Soldiers' Redemption (First Cohort Book 1)

by M. R. Anthony

  “The town is ripe for insurrection,” she said, her jaw firmly set. “I can feel the uncertainty as it ebbs and flows from its people. They are scared, but they do not like being a base for Warmont’s men. I am sure that once they have heard what happened in Treads they will have realised that the flow of soldiers from Blades will not end. If they hoped for respite, they will know now that they are not going to get it.”

  “I agree with what you say,” I told her. “But how do you plan to instigate a rebellion here? If we march through their outskirts, all will be confusion and we will find ourselves fighting citizen and soldier alike. We do not have the men for such a battle and the men we do have are not trained for it.”

  “I will go there,” she said, in her voice that would brook no dissent. “I will speak to the people myself.”

  Having been given the unwelcome conclusion, I was left scrambling for the tools to bring the plan to its fruition.

  “I’ll come with you,” I said. “Jon Ploster too. And some other people who I will pick for the task.”

  “Very well, Captain Charing. Pick them quickly and we will leave in half an hour. I would like to be within the town by this evening.”

  I was nothing if not efficient under pressure. There were six of us who left our camp, fifteen minutes after I had spoken to our lady. Aside from me, Ploster and the Saviour, I brought Lieutenant Faye with us, since she claimed to know the town well. I also brought Heavy and Scram. My face would draw attention because of its tattoos, so I wore a low hood to conceal my face. In the dark, I hoped to pass for a man with dark skin from the far south. Heavy and Scram had their own tattoos, but theirs ended at the neck. They drew attention of their own with their hulking appearance, but I hoped that we would pass off as the bodyguards of a rich noblewoman or something similar. It was with regret that I left behind our armour, since it seemed too likely to betray us and too difficult to conceal.

  I did keep one secret from our lady. Two others from the First Cohort accompanied us as well, in the form of Eyeball and Twist. We didn’t see them as we made the walk to the town and I was certain that no one else would see them either, at least unless those two chose to be seen. I was convinced that they used some sort of magical finesse or power to keep themselves so well hidden, but magic of a sort that even Ploster or our lady could not detect. I supposed that if a magic existed that kept a person hidden, then it made sense that other magics could not detect it.

  The closer we got to the town, the more people we saw on the road. There were at least three other heavily-guarded wagons on the road we travelled, so we did not look out of place. The Duke claimed to bring the rule of law to his lands, but in reality, death was so common that only a fool would not take the utmost of precautions to prevent an unexpected visitation by it.

  “Gold is bigger than Treads,” Lieutenant Faye reminded us, though we had already heard much of what she knew about the town. “The soldiers here may be unwelcome, but their coin is not, and soldiers are usually paid on time. Don’t be surprised if you see the results of many industries set up to serve the requirements of these men.”

  “Prostitution, you mean,” said our lady.

  “Yes, lady. There will be prostitutes, pick-pockets and more taverns than you can visit in a year of trying. And they’ll likely all be busy. Tonight, there’ll be trouble. There always is when soldiers arrive, and Garg’s men will be looking for people to take their anger out on. I doubt it will be pretty.”

  I knew the like, though I’d never permitted the men of the First Cohort to participate. We did occasionally get involved in trouble, but it was mostly unwanted and the men knew I didn’t tolerate their behaviour if they were the ones who had instigated it.

  The foot traffic steadily increased and as we rounded a low hill, we caught a glimpse of the town. It sprawled out across a wide basin below us, the buildings more densely clustered near to the river that ran through its centre. It was early evening and lights were visible through most of the windows, giving the place the appearance of vibrancy and life.

  “Is this what Blades is like?” our lady asked. Her question wasn’t quite asked in wonder, but I knew she was fascinated by what she saw.

