“I never said you were lousy” Agatha said with a giggle. “Plenty of the other girls here would be happy to have you warm their beds. Maybe if you did you wouldn’t be so grumpy all the time. You know there are a lot of men here now that would be happy to have me talking to them, you act like it is something you don’t want.”
“I don’t want it” Jason replied. “You play games I don’t want any part of.”
“Hey if he don’t want to give you none honey I will” a drunken man said Jason did not recognize, probably from one of the other towns.
“Fuck him” another man said holding a tankard. “I’ll take you with me right now!”
Jason watched the second man approach Agatha and grab her by the shoulders, Agatha pushed him off of her just as the man vomited. Vomit went all over Agatha’s neck and chest, covering her with sickly green fluid that had pinkish chunks in it. Jason tried hard to stifle a giggle as Agatha gave him an angry stare. The others who had watched the entire show did laugh and they did so loudly, Agatha stomped away. Jason was happy that at least he wouldn’t have to deal with Agatha, most of the others would shoot him flirty glances but would never appraoch him. Jason didn’t have anything against the girls but he was not at a point in his life where he wanted a girlfriend, he hadn’t built himself a home yet and he was still years away from wanting a child. An hour went by as Jason became tired of standing in the line, the line had barely moved during that whole time and now a murmur went through the crowd.
“What is going on?” Jason asked a man in front of him. “Why is everyone all excited all of a sudden?”
“They are calling a halt to the testing” Jonah Harlen replied. Jonah Harlen was an angry, hard working and even harder drinking ball of nerves. He and his two brothers, Jonas and Jonal, were notorious for drinking and fighting pretty much about anything.
“So I just stood in this damn line for nothing” Jason said angrily. “What takes so damn long for the testing anyway? What do they do up there?”
“You have never seen the testing before?” Jonah asked.
“No reason to” Jason replied. “Mages never put any food on my plate.”
“I can respect that” Jonah replied. “They rub some kind of stick on you and do a bunch of chanting. Lord Dawson went first and just like he has been bragging, he is a mage.”
“Well good for him” Jason replied. “Maybe now he can stay gone.”
“Careful with your tongue” Jonah replied. “Here he comes. I think I can find someplace else to be.”
“You scared of Patrick Dawson?” Jason asked.
“You are a fool if you are not” Jonah replied. “I aint losing my job over the fat knobber, unlike you I work for the Baron. Also unlike you I have common sense, you see him surrounded with those mages and all the pretty girls from various towns? He is looking for trouble, I heard just two months ago he had somebody flogged. Apparently Lord Dawson was getting his stick wet courtesy of a needleworker, her Da wasn’t too happy about that and punished his daughter for being so stupid. Lord Dawson saw that as an insult, after all who was the man who thought he had the power to stop Lord Dawson from fucking whoever he pleased. He secretly took the father, had one last tumble with the girl then brought her out to see her father whipped.”
“That doesn’t even sound true” Jason replied.
“Oh its true alright” Jonah replied. “The man was my father’s cousin, his daughter is staying over at my place now. I don’t need Lord Dawson putting two thoughts together and taking it out on me for ruining his fun time.”
Jason turned to leave and saw Agatha in front of him again, this time with Kathryn. Jason tried to step past them but they locked arms and stayed in his way.
“Can you move the fuck out of my way” Jason said as he looked down on the two women.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Kathryn asked as she glanced over Jason’s shoulder.
“Yes why are you in such a hurry?” Patrick Dawson said from behind him in his nasally voice. Patrick Dawson was short, half of the women in Gaol were taller than he was.
“I have a free drink waiting on me Milord” Jason said as he turned around and faced Patrick.
“Yes he has a drink with two girls waiting on him Milord” Agatha said as she wrapped her arms around Jason’s arm.
“Does he now?” Patrick asked.
“Yes” Agatha replied. “We need someone who can show us a good time since no one else wants to.”
“What beautiful women you have here Lord Dawson” the mage to the left of Patrick Dawson replied. The mage looked over Jason for a moment then rolled his eyes as his gaze settled on Agatha. “They may need to keep better company however.”
“I agree” Patrick replied. “Why don’t you run along little Jason, I’ll take care of these two.”
“Aw does he have to go” a girl with big pouty lips asked you was on the other mages arm. He looks like he could be fun.”
“He can be” Agatha replied. “And he is the toughest man in town, I only like hanging around men with real power.”
“Ooh that sounds like a challenge” the mage with the girl on his arm replied.
“Ain’t no challenge I want” Jason replied. “You can take both of these two to do with as you will” Jason finished as he yanked his arm away from the woman. “I was having my ale alone.”
“You are just being bashful” Agatha said as she stroked her hand on Jason’s shoulder. “My Jason doesn’t want to embarrass anyone here, just look at these strong muscles.”
“Get away from me woman” Jason said as he pushed Agatha back off him. “I don’t know what game you are playing and I don’t want to know. Touch me again and you wont like the outcome.”
“How could you assault a lady?” Agatha cried out in a loud voice and threw herself backward from the small push. “Just because you are scared of Lord Dawson is no reason to take it out on me.”
