“Well, let me put the bow away, and then we can hit the practice pitch,” I said.
I hurried back to the longhouse. I didn’t want to keep my new bow out in the shed and risk letting the cold and damp get to it. On my way back out, I noticed Devlin had already gotten the stuff we needed from the shed and was running through some warm ups. I was amazed at how quickly he moved the sword and how steady his strikes were. I did not doubt he could cut a fly in half out of the air.
“Oh hey Tyr, didn’t hear you coming up,” said Devlin.
“That was impressive stuff you were doing there,” I said. “I think you have been going easy on me in practice.”
“Tyr, when you are a swordsman with my experience, you have to go easy on everybody,” he said. “As people get better, you can delve deeper into your skills. But you need to master the basics before you move on to more advanced stuff. So I keep it to those basics so you will learn. Just remember, every stroke has a counter. Similarly, every attack sequence designed to create an opening has a counter as well. A sword fight between masters is as much a chess match as a test of physical prowess.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling a little disappointed in myself because I hadn’t realized how much he had been holding back.
“Cheer up, Tyr,” said Devlin. “You are already better than half the guards you will ever meet out on the road. Few of them have had much formal training, they are paid to look impressive. The few that have, it was military training. You fight differently when you are in a shield wall than you do dueling one on one. It’s why military arms and armor are so different from the civilian ones. As bandits, we are never going to fight side by side. There aren’t enough of us to make a proper battle line or shield wall. We ambush from cover with arrows and only come within sword length to collect valuables. All our fights more closely resemble duels than battle.”
“Do you get into all that many fights on the road?” I asked nervously, thinking about my turn on road duty.
“Hardly ever,” said Devlin. “Set up a proper ambush, let them know they are covered by archers, and people tend to be very accommodating. The people we rob, rich merchants and tax collectors, already have enough personal wealth that it isn’t worth it for them to risk their lives fighting over what’s in their wagon or carriage.”
“Oh,” I said. “I thought we targeted them because we didn’t want some poor farmer or local shopkeep going hungry.”
“Don’t worry Tyr,” said Devlin. “That is the other benefit for only robbing the rich, you know they will not go hungry.”
And with that, we got to work. Having talked about counters, and attack routines, Devlin ran me through a few basic ones, explaining how each stroke was designed to get the defender to move his sword further away from the intended target until you suddenly strike their weapon even further out of the way and thrust in for the kill. After the lesson, we ran through some free form sparing, stopping occasionally so Devlin could explain how he had scored a point against me and what I had to work on not to get caught out again by the same trick. By the time we were done, I was exhausted and ready for dinner.
“Nothing like a little exercise to get the blood flowing and work up a good appetite eh Tyr?” Said Devlin as we sat down to dinner.
“Yeah, almost enough for me to overlook having the same meat, cheese and preserved vegetables day after day,” I replied with a smile.
The weeks passed in much this manner, and far too fast, until I had the crops laid in for the spring growing season. I did learn one or two things though outside of improving my archery and swordsmanship skills. First, trying to keep up with Bevan and Devlin in the art of drinking was about as fruitful as trying to beat Devlin in sparring. Second, that ignoring the dread that was building up inside of me, about my first turn at road work, did not in fact make it go away. So when the day arrived, I was less than thrilled by the occasion.
The plan was that Devlin, Bevan and I would join Jarvis, Tiernan and Sapphire, who had been manning the road since the spring thaw. That would free Sapphire to come back and brew more mead and ale with Ross back at the longhouse. Since I was going to be gone, Moira would be keeping an eye on the crops and filling our larder by hunting. At least, that was the current plan. Things were kept rather informal and laid back. Still, when I did finish the planting, Devlin insisted we head out the next day. Likely he was going a little stir crazy, now that Ross had given him a clean bill of health.
So, as I stumbled out of my room and in for breakfast, Devlin was already clearing his plates. There was a spring in his step and a smile on his face. None of this did anything to calm my nerves.
“It’s a glorious day, Tyr!” He said. “Today we will take the cart and horse out to the road and I can show you how the game is really played.”
“You’ve been itching to go for days now,” said Ross, just joining us for breakfast. “Are you that anxious to get injured again?”
“Oh, you’re no fun!” Said Devlin, smiling as if he did in fact find all this to be good fun.
“I just get to patch you all up when you make mistakes,” said Ross. “You will forgive me for not being as excited as you.”
“Oh, let him have his fun,” said Moira, just coming in for breakfast as well. “He’s been moping about for weeks now with nothing to do. At least on the road he can begin to pull his own weight again.”
Breakfast continued with a jovial air. Devlin, Ross and Moira spent the time bickering and poking fun at each other. I, on the other hand, sat there and quietly picked at my food. I was still dreading my first robbery.
