The Boss”. The band quickly left the road after cleaning up all evidence of their having been there. We travelled what looked like a game trail back into the deep woods where I quickly lost track of our direction. “The Boss” was quiet and seemed to be sleeping. At some point along the way I think I fell asleep too because I was startled awake when I heard the door of the cart open and Sapphire announced “We’re here.”

              I don’t know what I was expecting to find, but I was surprised by what I saw. We must have travelled a good distance because what I saw was a lake by the side of some hills and a decent sized building in a clearing. There were stables for horses and livestock, and a few outbuildings. Also in the clearing were some tilled fields that were growing various vegetables.

“Surprising isn’t it kid?” Asked Sapphire.

“Yes actually.” I replied. “The stories of bandits in the woods I read as a kid always made it sound like everyone lived under the trees out in the open and ate around a camp fire. This is much more… Uh…”

              The word I wanted to say was civilized. But I stopped myself as that seemed a little insulting to my rescuers. Since my only real option was to see if they would take me in, I didn’t want to antagonize anyone.

“It’s nice is what it is,” said Jarvis. “Why give up the rudiments of civilization when you go Bandit? It’s nice living under the sun and stars when the weather is nice, but it gets old quickly when it rains. Besides, no one comes out this far into the foothills through the forest, so building a more permanent encampment makes a lot of sense. Especially when winter comes.”

“How long have you guys been out here?” I asked.

“The Boss has been here for over a decade,” said Sapphire. “The rest of us have trickled in over the years.”

“How many people live here?” I asked.

“Quite a few actually, you will meet them soon enough. For now we have no time for introductions, we need to get the Boss into the longhouse and those wounds looked after.” Said Sapphire.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked.

“For now, stay out of the way,” she replied. “But later we will have to have a meeting and decide what to do with you.”

              So with that I followed them into the longhouse and found a seat out of the way in the corner. There was a lot of hustle and bustle as people came and went. Sapphire and a few others helped the boss into a back room where I assume they were doing more than just a field dressing on the boss’s wounds.

              Given that I had nothing better to do I looked around the longhouse. It was a large building, about the size of the banquet hall back in Forsburg. However, it wasn’t all open space. On one side were two long tables parallel to each other and a third smaller one perpendicular to the other two. Then there was the large hearth with a kitchen area opposite to it. Further into the longhouse there was a wall and a long hallway with doors on either side of it that lead to individual rooms. At the end of the hall was a door which led to what I assumed was the boss’s room. I assumed this because that is where they took him to look after his wounds. The whole structure was made of wood, which was no surprise given it was in the middle of the eastern forest near the foothills of the great eastern mountain range.

              What surprised me about the main room was that it was quite well decorated. On the walls were various paintings, murals and tapestries. I don’t know what I expected to see, but it certainly wasn’t such a homey place. I guess the tales of bandits living in the forest I had read painted a more rugged picture. The longhouse and the surrounding property more resembled a small logging village than the den of cutthroats and thieves. But on a certain level, I realized, it all made sense. These people needed to live here year round in all weather and likely could not always rely on what they stole from passing merchants and tax men.

They live a lot more normal a life here than I would have thought, I said to my sword.

What were you expecting? Tree houses and bonfires? Caves full of treasure? You seem to think all those fairy tales and stories were factual instead of fanciful.

It’s not like that. I guess I never really thought about it before; how you would live as a bandit living in the forest I mean.

Well, anyone who wants to live through the winter, especially this close to the mountains, is going to want a roof over their heads and a hearth for fires. Think about it kid, no one comes out here this far into the frontier. They likely have nothing to lose from having a permanent encampment here.

Yeah, you are probably right. It will make staying here more comfortable. I worried I would be huddled up in a cave or something.

Who would want to live that way? Especially with all this wood around. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that building a real house to live in would make your life better out here in the wilds.

              Just then Sapphire strode over to me.

“Alright kid, here is the deal. The Boss is sedated and his wounds have been seen to properly. However, as he is sedated, you and he are going to have a hard time having a meaningful discussion. So, for now, till the Boss says otherwise, you stay in one of the spare rooms. There are eight rooms in the hallway, excluding the Boss’s at the end of the hall, and only seven people living here, so you take the unoccupied room on the right. It’s got a straw bed and a chamber pot. The privy is out behind the longhouse on the side farthest from the water. You keep your own room clean, you empty out your own chamber pot and when we figure out what to do with you, you will have chores. This isn’t an inn, nor is it your mom’s house. We all work here and you will too. Now I’ve got shit to do, so you’re going to have to entertain yourself.”

              And with that, Sapphire marched off. I decided this was my cue to go check out my room. I walked to the end of the hall, turned right, and found the unoccupied room that was now mine apparently. It was one of two right near the boss’s room. Upon entering it was obvious it was being used as a spare storage room. The bed and the chamber pot were in the back, but the front had a few empty boxes sitting on a couple of barrels. There were spider webs between the barrels and the wall.