“Turn around and face me you brute” Patrick said snarling at Jason. As soon as Jason turned around Patrick slapped him in the face. It was a glancing blow at best considering their height difference as Patrick’s stubby arms couldn’t generate enough force. Jason looked down at Patrick and was confused at first by what happened. The girl on the mage’s arm started laughing loudly as Patrick went for a punch, Jason backed away from it and the force generated by the off balance blow combined with hitting nothing but air spun Patrick around made him fall hard on his backside.
“Guards! Guards!” Patrick screamed as the people around him started laughing. A crowd had formed when the scene first started, none looked like they bothered to hold in their laugh until the Baron’s men break through the crowd.
“I didn’t do anything” Jason said as he raised his hands.
“He attacked me, seize him!” Patrick screamed as men went to grab Jason’s arms.
“Let me go!” Jason screamed as the guards held him.
“Now let’s see who is the toughest” Patrick screamed as he got off the ground and looked at one of his guards. “Beat his ass and make sure you get the face, we will see how pretty these women think he is afterwards.”
Jason ducked from the first punch and struggled to get away but at this time it was a four on one. Eventually a blow landed followed by many more. Jason yelled at first and managed to free himself but now his attackers were using cudgels, Jason wasn’t sure how many blows he had taken before he lost conciousness.
CHAPTER 4
“Easy now” Jason heard his father’s voice say as he started stirring. Jason was cold and one of his eyes wouldn’t open. Jason could also feel something was wrong with his hands, they hurt and wouldn’t respond to him.
“What happened?” Jason asked confused as he tried to sit up.
“Baron Dawson’s men worked you over pretty good” Jason Sr. replied. “I think they may have taken that eye but it will be impossible to tell until that swelling goes down. After that you will know whether it works still.”
“I thought
they were going to kill me” Jason replied as he opened up his good eye and could see he was in a stone room with iron bars.
“So did everyone else” Jason Sr. replied. “Agatha Halfin came to get me at the tavern as scared as I ever saw her.”
“That bitch is the reason for this mess” Jason said loudly as the noise from him screaming sent a shooting pain in his head. “Why are we here though? Patrick obvioulsy won the fight with me.”
“That he did” Jason Sr. replied. “His men though were not so lucky. I begged the little shit to call his men off, he just laughed at me and so did his men. I saw your body lying there while they took turns trying to bash in your face, I thought you were dead.”
“What did you do Da?” Jason asked.
“I snapped” Jason Sr. replied. “I took my sword and ran one man through, the guards were so shocked at the attack they barely defended themselves as I chopped into them. “The mages ended up getting me though, not before I ran one of them through and badly wounded the other one. “I don’t think they expected me to have my throwing knives on me.”
“Shit” Jason said as he climbed to his feet and looked at his father who looked exactly the way Jason felt.
“They did all of this after I was down” Jason Sr. replied. “I wasn’t up to feel any of it.”
“Someone is coming” Jason said as he could hear footsteps. Moments later a short fat man appeared dressed in silk. He was an older version of Patrick, he had the same body just aged a bit with a well kept gray beard. The baron looked at Jason then at his father and shook his head.
“You have me in an interesting position” Baron Dawson began. “I have heard Patrick’s side of things and I also have heard the truth from the girl who started the whole thing. Her version was collaborated by many but it still doesn’t make things easier. If you just took the beating then things would have been over with young Mr. Smith. I would have heard about it and tried to make things right with you. But you elder Smith, you entered the fight and killed seven men including two mages who worked for the kingdom, one of which used his dying breath to put you down, even then you managed to slash Patrick right across the face. It does me no great honor but I have to have you executed.”
“Your son started that fight” Jason growled. “We were minding our own business, my father thought they were going to kill me!”
“That is true” Baron Dawson replied. “Many people there thought so as well but the laws are clear regarding interfering with justice, striking or killing the king’s mages or striking and killing a noble.”
“None of this would had happened if it wasn’t for your son!” Jason cried.
“That is true” Baron Dawson replied. “But my job here is to uphold the law.”
“They struck me with no provocation” Jason said trying to hold his emotions in check.
“The men who did it are dead” Baron Dawson replied. “I can’t punish dead men.”
“Your son struck me and started the whole thing” Jason replied.
“And he received a nasty scar for his trouble” the Baron replied. “He is the future baron, I cannot punish him as if he was a commoner. Especially a commoner from a foreign land, the only solace I can give you is that your father wont share his fate alone.”
“You leave my son out of this” Jason Sr. snapped.
“Your son will be punished just to serve as an example to the rest about crossing a noble” the Baron replied. “But he wont be killed right away. The law says that both of you should be killed, you for attacking and killing and him for being your accomplice. Your son probably has lost an eye and his hands are broken in multiple place, enough to ensure he will never be much of a blacksmith anymore and that is if he survives the Knights.”
“My son becoming one of those Knights is no solace to me” Jason Sr. said angrily.
