Nibilum of the Bloody Hand

"Captain, there appears to be fresh water on the east side of the cove. I think we should make landfall there." Tublem said.

"What about the Falmorens?"

"None present that we can see."

"That doesn't mean they aren't hiding, but they are only supposed to have a small force, especially since our employer was supposed to remove some. I doubt they have enough people to cover this entire cove. We will send slaves out between those two look out towers and see if they are attacked. If not, then send out scouts to find a suitable location for us to make camp.

"As you wish."

Were we able to get an idea of how many people were in that fort of theirs?" I asked.

"The fort is too far away from the shore to be certain, but we have a ship monitoring it, and it doesn't look like a lot of people are there. Nor would it be able to hold many people by the size of it?"

"Then we should move quickly and overwhelm them with our numbers," I said.

*********

When I finally got our ship to unload the men, I was able to see how unique this cove truly was. The shore was a pebble beach that was between five and ten paces long and butted up against a sheer rock wall about the height of a man in most places. After climbing over the ridge, the land sloped down until it became a marsh. I was shown a spot where a recently dug canal diverted much of the mountain water into the cove. If they continued to do this in several other spots, they may be able to convert this land into farms. There was also a fair amount of peat. It is a shame the man who came up with the idea probably wouldn't get to see his vision fulfilled.

It was close to the evening when I began walking with my second down the path to the fort we were about to lay siege to, when I received a runner.

"Captian, there is nobody in the fort," he said.

"Nobody?"

"None, Captain."

"So the cowards fled when they saw our numbers."

"It is not so simple, but yes."

"What do you mean?"

"The back side of the fort had a section that collapsed. From the report, it appears that it was due to poor construction. They must have put the fort up in a hurry. We think that we have figured out their plan, and I have to say if it weren't for the collapsed wall and us coming early, it wouldn't have been a bad one."

"Explain," I said impatiently.

"The fort may look small on the outside, but they have managed to utilize every portion of the inside to fit soldiers in. Barracks line the outer wall, giving it more stability. Inside the barracks, the beds are unique. They are stacked three high with a ladder on the side. With how many barracks there are, they could hold about 300 men. The beds also have mattresses on each. It will be a nice change from sleeping on the floor of the ship.

"There is also a large kitchen. There is not a lot in there right now, and we had slaves test it for poison. They have no well but a lot of water barrels that we tested. One thing that was a lucky find was barrels filled with a sweet alcoholic beverage. I have not tried it, but those who have said it was the most intoxicating drink they have ever had, and they got a buzz very quickly. Most agree that if we acquired the method of making it, it would be the most valuable thing we have ever found."

I couldn't help but grin. "Bring all of it to my ship. It appears I and the other captains will be celebrating our landfall tonight with a new drink. If it is as good as you say, we will sell it on Rabiss for a fortune." He kept his face neutral, but I could tell the man was disappointed that he would not be given any. Luxury like this could not be wasted on the common raider. "Continue with your report."

"There are a few other buildings which I believe would be used to store supplies, and also a fine house in the center with funature fit for a king and nice beds. It was probably made for when the nobility visited.

"With how many men it can hold and the fact that it looks like they had the equipment and parts to make a balista, I believe their plan was to make us think that there were only a small number of people in the fort and then overwhelm us. Three hundred men could have held this for quite a while if we had only brought our original numbers and left later. We caught them unprepared, and now the fort is ours."

"Send word to the leaders to figure out which men will get to stay in the fort and which will camp outside or on the ships. we will be pushing off the shore at high tide. Also, have them send out more scouts; we need to watch for ambushes and find another location suitable for the rest of our men."

"It shall be done, Captain."

Amos

As we traveled down the road to Melnon, I had to thank the hard-working men who constructed this road. Yes, most of those on the road crew were criminals, but the road from Melnon to North Cove was one of the greatest things we had achieved this winter. If on horseback and traveling quickly an individual could get from Pine Grove to Melnon in half a day. The carts and families walking in our group made the trip quite a bit longer. Since this was the road used to bring supplies to the Cove, a Rest stop had been built for camping overnight. Unfortunately for us it really wasn't meant for as many people as we were bringing.

