Given that I had nothing better to do I looked around the longhouse. It was a large building, about the size of the banquet hall back in Forsburg. However, it wasn’t all open space. On one side were two long tables parallel to each other and a third smaller one perpendicular to the other two. Then there was the large hearth with a kitchen area opposite to it. Further into the longhouse there was a wall and a long hallway with doors on either side of it that lead to individual rooms. At the end of the hall was a door which led to what I assumed was the boss’s room. I assumed this because that is where they took him to look after his wounds. The whole structure was made of wood, which was no surprise given it was in the middle of the eastern forest near the foothills of the great eastern mountain range.
What surprised me about the main room was that it was quite well decorated. On the walls were various paintings, murals and tapestries. I don’t know what I expected to see, but it certainly wasn’t such a homey place. I guess the tales of bandits living in the forest I had read painted a more rugged picture. The longhouse and the surrounding property more resembled a small logging village than the den of cutthroats and thieves. But on a certain level, I realized, it all made sense. These people needed to live here year round in all weather and likely could not always rely on what they stole from passing merchants and tax men.
They live a lot more normal a life here than I would have thought, I said to my sword.
What were you expecting? Tree houses and bonfires? Caves full of treasure? You seem to think all those fairy tales and stories were factual instead of fanciful.
It’s not like that. I guess I never really thought about it before; how you would live as a bandit living in the forest I mean.
Well, anyone who wants to live through the winter, especially this close to the mountains, is going to want a roof over their heads and a hearth for fires. Think about it kid, no one comes out here this far into the frontier. They likely have nothing to lose from having a permanent encampment here.
Yeah, you are probably right. It will make staying here more comfortable. I worried I would be huddled up in a cave or something.
Who would want to live that way? Especially with all this wood around. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that building a real house to live in would make your life better out here in the wilds.
Just then Sapphire strode over to me.
“Alright kid, here is the deal. The Boss is sedated and his wounds have been seen to properly. However, as he is sedated, you and he are going to have a hard time having a meaningful discussion. So, for now, till the Boss says otherwise, you stay in one of the spare rooms. There are eight rooms in the hallway, excluding the Boss’s at the end of the hall, and only seven people living here, so you take the unoccupied room on the right. It’s got a straw bed and a chamber pot. The privy is out behind the longhouse on the side farthest from the water. You keep your own room clean, you empty out your own chamber pot and when we figure out what to do with you, you will have chores. This isn’t an inn, nor is it your mom’s house. We all work here and you will too. Now I’ve got shit to do, so you’re going to have to entertain yourself.”
And with that, Sapphire marched off. I decided this was my cue to go check out my room. I walked to the end of the hall, turned right, and found the unoccupied room that was now mine apparently. It was one of two right near the boss’s room. Upon entering it was obvious it was being used as a spare storage room. The bed and the chamber pot were in the back, but the front had a few empty boxes sitting on a couple of barrels. There were spider webs between the barrels and the wall.
“Ah, I see you found your room… Such as it is,” said a male voice behind me.
Startled, I turned around quickly clutching my sheathed sword. The man standing behind me was of average height and weight, dark hair with some salt and pepper grey in it, and was wearing a blood stained smock over a shirt and breaches.
“Sorry to startle you” he said. Noticing I was staring at his bloodstained smock, he said “and sorry about the appearance. I only just finished stitching up the boss. He should be fine with some healing. Fortunately, nothing important was damaged.”
“Oh, you’re a doctor?” I asked.
“My name is Ross” said the man. “I am both the chaplain and the healer here. Unfortunately, my skills as a healer are more frequently needed than my skills as a spiritual guide. But then, what do you expect in a bandit camp, eh?”
“My name it Tyr, Tyr Janus” I stammered out, relaxing a little bit. “And I didn’t know what to expect.”
“I don’t doubt you didn’t. After all, this camp wasn’t what I expected when I found it either.”
“Oh when did you come here?” I asked.
“Oh five or so years ago. I was an initiate in the church learning how to be a healer. Unfortunately, I read a few things I wasn’t supposed to, there was a misunderstanding and I decided it was time to seek my fortune elsewhere.”
“You didn’t set out to be a bandit then?” I asked.
“Hah, no. Sort of an odd profession to aim for as a priest and a healer.”
“I guess,” I replied. I was not sure how to respond to that.
“But why are you here, if you don’t mind me asking?” Said Ross.
“Well, um, yeah…” I stammered again. “I grew up at my parents’ farm in Forsburg. There was an accident involving some inquisitors and… Well, there isn’t anything for me to return to now.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But if you don’t mind me prying, what was the accident?”
“I don’t… I mean that… Well… I’m told everything exploded. I was apparently found amidst the wreckage. There was… nothing left…” I’m not sure why I was being so open about this with the man. After all, he was a former priest and the inquisition was an arm of the church. But then again, his people just killed a bunch of inquisitors, so I was inclined to trust him in spite of his background.