“Oh, cheer up Tyr,” said Devlin. “Nothing to worry about. I will be the one manning the barricade, your job will be much easier. Look out for merchants and tax men and then shoot arrows from cover. You don’t even need to be a good shot. Just scare them a little.”
“What if something goes wrong?” I asked.
“In the very unlikely event that something does go wrong, you shoot the guards full of arrows,” said Devlin. “You won’t be in any real danger.”
“Your scars tell a different story,” said Ross.
“Yeah, well, that’s because I man the barricade,” said Devlin. “If anything happens, I’m the one they shoot at or draw steel on. The people in the woods have nothing to worry about. Stop trying to scare the kid.”
“Besides, Tyr, you’ve become a decent shot over the past few months,” said Moira. “If the worst happens, you just relax, pick your targets, and fire from a safe distance. People are much bigger targets than what you hit on the practice field.”
Somehow, none of this helped. As I packed up a couple changes of regular clothes and some warmer clothes, in case of inclement weather, I was in a minor state of panic. Packing didn’t take nearly enough time to calm my nerves, after all I didn’t have very much. Fortunately, this meant that I didn’t have that heavy a pack to take with me. There was one thing, however, that was very excited indeed.
Come on, come on, you lazy ass. Get the lead out of your limbs and hurry up. You are delaying my glorious debut.
Calm down. It’s not like we’re expecting trouble on the cart ride out to the road. You are just going to be sitting there in the cart with the rest of the baggage.
I have spent the last few months just sitting in a corner. Only occasionally coming out to see you practice in the field. Do you have any idea how boring that is? Just the chance to see some different scenery is enough to get me excited.
I’m sorry you haven’t spent much time outside. But there isn’t much call for a sword while farming. Practices are a lot safer when you don’t use real blades.
Excuses, excuses. The reality is that I have spent an entire winter sitting around the house. I need some fresh air! Sunshine! I want to see new sights!
That doesn’t make any sense. Why would a sword need fresh air and sunshine?
Do you know any other sentient swords?
No.
Then what do you know about what we need?
You’re a sword. Aside from some basic maintenance to avoid rust and chips, what do you need?
Not being bored would be a good start.
He did have a point. Routine has a way of sinking in and becoming boring. A change of scenery would be nice. Still, I was worried about actually robbing people. It sounded dangerous, and Devlin getting injured in my rescue didn’t fill me with confidence. Still, since I didn’t really have a say in all this, I went along. What else was I to do?
Once I had my things pulled together, and it was a depressingly small pile, I ventured outside to where Devlin and Bevan packing the cart. The first thing I noticed was that Devlin was no longer wearing his usual winter wear, instead he was wearing a stiff leather cuirass over a light chain shirt. Bevan was wearing brigandine that looked oddly familiar.
“You know, seeing you two in armor does nothing to allay my fears,” I said as I approached.
“When you stand the barricade, armor can save your life,” said Devlin.
“So why is Bevan in armor?” I asked.
“Because, as the only person here who can work metal, I’m free to make for myself whatever I want,” said Bevan.
“Make what you want for yourself?” Asked Devlin. “Isn’t that some of the armor we pilfered from those Inquisitors?”
“Well, yeah, it is,” said Bevan. “But you all shot it full of holes! I spent weeks repairing this and getting the fit right. Besides, it takes less time to repair old armor than make new armor from scratch.”
“Which reminds me. Tyr, we have another present for you,” said Devlin with a smile.
“Hear you go kid. See if it fits,” said Bevan, handing me a thick leather vest.
As I took hold of it, it unfolded in my hands. It looked a lot like Bevan’s brigandine, but cut down to my size, and instead of the interior plates being iron or steel, it was plated with leather plates, which were studded to the leather jerkin between the leather and the padded under layer.
“Is this… Armor? Is it for me?” I asked astonished.
“Yup, it is indeed, Tyr,” said Devlin with a smile. “You don’t think we would send you out unprepared would you?”
“I made that from what was left of the Inquisitors’ brigandine after I was done repairing the one I’m wearing,” said Bevan. “I had to use hardened leather plates instead of metal because there weren’t enough left undamaged for two coats. But the benefit here is that it will be lighter for you, and easier for you to use while shooting your bow.”
“Since you aren’t used to the added weight of armor either, it’s probably all for the best,” said Devlin.
“Now, a word of caution,” said Bevan, suddenly serious. “This armor is a last resort. It does not make you immune to sword thrusts, arrows or crossbow bolts. It will make it harder for an enemy to get at your vitals, but not impossible. A solid shot from a crossbow or a direct hit with an arrow and you’re still dead. So while shooting, keep a tree between you and their archers. And if you are unlucky enough to get into a sword fight, don’t risk an undefended thrust.”
“Stop scaring the boy,” said Devlin, still smiling. “He’s going to be in the woods with the archers in no danger. This is just a precaution.”
