Mayor
Thorpe of Eastthorpe Village had invited Yiannis and Kail to his office in the
guild hall to talk about the attacks.
“They
only sent in ten people, which is a bit strange…” Kail started. “They have a
bigger force than that. If they wanted to kill you all they would’ve sent
everyone. It would make it easier to take back anything they loot from you too.
What were the attacks like before we got here?” he asked.
“It
was the same last time… Yes… T-they only sent a small group. They didn’t take
that much back with them. They also only killed the guards that stood in their
way. Is that strange?” Thorpe replied.
“Yes.”
Kail answered, looking to Yiannis who nodded in agreement. “They also knew that
you would all be in chapel… defenceless. And they knew their way around the
village. Is there anyone that could be leaking information to them?”
“What!?
No! We’re a very close knit community. When you’re only a small village like
us… near the country border too, when the… K-kingdom authorities don’t want to
bother with you, you learn to rely on each other. There’s no way we have anyone
that would want to harm the village!” He seemed pretty certain, but Kail had
his doubts.
“Is
there anyone that wasn’t at the chapel?” he asked.
The
Mayor’s eye’s widened. “Now that you mention it…” he started. “H-him! The other
priest! He came here a few months ago to try to convert us to the Order of the
Eight.” He shook his head angrily. “No one paid him any attention though. The
One True God has looked after us well.”
“Evidently
not” Yiannis interjected with a mocking laugh.
The
mayor glared at him, about to say something, but seemed to think better of it
and simply looked at the floor sadly. Then it all made sense to Kail.
“Do
you think it could be him?” the Mayor asked quietly.
“No,
no, I doubt it.” Kail said, trying to dispel any suspicions. “Even if he’s of a
different faith to yours, he’s still a priest. We’ll find out though. I think
it’s time to question our hostages.” he said, awkwardly patting the Mayor on
the shoulder. He had never patted anyone on the shoulder before. It was
strange. He motioned to Yiannis and they left, leaving the village’s guild hall
and making their way to the blacksmith’s, which is where they had decided to
tie up the hostages.
“You
know,” Yiannis said, “that priest does sound suspicious. Makes sense,
too, if there’s an insider giving them information, that he’d stay away from
the church while they attack.”
Kail
nodded in agreement. “It’s almost certainly him.” he said, surprising Yiannis.
“But until we’re completely sure, it’s best not to let anyone here think it.
Somewhere small like this… away from any real authorities… they’d immediately
lynch the man, even without evidence. We find out if it’s true or not, with
evidence, then we’ll tie him up too and take him to Francorum or somewhere
where he can be put on trial and put in jail.”
Yiannis
sighed, shaking his head, then laughed. “You’re really ‘by the book’, you know
that? Sure, putting him in jail would solve the problem. But you know what else
would? Killing him.” he said coldly.
Kail
glared at him. “You’re pretty murderous, you know that? I don’t think it’s
normal. I want to help these people with as little death as possible. Besides,
if you… or they… did kill him, then we’d never find out if it actually was him
or not.”
“Don’t
shackle me with your morals.” Yiannis responded. “I actually think your concern
for life is what isn’t normal. In our line of work, we have to kill.
Unless you want to live out your life taking small, safe jobs. You know, searching
for missing pets and the like.” Kail was about to angrily object but Yiannis
held up his hand to stop him. “In this case, though, I agree, your way is
better, so don’t worry. I wouldn’t want to accidently kill an innocent man.
Besides, if it really is him, the Lord of Francorum might give us a reward for
handing him in.” Kail could see the greedy glint in his eyes.
“Well…
hopefully we’ll learn something from the bandits we captured.” Kail said.
“Bandit.”
Yiannis corrected.
“What?
I tied up four of them….” Kail frowned in confusion. Then realisation dawned on
him. “No way.” He looked to Yiannis for confirmation, but his face was
unreadable. “Surely you didn’t?” He was shocked and horrified.