“I see…” He said. “And how do you find yourself here? After all, it is not every day that the Boss comes back with a person instead of something of value… Sorry, that sounds bad. What I mean is like money, food or supplies. Something with a monetary value. Like, the Boss doesn’t usually come back with new people instead of money.”
“No, no apologies needed. I know what you meant.” I said. “How I got here was that your friends rescued me from an inquisition patrol that had me locked up in the back of the wagon we came here on. I think they were hoping there was money aboard.”
“And how did you get from being found in the wreckage of your house to being in the back of a locked wagon being led away by the inquisition?”
“Well, you see, after I got out of the hospital, I was taken in by the mayor, but because of how I was found, he notified the inquisition. So they came and picked me up after I had gotten better. It just so happened that your friends thought they were tax collectors that brings me here now.”
“I see… Well, that allays my curiosity… For now. Let me just ask you one final question. Are you prone to headaches?”
“Uh… Yes actually. How did you know?”
“For now, let’s just say it’s because I’m a healer. See you later, Tyr.”
Well, that was ominous.
What do you mean ominous?
He pumps you for information about how you came to be locked up in the back of a cart driven by the inquisition and then already knows you have problems with headaches? He knows something. Something he was not willing to share with you.
You think so? I’m not so sure. If I just found out there was a new member of a gang I was a part of, I think I would be curious too.
There is curious and there is prying. He seemed very interested in your background. After all, how many of these people’s backgrounds have you asked a thorough accounting of?
Just his I guess. But we were just making polite conversation.
No, YOU were just making polite conversation, he was taking advantage of your wanting to fit
in and appear friendly to pump you for information.
I think you are being a bit paranoid. He just finished stitching up a friend who was hurt in an attempt to save me. He’s bound to be curious.
I think you are being a bit credulous. This won’t be the last time someone here asks you too many questions about your background. Mark my words.
Well, I will stay wary then, if only to keep you happy.
With that I set to cleaning up the room and making it more habitable. I ended up just stuffing all the old and empty storage materials in the hallway, figuring I would find a better place for them later. The hard part of the cleanup was chasing out the spiders. They were surprisingly indifferent to me waving my sword at them. My sword on the other hand had a few choice words to say about it being used in that manner. In the end I propped up the sword in the corner and found an old almanac to smash bugs with. That got the spiders’ attention, and they quickly vacated the area. Likely just hiding in another room, but I was willing to live with that. It went unspoken, but I think the spiders were aware of the boundary lines to our détente.
Upon reviewing my now clean… well clean-ish room, I became aware of my lack of furnishings. I also became aware of the fact that the bed lacked pillows or blankets. Not sure where to turn for this, having not seen any around when I got rid of the old boxes and barrels, I ventured out and into the main hall. Seated around the tables were various members of the gang. Some I recognized, one woman I did not. But I did notice Sapphire over by the kitchen area putting together a sandwich.
“Uhm… uh… Sapphire?” I stammered out.
“Yes kid?” She said without looking at me.
“Where do I get pillows and blankets?” I asked.
“There’s a storage closet right over there. It’s got some wool blankets and pillow cases in it. We don’t have any goose down or any of that crap you may be used to. But you can stuff a pillow case with some straw. I suggest putting a layer of wool between it and your pillow case. In fact, use two pillow cases, it keeps the straw from poking you at night.”
“Uh… Thanks!” I said.
“Just let me eat my sandwich in peace and you will have thanked me enough.” She said.
Not sure how to take that remark, I went and grabbed the stuff I needed from the closet. Then I went back to my room and tried to make the best of things. It took me some time, but I got the pillow to a point where I could actually put my head on it and be comfortable. But considering that I had first been expecting to sleep in a tent on the cold ground outdoors, I figured I had no right to complain.
Wandering back out to the common room I saw that everyone was tucking in to some food. I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do, but I was also very hungry.
“Anyone mind if I eat something?” I asked.
“Grab some food and chow down kid.” Said Sapphire. “You’re staying here, so it would be rude for us to starve you.”
“Uhm… Thanks!” I said lamely.
Fortunately, there was plenty of food left on the counter in the kitchen area. I grabbed a small loaf of bread, some dried meat and cheese and a little butter to make myself a sandwich. Then I grabbed a mug, ladled myself some fresh water from the clean water barrel and sat down at the unoccupied end of one of the two parallel tables. Ross then came over and sat down across from me.
“Hey Tyr, you said earlier that you lived on your parents’ farm right?”
With the echoes of my sword’s warning in my ear I managed to say: “Uh, yeah. I helped my dad out doing chores around the farm. Why?”
“Well, as Sapphire no doubt told you, we all chip in around here. And since you have some experience with it, we figured the easiest thing to start you on tomorrow would be helping Moira with the farming.”
