Serenity Valley (39 page)

As the carriage slowly headed for the
cemetery, a large procession walked along behind them. The cemetery
was almost half a mile away, in one of the western pastures. The
site was set on a rolling hill sprinkled with beautiful trees of
various species. All in the procession were impressed and touched
that nearly two thousand people were already in attendance. All of
the hold folk had turned out, along with De Ferrier men-at-arms.
The visiting noblemen and their entourages were present, including
their own escort soldiers. The two mortally wounded soldiers had
passed during the night. Sixteen new graves had been dug, side by
side. At the foot of six graves stood the widows and children of
the fallen men. Sayer and the orphan boy, Simon, stood at the foot
of another.

Goodwin exited the carriage and made
his way to the front of the crowd. Bells stood on his left side,
Terric on his right. In a forceful, clear voice, Goodwin addressed
the crowd. “Lords, ladies, hold folk, families of the fallen. It is
with heavy hearts, we meet this day to lay to rest sixteen brave
men. No greater a sacrifice can be made than to give one’s own life
that others may live. In the defense of their lord, hold, and home,
these men fought and died. They gave their lives willingly, not for
the mere purpose of duty and honor, but an ideal, the belief that
one could ply a warrior’s trade with honor and dignity. These men
did not seek battle to acquire wealth or power for their lord. They
defended their hold, their home, and those whom they love. Whatever
the reason, they became soldiers; no matter the sins they may have
committed in their profession, these men ended their lives fighting
for a just cause, and God will look upon them favorably. To the
widows and children of these fallen heroes, I say, I am sorry for
your loss and thank you for your sacrifice. We all are in your
debt. Rest assured that when a man falls defending De Ferrier Hold,
the widows and children will be looked after. Widows and children
will not be sent from the hold, the hold will remain your home.
Widows will be pensioned until such time as they or their children
are of age and capable of employment within the hold. This is your
home, and you have more right to it than most.”

The widows of the fallen men began
thanking Goodwin for his kindness. They took to their knees in
respect and thankfulness.

Goodwin spoke again. “My good ladies,
you kneel to no one this day. We kneel to you!” Goodwin and all De
Ferrier folk took a knee as a sign of respect to the widows. The
widows rose to their feet in awe. They looked around at the
kneeling crowd with tears flowing from their eyes.

Lord Hamond looked at another lord and
said, “Ridiculous! A pure waste of money and sentiment. These were
just paid men-at-arms. If they couldn’t keep themselves from
getting killed, they weren’t worth the money. It would be a cold
day in Hell before I pensioned widows of mediocre
soldiers!”

Several of the lords in Hamond’s group
agreed with his appraisal of the situation. What they didn’t
realize was that a number of the escort soldiers were listening and
watching the lords.

Goodwin and all folk rose to their
feet. Goodwin spoke once more, “We will now call the roll, Captain
Terric.” Without looking at a scroll, Goodwin recited each fallen
soldier’s rank and name.

When all sixteen men had been called,
Captain Terric boomed out, “All accounted for and present, my lord.
All fallen bravely in battle!”

“May God keep and protect the souls of
our friends until we meet once again, “Goodwin said. “All
salute!”

Every person in attendance at the
funeral held their sword at a forty-five-degree angle above the
gravesite. To the surprise of the visiting nobles, Bells held her
katana in salute, along with every member of the hold capable of
bearing arms.

Terric looked at the crowd with pride
and satisfaction. He whispered in Goodwin’s ear, “I believe our
distinguished guests will think twice before showing a force of
arms when the entire hold is armed.”

Goodwin lowered and sheathed his blade
as everyone else followed his lead. He then addressed the crowd
once more. “Thus the word hold—if you can hold it, you can keep it!
By the grace of God, that is what we intend to do!”