“Look,
death is just a natural part of life. Besides, four bandits tied up together?
That would be too risky. Better keep it to one. Did you know the blacksmith has
an apprentice working for him? A young kid. It’d be downright irresponsible to
leave four very dangerous bandits near him.” Yiannis said, his voice dripping
with sarcasm. He enjoyed watching Kail’s expression as he confused his morals.
“Hell, if I believed your whole ‘speaking to the dead’ thing I’d have killed
all of them and you could just speak to their ghosts.” he said with a bitter
laugh.
“I
can speak to the dead…” Kail replied quietly and dejectedly.
“Well
then we make a good team, don’t we? I’ll kill them, and you can talk to them.”
Yiannis said dryly. He didn’t want to be there, and he held Kail responsible
for keeping him there. Although he was starting to have fun at Kail’s expense.
“Killing
is wrong.” Kail said with conviction.
“Then
that means our country’s noble knights who go around killing villains are in
the wrong. Theirs’ and the King’s armies are wrong when they kill people to
defend the country from invasion. I guess I’m definitely in the wrong
for killing these bandits that have been terrorising the village. The Mayor
said they even killed some of the village’s guards.” Yiannis replied. He didn’t
really want to defend his actions, so why was he? He wanted Kail to understand.
Then he realised the reason. What if Kail couldn’t bring himself to kill
someone when it was needed?
Kail
wore a frown, deep in concentration, trying to think of a rebuttal. He sighed
in annoyance.
“Well
maybe it’s not as simple as ‘killing is wrong’ then.” Kail admitted. “Maybe in
some situations… people have to kill people. If their life is at risk, or if
someone else’s is. If there’s no other way.”
Yiannis
nodded approvingly. “Are you going to be able to kill someone to protect the
people here?” he asked.
Kail
glanced at him. “I’m not going to just agree right here that I'll murder
someone.” he answered. “If it’s the only way… then maybe… but I’ll try
everything else first. If I can just immobilise them, tie them up, and hand
them in to the city guard of Francorum then I will…”
Yiannis
shook his head in frustration but decided to let the issue rest. They had
arrived at Brom the village blacksmith’s smithery, and were greeting with the clang
of hammer on heated metal. Yiannis waved at the man to get his attention,
while Kail greeted him with a polite smile.
“We’re
here to see the bandit.” Kail said.
“Right,
right. Go ahead, ye’re welcome to the bastard.” Brom said.
“Thank
you.” Kail answered. He had been surprised at how welcoming the villagers had
been once they knew he was there to help them. The innkeeper had even given him
his money back and insisted that the room, and any meals and drinks he wanted,
would be free.
“Are
you a knight?” came a young and innocent voice. Kail saw the boy who must had
been Brom’s apprentice staring at the sword on his back. Kail couldn’t help but
laugh.
“Oiy!”
Brom shouted, giving the boy a shock. “Back to work!” he said angrily.
Kail
and Yiannis made their way inside.
The
bandit was sat against the wall, not that he had any choice. His wrists and his
legs were tied up so he couldn’t move.
“Going
to kill me yet?” he asked bitterly, glaring at Yiannis.
"You
should be so lucky.” Yiannis retorted, smiling gleefully. “We’re here to get
information out of you… one way or another. But if you really do want to die…”
Kail
looked between them, not liking where it was going.
“Calm
down” he said to Yiannis.
“Answer
our questions and we’ll let you go.” Kail said. The bandit scoffed. Yiannis
looked at him incredulously. Kail continued. “Who’s your leader?” Kail asked.
The bandit laughed.
“Ulric.”
The bandit said. “Didn’t he tell you that?” he said, motioning with his
chin to Yiannis.
Yiannis
laughed. “We don’t mean your dead leader. Who’s pulling the strings? Who
asked you to attack this village?” The bandit stayed silent.
“When’s
your next attack?” Kail asked. Still no answer. Kail sighed.