“Who’s Moira?” I asked.
“She’s the brown haired lady sitting over there” Ross said while gesturing at the other table. “She’s in charge of hunting and farming. I think she’s one of the few people here you haven’t met yet. She doesn’t typically go on raids, she’s too useful in procuring food for us.”
Noticing we were talking about her she replied: “And given the way you lot eat, I’m surprised we ever have enough put away for winter.”
“Saving lives is hungry work Moira.” Said Ross with a smile. “Besides, the best appreciation of your abilities is to enjoy the fruits of your labor.”
“Maybe you should eat more fruits and less of the game. It’s easier to get and better for you. I spend far too much time hunting for you lot to eat it all so quickly.”
Turning back to me, Ross said: “She’s a little prickly, but we wouldn’t get by without her. Also, she could really use the help. With you helping with the farm work, it frees her up to hunt more.”
“OK” I replied. “If you think I can help, I can pitch in.”
“Thanks Tyr, the others will warm up to you if they see you pitching in,” said Ross.
And with that, he cleared off to check on the boss and I was left in peace to eat my sandwich.
As I was finishing up Sapphire walked by. “You clear your own dishes kid. After that, you might want to get some sleep. You had a long night and tomorrow, when you have rested up, Moira will have a lot of work for you to do.”
Chapter 6.
Sapphire had not been kidding, Moira had a lot of things for me to do. I woke up the next day and found that everybody was already up and eating breakfast. It’s likely the clanking of dishes was what woke me in the first place.
Upon getting up and getting dressed, I headed out to the kitchen area in the longhouse and grabbed a plate of some sliced cured meat, sliced cheese, bread and fruit. I had hardly finished before Moira approached me.
“Finish up kid, there is a lot to do. The chickens need feeding, the grain needs weeding, cows and goats need milking and anything else I can think of.”
“Uh… Can’t I just risk my life robbing people with the others?” I asked with a grin.
“No kid, you’re not getting off that easy,” she replied. I wasn’t sure she realized I was joking.
The morning went much like most of my morning back at the farm with my parents. The obvious comparison left me choked up at times. Working with your hands gives you a lot of time to think about things, especially when the tasks you are doing are fairly familiar to you. And while I didn’t know where everything was, milking a cow on one farm is much like milking a cow on another.
Moira was an interesting person. She was a bit brusque in her manner, but that is not uncommon among farmers going about their tasks. The reality is that there is always something to do on a farm and the terseness of speech is less about being rude and more about not having the time for chit chat.
At lunch time, Moira approached me and said: “Thanks kid, we got most of the chores accomplished this morning. Normally that would have taken me most of the day. We’re going to stop here for lunch, then afterwards I want you weed the grain and vegetable rows. I’m going to go hunting to try and add to our cold cellar. Think you can manage on your own?”
“Yes. But do you need any help hunting? Sounds like more fun than weeding.”
“Kid, you ever been hunting before? Can you shoot a bow with any accuracy? Can you walk through the forest without making any noise?”
“Um… I’ve never tried it before, honestly.” I was forced to reply.
“That’s what I thought. If you want, after dinner while the light still holds, I’ll take you to the targets and start teaching you how to shoot a bow. But it’s going to take a lot of practice on your part before I am going to be willing to take you hunting. Right now, you’ll probably just scare away the game and shoot yourself in the foot.”
And with that she walked back to the hall to wash up for lunch. With nothing else to do, I did as well.
Lunch was similar to breakfast, except there were fewer people there, what with half the people having headed out to the next ambush site looking for tax collectors and merchants to waylay. Moir
a didn’t say two words to me while she was eating.
It was only after she was done that she said: “You just do the weeding and if you have time man the irrigation pumps to water the crops. I will be back before dinner, and if I have game, I will teach you how to butcher an animal. If not, I will begin to teach you how to shoot.”
And with that, I was left on my own to take care of my assigned tasks. The afternoon sun was out, if obscured by clouds, and the temperature was mild. All in all, it was not bad weather to be outside. My chores took me less time than I thought. I should have realized that a farm designed to feed a handful of people would have smaller fields than my parent’s farm where most of the food was sold at the town market to merchants heading for the larger settlements and big cities.
The afternoon passed quickly and evening soon arrived. Moira returned with a deer on a litter and a couple of rabbits. There was enough time before dinner for her to show me how to kill, skin, and gut the animals, a process I found mildly disturbing. You would think growing up on a farm I would have seen this before, but the reality was that we brought our animals to market alive; mostly because when they are alive, they walk themselves there. What little butchering we did onsite was usually small game birds and chickens that would no longer lay eggs. Nothing that required skinning. Small distinction in hindsight, still it did make a difference to me for some reason.
01 - The Price of Talent Page 6