The crowd gave a frightful cheer,
reinforced by the battle cry of every man-at-arms present. The
visiting lords were again stunned. Some were rocked by the cry of
the crowd, but most more so by their own soldiers’ participation.
Goodwin and Bells walked to the widows to offer their condolences.
As the crowd milled about, waiting to pay their respects, a number
of the escort soldiers from various camps gathered in deep
conversation.

Goodwin and Bells made their way to
the carriage and set a slow pace back to the main complex. Fulk and
Nesta walked along the side of the carriage, holding hands. Bells
said, “Fulk, have you seen what has become of Captain
Terric?”

“Last I saw of him, he was surrounded
by visiting men-at-arms, no doubt seeking a change of allegiance,”
Fulk said.

“Really? Perhaps it will be easier to
bolster our defenses than first I thought,” Goodwin
said.

Fulk responded, “Oh, you can pretty
much pick and choose who you want from the escorts. I fear the
lords did not help their cause this day.”

“What do you mean?” Bells
asked.

“They just discussed their opinion of
men-at-arms. They believe they are no more than a disposable
resource and should be treated as such. The more tribute paid to
our fallen, the worse the lords look in the eyes of their
soldiers.”

“Well, we really do need to increase
our defense force. I guess it will be easier after today,” Goodwin
said.

“Oh, no doubts!” Fulk
agreed.

“Husband, I have an errand to perform
here at the main house. Can you go on to Sirates House? I will
catch up in a bit,” Bells said.

“Of course. Fulk and Nesta can see me
to the house. Do what you need to do.”

The carriage stopped in front of the
main hall. Bells looked around to locate Ivan in the procession.
When she spotted the Gypsies, she approached Ivan and Giselia. “Sir
Ivan, can you get your saw and meet me at the kitchen side
entrance?”

“Saw I get from wagon, meeting at
kitchen, yes,” Ivan replied agreeably.

“Giselia, you are welcome to come with
us,” Bells said. “We are going shopping in secret
places.”

“Yes, shopping I like to come,”
Giselia responded happily.

The trio went their separate ways to
meet up by the kitchen. Bells walked with Goodwin through their
quarters and into the passage that came out in the kitchen. Once
outside the kitchen, Fulk and Nesta escorted Goodwin toward the
Sirates House. Goodwin was stronger than the day before, but he
still put a hand on Fulk’s shoulder to steady himself while he
walked.

Bells stopped to talk to Fina and
Trina about food stores that needed to be taken to Sirates House to
feed all who stayed there, plus the guards stationed around the
house. The small strike force stationed at the brook were supplied
and fed by the temporary mess hall.

Before long, Ivan and Giselia appeared
at the kitchen door. A smiling Bells said, “Ah, very good. I am
going to take you to some very secret places under the main house.
It will be an adventure.”

Ivan smiled and said, “Adventure be
very good.” Giselia was excited and hopped up and down in
place.

“Follow me, then. Here we go.” Bells
led the way through a false wall in the back of the kitchen. They
entered a passageway that held lit lanterns on the wall. The
passageway opened to a room with three doorways, leading in
different directions. Bells pulled a candle from a candelabra and
lit it from one of the oil lanterns. She used the lit candle to
light other candles in three holders. With each person carrying
their own candelabra, they took a doorway to the right. At around
fifty feet, a stairway appeared, which descended into the bowels of
the complex. Ivan was smiling. Giselia was about ready to bust with
delight as their adventure continued. After descending one hundred
steps, another room appeared with four doorways. The rough stone
floor was covered with thick dust. No one had been here in some
time. Bells pushed on the door farthest to the left, forcing its
rusty hinges to work. They entered a long hallway that had many
doorways off to the left. They continued to walk for several
minutes, until they came to another stairway going up. A number of
doorways led off the stairway. After fifty steps were climbed,
Bells opened a doorway on the left. They stepped onto a platform
that led to a spiral staircase, circling both up and down. Bells
looked at her guests. Both had eyes as big as plates, trying to
take in all the possible light they could.

A very excited Giselia said, “It so
big, how learn how to go?”

