Chapter Thirteen
Murderers will murder
The righteous will always blame
The insanity of my mind
Instead of who plays my game
Wallace took the lead and led the men into the shadows; he signaled the men to a halt and huddled them up. They were in the relative shadows of a smoldering building that used to be a bakery.
“Vic, I want you to take four to the left flank. I know there will be a fuss about this, but I am sending Damon scouting. “ there was soft grumbling, “Hush it, I know the boy, I have arrested him quite a few times. There is none quieter than him, and it is in his best interest that we reach the prisoners. Now I want Rick to take a squad and take the right flank. Wedge, take a team and form a rear guard. I don’t want any surprises. I will take the remainder and take the point. If we hit trouble form a wedge. These are untrained soldiers, and it should work the best.
Absolute silence, use hand signals only. Take out individuals quietly. We do this covertly, no open fighting in the streets if it can be helped. Then we make for the Harborside and burn the bastards’ last resort.” He looked from face to face of the soldiers under his command, all well trained but few, “Remember, we are only twenty-three well-trained soldiers against an army with no help. No heroics, we made those bastards pay at the Temple but not that much. Let’s get our friends down there and get out. Let the fire do the rest.”
The soldiers all nodded as Damon’s fingers stroked the flask on his side lovingly, smiling at the thought. Wallace signaled Damon ahead, and the boy took off and disappeared like a shadow. He was skilled, too skilled for Wallace’s comfort. He felt like he just loosed a wolf amidst the fabled sheep. They covered the ground between the gate and the prisoners quickly, managing to kill three stragglers without more sound than the snap of a neck. They found the handy work of Damon twice. Damon came back to warn them just before they got to Weaver’s Street, where the three were staked out.
“They have guards there.” He warned quietly, “They must realize we are no longer home.” “How many?” whispered Wallace as they huddled. “Fifteen, they have circled our friends and are faced out,” Damon said.
“Well, we have two things, surprise and the light to our backs.” Wallace thought out loud. He scratched absently at the loose soil on the stone as he thought with the edge of his knife.
“How good are you with knives boy?” Vic asked looking expectantly at the boy half hidden in the shadows.
“Are you kidding Vic?” Wedge nudged him, “I was there last night when he was arrested, I was. I doubt there is a man on our little force, who can out throw him or his friend tied up out there.”
Vic drew out one of his spare throwing daggers and flipped it towards Damon, who snatched it by the blade out of the air. Vic nodded his approval. “Ok, so we have twenty-three here. How many do you reckon we can drop with knives?” He looked intently at their scout. Damon dropped to his heels and drew a diagram in the dirt. The others leaned in to see in the dim light let off by the nearby burning buildings.
“Here is the wall,” he indicated to a line north of the circle and three dots, “ that is at least a bow shot and a half away and no cover but on these sides. These houses are only smoldering, and we could still find shadows between them without becoming a barbecue. If we hurry, we could take out maybe all but five. If we time it right, the five could be engaged at the same time from forces from this direction.” He drew a line coming in from the south hitting them from the direction the street ran pinning the five men against the wall. Vic nodded and looked at Wallace who thought about it.
He walked back and forth and finally looked at Damon and said, “I hope your half as good as they say, or else I will cut your nuts off myself.”
“If I miss, I will gladly pull my pants down for you. It will settle a dispute between Faldo and me anyhow.” Damon threw back over his shoulder as he left.
Wedge threw back his head and laughed out loud, and his friends beat him over his head. He wiped tears from his eyes. They moved forward silently until they came to the place Damon indicated. Part of the group stuck in place while Damon led the other around to the other side. Wallace gave him to the count of fifty and gave Vic the signal. He would leave the knife throwing to the Temple Garrison; he was shit with throwing knives. Half the time it hit handle first if he even hit the target.
