To Whomever finds this,
I am the mayor of the town of Hitsholuh, and it is of grave importance that you take this message to the nearest person working for the armies of Reah. Either that, or a man or men of the law.
My town is besieged by the notorious bandits that call themselves the Desolaters. They have come under the delusion that my fair and respectable town is in ownership of a rare and precious gem, one which could bring a man a fortune beyond belief.
Please believe me when I tell you that my town has nothing of the sort. Where these “Desolaters” have come up with this idea, I cannot fathom.
The crew of bandits, according to our town’s lawman, is comprised of twenty or so men. We are in need of dire help, for they say they will come upon us within the week, burn our peaceful town, mix our ashes with the soot of Gurgamesh.
I beg of you, kind sir or madam, bring me, my family, and my town refuge from these terrible men.
Thank you kindly,
Mayor Voftin
Cuda had to read the letter a second time, a third time, and even a fourth. He wasn’t the most literate man and so it took him some time to decipher the finely printed typography of the gentleman who’d sent it. Never did he think he would ever have to face his old company again. Never did he think he’d hear the name Desolators again in his life.
Hadn’t he been the one to disband them so many years ago? They were nothing without him, so why continue to even try? No, this must have been just a bunch of hungry men who’d banded together and taken a name so feared and famous they figured they could get away with anything.
The thought made Cuda’s blood boil. That was his company, dammit. He’d put it in the dirt and he wasn’t just gonna sit there and let some nobody bring it back from the dead just to trick and manipulate others. Not only that, but he had a duty to see, a law he’d signed an oath of blood to protect.
But damn… a fortune? What if these pretenders somehow had come along some type of information that proved this town was hiding such a gem? He could use it to fuel his dreams of finally escaping the people of this territory. Not only that, but he wouldn’t have to live in some old hut, neither. He could buy himself a house worthy of a man of his stature. He could be rid of this boring old job of his. This gem could change his life.
Either way, he wasn’t gonna stand…err, sit idly while others basked in the glory that was his former company. Only over his dead body… which was a possibility. How long had it been since he’d cracked his whip? Too long, that was for sure. It was about time he blew the dust off her and gave a few good wrist pops.
Now, what to do about the prisoners? There was no way nohow he was just gonna let them sit here unsupervised. No, that crazed one might bite off a finger and craft a skeleton key out of his own damn bone. He wouldn’t put it past Ripper. It was best he go ahead and take care of the three of them.
There wasn’t no real need of having the judge waste his time with the likes of these three. Cuda knew they were guilty, guilty as the damned sun of Reah was blazingly hot. Naw, he could take care of them right here and now. He was a lawman, wasn’t he? That meant he could give a judgement if he saw fit, right?
Damn straight, he could.
Cuda stood himself up, his boots thudding loudly on the ground. The prisoners, all but Ripper, always jumped when he did that. He didn’t do it on purpose, he just had big feet. The bar-fight murderer, Tarx, sat up on his cot and eyed the lawman as he approached.
On his way to the first cell, Cuda clasped his fingers on the toothpick that just so happened to be the nose of the smiley face and plucked it out of the wall. He stopped just outside the bars, peering in at the prisoner. Tarx’s eyes didn’t look up to meet Cuda’s, but they didn’t need to. There was a knowing in them eyeballs.
They both knew the murderer was gonna die, whether it be by the lawman’s hands or by him hanging five feet up from the ground from the metallic limb of a mactus tree. It was his fate. Perhaps he should have watched his temper. Perhaps he should have stopped with the drinking years ago. Perhaps he should have ran for his no-good life.
“Git’r done now, will ya?” asked Tarx, standing up from his cot, carefully so he didn’t bang his head on the bunk above him. His legs were shaking at the knees now. “I just can’t take the anxiety of waitin’ no more.”
“How’s you want it done?” asked Cuda. He tightened his fists and his knuckles cracked, making Tarx wince a bit.
“I want a man’s death. Send me out like a true Reahlic.”
“I’m thinkin’ that can be arranged.”
