Death Or Fortune (21 page)

    
I spent the next day getting ready to leave, spending as much time with Jasmin
as I could. Yet my mind was elsewhere. The incident with Hetaron had left me
numb.  Nothing felt right.  I stood looking at the equipment I had to
pack.  Most of it I could set aside as it was all things I carried for
Hetaron.  He never had a mind for what to do on the road.  He always
seemed to forget the simple things. Things he never thought of until we needed
them, yet he carried dozens of things we never needed.  I was always happy
to carry his share.  As I started to close up my pack I noticed the bottle
of potion I had used on my items during the tournament in Eystlund. I was not
sure why I packed that away but I figured it may come in handy at some point.
     Once I was finished packing, I was ready to leave. Yet
I told Jasmin that I would not leave until after dark so we could spend the day
together.  My mind was on everything except for her.  I was like a
coiled snake ready to strike.  I did not relax until I was putting my
armor on and getting ready to mount my horse.  I gave my wife one last
kiss and started to ride away.  I looked back at the house one last time,
seeing Pare hang out of his bedroom window by a rope.  Both feet firmly
planted on the wall under his window he was yelling as loud as he could, waving
good bye.  I often wonder if I had made a mistake leaving him behind yet I
know how hard the trip would have been on him.  Not even the trip itself
but how it all ended.  It may have been more than his little heart could
take.  As I charged out the gate of my estate I put my head down and just
tried to enjoy the night ride.  I was three days away from Klassen if I
rode all night and the next day.
     The first night passed without incident, stopping only
to water my horse. The city fell behind me and soon it was nothing but open
road ahead of me. While I was in a hurry I did not want to abuse my mount or
risk her breaking a leg. A little past noon the next day I passed the last
manned out post that stood on the border of the capital city. Sgt. Cartwright,
was in charge of the post. I had met him after the war on the field sorting out
the dead.  He told me that it was a hard road between there and the next
town.
"If you stop to make camp over night, I wouldn't make much of a
fire. There are more than a few bandits who would love to knock you over for
all that tin you have on."
I gave him a little laugh and told him that
they were welcome to try.  I took his warning a little too lightly.
 Something about being there on the road again made me forget the troubles
that were behind me and the danger ahead of me. Some of it was much closer than
I had realized. 

     As the
sun started to set to the west of me, I started looking for a place to sleep
for the night. There was a dense wood on the east side of the road I was on.
 It was a good hundred yards off the road but it would be a good place to
hide.  While I was not worried about Sgt. Cartwright's bandits, I wasn't
about to lay myself in front of them.  As I moved into the tree line I
looked above me for spider webs or any other beast that may make a home in the
tree tops.  Once I was sure I wouldn't have anything large pounce on Emily
and I during the night I tied her to a tree and started to feed and water her.
 Emily is my horse, she has served me well for many years now and I hope
many more to come.  Once I took all my gear off her back and brushed her
down I took out some snare lines.  While I had plenty of rations to last
me, if I could find fresh meat the rations would last me all that much longer.

     Once I had
three snares set around the area I went back to Emily and backed myself into a
tree to rest for a few hours.  Other than the sound of nature and my horse
chewing it was quiet.  I almost fell into a deeper sleep that I am used to
when on the road.  It is a dangerous thing to do when you are alone.  When
I closed my eyes the western sky was on fire with the sun setting in the
distance, when I opened them I could see The Eye of Myrrdin hanging high and
full in the sky.  I knew then that I had been sleeping for four or five
hours, maybe more. I stood up and started to work the stiffness out of my body
that had gathered there over night.  I only had a couple more hours to
rest before the sun would start to come up again.  Then I heard a noise,
odds are it was the same noise that had woke me up.  Something had found
its way in to one of my snares.  A quick check of the area showed that I
had caught not just one but two thing’s.

