The Wayward Knight

by Carfagno, Charles

  “I think they’ll attack me on my way out of town, so can you help me escape?”

  “You’re leaving?” She looked scared.

  “No. I just need to reach the woods and find their leader. I’ll make him and his men think twice about hurting anyone ever again.”

  “The only other way out of here is through…” She was saying when a few men entered the inn and started asking about Tracs. “They’re back. What are you going to do?”

  “How do I get out of here?”

  “Come with me.” She said and led him into the storage room and opened the trapdoor. “This will lead you out.”

  Tracs climbed down.

  The thugs started roughing people up until someone said where Tracs had gone. They went into the storage room just as the serving girl was coming out.

  “Where is he?” One of them demanded.

  “Who?”

  Her question riled him up, and he slapped her so hard she fell to the ground. Another thug picked her up.

  “Where is he?” The same man who hit her asked.

  She didn’t respond, and he punched her in the stomach with his gauntleted hand, knocking the air from her lungs and cracking a few ribs.

  “Look for him.” He demanded the others.

  Three of the men took the stairs leading up to the rooms. Two men searched the storage room, while the commander remained with the girl.

  The men in the storage room, found the trapdoor easily enough and when they opened it, darkness stared back at them.

  “Go ask the girl where this leads.” One of them said.

  “If it goes to the outside, then he might be already gone.” The other man replied.

  “Go find out.” He said and shoved him.

  “He’s armed.”

  “Just go find out.”

  The outlaw approached the girl. “Where does the trapdoor go?” He asked.

  She was about to be hit again for not answering fast enough, when she said it led to the outside.

  “Go find out if he escaped.” The commander said and grabbed the girl by the throat. “You shouldn’t have helped him.” He began tightening his grip, cutting off her supply of air. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you.” He looked her up and down. “I’ll be back later tonight, and you’re going to please me. Do you understand?”

  She nodded, and he released his hold. She fell to the ground gasping for air and coughing.

  Two of the men entered the large basement, while the rest went outside to surround the building. When they found the cellar door opened, they began searching the town.

  After Tracs entered the basement, he quickly went to the cellar door and opened it. He was going to make a run for it, but thought it was too risky knowing there were at least five or six men inside of the inn, and maybe more outside watching the building. He decided to leave the door open and hide instead, hoping they’d think he’d already left.

  Tracs knew his deception had worked, when the two men left the basement. He stayed hidden behind several barrels of ale, for a while just to make sure, they weren’t coming back. He thought about going upstairs, but decided against it, because he didn’t want to endanger anyone else. In his heart, and every fiber of his existence, he knew what he must do and prayed to Zerawen to take his soul if he should fall in this endeavor.

  Shortly after nightfall, he left the safety of the building. Outside it was quiet. Tracs held his crossbow firmly in his hands and went behind the building. The town wasn’t all that big, so he would use the windows of each building looking for them. The first three turned up empty, and as he was looking in the fourth, he heard several men having a conversation about his banner. Tracs crept around front and saw four men walking away with their backs to him. He looked for others, but didn’t see any.

  Tracs went to the back of the buildings and followed the men in parallel until he was ahead of them and ran up the side of the building and waited until they passed.

  “That’s far enough. Drop your weapons and come here.” Tracs ordered.

  The men turned at once and saw him pointing a crossbow.

  “And what are you going to do with that?” The man on the left said and unsheathed his sword. “You only have one shot, and then we’ll be all over you before you get your sword out.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, so if I were you, I’d do as you were told otherwise I’ll start with you.” Tracs threatened. He knew at least one of them would take a change by either throwing a dagger or charging him, but he was ready for such an attempt. “Last chance before I fire.”

  Just as he predicted, the man on the right reached behind his back, and another charged him. Tracs fired as he was dropping down to his right knee and hit both in their heads. The other two men stayed rooted where they were and kept their hands on their sides.

  “Unless you want to die as well, lose your weapons and drag their bodies over here and then get on your knees. I have questions.”

  They did as commanded.

  Tracs faced both men. “If you don’t answer my questions, then I will have your lives as well. Do you understand?” He said.

  They nodded.

  “How many men do you have?”

  “Twenty, I mean eighteen.” The one on the right quickly answered.

  “Which is it?”

  “Eighteen, because you just killed two of us.”

  “Who’s running this group?”

  “Traybor the mighty.” The other man answered.

  “We’ll see how mighty the coward is when I get through with him. Why did he take over this town?”

  “He saw it as an easy mark.”

  “Where is your boss now?”

  The men were hesitant to answer until Tracs pointed Recur at their faces. “Keep in mind that my weapon does not require me to reload it.” He warned.

  “If we tell you are you going to kill us?” The man on the left asked.

  “Wait a second. Your faith forbids you from doing so if your opponent is helpless, am I right Knight of the Blessed?” The other chimed in.

  His question almost made Tracs chuckle. “You seem to know about my faith. You’re right. I will not kill you if you cooperate and don’t do anything stupid.” Tracs reassured them. “So where is he?”

