Take the body and give me the rest

by Julius Schenk

  As they trudged passed the caravan, an older lady put her head out of one of the covered wagon’s windows and called out, ‘Seth!’ They turned to see Duchess Elizebetha smiling at them.

  ‘Found some new friends, I see?’ She said cheerfully

  ‘Hello there. Duchess, this is Goldie, Grimm, Flint and Stone, good Northern lads each one. Boys, this is the Duchess Elizebetha of Black Rock. Told you I knew her’

  They were a little shocked that they were now travelling with nobles, and that a noble lady was leaning out of a wagon chatting with them.

  ‘Nice to meet you, but no titles on this trip. My visit is a great surprise. Now, I have some horses tied up for you at the back of the caravan. I knew you’d be five,’ she said. ‘And Seth, we’re heading out right now as our other friends from back home have just arrived in the city.’

  ‘Don’t worry, lady,’ said Grimm with a giant grin. ‘We kept their beds warm for them.’

  Seraphina and her two companions didn’t even alight from their carriage as they drew up and into the driveway of the manor house. No guards stood at the gate, which swung open and deserted. She had travelled by private ship once she had gotten word from their blade in Dacar. The house itself was a smoking ruin of bricks, collapsed ceiling and burnt wooden beams. From inside the carriage, she surveyed the wreckage and then screamed with anger.

  In front of the house, sitting in tattered black robes on the black scorched stairs, was the house steward. He stood to attention as the carriage had appeared, and, after composing herself, Seraphina opened the door to the carriage and spoke to him. He was a nervous wreck and looked like he was close to sick from breathing in too much smoke.

  ‘What the hell happened here, steward? We were expecting to come to collect the woman who was supposed to have solved our problem for us,’ she said.

  ‘If the problem was Brother Seth, then he came himself, and with four Northern slaves as well.’

  ‘Why do you refer to him as Brother Seth ?’ she asked.

  ‘He claimed to be one of The Guild.’

  ‘Do you suppose one of the Guild would do this to our own library?’ she said.

  ‘I guess not. He did a lot more than this, anyway,’ he said.

  ‘Tell me what else he did, from the start to the end.’

  ‘He came and, at first, he was very strange. He had four Northern slaves with him, but he treated them like troops in his own little army, even took their slave collars off and gave them swords and had them bathed and clothed well. They wouldn’t eat any of our food and brought food from the outside. Then, after two days of him studying in the main library, they found the memories room at night and they attacked it. They killed around fourteen guards and the memory herself was also killed. Then they looted the house before setting it on fire.’

  ‘Did he talk to the memory?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know for sure, but I think so. He was very angry as they burnt the place down, it felt like he was trying to get revenge. He was screaming and yelling things as they set fire to the library, all those lives and memories all gone.’

  ‘Now, where did they go?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know, but they will be easy to find; everyone will notice them in this city.’

  ‘Get in the carriage. We are going find these Northerners, and you’re going to help us.’

  ‘Yes, mistress, But where do we start?’

  ‘The back city gate and anything going to Black Rock, of course, he wouldn’t have done this unless he was told to’ She spat at him.

  The caravan ride was bound to be a long one. The countryside of Pelloss was lush green with a hot sun but plenty of rain to keep it fertile. It was a nice place to gaze across, even if Northerners weren’t used to this hot weather and having to drink so much water. Still, they were good at doing what needed to get done, and Seth felt better for every mile the caravan put between them and the city gates.

  He wasn’t tricking himself, though. There was no way Seraphina, Dirst and the other unknown but equally dangerous man, were not going to catch up with this caravan. He’d dodged them this far, but they would catch up to him now for sure. Still, now the odds were in his favour. He just had to make sure that they were aware of every new person who joined the caravan and not get caught sleeping. He didn’t know why, but he felt that their plans for him were changing from alive at all costs to dead if alive was too much work. He was becoming a major pain in their side. For his part, he was feeling more and more like he would soon have to stop running and bring the war directly to the Guild. He could see now that they were an evil force in the world, and one that needed to be stopped by someone.