Bells replied, “I have been here
thirteen years and still haven’t been in half the passageways under
the complex. I believe people were housed here at one time. It is
like a city, with many functional rooms and facilities. I am going
to take you into one of the earliest sections. There is a storage
room there that should contain what we look for.” Bells led them
down the spiral staircase that opened into a room that looked like
a chapel. The room had tall ceilings. At the farthest end was a
platform containing a podium and several tall candelabras. On the
wall behind the podium was a large ancient wooden cross bolted to
the wall. The walls were covered with aged tapestries too
dust-covered to make out what was woven into them. A center walkway
was bordered on both sides by lines of benches. The ceiling was
host for a massive mural depicting the crucifixion of Christ. Ivan
and Giselia just gawked at the surroundings with wide eyes. Bells
slowly led the couple through the chapel and into yet another
passage. This passage seemed to slowly descend into the blackness.
They continued down into the bowels of the maze. Eventually, the
passage ended in a crypt filled with ancient stone coffins.
Although the tomb was dust-covered, one could still see the
intricate carvings on the stone. Many of the coffins were laden
with the weapons of the inhabitants. Ancient swords, axes, spears,
and bronze helmets adorned the caskets. Bells said, “I know it’s a
little creepy, but the storage is just this way.” Giselia and Ivan
carefully stayed behind Bells, as if trying not to step on graves.
When Bells came to a massive wooden door, Ivan helped push it open.
The creaking and groaning of the tired hinges filled the crypt with
echoes.

“Now, we shop for a carved arm. In
ancient times, furniture was carved in the most hideous way,” Bells
said.

Giselia said, “Arm we look
here?”

“Yes, look at the old chairs and
tables. There are carvings of human body parts on the disgusting
furniture.”

Bells, Giselia, and Ivan spread out
and began to search. Bells found a table held up in the middle by a
carved man on his knees. The hands were not detailed enough.
Although the furniture was carved in the most distasteful fashion,
the workmanship was excellent. Obviously, the work was done by
master carvers. Ivan was awed by the detail of the woodwork, while
Giselia was even more fascinated by the whole adventure. It wasn’t
long before Giselia started squealing and hopping around. “Arm,
arm, here be the arm!” Ivan and Bells rushed to her. Her find was
an ancient carved chair. It was carved in the shape of a man, with
his outstretched arms used as the arms for the chair. To sit in the
chair, you actually had to sit in the carved man’s lap.

Bells looked at it and said, “I can’t
believe anyone would actually have this in their house, let alone
sit in the atrocious thing!” Upon inspection, it was found that the
carved, sleeved arms ended in hands with detailed fingers bent to
form a natural curve. The only straight finger was the first finger
that almost pointed straight out, perfect for the project at
hand.

Ivan said, “Good hand for holding
ring.”

Giselia was hopping up and down in
place. A smiling Bells put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Good
find, Giselia! Very good find, indeed!”

Ivan placed his saw on the carving at
mid-forearm and began sawing the appendage. Within a few minutes,
he held the wooden carving. Upon examination, he proclaimed, “This
wood be like iron, hard much, no break; good for Demon
ring!”

Bells examined the carving with a very
pleased look on her face. Giselia preferred not to touch the
grotesque carving at all, saying, “As Bells, you say, not nice, is
creepy, yes?”

Bells laughed and said, “Correct, it
is creepy, not nice!” Ivan took the carved arm and acted like he
was going to grab Giselia with the hand. She shrieked and jumped
back. Everyone laughed, including Giselia, but she kept an eye on
the creepy piece of wood after that. Bells said, “Well, I guess we
have had enough adventure for now. Shall we go back?”

“Yes, we go now, ready make switch
with arm,” Ivan agreed.

Giselia said, “Much fun too, looking
in old castle.”

Bells said, “We will go exploring
again, if you like. We can find and loot the royal chambers,
perhaps.”

Giselia looked at Ivan for
translation. Smiling wide once she understood, she said, “I like
very much explore more!”