  “A half-mile to the north.” The man on the left answered before his companion did.

  “How many men are in this town?”

  “Ten not including us.”

  “Where are they?” Tracs demanded.

  “The first building on your right as you entered the town."

  “Are there any more men walking around?”

  “No. We patrol in groups of four.” The one on the right offered.

  “When are you expected to return from your shift?”

  “Within the hour.”

  “We’re going into the basement of the inn. You will remain there until I deal with Traybor, then you’re free to go. Get up slowly and take the bodies with you.” Tracs nudged Recur in the direction of the basement.

  The thugs did as they were instructed, and once they were in the cellar; Tracs closed the door behind them. He ordered one of the men, to tie up the other, with a length of rope from his backpack. Tracs waited until he was finished before tying the other guy up. For added measures, Tracs used another piece of rope and tied them together, gagged them, and then went upstairs.

  Tracs waited for the serving girl, who had helped him before, to enter the storage room and when she did, he came out of hiding. He gazed upon her swollen face, blackened eyes, and split lip, and it saddened him tremendously. It was a reminder that these men were evil, and the ones in the basement were just as guilty. He was going to let her guard them until he was finished with their leader, but he had better idea.

  “Come with me.” He said to her.

  She followed him into the basement. Her eyes fell upon the two dead men first and then the ones tied up.

  “Tell me about these men?” Tracs asked her.

 
The girl pointed to the one on the left. “This one raped a friend of mine and that one, killed a defenseless older couple.”

  Tracs handed her his crossbow, and the men began struggling against their restraints realizing what might happen.

  Tracs looked them again. “I kept my word that I would not kill you, so I am going to leave it in her hands.” He said.

  The girl held the weapon up to her shoulder. “This is for the couple you savagely killed. They were the nicest people in this town. He was a farmer and she was a midwife, who brought me into this world. I condemn you to death.” She said and fired the crossbow until it ran out of ammunition.

  The other prisoner opened his eyes and saw his friend with bolts sticking out of his body. He panicked and began squirming trying to free himself from his bonds, but it was useless; they were too tight. Tracs took the crossbow from the girl, reloaded it, and handed it back to her.

  She eyed the prisoner for several long seconds. “This is for the sweetest girl; I've ever known. She was going to marry her sweetheart and have children, but now because of you, and your men, she will never be able too. I hate you and wish you eternal damnation.” She let her words hang in the air before firing.

  Tracs eased the weapon away from her and removed the bolts from their lifeless bodies and reloaded it.

  “I’m proud of you.” He said to her.

  “It felt good to make them pay.” She replied.

  “It sure does. What do you know about their leader Traybor?”

  “He’s vile. He killed a lot of people singlehandedly.”

  “Were they all defenseless like your friend and the elderly couple?”

  “No. Most of them were trained with weapons.”

  “Is he that good of a fighter?”

  “Yes and no. I saw him get hit, but didn’t appear to get hurt.”

  Tracs immediately thought that he might be either dealing with a demon or Traybor has something that allows him to ward off damage. “Was he wearing armor?” He asked.

  “Yes, like yours, but more of it.” She paused. “What are you going to do?”

  “Kill him.” Tracs said without emotion. “Let’s hide the bodies over in the corner and place barrels in front of them. After I leave, bar the door to the outside and if more men come looking for them, get out and hide. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, thank you for helping. Please be careful.”

  Tracs touched her swollen face with his hand in a gesture that offered her a level of comfort she didn’t expect.

  Tracs decided it was better to travel on foot, so he left his horse where it was, and walked straight ahead into the woods. When he was far enough away from the town that no one could see him, he activated a glow rock to help guide him through the darkness. Tracs took his time, so that when he reached their camp, Traybor and his men might be asleep and that would definitely give him the element of surprise.

  Eventually, a campfire came into view and Tracs deactivated the glow rock and crept closer using the trees to help conceal his presence. The men were making enough noise to wake the dead while drinking excessively. He inched his way closer, until he saw them seated around the fire. Eight total, he counted, which meant one was missing if the prisoners hadn’t lied. He wondered if Traybor was among them. While waiting for them to pass out from the ale, he regularly scanned the area for the ninth, but never discovered him.

  An hour later, they began dropping over and passing out and that was his clue to move in and begin sending them to the afterlife. He felt odd doing it this way, but there were just too many of them. Step-by-step, he kept an eye on the sleeping men and continued looking for the ninth member. After rechecking the crossbow chamber to make sure it was full; he stepped out of the trees with it trained on the sleeping men. He was about to begin sending them to the afterlife, when someone spoke from his right.

  “I can smell your clean soul from a mile away.”

  Tracs quickly looked that way and saw a handsome man in heavy black armor holding a two-handed sword in his hands. Tracs pointed Recur at him. He could feel evil radiating from him.

  “You must be Traybor.” Tracs said.

  “I am. Are you here to save the town?”

  “If saving them means taking your life, then yes.”

  Traybor grinned. “Do you think you can defeat me?”

  “Of that I am sure.”