Vic stood and with fluid grace threw, and the same time Wallace stepped forward and engaged the five men that would be left. Ten men fell over dead, and the other five were hard pressed. It was hardly a fair fight with five against twelve. The sounds of the battle dying out almost as quickly as the men.
Wallace put his foot on the chest of the dying and pulled his sword out. Damon was working on cutting the girl loose, the Master Sergeant recognized her as Cariline. She was a serving wench at the Three Pigs that nobody was allowed to touch. Next was one of his very good friends, Faldo. The big man had been roughed over a few times, and was a little worse for wear. He moved forward and cut at the hemp that held Faldo to the pole. The ropes released and the big man stood to full height and moved his arms, Wallace moved to the last.
The blacksmith Marlin, the living giant of a man, had ropes wrapped around him. The men who had tied him had layered them till you could no longer see the inhumanly large man. It was clear they were afraid he might break out of the ordinary means. Wallace found the central knot and cut it and started unwrapping it.
“Faldo, mind telling me what happened?” Wallace asked as he worked to set the blacksmith loose.
“Yeah, Fredrick planned this whole damn thing. He has people planted in every city in the East to bring the Temples under his heel where he will gleefully ground them.” Faldo seethed as he walked over to help with the ropes on Marlin.
Wallace turned to look at him pale, “You can’t be serious.”
“He is very serious,” Marlin reassured him in a deep grumbling thunder as the rest of the ropes snapped, and Marlin stood up, favoring his side slightly. Wallace saw a wound under the smith's giant hand.
“Grim will need to know.” Wallace said, “We need to move.” He glanced over at the couple and saw Damon’s face half hide by shadow. His head was bowed, and he swore softly under his breath. The dark-haired youth gently kissed his girl as she shook. Wallace saw the rage burning in Damon’s dark eyes.
“Everything alright Damon?” The Master Sergeant asked, speaking slowly as he walked carefully towards Damon. He still held his sword, and he moved the point cautiously towards the youth who had been known for his past violent behavior.
“You go and take Cariline.” Damon said softly, “I have a debt to pay, one should always pay a debt.--” He whispered something back to Cariline as she wept in his arms and he kissed her and held her tight. Cariline whimpered and clung to him, all the while digging her face into his chest. He pried her fingers loose from the tabard on his armor and held her hand for a moment longer, lingering in reassurance.
“Go with them love, I will be alright,” Damon reassured her and then he went over and picked a throwing knife out of a still body. The small man turned and smiled at Wallace, "Point that somewhere else, would you? You are not the debt Master Sergeant. Though I am flattered at the compliment."
“Where are you going, what debt?” Wallace asked as he relaxed his stance and directing some of the guards to escort Cariline. He wasn’t about to miss out on a fight, and he was charged with seeing all his friends back safe.
Faldo bent over picking up a sword from another dead body, testing the balance, “The same one I am going to collect on. Roldem steel nice.” He flexed the slender sword a little, “That bastard of a father let his own soldiers rape his daughter repeatedly for two hours. That debt, we will collect on if we have to tear the city apart, building by burning building, to do it.”
Marlin bent and picked up an ax from a nearby man and put it over his massive shoulder and rose to full height, towering over the rest by two head heights, “Aye, you have that one straight.”
Damon eyed the two and nodded in approval, “So, do you intend to stop us?”
“Stop you? Demons no, why would I let you have all the fun?” Wallace asked as he signaled them to move out with a dark look on his face. He, as a soldier, had heard of gruesome things in his line of work in keeping the peace but as a man, that was an absolutely horrendous act. He would hold the demon down while the three did what they would on one condition, they let Cariline have her go with her father first.
“Where are we going?” He asked Damon who was walking whistling a tavern tune, idly flipping his knife in his hand. He was taking this to light for Wallace's comfort. As a career soldier, killing was always serious and business-like and to imagine any other way made him cringe.