“Your solace is that I have named Agatha Halfin, the girl who started this entire thing as an accomplice. She will share in your fate, it is a pity given how pretty she is. The only one who can commute the sentence for a lesser punishment is my son, given how his face looks, that isn’t likely. Your sentence will be carried out at midnight. Executions are normally public affairs but I don’t think many will want to see it considering the details. I know you are a follower of the Light Bringer or that you were. I have sent for a priest of that faith to come and bless you both.”
“That means nothing to me” Jason said as Baron Dawson turned to walk away.
“I will send my son in here, he is still quite angry about the face but has found other things to take his mind off of it” Baron Dawson said as he left.
“At least we both will be in the Light Bringer’s embrace” Jason Sr. said as Jason could tell his father was resigned to his fate.
“Screw the Light Bringer” Jason said angrily. “Why is this happening to us?”
“Bad things happen to good people Jason” Jason Sr. replied. “I am going to beg the priest for a blessing, you are going to need it if they send you off to become a Knight.”
“Why would they Knight me for getting my ass kicked” Jason said with a tone harsher than what he meant.
“The Baron is talking about the Knights of Death” Jason Sr. replied. “You will have to fight for your life there. Terrible business that is.”
“What in the hell are the Knights of Death?” Jason asked.
“Criminals better off dead” Jason Sr. replied. “They fight for amusement of the people and are used to test new mages. Executions are something everyone wants to watch, in the capital they execute criminals by having them fight against each other. I don’t know much more than that, it has never interested me.”
“What are we going to do Da?” Jason said and ran his hands through the little hair he had.
“What can we do?” Jason Sr. replied.
“I am so sorry Da” Jason replied. “I should have just punched the bitch out and none of this would have ever happened.”
“It is not your fault Jason” Jason Sr. replied. “Patrick Dawson is a bully who made a fool of himself and needs someone to take it out on. No matter what happens don’t you ever blame yourself, blame Patrick’s fat ass, blame Agatha who just wanted to cause drama. Don’t you ever blame yourself, you did nothing wrong. I have heard enough of the story to come to that conclusion and I will meet my fate like a man. They were going to kill you son, my actions stopped that. I consider it a fair trade, trading my life for yours. If you would have died I would have been angry that I let the one opportunity escape that I could have prevented it get away. I ended up killing that second mage and every time Patrick Dawson looks at himself in the mirror he will remember me.”
“I hope you stuck that fat bastard good” Jason said angrily.
“Right down the middle of his face” Jason Sr. laughed. “It was just the tip of my sword but from the top of his forehead to the bottom of his chins was split open, especially that bulbous nose of his. I got him good enough that the scar won’t be subtle, gave him a decent scar on his cheek as well.”
“Serves him right” Jason said angrily. “I wish you would have stuck that bastard and sent him to the pit.”
“Enough of that talk, if these are the last hours I am spending with my son I don’t want to do it talking about such people” Jason Sr. replied. “We need to talk about what you can do next. Remember son, spending time worrying about things outside of your control is pointless. Worry about the things you can fix and get to them. I just wish I was a paladin, I could do something to that hand of yours. Whichever one of those assholes that did it was trying to be personal. They knew you were a smith and went after your hands, I hope it was worth it to them. Our problem though is that you will have to fight pretty soon and I don’t think you can really grip anything in your condition. I just hope that priest gets here soon, he could do a lot to send me to the afterlife with a lot less worries.”
Jason and his father talked for a few hours until the sound of people arguing could be heard. Patrick
Dawson was easy to make out, whoever he was talking to was not impressed by his title which made Patrick even angrier. As they came closer, Jason and his father were able to listen in.
“Just fix my fucking face priest” Patrick bellowed. “I know you could make my face almost back the way it was.”
“I have heard the details surrounding the prisoners Lord Dawson” a snobby male voice replied. “Your anger means nothing to me. I have used the sight of the Light Bringer and I see darkness in you, because of you a man stands to die. If you pardon him I will consider fixing your face, other than that I am quite content leaving you how your are.”
“I am going to Baron one day priest” Patrick growled.
“And I will still be a priest in the service to the Light Bringer” the priest replied as Jason could hear the voices coming closer. “You know what you are going to do? You are going to do nothing but remember everytime you look in the mirror the wickedness you are capable of.”
“I am not going to back down to a murderer” Patrick growled. “He is a commoner that needs to be taught some humility.”
“Well then consider this your lesson” the priest replied. “Now back away and let me talk to the condemned.”
“I am going to enjoy watching you hang like a dog” Patrick said as he looked into the cell.
“Fuck you, you tosser” Jason said as he spat at Patrick and hit him in the face.
“You want your father to survive this?” Patrick asked. “That girl is going to survive, she wont share your father’s fate because she knows her place in life.”
“If anyone should die it should be you and her” Jason said angrily.
“She is getting an alternative sentence” Patrick said with a smile. “She has been putting her mouth to good use, my cock misses that place already. Even her mother joined in to tell me how thankful she is that her fine piece of ass daughter wouldn’t be killed. I have been entertaining her and her mother for hours now, after I finished I made sure my men, then any old passerby got a chance to try them out. What do you think of your little girlfriend now?”
The Warrior of Sapin Page 3