  Seth was feeling a growing, gnawing, painful hunger inside of himself as he rode. It was so very deep and awful he knew that its source was the creature and not his own hunger for a normal meal. He knew the creature had fed on the woman in the Guild room. The woman who hadn’t even remembered her own name, but had been always referred to as the memory. He’d never felt this hunger before, although while they had travelled on The Opulent, the creature had gone unfed.

  Seth rode on, feeling the pain sharper and sharper in his stomach until he felt he might be sick. The caravan was starting to pass through an area that was a densely wooded. The trees were all uniformly spaced as if grown just to cut down. It was dense and dark though, and with a few muttered curse words, Seth spurred his horse off the road and nudged it hesitantly into the woods.

  Within a few minutes of a slow walk and ducking under branches, he was alone with only his horse in the forest. Turning his boot in the stirrup, he dismounted from the large white charger, branches and leaves crackling under his feet. Taking the black leather reins, he lashed them around the white trunk of a small willowy tree and tied them up; he didn’t want his horse around when he called the creature. Seth passed farther into the forest, parting branches with his hands and getting a hundred minor scratches. When he stepped into an area with a little more space, but still not anywhere near a clearing, he started the summoning.

  He focused his mind, saying the words of calling and, thinking of the lupine creature, he pulled it through. The air barely darkened or rippled at all. The rift was nearly invisible, as if the creature had been there all along, just not able to be seen.

  It was still a shocking sight. Giant, wolf-shaped but hairless, with mottled white skin, intelligent yellow eyes looking at him, rat-like thin whip tail and rows of sharp teeth. And it still smelled of the graveyard. As he called it, the hunger, instead of increasing, stopped dead.

  The words clanged in his mind like sword on shield. ‘You call me with no sacrifice.’

  ‘I had no choice; the hunger was too intense. What was that?’ Seth said.

  ‘That is what I feel at every moment except when I feed. We are closer now, and I can share it with you if I need to.’

  ‘You fed only a few days ago.’

  ‘My first meal in so long. Years I waited for you to call me again.’

  ‘Not years. Months, yes, but not years’ Seth said.

  ‘Time passes slower up here in the sun, but still I need to feed again and soon. Then I can be at peace for another while.’

  ‘I’m not a killer; I can’t just throw people to you to appease your hunger.’

  As Seth said the words, that terrible hunger hit him again and forced him to his knees.

  ‘That is what I feel all the time. The only reason you don’t is because I protect you from it. You had no problem killing the General, The man, his woman and the lady on the boat.’

  ‘They were my enemies; it was them or me. And I won’t kill people for no reason.’

  ‘Then go find some new enemies.’ With those words still ringing in Seth’s head, the creature turned and walked out of the world, the rift closing behind it.

  Chapter 19

  He had spoken with Elizebetha that first night about what he had found out in that library. She was shocked to say the least. It was clear that her own knowl
edge was clearly lacking as to just what the Guild were capable of.

  Now she knew that a dead lady walked the land again and that some unknown noble in the Guild had an army of men like Seth without morals at his beck.

  ‘Who do you think he is?’ She asked

  Seth had spent much of the night sifting through the memories of the General and had a pretty good idea of who it was. ‘I think it’s someone called Luthor, he’s the Duke of Twin Plains and even the General was scared of him.’ He said

  ‘That makes sense’ she said ‘he’s been first brother for more than twenty years and from what I’ve heard more than capable of what you’ve described’

  ‘So what do we do about him’ Seth asked

  ‘We just hope we don’t cross his path Seth.’ She said with some tangible fear in her voice.

  Seth had put that conversation out of his mind and tried to do what he could to enjoy the travelling. It felt good to be on a horse again, and even his men seemed at home in the saddle. Most Northmen would have done some army training when they turned of age.