“You need to get Cariline to safety. She doesn’t need to see this. I am going to cut this bastard’s cock off and shove it so far down his throat that it comes out his ass.” Damon said casually fingering his knife blade. Wallaces' eyes opened wide, and his mouth went dry at the callous attitude exhibited by the man in his company. He shuddered inwardly but considering the circumstance he could not blame Damon's thirst for blood and vengeance.
“Well umm yes I guess that would be gruesome. But the lady needs to see it through herself, to know its taken care of Damon. It helps.” Wallace explained. “Then tag along if you want, but that bastard is mine, don’t get in my way or you will squat the rest of your life.” He said pointing his knife at Wallace's nose, “We are going to Thewar’s Inn, it is where they are headquartered.”
“Well let’s go; that’s only a few minutes from here.” Wallace took point with Damon, Faldo, and Marlin. The Master Sergeant had an honor guard escorting the terror-stricken girl, with orders to bring her forward when the time was right.
“Damon, they have a sorcerer with them. We need to be careful when we go in.” Faldo said cautiously, “I hate sorcery with a passion, I hate fighting it. A sword or knife I know what to do against, but there is just no defense against that mumbo jumbo. It makes my skin itch.” Faldo gave a visible shutter.
To Wallace, it didn’t matter, sorcerers died as easy as any other living things, but this was a side to his big friend he had never seen.
“It’s easy, stick a knife in them before they do the mumbo jumbo,” Damon said casually stabbing the air in front of him in the demonstration.
“Or clunk them on the head. Hard to talk when your unconscious” Marlin interjected. Damon shrugged in the giant's direction as if to say true enough.
“Yeah that does work,” Wallace said as they walked down the smoky streets. People seemed more worried now about saving the buildings that weren’t an inferno then they were about the armed men walking down the streets with their weapons drawn. “Put down your weapons and grab a bucket,” cried a man who was quite literally pulling his hair out. He wore some armor of sorts, marked with a snake with its head cut off. “My shop is on fire.”
He ran off to frantically recruit another group of people, who was staring at what had been their house. Now it was just some standing timbers; their ash streaked faces stricken with grief. Wallace shook his head, and Damon chuckled. Faldo spat in the man's direction and cursed under his breath. Wallace raised an eyebrow at the blonde haired bravado that was generally of good humor.
“He was one of the bastard soldiers if you get my meaning,” Marlin said taking the ax off his shoulder. He did not get a step in before a throwing knife flickered through the air, implanting itself in the back of the man's head. He fell dead to the cobbled street in a crumpled heap and Damon walked over and pulled the knife out and took a deep sigh of relief. Marlin turned around to glare at the little man that barely reached his sternum.
“Ah! He almost got away. One down, now how many were there?” He asked cheerfully whistling as he came back from retrieving his thrown knife. Marlin grunted and walked ahead a little in irritation, a little bit a vengeance being denied him. The Master Sergeant needed to set an example now, to try to keep peace in the ranks while they were still in danger.
“Don’t hog all the fun mate” Wallace glowered as he slapped at Damon’s backside of the head.
“Well he was right here, and no one did anything about it,” Damon said defensively ducking the blow. He smiled sheepishly and sprinted forward to scout the alley ahead. They did not encounter any more trouble in the few streets to the corner of Miller's Lane and Victor's Alley, where the Inn of the Second Home stood.
They stopped when they reached the end of the lane and Faldo looked around the corner. The Inn stood as a large three-story complex with an attached outbuilding used for housing horses and carriages. In its grandest of days, it was an establishment for the wealthiest businessmen in the East, but the late Lord Guther had squandered most of the fortunes, and the Inn had fallen into disrepair.
The building on the outside was unguarded, but he knew that there were probably guards inside. He turned to his friend, “We need probably six people in there any more, and we will be sticking each other and not the stinking rapist.”
Wallace nodded his agreement and turned to the vanguard, pointing out two of the better corporals, “Vic, Wedge, you're with me. Charles, take command. If you hear two whistles, come in but if you hear my death scream, run like hell for the dockside. Burn the boats, and get out.”