Tarx looked up at Cuda’s burly chest. Although he was probably bigger than the lawman, he sure didn’t feel much like it now. They both knew who the better man was. They both knew who would do the ass whippin’.
“I ain’t afraid to say I’m scared.”
“That’s admirable,” said Cuda. “And I can respect that.”
Tarx nodded and walked up to the bars while Cuda fished the keys from his pocket. The murderer flinched as the bars, rusty from the years, creaked loudly as they slid upward.
Cuda gestured for him to come on out, and he did so.
“If yer scared, I don’t mind making it a little quicker than a Reahlic death. As I see it, your acceptance of this unfortunate event is honorable enough.”
Tarx dropped to his knees, his back to Cuda. He'd most likely heard or, even more likely, seen the way lawmen had executed bad men in the past. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but it was highly respected with the men and women who traversed the Igneous Plains that made up most of the West of Reah. If you died this way then maybe, just maybe, your sins would be forgiven by the Creator.
But who really knew?
Tarx looked over his shoulder at Cuda, finally meeting his eyes. “You’re a good man, lawman. I accept your kindness.” The murderer turned his head forward and bowed it.
Pulling back his overcoat, Cuda unsheathed his shortsword and prepared himself to perform the Reahlic ritual of execution. He placed the tip of the blade at the nape of the man’s neck and… he popped the hilt with his palm. The sword slid smoothly through the murderer’s throat.
Cuda’s move was so fast that it took a while for the neck to figure out what had just happened. Blood spurted around the edges of the blade, making Tarx gurgle on his own life source. Quickly, the lawman slid the shortsword out from the man’s neck, spun, and cut the head off with a single powerful swipe.
The head slid off and rolled to the back wall.
Gently, Cuda laid the decapitated man down and turned his attention to his next judgement. Ripper was there at the bars, fully in the nude. His tongue hung from his mouth as he panted in excitement at the fresh blood that was now forming into a small puddle.
Cuda unlocked the bars and took a step back. Ripper immediately raised the rusty gate and plopped himself down face-first into the blood. He was bathing in it when the lawman stuck his shortsword into the back of his head in a chopping motion.
Ripper’s body went still, but a few seconds later his arms went frantic one last time. The convulsion lasted so long that Cuda thought he might have to decapitate this one as well, but the man did come to a still after a while.
There was a whimpering from the last cell. Cuda almost felt a tad bit sorry for her as her whimpering turned to a full-on sob. That woman sure was fearful of what was about to come. But, as they say, you reap what you sow.
He felt even a bit worse for her as his boots made a chilling sound as he walked through the two puddles of blood in the direction of her cell. He found the woman, whose name had escaped his noggin, in the corner behind her cot, her stained pillow held out in front of her.
She let out a crazed scream when she saw him walk in front of her cell.
“No! Please! Not like this!”
“Now, now, come on dear. It ain’t all bad. You’ll be in a better place before ya know it.”
The woman shook her head and mouthed the word “no”. She heaved in a shaky
breath, saliva escaping the corners of her mouth. She was sobbing so bad she couldn’t even speak! Boy howdy, was she upset.
“Come now, hun. I gots places to be and you ain’t makin’ my life no easier.”
The woman sniffed and shook her head once more. She dropped the pillow on the bed and, with shaky hands, started to unbutton her dirty old dress.
“That won’t be necessary, madam.” Cuda put a hand out to stop her, but she’d hear none of it. A few seconds later and her breasts were out and about.
Cuda undid the lock, pulled up the bars, and bent low as he strode in. His mind was filled with thoughts that would have made his momma blush. She sure was a pretty little thing, thief or not. He put his hand on her shoulder and she rose to meet him. A little thing she was, as she only made it to about half his height.
The lawman picked up his shortsword and the woman screamed, shuddering under his tightening grasp on her shoulder. She was just about to start punching at him when he tossed the bloodied sword onto her bed. The whimpering stopped right there as she gazed at the thing with wide eyes. Then, looking back up at him, fresh tears streamed from her eyes.