“Ah, I see you found your room… Such as it is,” said a male voice behind me.

              Startled, I turned around quickly clutching my sheathed sword. The man standing behind me was of average height and weight, dark hair with some salt and pepper grey in it, and was wearing a blood stained smock over a shirt and breaches.

“Sorry to startle you” he said. Noticing I was staring at his bloodstained smock, he said “and sorry about the appearance. I only just finished stitching up the boss. He should be fine with some healing. Fortunately, nothing important was damaged.”

“Oh, you’re a doctor?” I asked.

“My name is Ross” said the man. “I am both the chaplain and the healer here. Unfortunately, my skills as a healer are more frequently needed than my skills as a spiritual guide. But then, what do you expect in a bandit camp, eh?”

“My name it Tyr, Tyr Janus” I stammered out, relaxing a little bit. “And I didn’t know what to expect.”

“I don’t doubt you didn’t. After all, this camp wasn’t what I expected when I found it either.”

“Oh when did you come here?” I asked.

“Oh five or so years ago. I was an initiate in the church learning how to be a healer. Unfortunately, I read a few things I wasn’t supposed to, there was a misunderstanding and I decided it was time to seek my fortune elsewhere.”

“You didn’t set out to be a bandit then?” I asked.

“Hah, no. Sort of an odd profession to aim for as a priest and a healer.”

“I guess,” I replied. I was not sure how to respond to that.

“But why are you here, if you don’t mind me asking?” Said Ross.

“Well, um, yeah…” I stammered again. “I grew up at my parents’ farm in Forsburg. There was an accident involving some inquisitors and… Well, there isn’t anything for me to return to now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. But if you don’t mind me prying, what was the accident?”

“I don’t… I mean that… Well… I’m told everything exploded. I was apparently found amidst the wreckage. There was… nothing left…” I’m not sure why I was being so open about this with the man. After all, he was a former priest and the inquisition was an arm of the church. But then again, his people just killed a bunch of inquisitors, so I was inclined to trust him in spite of his background.

“I see…” He said. “And how do you find yourself here? After all, it is not every day that the Boss comes back with a person instead of something of value… Sorry, that sounds bad. What I mean is like money, food or supplies. Something with a monetary value. Like, the Boss doesn’t usually come back with new people instead of money.”

“No, no apologies needed. I know what you meant.” I said. “How I got here was that your friends rescued me from an inquisition patrol that had me locked up in the back of the wagon we came here on. I think they were hoping there was money aboard.”

“And how did you get from being found in the wreckage of your house to being in the back of a locked wagon being led away by the inquisition?”

“Well, you see, after I got out of the hospital, I was taken in by the mayor, but because of how I was found, he notified the inquisition. So they came and picked me up after I had gotten better. It just so happened that your friends thought they were tax collectors that brings me here now.”

“I see… Well, that allays my curiosity… For now. Let me just ask you one final question. Are you prone to headaches?”

“Uh… Yes actually. How did you know?”

“For now, let’s just say it’s because I’m a healer. See you later, Tyr.”

Well, that was ominous.

What do you mean ominous?

He pumps you for information about how you came to be locked up in the back of a cart driven by the inquisition and then already knows you have problems with headaches? He knows something. Something he was not willing to share with you.

You think so? I’m not so sure. If I just found out there was a new member of a gang I was a part of, I think I would be curious too.

There is curious and there is prying. He seemed very interested in your background. After all, how many of these people’s backgrounds have you asked a thorough accounting of?

Just his I guess. But we were just making polite conversation.

No, YOU were just making polite conversation, he was taking advantage of your wanting to fit in and appear friendly to pump you for information.

I think you are being a bit paranoid. He just finished stitching up a friend who was hurt in an attempt to save me. He’s bound to be curious.

I think you are being a bit credulous. This won’t be the last time someone here asks you too many questions about your background. Mark my words.

Well, I will stay wary then, if only to keep you happy.

              With that I set to cleaning up the room and making it more habitable. I ended up just stuffing all the old and empty storage materials in the hallway, figuring I would find a better place for them later. The hard part of the cleanup was chasing out the spiders. They were surprisingly indifferent to me waving my sword at them. My sword on the other hand had a few choice words to say about it being used in that manner. In the end I propped up the sword in the corner and found an old almanac to smash bugs with. That got the spiders’ attention, and they quickly vacated the area. Likely just hiding in another room, but I was willing to live with that. It went unspoken, but I think the spiders were aware of the boundary lines to our détente.

              Upon reviewing my now clean… well clean-ish room, I became aware of my lack of furnishings. I also became aware of the fact that the bed lacked pillows or blankets. Not sure where to turn for this, having not seen any around when I got rid of the old boxes and barrels, I ventured out and into the main hall. Seated around the tables were various members of the gang. Some I recognized, one woman I did not. But I did notice Sapphire over by the kitchen area putting together a sandwich.