The group moved out for the Inn of the Second Home. Marlin’s chocolate brown eyes grew misty as he beheld his smithy at the end of the way from the Inn. Fire now roared through holes in the roof, and the rear portion had collapsed. Marlin looked and saw his life’s work gone, and he hung his head in sorrow. Faldo put his hand on the giant’s shoulder and squeezed, signaling he understood.
The small group mounted the steps that led between the marble pillars into the vestibule of the Inn. The entrance had double doors that were unlocked, and the lights were on. Obviously, with the city ablaze and all the troops on the streets, they were not expecting company. The building was sodding wet. It would not yield to the nearby fire yet. But soon enough, even it would succumb to the inferno.
They entered into the common room, finding five soldiers preoccupied with the age-old past time of enjoying the fleshly spoils of war. Some were prostrate, others were standing, but none were prepared for fighting as they were all naked with women. Damon lunged to the nearest man as he struggled to rise, his legs tangled in his captured woman the soldier threw off him. Damon’s knife took him in his open groin, severing his artery. Damon let his momentum carry him over the dying man and rolled forward over the screaming naked woman’s back.
“S’cuse me, sorry for the interruption,” Damon apologized as he came to his feet. Faldo flashed his sword out and cleared the table, while one naked man begged for his life. The woman, the begging man, had been enjoying, let out an ear piercing scream. Faldo cleanly speared the blubbering man’s throat just to shut him up.
“Yes sorry for the interruption but have you girls seen any rapist?” He asked putting his foot on the gurgling man's chest and pushing him off onto the woman who grunted. Her arms flailed wildly under the weight of the man that was now pinning her to the table
“Oh sorry, how clumsy of me,” he said in a gentleman fashion pushing the man off the screaming woman with his boot, leaving a trail of blood down her bareback. Marlin took two steps and kicked with a leg the size of a small tree. He caught the man, who was still on his back, under his jaw. The man's head snapped back with the bone splintering sound of his jaw shattering. His head held at a funny angle while his body went limp. The ladies at this point, ran from the room, regardless of the state of their dress.
Marlin looked injured, “Do you think it was something we did,” he said hiking a thumb at the running nude women.
Wallace turned on a man who was cowering behind a chair, trying to find some kind of modesty. The short, stocky man shook his head in disgust at the cowering guard.
“Stand up man and have some honor. I have already seen everything you have.” He said disgustedly waving his hands at him in frustration. Damon smoothly threw his knife into the cowering man that Wallace was raising his sword too. The blade caught the man through the side of the head, and the cowering guard collapsed to the floor.
Wallace turned in frustration to look at Damon, “Didn’t I tell you not to take all the damn fun!”
“Than what is that behind you,” the smiling little man pointed his finger to a point behind the Master Sergeant. Wallace turned in time to find the last man, with a dagger from his clothes on the floor, coming down at his back. He pivoted out of it and slashed down with his sword, severing the man's hand. The man screeched and grabbed his wrist and fell to his knees.
“Was that fun enough?” Damon asked the leader, Wallace flashed Damon an evil grin.
“Where is Fredrick?” Wallace asked in a pleasant tone. The tone of voice one heard just before the throat was slit in a back alley and suggested violence before acceptance.
“Go suck one!” The man replied.
“Seems he just said he wanted to lose his cock since he’s already naked,” Damon said casually stepping forward. He leaned over to the wounded man’s comrade and viciously jerked the knife out. He walked a saunter over, smiling a look of insanity and reached towards the mans lower anatomy.
The man screamed, “Wait!”
“See,” Damon said to Wallace with a rueful smile, “They are always a little touchy about their pride.”
“Now, Fredrick we need to have a chat. It seems he saw fit to start a war in the wrong city.” Wallace said.
“He is on the third floor. Nobody disturbs him or else they die.” The man said pleadingly.