  “No, my lady. Blades is much larger than this. Gold might be a large town or it might be a small city. I do not know how the people classify it. The Duke’s capital spreads across much more area than this. As it happens, Blades is not the most populous of cities. The Duke has his habits and those habits have driven away many of his people to places like Ranks and Chore in the south, or Flense to the far east. Nowadays, the Duke sates his lusts by having his justiciars bring in children from further afield, so that the burden is spread more thinly across his lands.”

  “Is he truly as hideous a man as he is in all the tales, Captain Charing?”

  “He is all of those things and more. The tales of his kidnappings are true, and I would hate to imagine what happens to the young girls that are brought into his keep.”

  “How did you manage to serve him for so long, Captain?” she asked quietly. “I have read your heart and you are not an evil man.”

  “I do not know the answer to your question, my lady. Or if I do, I have buried it so deep that I cannot form the words to say it. All I know is that you have lifted a veil from us and have given us a chance to redeem ourselves. In our own eyes, at least.”

  “I pray that your deeds will allow you to rest at peace, Captain Charing.”

  “I hope so too, more than anything.”

  The time for this conversation ended and we passed between the first of the buildings which formed the outskirts of Gold.

  Nineteen

  Gold was not a pretty town, but there again not many were in the Duke’s lands. Where stability is fleeting and learning discouraged, there is no room for architects to flourish. There was no point in building a magnificent edifice which could stand upright through the power of mathematics alone, when it could get torn down at any point. I was aware that the Emperor had a passing interest in architecture – if he hoped to leave behind buildings as a reminder of his existence I didn’t know, but closer to his seat of power there were many grand and beautiful structures. In truth, I suspected that the Emperor planned to outlive all of them, such was his conceit.

  The streets of Gold were shabbily paved, with cracked and broken stone slabs, worn to the point of shattering by the constant rumblings of carts and wagons. There seemed to be little impetus to repair them and we had to watch our footing even more than had we been on a march over a hillside covered in scree. To the sides, the buildings were run down and ramshackle. I guessed that much of the building work in the city had taken place three hundred years or more ago, and everything had been left at that. The town had probably been wealthy and forward-looking all those years ago. Now, it was little more than an overpopulated and seedy backwater for soldiers and petty criminals, who lived incongruously side-by-side.

  “What a shit hole,” muttered Scram, as he delivered an open-palmed wallop to a wiry urchin who had hoped to steal something of value from the soldier’s pockets.

  “Fuck you!” yelled the boy, once he’d scrambled back into the comparative safety of a side street.

  “Yeah and fuck you too,” said Scram, not even turning to look.

  If the urchin had been successful in his thieving, we’d have been overrun by them in minutes. Scram’s quick hand had shown them that we were not easy pickings and I hoped they’d stay back. I had sympathy for those in poverty, but none for those who turned to crime to alleviate it.

  We continued on our way, our goal uncertain. I think our lady had simply planned to see what happened when she showed her face. She did get a certain amount of attention, with many people staring as she walked by, their mouths drooping in wonder. Often, they’d just turn away and resume what they’d been doing beforehand.

  “It’s going to be harder here,” our lady said. “Many of these people have little hope of anything at all, beyond their ne
xt meal, or their next mug of ale.”

  “Maybe the Duke’s men have been here for so long that the people have forgotten that they wished to be free,” I ventured.

  “These are the poorest areas on the outskirts of town,” said Lieutenant Faye. “They have always been poor and I think they always will be. Everywhere you go, there are people who care nothing for others and nothing for themselves. The men and women here will grow old and die where you see them now, and their children likewise. There are other parts of Gold where the eyes of its citizens glow brightly with hatred when they speak of the Duke and his men.”

  “I hope you are correct,” said our lady. “I can feel the despair here. My power washes over and around them, but they are blind to it.”

  “Let us see what happens deeper within the town,” said Lieutenant Faye.