When she started to lower herself below his waist, he pulled her up with one hand and shoved her towards the door. She looked back at him, her mouth agape and her eyebrows raised right to her hairline.
“Go on, git. I gots to be going here pretty soon. Gotta clean this here mess up first.”
The thief started to wail, her arms sagging down to her sides as she ran back to him, embracing the lawman in one big ass hug. It sure was awkward standing there with her. He’d just killed two men and now he was getting embraced. The world sure was a weird place.
When she was done with her hollering, she backed away, sniffling, and nodded her eternal thanks as she made for the exit.
“Honey,” Cuda called after her, and she turned so hard she nearly slipped in the blood. Her eyes were still pleading with him. Did she not want to go? Did she want to stay there with him?
“You better button that there dress. Nudity in public’s against the law, ya hear?”
The woman started to bawl.
Chapter 2
How long’d it been since he saddled up his shagra for a ride? Too long. Too damn long. The beast had sure grown a belly on her! Probably best he stop feeding her so damn much.
Sure, she wasn’t the prettiest thing out there, but she did her job. She got him from Point A to Point B. Maybe not in a timely manner, but that didn’t matter too much to him. Not usually, anyhow. This situation he was in now might have called for a faster transportation animal, but he didn’t have one and he as sure as the four hells were cold didn’t have the money to rent one.
Nope. Bella was his only option.
Bella was a good eight feet long, with hard green skin. Her big belly was carried on four thick, flat-footed legs. Two thin tails swiped aimlessly over her buttocks.
The diet of the shagra consisted mainly of the ash floating freely on the ground, which made them nature’s bottom feeders. Bella was a bit different, however, for she loved her fair share of bugs and other crawly things. In fact, her long face was busy crunching down on a prickly critter when Cuda walked out of the jailhouse.
He’d made a habit when he was moseying around town to fill a pouch with insects that he caught. He must have been a funny sight for the townsfolk. This big man and his badge, wandering around trying to capture fluttering bugs as if he were a little girl. Still, none of ‘em had made a peep about it, no matter how funny they thought it.
As he walked up to her, Bella opened her mouth and waited for him to pop a treat onto her wide, thick tongue. Her eyelids, extra tough to keep ash from flying in and irritating the eyeball, slid open when no treat entered her mouth. Her lazy brown eyes blinked heavily, her mouth still open.
“Now, Bella, it looks like we got ourselves a quest. How long’s it been since we had ourselves a little adventure, huh? Too long, if you ask me. Now, I gots somethin’ to ask you and don’t take offense at what it is I’m about to say but…”
Bella snorted loudly.
“Well, you’ve been stationary for a while and I’m just wonderin’ if you think you’re up to headin’ over to Hitsholuh? I know it’s a good distance away, but—”
Bella knocked her head hard into his gut, forcing the breath out of his lungs. Boy, how long’d it been since he’d been hit? Too long, that’s for damn sure. Too long. And by a damn fat shagra, nonetheless. Cuda couldn’t help but chuckle when he regained the ability to do so.
“Good girl,” he said, petting the wide space between her eyes. He scratched there a bit, sending one of her back legs into a fit. “You sure is a good girl, ain’t ya?”
The saddle didn’t fit, or at least it shouldn’t have, but he damn sure made it. He didn’t want another knock to the gut. Just like a woman, Bella would rather be pretty and uncomfortable than realize and accept she’d eaten a few bugs too many.
Cuda didn’t bother telling the mayor about his little shindig. He knew it would just send the little man’s heart into a rhythm that might give him a fourth heart attack. Nope. Better get this job done on his own. The town would be fine without a lawman for a few sun-cycles. Shit, just the thought of breaking the law in Cuda’s town, even when he wasn’t there, was enough to frighten just about anyone.
But what if he didn’t come back? He and Bella could be fixed up for good if he got his hands on that shiny gem the letter talked about. If it be fantasy, then he had nothing to worry about. But what if it were real? He could feed Bella all the bugs she wanted while he sat on his porch, chewing on a calming reed and maybe even pick up an instrument. He’d always wanted to play the twelve-string.