“I dearly hope he tries, Damon, now we need to decide what to do with him--.” Wallace began, “--You..”
Damon reached down, “I need some practice for Fredrick,” and grabbed the man’s lower anatomy and did precisely like Damon said he would. The man’s screaming was agonizingly loud to start with, and then Damon muffled it with body parts. The pitiful wailing died down to a gurgling groan. Wallace blanched, Vic threw up, and Wedge passed out with a soft thunk against the hardwood floor. Marlin and Faldo just watched with their arms folded across their chest contently.
“There! Justice served on one rapist,” Damon said with happy satisfaction, wiping his hand on the man's chest, leaving bloody smears on the bare skin.
“I did..did not think you were serious,” Wallace said horrified, staring at the gruesome sight that was before him. The body still thrashing slightly as the body starved for the last bit of oxygen.
“Oh? That was just the test run.” Faldo said grimly, “Next time, I will be holding the bastard’s mouth open, there won’t be any gurgling. He will choke on his damn cock.”
“Well every time can’t be perfect,” Damon said lightly to his friend. Faldo smiled and gave him a shrug and clapped him on the back. They continued up, the next floor looked like it was being used for barracks of some sorts, but now it was empty. He probably had his soldiers out bucketing water. They came to the next set of stairs. They led up to a door. Damon eased up to the door and gave it a jiggle. It was unlocked, he signaled for them to come up. They came up one at a time, Marlin ducking, and Damon opened up the door.
Inside was the wealthy owner’s suite, and it had everything that you could need, even private jakes and bath. Damon eased in, he heard a twang of a crossbow string and rolled his shoulder. A blossom of pain shot through his arm, as a bolt meant for his heart, had missed.
“Drat!” Came a female voice. Damon gave a weak underhanded throw, but it was not at where the shot was, it was back at the door. Faldo snatched the blade out of the air and rolled out of the doorway. He spotted his target and gave his knife a throw. It sailed true and found the lady’s heart, and she dropped her crossbow, grabbing the knife and pulling it out releasing the throwing knife to the ground with a steely clatter. She stared in horror at her chest and then looked to Faldo with recognition.
“Yeah, you bitch!” He gazed at her. Faldo's hatred could almost be tangibly felt by the others in the room, “It is a little to the side to make dying very slow. We need some answers, and I won’t permit you to die till you give us them.”
Wallace and the others came forwards as the female collapsed to the floor. Her breathing becoming labored. The Lady’s typically pale complexion had taken a gray cast, and her chubby cheeks had dark curls matted to it by beads of sweat that was now slowly dribbling down her face.
Damon broke the crossbow bolt off and pulled it out with a curse. His breathing came in short gasp of pain as Vic tied a bandage over it, putting the knots over the wounds.
“Son,” Vic said, “You were lucky she was using a little handheld toy. Had that been one the military used, it would have shattered bone and all.”
Damon gave him a little nod and with pursed lips stood up and came over to where the dark-haired lady lay on the floor. He nudged her with his foot.
“My Lady Thewar,” He said with his voice dripping with sarcasm, “Such an honor to meet you again. By the way, my lady thanks you for the necklace and ring. Now, where is dear old Fred? He has parts of his anatomy that he needs to be acquainted with the taste. That way he knows just how foul of a man he truly is.”
“Hehe, he is truly a foul man is he not?” She coughed, a little bloody foam coming out her mouth, “I would have just been happy enough with the fall of the old Matron bitch, but he had to have all the Temples. Now, he has left me for dead.”
“So he has fled?” Faldo asked disappointedly.
“Not yet,” her eyes flicked towards the jakes and a bloody toothy smile coming to her chubby cheeks.
“That will be enough put your weapons down.” Came a stern voice from behind them as they heard the door from the jakes open.