“Leave
me alone with him.” Yiannis said, taking a step forward. Kail reached and
grabbed him.
“No
way.” Kail said. Yiannis turned towards him in annoyance. Kail smiled, thinking
of an idea.
“Look,
we already know who’s pulling the strings anyway. It’s that priest from the
order. We don’t need to get a second opinion.” Kail said, causing Yiannis to
stare at him in confusion.
“W-what?”
the bandit said, speaking out in fear. “Err, what makes you think that?”
It
was Kail’s turn to take a step forward, moving past Yiannis. He crouched down
next to the bandit.
“We
know he hired you to scare these people into abandoning their God to turn to
his religion.” he said, taking a risk. If his hunch was wrong, then they
wouldn’t be any worse off. “And we know what they’ll do when they realise ten
of their men haven’t returned.”
The
bandit looked between Kail and Yiannis. “So that’s why you’re keeping me alive?
Using me to lure in the priest? You think he might come and free me? I doubt
it. How do you know all this?” he asked.
“Your
leader told me.” Kail said, causing more confusion. “I can speak to the dead,
you see. I asked his spirit and he told me.”
The
bandit laughed nervously. “Yeah right.” he said. “You’re… a shaman?” he asked.
“Shaman?”
Kail repeated. “Is that what people call us? I haven’t met anyone else who can
do it, to be honest. Think about it though, how else would I know so much?”
The
bandit nodded. “That’s what some people call you. But… even if he’s dead,
there’s no way boss Ulric would tell you all about us!” he said angrily. Then
he calmed down with a thoughtful expression on his face. “And shouldn’t you be
keeping an eye on the priest rather than me?”
“And
why would we do that?” Kail asked with a smile.
“Well…
When our scout arrives to find out what happened they’ll go to ask him what’s
going on first… they might not even come for me.” He said sadly, looking down
to the floor, a defeated look on his face. Kail sighed in satisfaction and
looked to Yiannis, who couldn’t contain his laughter. The bandit glared at him.
“Don’t
worry, your boss didn’t betray you.” Kail explained. “Even in death he is
stubborn. And he was proud of his bandit group. I did find out from him about
today’s attack, but that was all. I only found out about that because he was as
stupid as you are.” The bandit was still confused. Kail rose back to his feet
and addressed Yiannis. “Alright, now we know that the priest is guilty.
And we know that a scout will be coming to visit him tonight… well, hopefully.
It makes sense.”
“First
their leader was killed, then the ten people they sent here didn’t return. I’d
send someone trustworthy to find out what was going on.” Yiannis said in
agreement.
“If
the priest is working with them then they’d need stay in contact with each
other. One of them must be sneaking in here to talk to him. It certainly
wouldn’t be difficult. I wonder how much the he’s paying them?”
Yiannis
patted Kail on the shoulder in admiration.
“Well
done.” He said. “Although I could’ve gotten just as much information with
torture. Leave the priest to me. I’ll break into his home and spy on him. It’s
something I happen to be very good at. If there is a scout, then I’ll find out.
Besides, we can’t really decide on our next move until we know theirs. When
they find out that nine of their people are dead, they might attack in force.”
Then
bandit realised what had happened.
“Hey!”
he shouted at them angrily. “You tricked me!” He started yelling profanities at
them. Kail and Yiannis left the room and made their way outside.
“Alright.
I’ll see if I can get more information out of the spirit of their leader, and…
I guess I’ll talk to the other ones you’ve killed.” Kail said.
“Right…”
Yiannis said sarcastically, giving him a knowing wink.
“I’m
not making it up.” Kail said with a sigh. “Look, you do what you’re gonna do
and I’ll go do what I’m gonna do.”
“Sure”
Yiannis said. Kail closed his eyes in concentration. Yiannis watched with
amusement. Kail opened his eyes and looked beyond Yiannis, as if he was looking
at something else. Yiannis gasped as he saw what appeared to be glowing symbols
within Kail’s eyes.