  ‘So what’s the plan, Boss?’ asked Grimm as they rode slowly along in pace with the caravan.

  ‘I have an idea, if you boys are interested in gaining some extra coin and up for some extra excitement,’ he said.

  They all perked up at that. ‘You have our ear, Boss,’ said Goldie.

  ‘Well, these guild people will soon be joining the caravan to find and kill me. Best bet for us is to patrol this caravan up and down making sure we know just who is joining it. Also they might well be setting an ambush ahead of us and just fill me with arrows as I ride past, so we’d better patrol the passes.’

  ‘Sounds like work. Who’s paying?’ said Grimm.

  Seth laughed. Yend had given him an idea: always try to get someone else to pay for what you want done. ‘We’ll go to the caravan master and hire us as guards. He can pay us for doing what we need to do to survive. There aren’t half enough swords on this caravan, anyway.’

  ‘I had noticed that,’ said Flint.

  ‘So you boys in?’ Seth asked.

  ‘Sounds like we’re asking to get paid for something that needs doing anyway. Bloody great!’ Grimm said.

  Seth rode closer to the Duchess’ wagon. He called out to her, ‘Elizebetha, I was thinking we could—’

  ‘It’s a great idea, Seth,’ she said, cutting him off and without even leaning out to show her face. ‘Make sure you scout ahead as well. I have a feeling they might be enlisting some help from the local brigands.’

  ‘Well, boys, now we have her blessing, let’s go see this caravan master about how deep his pockets are.’

  The steward spoke to Seraphina in hushed tones as she sat in her carriage. He’d just stepped in from the street and was dusty from the road. As he brushed the flecks of dirt from his once black robes and spoke. ‘They are with the trading caravan headed along the long road to Black Rock,’ he said.

  She wasn’t surprised. ‘Black Rock? Of course they are going to Black Rock, both he and that bitch Elizebetha are still alive, where else would they be going. We’ll join the train and take them.’

  Seth and his men rode with their mounts along the caravan train from where they were stationed quite near the rear to the very tip. It was a very mixed affair, mostly consisting of various small traders bringing things from the ports of Pelloss to the other cities along the road to Black Rock. They passed many families migrating and more than one slave train: groups of twenty men and women chained at the hand and forced to trudge along at the slow caravan pace. Most of the people startled at the troop as it passed, probably half worrying that it was some brigand troop come to kill them all.

  The troop had ridden the length of the caravan and only seen two guards at the very tail and now saw two more sitting in an open wagon that was setting the pace for the train. On the wagon, taking up more than most of the space, was a vast, fat man dressed in sumptuous silks and turbans. It was a style that reminded Seth of the Captain of The Opulent. The man regarded Seth and his troop as they drew up alongside his wagon and kept easy pace with it. The man looked slightly nervous, and the guards sitting beside him moved hands to the crossbows resting in their laps.

  ‘Good morning, friend. I’m Seth we are travelling with the caravan and thought we’d exercise these restive mounts of ours,’ he said in what he hoped was a friendly voice.

  The man visibly relaxed. ‘Oh, very good to hear you’re travelling with us. My name is Rosen. I’m the master of this caravan.’

  Seth reached across the distance and shook the man’s hand as he rode along.

  ‘I was actually hoping to discuss some business with you, if I could, Master Rosen,’ said Seth.

  Rosen perked up a bit at this. ‘Oh, yes, and what would you like to discuss?’

  ‘My men and I aren’t used to this trudging along; we’d much rather be scouting the passes, out-riding and ensuring no one joins the train unnoticed. We also noticed you’re a bit light on guards and maybe you’d be interested in taking on a few more for the journey?’ Seth asked.

  Rosen smiled at him. ‘You men do have the right look to you, the look of men who know one end of a sword from the other. I have a business partner in these caravans, and he’s a terrible skinflint; every trip I travel with fewer and fewer guards. This time I fear we’re dangerously low. I’d be happy to take you men on if the terms are suitable.’