  Onward we went. I kept my eyes cast down, so that my hood would fall further over my face and keep my tattoos hidden from view. In hindsight, I thought that I should have sent Lieutenant Craddock or Sinnar along with the party. I trusted them as much as I trusted myself, but it seemed that my desire for control was stronger than my desire to take the most sensible course of action. I berated myself and resolved to learn from it.

  Soon we passed out of the seedier outskirts and found ourselves walking along wide, cobbled lanes, in a much better state of repair than those we’d left behind. Carts rattled along, carrying people and their wares to destinations unknown, and we had to keep close to the sides to avoid them. Our lady walked regally and openly, her eyes meeting those of everyone who would look back. The people had begun to stop in our wake and stare after us, talking amongst themselves. Already I had noticed that the radiance which our lady projected around her was gaining in strength, where previously its message of hope had been suppressed by an all-encompassing despair.

  Shops and taverns lined the streets here. People travelled in numbers, suggesting that business was good for the shop keepers and ale men. Prostitutes of both sexes loitered around near to most of the taverns, their empty, hollow eyes anxiously scanning the crowds for their next customer. There were signs of Garg’s men here, with soldiers standing in groups on the street, drinking ale and leering at passing women. Most of them hadn’t even bothered to change out of their livery and others sported their armour and weapons as a way of intimidating the locals. The citizens of Gold gave them a wide berth, evidently aware that the soldiers were looking for trouble. We walked past unmolested, with the soldiers’ eyes seeming to skate over our lady as if they found her difficult to focus on. Our lady was striking to behold, and I wondered at what was happening.

  “These men don’t see you, my lady,” I said to her.

  She smiled back at me. “They see me, Captain Charing. But they are lost to me. Their eyes look for the weak and vulnerable, which makes it difficult for them to see what I am. The power of the human mind to fool itself is enormous.”

  “So I have concluded myself,” I replied. “But this is the first time I have seen it so clearly demonstrated.”

  “We should find somewhere to stay for the night,” she said. “Somewhere with clean sheets and comfortable beds.”

  “Are we planning to stay?” I asked. “Time is of the essence. Your men cannot stay hidden in the hills for long.”

  “Don’t worry, Captain Charing. We won’t be here for long.”

  Our conversation was interrupted by a scream, fifty yards further along the crowded street. Our eyes scanned ahead to determine the nature of the trouble and soon we could hear an exchange of words.

  “Get off me you bastards! Only one of you paid so only one of you can have me!”

  There was some jeering, accompanied by the cruel voices of men used to getting their way.

  “You ain’t worth four Royals for a tumble, you bitch. You get six of us for that price.”

  “Fuck off, take your money back. I don’t want none of you!”

  By now, we had drawn level with the altercation and watched as six men jostled and pawed at a young woman.

  “Too late for that now, bitch,” said one of the men. “My balls are full to bursting and you’re going to get some in every hole, whether you want it or not.”

  An area of the street surrounding them had cleared, almost as if by magic. Passers-by ducked their heads and changed the direction of their travel, so that they went past on the opposite side of the street. I’d seen this many times before – it was as if the soldiers and the prostitute had somehow become invisible. I knew that no one would intervene.

  “Stop them, Captain Charing. These are my people, not theirs.”

  I saw the familiar set of the jaw and the anger in our lady’s eyes. I didn’t even bother to open my mouth to suggest that it would be more sensible if we did the same as all the other citizens.

  I strode over to the group, with Scram, Heavy and Lieutenant Faye at my side. I felt Ploster gather himself in case his sorcery would be needed, but I wasn’t concerned. The soldiers had managed to tear half of the prostitute’s clothes away, baring her heavy breasts as they tugged at her and leered. Their eyes seemed almost wild and I thought they might even rape her on this busy street, which told me how the rule of law meant little here.

  “That’s the Saviour’s child, you fuckers,” I said calmly. The group of soldiers fell silent at once, as if I’d removed the tongues from each of their mouths.