“By the damned demons!” stormed Wallace as he slowly turned not letting go of his weapon. Damon turned also but not before he stomped on the wound on the Lady’s chest, rupturing her injuries and ending her life. He flashed Fredrick a feral smile to let him know that this encounter would end with one of their lives. Fredrick stood there with a military crossbow drawn and pointed at the group and another cocked beside him. He had a wicked smile on his worn face. His hair stood frazzled, and he wreaked of a week old body odor.
“Well, you set fire to my city,” he chuckled, “Bold move and one I did not anticipate. But I have bolder ones made. I know the Grim is here in Tharpe and here in Tharpe, we will make his grave. Now I said drop the weapons. I won’t ask again.”
“I am sorry, but you miscount sir, you have two crossbows. That is two shots. Here I will even hold up the number of fingers if it is too hard for your brain to comprehend.” Damon held up two fingers, “Now, that can only take down two of us, from my last count there are six of us. Now if you can’t count that high my assistant over here will help. Faldo, do you mind?”
Faldo held up five on the one hand and made an obscene gesture with his other, bringing the total count to six. Damon flashed him a grin of approval.
“Yes very nice educational program, is it not Sedrick?” Fredrick asked a figure that appeared out of thin air behind them. “You see I have some education for you folks too; this is Sedrick. He is the one who will be putting an end to all this Necromancer bullshit. Sedrick, this is the soon to be dead, pain in the asses.”
“So you have a pet sorcerer, or does he have a favorite playmate now that your wife is dead?” Prodded Faldo as he slowly moved off to the right, away from the sorcerer. For some reason unknown, they made his skin crawl. If he were fighting anyone, it would be against the son of a bitch that made him walk the Planes of Chaos themselves, watching Cariline endure man after man being raped. He would die, and he knew it, but he would meet his end helping Damon do what they came here to do.
“No, I am here for my own reasons as the brave leader over there pointed out. I will be on my way now in fact.” With that the sorcerer gave Damon a wink, “Stick him once for me will you, for what he did to his daughter. I don’t care what view you have, that was evil.”
The sorcerer gave a few gestures of his hands and a short incantation and was gone before anyone could lunge. A crossbow bolt embedded itself in the wooden wall behind where Sedrick was. Damon turned back to Fredrick smiling maliciously at him still holding up two fingers with his good hand. He slowly lowered one finger and looked around at his companions, who all smiled showing teeth at the middle-aged Resistance leader. There was smoke starting to form around them, as the wet building was beginning to succumb to the raging inferno of the burning city around.
“Well,” Wallace said with a cough, “we better get to it lads, on three?”
“It won’t matter he can’t count that high, THREE !” Faldo yelled and charged at Fredrick. Faldo had been moving the entire time slowly and had moved to within a few bounds of him. He closed the distance to the graying man in seconds and kicked the crossbow upwards sending the bolt into the ceiling. His weight carried both of them back into the jakes. They hit the floor with a heavy thump and the others heard a splintering of the wood.
Damon came rushing up with Wallace and Marlin on his heels. They saw Faldo look back at them over his shoulder, with his eyes wide in terror, before the floor gave out into a rush of flames. They all cried out and tried to reach out for him, but it was too late. Their friend had disappeared, but at least it was not in vain. The man who had done such evil had vanished into the blaze with him.
Wallace grabbed his companions arms and dragged them back down the two flights of stairs, and they made the harrowing flight to the docks. They set fire to the remaining boats with the flask they carried, and the men got in the vessel and set forth. Damon and Cariline sat in the bow of the ship, huddled against the wind as the chop got worse. It would be rough going; they were quartering the wind. The city shrank behind them, making the sky glow a fiery red. On the far shore, they saw the encampment of the army and their companions waiting for them. There they would find relative safety after two days of utter chaos.
Just before they reached the shore, an explosion ripped through the city, centered on the Temple. Wallace rose in the boat they were in and stared back teary-eyed.
“What happened?” Asked a sleepy-eyed Cariline.
“The Temple has been destroyed. The Grim will perish.” Wallace said with a heaving sob.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