  Seth had never really traded like this before, so he had no idea what was a fair price or what the men would be happy with.

  ‘Let’s not talk day rates. Twenty gold coins for all of us from now ’til your last stop,’ Seth said.

  The man looked shocked. ‘Twenty gold coins! I could buy five men for that.’

  ‘Not this five.’

  Rosen looked to his guards, as if gauging their opinions, but they remained blank, no doubt thinking on their own low wages.

  ‘I’ve heard reports of brigands in these passes, and that’s the reason I’m more than normally worried. I’ll give you ten gold now and eight when I arrive at my final stop alive,’ he said.

  Seth and the men laughed at that. ‘Sounds like a deal.’ They shook hands again. Rosen counted out ten small gold coins from a large bag that Grimm eyed with greed and rolled them into a small leather pouch, which he passed to Seth.

  ‘Thank you, Master Rosen; we’ll get started right now, if that suits you’ With a quick nod from the double chin of Master Rosen, Seth spurred his horse out away from the caravan and started on their first patrol.

  They rode out hard and let their mounts loose a little bit, gaining some space between themselves and the head of the caravan. It wouldn’t be hard to maintain a much quicker pace than that slow march.

  The countryside of Pelloss was so extremely lush and fertile, it was no wonder Pelloss was such a rich country. Every field they past was fit to bursting with well-maintained crops. Once or twice they passed orchards where many fruit trees all stood in neat rows, being tended by people on wooden ladders.

  They formed a line of five across the road and fell into an easy trotting pace.

  Goldie spoke up from the group. ‘That was some nice negotiating work, Boss. He paid more for us than you did!’

  They all laughed at that. ‘That’s true enough. And, so you boys know, we’ll share the loot out equally.’

  ‘Okay, Boss, but you get a bigger share ’cause you’re the Captain; that’s how it works,’ said Grimm.

  ‘We’re sounding more and more like a mercenary troop,’ said Seth.

  ‘It’s better than being a group of five former slaves,’ said Flint.

  ‘Well, that’s the truth of it. It does seem a lucrative trade,’ said Seth.

  ‘We’re getting more for this trip than we would have for a year’s working in the North,’ said Goldie.

  ‘Well, let’s earn it then. I just know that around one of these corners somebody will be waiting for us.’

  Seth didn’t want to tell the men
that the major reason they were out here wasn’t to protect themselves from attack or get paid; it was to do what the creature had told him and find some new enemies. Truly, the world would not miss some brigands, killers and thieves. But still, Seth didn’t like the feeling of being a man who hunted and killed other men.

  Three days on the road passed and neither did anyone else join the caravan nor did Seth and his troop encounter anyone threatening on the roads. They often would share the road with much smaller caravans passing in the other direction, but that was all. On the third day, they were marching in a line and came upon a sharp bend that went into a section of road that was deeply cut into a rising hill. On either side of the road, the sheer walls of dirt and stone stood. It was a perfect place for an ambush; at the top of the cliffs was even some coverage with stones and hedges.

  As they passed, the group kept talking as they had been and didn’t draw any attention. Every one of them could feel the presence of people at the top of the ridge, and Seth could imagine a shower of arrows falling down onto the troop and killing them. Clearly, the brigands weren’t interested in wasting a good ambush on a group of travelling Northern fighters when the caravan, their real prize, was on the same road just an hour or so behind.

  The horses trotted onward, and Goldie regaled the others with some story about a woman he’d met in some water front tavern, who turned out to be married to the minstrel playing that night, making them all laugh and seem un-noticing. They were soon carried past the danger point and out of the cutting. Once they had gone a few more minutes along the road and well out of sight, Seth slowed his horse and spoke to the men.

  ‘Well, that was it for sure. I couldn’t say numbers of them, but they were definitely at the top of that cutting,’ he said.

  ‘Lucky for us they all seemed to be on one side; that’s foolish,’ said Grimm.