“See
you later.” Kail said, walking off.
Yiannis
had been staying in his position for hours, watching as the priest went about
normal activities in his home. The most suspicious thing he had been doing was
writing letters. It was easy work for Yiannis, however. He had stayed on one
position, pushing his body to his limits as his limbs went stiff and ached in
pain, when he had been spying on the bandits at their camp, working out who
their leader was and learning their routines, before moving in and
assassinating him. If I had known I was going to get so invested I would’ve
found out more about them. Damnit Kail, I should be getting drunk in Francorum
by now with my bounty reward. I could… just leave. Right now. Who cares what
happens to this village? Then a knock awoke him from his thoughts. The priest yelled
out in surprise. It was night, so Kail wouldn’t have been able to see who it
was even if he chanced peering out from his hiding place, but his
suspicions were confirmed anyway.
“Is
it safe to come in?” came a quiet voice.
“Of
course.” the priest said.
Yiannis
heard the window close, although he noted that it was done quietly and
carefully.
“Ten
came here this morning.” the voice said, still quiet. Yiannis really had to
concentrate to hear him. “No one came back. What happened?”
“T-the
village managed to enlist some mercenaries…” the priest admitted.
“The
same ones who killed Ulric?” the voice asked.
“W-what?”
the priest asked in shock.
“That’s
right.” came the response, slightly louder and angry. “We awoke the other
morning to find our leader missing his head. He has a high bounty, and he’s
garnered quite a reputation around the country, so it could’ve been an
assassin, but if the village has managed to find help then it adds up. I
thought they didn’t have enough money. In fact... you told us they wouldn't be
able to enlist any real help. And here we are; Ulric dead and ten of our men
and woman killed. How many people have they got? Did Francorum send help? You
assured Ulric that that wouldn’t happen.”
“No…
None of the country’s guard or army are here.” the priest protested. “The Order
have made sure of that. I’ve been told the Mayor managed to send a request for
help to some mercenary guild, but it was such a low price that I didn’t think
anyone would show up. But… This morning there were two of them outside the
church when your men attacked.”
“Two!?”
came the voice, outraged and even louder. “You expect me to believe they killed
ten of us with two people?”
“S-stop”
the priest pleaded. Yiannis heard a scuffle and could imagine what was going
on.
“I’ll
tell you what happens next” came the reply. “When I go back we’re going to
mobilize everyone and raze this village to the ground.” he promised.
“Please,
don’t! The plan is working! They’re… losing faith in their god. I swear I can
get them all under my thumb, and then we’ll hand you the two that killed your
friends!” the priest said, his voice laden with panic.
“And
the money you owe us.” the voice said calmly.
“O-of
course! Just a bit more time, and it’ll be done.” The priest assured.
“Two
weeks.” The voice said. “In two weeks we’ll be here, in force. If you’ve
completed your job then we’ll take the mercenaries and the money and leave this
village in peace. If you’ve failed, however, we’ll kill everyone here,
including you, and take your money for ourselves.”
“Two
weeks?” the priest asked. “Y-yes, of course! I’ll be ready! You’ll get
everything I promised you.” he said.
“Yes
I will. Tell me, did any of our men survive?” the voice asked.
The
priest hesitated before replying. “No, the two here managed to kill them all.” he
said with certainty.
The
voice of the bandit sighed. “Even James? A shame. Well then, we’ll see you in
two weeks. We’ll be here when your villagers are meant to be in their chapel,
just like today.”
Yiannis
could just about make out the sound of the window opening and closing again.
Silence followed, and then...
“Fool.”
came the priest’s voice, accompanied by the sound of him sitting down on a
chair. “Threaten me? Why would I tell you they have a hostage then? Two weeks?
No…. there’s no chance. You can have this village, then, but you won’t be
getting me or my money.” he said spitefully.
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