  The first one to recover his composure faced me. He was a corporal by the markings on his shoulder and a big man, coming almost up to my height. “Piss off, this is the Duke’s business,” he said with a snarl.

  “This town doesn’t belong to the Duke. It belongs to our lady,” I said, pulling back my hood.

  “Fuck, it’s those Cohort bastards!” said one of the soldiers.

  The corporal’s hand reached down towards a dagger hilt sticking from the top of his belt. It was the wrong move and I thundered a punch into his temple, knocking him sideways onto the ground. He didn’t put out a hand to slow his fall and I knew he was unconscious before he struck the ground. His head made a sickening crack as it bounced off the stone.

  “That woman is under my lady’s protection,” I said to the other soldiers loudly. “As are all the people of Gold. Now fuck off before I kill every last one of you!”

  I was good at dealing with soldiers and I was very good at intimidating them when I had to. I’d been a lieutenant once and had gained something of a reputation as a slave driver before I became captain, whereupon it was widely acknowledged that I become mellower. The five men remaining hardly spent long sizing us up, realising that they were outclassed. A couple of them glanced down at their fallen corporal. He didn’t make any noise at all and a pool of blood had started to emerge from under his head; he was definitely dead. His men showed little inclination to follow him and they inched slowly away until they judged themselves far enough distant that they could turn their backs to us and walk off smartly in the opposite direction. Pride can get a man killed easily enough, and it was fortunate for these soldiers that they had none.

  The prostitute had gathered her clothing about her once more, to hide herself from the crowd which had now gathered to stare. I looked at her and saw that she was little older than our lady, though her eyes told a story of a different beginning and a different future. She didn’t look at the Saviour, instead fixing her gaze directly on me.

  “Is it true?” the girl asked.

  “Is what true?” I responded, uncertain as to what she asked.

  “Am I really her child?”

  “I spoke the truth, girl,” I said to her. “The Saviour has come and she will take back this town.”

  Her eyes moistened and she glanced at the red-robed figure across from her. “I hope so, sir. I hope so.”

  “What’s your name,” I asked, without knowing why.

  “I’m Lilith, sir.”

  I threw her a fifty Royal coin, which reflected the light as it spun towards her. “Forget your work tonight, Lilith. Go and
find somewhere nice. I want your future to be better than your past.”

  I turned away from her and returned to where Ploster and our lady waited. Behind me, I heard a voice. “Thank you, sir.” I continued on my way, fearful to think that I might be re-joining humanity once more.

  By now, the curious onlookers had swollen in numbers and I had to squeeze my way through them, with Scram, Heavy and Lieutenant Faye in my wake. We weren’t jostled or threatened, but there was a buzz of chatter around us.

  “I felt what you did to her, Captain Charing,” said our lady. “When she saw me, I brought her hope, but you have shown her that hope itself is not an empty promise. Thank you.”

  I didn’t know what to say so I kept my mouth closed, rather than open it and risk filling the air with vapid nonsense. I had seen something in Lilith’s face that had touched me and I didn’t know what it was. I had never had a daughter of my own, though there was a time that I wished I’d been blessed with one.

  “The Farmer’s Market isn’t far ahead,” said Lieutenant Faye. “It’s been a good few years since I came here though. Last time I visited, the market sold something of everything, rather than just farmers’ wares.”

  The market was exactly where Lieutenant Faye had remembered it to be. I could tell that we were getting closer as the traffic on the streets increased its pace almost imperceptibly, with the crowds becoming denser as though we were heading along a huge funnel. People washed around us and we walked almost serenely at our own pace, until we emerged into a large plaza, filled with stalls and booths. It was crowded, though not so much that we were crushed as we made progress.

  “How many people live in Gold?” I asked Lieutenant Faye.

  “It used to be as many as forty thousand, I believe,” she said. “I think that the native population has dwindled in recent years.”

  “I hope we don’t have to take the town by force,” I responded. “We’ve not got enough if they don’t want us here.”