“Oh, and you likely won’t need your coat while wearing it,” said Bevan. “You will be surprised how warm that vest will be over your shirt.”
So with those warnings, I took off my spring jacket and put on the studded leather vest. The first thing that struck me was the weight. It felt like it weighed as much as my pack. But the other thing that struck me was that it didn’t impede movement nearly as much as I thought it would.
“Looking good, Tyr!” Said Devlin.
“Looks like I got the fit right,” said Bevan.
“Wow, thanks guys!” I said.
And with that I stowed my spring jacket in with my pack. Put my sword, bow and quiver in with Bevan and Devlin’s weaponry, and found a seat on the wagons bench. After Bevan and Devlin finished checking the gear and the supplies, they joined me as well. I ended up riding on the right side of the bench, Bevan was steering from the middle and Devlin was on the left. With little other fanfare, we hit the road.
“I think you will enjoy the journey to the road a lot more than the journey you took from it,” said Devlin. “In fact, since I’m not bleeding or wounded, so will I.”
He was right too, I did enjoy it. The sun was up, the leaves were coming out and showing some green, shedding the buds of early spring. It was the first time I had been out of the longhouse and its cultivated grounds since coming here. It was a nice change of pace. It did give me time to reflect, something I had been steadfastly avoiding. If you had told me a year ago I would be traveling with bandits out for some highway robbery, I would have laughed at you. But here I was. It did bring into focus all I had lost too, which made me a little sad. It was a bitter sweet moment, but oddly, not a bad one.
It took most of the morning and part of the afternoon to get to the camp where Jarvis Tiernan and Sapphire had stowed their stuff. In a glade, about a mile from the road, there was a lean-to near a stream of water and a small fire pit built of stone with a cooking grill over the top.
“And here we are, home sweet temporary home,” said Devlin.
“Well, here’s a moldering old lean-to anyway,” said Bevan.
And with that we got on with unpacking the cart, stowing our gear and generally moving in. As we were finishing up, Jarvis, Tiernan and Sapphire joined us.
“How’s the road been treating you?” Said Devlin as they stowed their weapons and sat down.
“Not well. There’s been nobody but poor farmers and tinkers for weeks,” said Sapphire. “I won’t mind heading back to the longhouse tomorrow. At least there I will have things to do to pass the time.”
“Yeah, things have been fairly boring out here,” said Tiernan. “The only thing I’ve accomplished is fixing that fire pit.”
“And I managed to fix the roof on the lean-to,” said Jarvis. “Not that it needed more than a few new shingles.”
“It was nice to no longer worry about the rain dripping on our heads,” said Sapphire. “Not that I will be worrying about that once I get back. You all though… Good luck.”
If you have ever been camping, you know approximately how the rest of that evening went. We argued over where we would each stow our stuff, we inexpertly cooked some preserved and non-perishable food and then spent the meal complaining about it. Generally, a surprisingly good time despite the bad food. Later we relaxed by the fire before heading in to sleep.
“You nervous Tyr?” Asked Devlin. “You’ve seemed a little pre-occupied.”
“Honestly, uh, yes,” I said. “I’m not going to lie, I’m a little worried about actually robbing someone.”
“Worried about what?” Asked Bevan.
“About it all going horribly wrong.” I replied.
“No need to worry kid,” said Sapphire. “We haven’t seen anyone worth robbing for weeks. Chances are you are just going to sit there and watch the road for days. The biggest danger is being bored to death.”
“I guess, my biggest concern is, uh, what I’m supposed to do,” I said.
“Oh, your end is not so hard,” said Devlin. “I want you to watch the road with your young eyes and tell us when you see someone coming. Then we can decide if it’s worth setting up a blockade and robbery.”
“Yeah… uh, it’s not the lookout duties I’m worried about,” I said.
“Well, during the robbery, you are just acting as backup,” said Devlin. “Once you have spotted someone and we determine to stop them, then you head back into the trees by the road and get your bow ready.”
“Do I need to do anything once in the woods?” I asked.
“You will be there with Jarvis, Tiernan and Bevan,” said Devlin. “They know the signal to take a few warning shots, and they also know when to start shooting for real. They will let you know.”
“What if something g
oes wrong?” I asked.
“Kid, we will be right there with you. There’s nothing to worry about,” said Bevan.
“Your job is to shoot from cover, Tyr,” said Devlin. “If things go bad, I want you to stay hidden, keep an arrow knocked, and only take shots that you know you can make.”
“Don’t worry so much, Tyr,” said Sapphire. “It’s incredibly rare that anyone tries anything. Rarer still that it actually comes to any fighting.”
“And if it does,” said Jarvis. “You just leave the melee to us. Just stay in cover and shoot anyone who separates from the fighting with a bow or crossbow.”
01 - The Price of Talent Page 15