How would the town fare without him? Would his name do the trick to keep the town safe without his presence? If so, for how long? Oh well, better to live in the present than the future. He’d just let things happen the way they happened. The Creator’s will be done and all that shit.
Cuda had a vague idea where Hitsholuh was and so he directed Bella westward. He didn’t need a map, hell, he didn’t have one even if he needed one. No one that he could recall had ever even mapped the West of Reah, so he'd have to rely on instincts. He could have sworn he’d been there before, just couldn’t remember when. Sometime during his youth, when he was energetic, crazy, and didn’t wake up with an aching back.
The dusty land was flat, dry, cracked, and orange despite the black soot from Gurgamesh. The travel was slower than he’d expected, and he was surprised when he started to feel a little nervous. How long had it taken that glint-flier to bring the message? For all he knew, this mess could have already been taken care of, which meant no fortune for him. He sure as hell hoped he wasn’t putting Bella through this for nothing.
It took them riding—well, more like walking—five sun-cycles before they saw the first signs of human life. Cuda counted nine bandits sitting on choulos, having a meeting of sorts. He kept his distance, of course, trying his very best not to be seen. Better to have the advantage of surprise than not to have it, he reckoned.
A sudden jealousy came over him as he watched a few of the bandits prance around on their choulos--really just big rats, in his opinion. However, maybe he just told himself that because they were mighty expensive to obtain, on account of how fast they were. Well, these ones were probably free, since they were most likely stolen.
If hehad a choulo instead of ol' Bella, then he could have been here in a quarter of the time. Well, he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. He knew he ought to feel pretty bad about wishing he’d had a different mount. Bella was good to him, even if she was slow and moody.
The wind carried the bandits’ words down to his ears but he couldn’t make out much. Just words like “boss”, “riches”, and “drunk”. And, seeing how flat it was here in this neck of the Igneous Plains, there was nowhere to hide. No mactus trees, no molten rock formations, no nothing.
And so, Cuda did what his gut told him
to do. He pushed Bella further along until he was spotted by the nine choulo-riding bandit bastards. He could hear them calling for more reinforcements, as if they couldn’t handle an old man riding on the back of an even older shagra.
“You just stay right there! Ya hear me!”
“Do as the man says and keep yer distance!”
Cuda didn’t stop Bella, but kept on keeping on.
“We said ter stop! You deaf or somethin’?”
“One more step and we gonna…oh he took another step. Phlegm, you see that? That dingleberry took another step when I told him to not take another step! Ya hear me?”
“Yes, siree, he took another step, he sure did. Yup, another step he sure did take.”
Cuda could feel his blood a-boiling, and it had only been less than a minute. Boy howdy, how he thought he’d rid himself of that damn temper of his. How long’d it been since he’d had his buttons pushed? Too long. Too damn long.
Bella was a good twenty feet away when the men drew their swords and surrounded the two of them with their choulos. They took a break from speaking to show off how much better than his their mount was. They would ride up real close-like to Bella, pull up on their reins to reveal the yellow rat fangs, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of the poor ol' girl. But did she falter? Did she bow her head? Did she shudder? Nope. She sure as the four hells were cold didn’t.
Once they were done parading around, they brought their choulos in a line right in front of him. None of them spoke, but rather looked at each other, hoping someone else would start doing the speaking. Before long, with nothing going on, the choulos got bored and started pulling their round bodies out of formation, sniffing the ground in hopes of finding a tasty treat.
Cuda figured it was time he broke the silence and tell these idiots what for. “Any of you got brains in this party of yer's?”
He’d gone five sun-cycles without speaking and forgotten how deep his voice was. This took the bandits by surprise as well, as they couldn’t really make out the man behind all the rags that kept the ash from getting into his mouth. They peered at him, wondering who this powerful-sounding person might be.
Ragged Heroes: An Epic Fantasy Collection Page 18