      The
first was a large fat rabbit. When the snare caught it, it slipped around its
neck breaking it quickly. The second thing I found wasn't so nice. I could hear
him grunting, trying to break free. When I found the young goblin he was
hanging from one foot swinging back and forth on the snare line, trying to
reach one of the weapons he had dropped onto the forest floor. When he saw me
he did not scream, growl or anything else I would have expected from a goblin.
 Instead he spoke in common,
'Help Trull?'
I looked at the
creature; he could not have been more than a few years old.
'Please help
Trull, Mistress be very angry if I don't come home soon.'
I looked at the
odd creature, sword in hand yet he showed no fear. I asked him who his mistress
was.
'Mistress is Mistress, help Trull now. Trull bring weeds for Mistress,
Mistress very sick, need weeds.'
I looked down at the ground and saw next
to an old tin blade was a bundle of plants all in a sack. Any other time I may
have gutted the creature but I saw no profit in this.  There was no
challenge and for some reason I was fascinated by Trull.

      I
lowered the young goblin to the ground and watched as he grabbed his little
knife and cut himself free.  He then got up, grabbed his bag and started
to run off.  I called to him to stop, drawing my sword.  He just
looked back and told me to come.  I followed him for a good half hour
before we got to the clearing.  It looked to be an old farm house.
 Part of the roof had caved in but the stone walls were strong and still
standing. Trull waited for me at the door, waving for me to hurry.  I
could see fire light inside as soon as I got close Trull opened the door and
ran inside, screaming
'Mistress I back, bring friend
.' I looked in the
door to just in time to see the little goblin drop the bag of herbs in the
middle of the floor and jump up into the lap of an old human woman. I stood
just inside the door way, watching the two hug each other.  The woman
looked at me with hard eyes, looking from my face to my hand.  I was not
about to put my sword away, not yet.

 
    
'Trull, you were out all night, go lay down while I talk to your friend.
'
The little beast gave the old woman one more hug, making a little grunting
sound in the process.  He then jumped from her lap and ran to another
room.  As soon as the door closed the woman stood up from her chair and
started towards me.  I could feel her eyes on me, punching holes into my
soul, seeing into my mind.
'Put that away before someone gets hurt.'
I
could only nod my head and put my sword away.
'You look like a southern man,
yet you wear Arcadian rank on your cloak pin. What do you want with me?'
 I could not move, I could only speak.  I told her that the little
beast got caught in my snare and he told me to follow him.  I did not know
where he was taking me but I could not stop following him.
'You speak true,
I see this now.'
The woman turned from me and went to pick up the bag Trull
had dropped on the floor.  I could move again, maybe I always could have
but I did not want to at the time.

     'Thank
you for not killing my son.  I don't know what I would do without him.
'
I looked at the woman in shock.  
'I found him three years ago along the
side of the road. He was just new born, I could not stand to see the poor thing
suffer.  I have raised him, he keeps me company and I keep him safe.'
I started to ask just who she was when she told me.  
'Names are not
important, I am a druid this much I will tell you. My grove was lost many years
ago. I was nearly done with life when I found him. When he is ready to be on
his own, I will pass from this world and into the next. He is my last charge.
To make a creature of pure evil, something able to love and be loved.'
I
just shook my head. When the old woman died, he would be alone. He would have
no one that understood him.  Not humans or his own kind.  He would be
an outcast to all. I started to tell her this when it dawned on me that his own
kind left him to die.  At least with her, he had a chance at life.

     The old
woman then reached into a cupboard and pulled out a small sack of coins. She
wanted to pay me for letting Trull live. I refused and told her I had more
money than I knew what to do with as it was. I then told her I had to leave, I
had left my horse alone long enough as it was. I told the old woman good bye
and started for the door. It was then that I heard a howl of pain and the
running of flapping feet and Trull came charging towards me.
'Noooooo stay.
'
The old woman stopped him from coming all the way towards me. Holding him tight
against her body she held him. It was the oddest thing I have ever seen in this
life. I waved to them one last time as I made my way out the door. I have never
made my way back to see them. I doubt I could find it again if I tried. I
wonder if the little beast ever turned on her or if it was only her power
keeping the creature in check as she did me. Could she really change the nature
of evil with just love, I doubt it. Some creatures and even people cannot deny
their true nature. This much I know.