  “I love a challenge, so let’s make a deal. If you beat me in a fair contest, I’ll take my men and leave.”

  “I don’t make deals with the likes of your kind.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “You reek of evil and evil must be stopped at all costs.”

  “You’re so judgmental aren’t you? And tell me the difference between you and me? We both have our causes. We’re just on opposite sides.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Hurting people is an offense to mankind and malevolence like that needs to be destroyed.” Tracs said angrily.

  “Oh come, come. They’re just sheep; that's all they are. Does it matter if they die today or tomorrow? We all have to someday.”

  Some of the men began to stir, which caught Tracs’ attention, but he kept his eyes on Traybor.

  “As long as my Order exists we’ll oppose evil.”

  Traybor laughed. “Maybe so, but right now you’re just one man.”

  From his left, Tracs sensed someone moving triggering his instincts to take over. He fired Recur twice at Traybor and then turned and fired the crossbow at anyone moving. A rising guard went down when a bolt tore through his throat, and another fell after he was struck him in the chest. A third was shot in the arm and screamed. His cries woke the others. Tracs unleashed every bolt in the chamber until Traybor’s men lay dead. He looked around for Traybor, but he was nowhere in sight, leaving Tracs to believe; he was headed to town for reinforcements. Tracs recovered several bolts, and then ran in the direction of the town, and didn’t stop until he reached the outskirts. He reloaded his weapon while looking for Traybor and his men. When he didn’t see them, he ran to the inn and entered.

  Inside of the inn, the serving girl saw Tracs and met him by the door. “What happened?” She eagerly asked.

  “Did you see Traybor?”

  She shook her head no.

  “Did his men come looking for the others?” Tracs quickly asked.

  She nodded again.

  Tracs looked outside and then back at her. “I confronted Traybor but he got away. I need to go back out there and find him.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Please don’t go it’s too dark. He’ll kill you.”

  Tracs knew she was right, but to wait until morning might prove equally as disastrous. “Is there anyone else that will help me fight?”

  “Railsa might. He lives over there.” She pointed to several houses away.

  “Do you think he will?”

  “He’s an old war veteran, so he might.”

  Tracs thanked her and left.

  He was nearing Railsa’s house when Traybor’s men came out from behind the bushes. They were pointing crossbows at him.

  “Don’t move or you’re dead.” One of the guards said.

  Tracs froze.

  “Put your weapons down. You’re coming with us.” Another said.

  Tracs counted eight, which was far too many to fight. At best, he would get two maybe three shots off, but that was it. He conceded and placed Recur on the ground.

  One of the guards removed his sword and dagger.

  “The boss wants to see you again.” The guard said smirking.

  Tracs was shoved all the way to the last house on his left, and once they were inside; he escorted to a room to the far back of the house. Sitting by the window illuminated by several candles was Traybor, dressed in a cotton shirt, leggings, and high-boots. He looked very comfortable sitting an oversized chair with a flagon of ale in hand. One of the guards, handed Tracs’ crossbow to Traybor.

  “This is such a nice weapon.” Traybo
r said and studied it. “Have a seat? I want to finish the conversation that we were having before we were so rudely interrupted.” Traybor said pointing to the chair across from him.

  Traybor’s men kept their weapons on Tracs until he was seated and then took up position behind Traybor just in case Tracs had any ideas of attacking their leader.

  “You intrigue me, whoever you are, so let’s start with a formal introduction, shall we? Since you already know my name, why not tell me yours?”

  Tracs didn’t respond.

  “We can do this the hard way,” he pointed the crossbow directly at Tracs, “which I don’t mind, or we can talk like we’re long lost friends. The choice is yours, so please don’t let me ask again.”

  “My name is Tracs.”

  “Glad to meet you Tracs. What Order do you hail from?”

  “The Order of the Blessed Knight.”

  “I knew it.” Traybor sounded excited. “I’ve met a few men from there. They were so righteous in their cause. Too bad I had to put them down, like wild animals.”

  His words lingered, but Tracs didn’t let that bother him. He knew Traybor was probably just trying to get under his skin.

  “I hope you will be a better opponent, when we fight tomorrow morning.”

  “Will it be a fair fight?” Tracs eyed his men.

  “Of course. I love to test my skills and frankly; no one in this town measures up.”

  “What Order do you serve?” Tracs asked.

  “I serve several and worship many gods. They don’t mind as long as I make sacrifices every month.”

  “I guess that I’m one of them?”

  Traybor smiled. “To offer you in combat, will gain me favor with the one.”

  “And which one is that?”

  “You’ll find out. Do you know what really excites me about tomorrow’s fight? You won’t have your crossbow. It’s very impressive, by the way, so when you’re dead it will be mine. I don’t like to claim a weapon without earning it in combat. I consider it a bad omen.”

  Tracs looked at him. “When I’m finished with you, I’ll be sure to kill every man in your service with it.”

  “If you kill me. And by the way, you owe me for the men you already killed, so I’ll collect the money from your Order or maybe find out where your family lives.”