      I
made my way back to my mount, collecting my rabbit along the way. By the time I
had the thing cooked and ready to eat the sun had returned to the sky and it
was time for me to go. Eating as I rode, I tossed aside what was left of
anything I could not eat. Most of which was just bone. As I was going down the
road I did not see a single soul for miles on end. I passed what looked to be
old farm houses yet they looked to be lifeless as could be. What man had made
his own was being reclaimed by nature. Which I assume is only right, one day I
will be laid to rest in the ground but not for a long time and not without a
fight. I will live as long as the gods permit me to.  Knowing when to
fight and when to run has served me well.  I wish all men understood this
concept.

     Just as
the sun started to set again I saw them.  There were six men, all of them
armed and waiting for me in the middle of the road. I eased Emily to a stop,
standing up looking for more. While the grass along the side of the road was tall,
it was not tall enough to hide any more men. The wood line was too far off for
archers. I did see a small clearing in the grass where they had a small camp
west of the road. Horses were tied together near a ring of tents, a small fire
burned in the center. I turned and took my shield off the rear of my pack, drew
my sword and started to move again. Six men, all of them armed with shoddy
weapons and bits of useless armor, well all but one.  He was the leader, I
could tell by the look on his face. He was the only one who looked sober, who
didn't think they were about to have a bit of fun as I heard one of them say.
 Even his chain armor looked semi well kept.  I stopped a good twenty
feet away from them as they started to spread out on the road.

     'You
will pay us to pass, if you refuse we will have to hurt you. You don't want to
get hurt now do you?
' I looked down at them and locked my eyes on the
leader. I asked him how much he wanted, that seemed to draw a chuckle from his
men.
'All of it, hold back and we will take everything including your life.'
I just looked at them and shook my head as I slid down off Emily's back.
 I then asked them if they knew who they were dealing with.
'Kill him
,'
was all the leader could say. While I regretted what was about to happen, in a
way it was refreshing to run across someone that had no clue who I was. One of
the thugs pulled out a long curved dagger and started to run towards me.
Screaming about how he was going to take my pants. Soon they were all moving,
the leader was leading from behind.

     
Holding his dagger high, he came closer and closer to me. I wondered if he had
ever fought anyone who had put up a fight before.  As I side stepped his charge
I sliced deep into his gut, nearly cutting him in two.  With each step I
took forward, I met another man. Each step I took, another man fell.  Five
steps were taken into the pack of men and five men fell before me. The leader
stood and stared in shock, dropping his weapon he held his hands high above his
head.
'Please sir, spare me your wrath, please!'
 I felt a wave of
hatred come over me, gone was my control, my anger was boiling over.  Five
men had died by his command. The cost was on his head and for that he would
pay. The tip of my blade ripped into his neck and passed back out the other
side. He put his hands over the cut, thinking he could hold himself together as
he started to gurgle out his final breath. His eyes followed me as I moved to
his side, the light of life was slowly fading from them.

     
"Don't worry, your men will join you on the other side." It was then
that I finished the job. As the bandit leader lay dying, I felt the wave of
anger fade and it was replaced by guilt and revulsion.  It was only then
that I put away my shield and sword. One by one I took the bodies of the men I
had killed to their little camp. I stacked them up like piles of wood and then
tore into their tents.  Rotten food, no coin and a barrel of water that
smelled like swamp water. I dumped that over the small fire they had going.
While I did not care about the men I killed, I could not let their fire spread
to the grass and the trees beyond.  I then cut the horses lose, letting
them run free. Two of them followed Emily and I at a distance. I had decided
that I would not rest that night, the trail was safe enough to ride at night.
 One of the horses was still there behind us as I saw the town of Klassen
ahead of me the next day.  I wasn't sure how long I would be in town, I
only hoped my new friends avoided any trouble along the way.