I rode next to Jorb the Smith as he led his family down the road.

"How are you enjoying things in Pine Ridge, my friend?" I asked as we traveled.

"It is cold, but working in the forge all day makes a big difference. Janice has been missing Jacklyn, so she is excited to go back to Bicman for a while to see her. Maybe we will have a wedding while we are there," he said with a grin.

"Maybe I will force Benjamin into asking her to marry him after all he has put me through."

We both laughed at that, but we continued to poke fun at Benjamin's shyness toward Jacklyn. I also told him my plan to put Jacklyn in charge of all the schools in the villages of Bicman Barony, making her the superintendent of the Bicman School System. I wasn't going to force her, of course, but I would make her find a replacement if she turned it down.

"Mathews' art is coming along nicely," I said.

"Yes, thank you for taking the time to teach him when you can. And for the books. He enjoys reading them to us all. He even got some paper from Emily and wrote his own book with pictures. Between all that and making the nibs for the pens, he almost seems busier than me."

I began to wonder if Mathew would be the best person to put in charge of making the dies for the printing press. He could at least make the molds after the wood blocks were made. After explaining the concept to my metal workers and recommending lead, they shot down my idea. It confused me when they said lead would be to soft and would most likely only last a few prints. I couldn't understand at first because I could have sworn I heard that lead was used as the first type. It was a problem to set aside for later as we still had to survive the next few weeks.

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"How is that new armor treating you, my lord?" he asked.

"To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the weather is still so cool, I would take it off." I grumbled, "I have no idea why I told you about plate armor. I meant for it to be for our troops, not me."

"Yes, but you are the most important person in the county. We are at war and you must be protected. Besides, General Draves agrees."

"He may have my best interest at heart, but you just want to use me as a walking advertisement for all our knights."

"But it looks impressive."

"Like I said, I am just a billboard to you."

"What is a billboard?"

"Never mind. That is the last thing we need here."

I looked down at myself as I rode. It did look more imposing than the small metal plates we were attaching to other armor we were making for our captains and lieutenants. I wish I could provide metal armor for everyone, but we didn't have enough manpower or cash flow to pay for it.

Jorb was very proud of his work, so I didn't bother telling him that, compared to what you see on the History Channel and fantasy movies, it wasn't all that spectacular. And fortunately, it wasn't a full suit. They had used the trip hammer to pound out two plates somewhat shaped to my chest and back. Then, I had pieces strapped to my arms. It was all tied together with leather strips. All the armor, including the annoying helmet, was polished to a mirror shine. I don't know how they convinced me to wear all this stuff. At least there was a cotton-padded cap and neck protector to keep it from chaffing.

I complained about all of this because there was no way the Raiders had scouts out this far yet. I was complaining up until the point that a rock struck me in the head. At least, I thought it was a rock until the next arrow struck me in the chest and slid across the curved surface. My horse bucked, and I grabbed onto the saddle. I had put a saddle horn on all the saddles, even though no one in this time period was roping cattle. I thought it would be a good thing to hold onto rather than the rim of the saddle in case my horse bucked. I am so glad I had because if I hadn't, I would have been thrown from the horse. Instead, after bucking twice, the horse charged down the road.

It must have run a kilometer before the dumb animal decided it would be better if it were off the road. It only made it fifty meters through the trees before it came to a steep half-meter drop and flung me off. I was dazed when I came to and found the horse with a broken leg lying next to me.

As my head started to clear, I began to realize what had just happened. It was an assassination attempt. My first thought was that I was such a nice guy, why would anybody want to kill me? My second thought was that I was an idiot and half the kingdom wanted me dead. This was all part of shock setting it, and I had to nip that in the bud. Looking at what I had, I found my sword was still at my side, but the pommel had hit me in the side when I fell off, and a huge bruise was forming.

I found that my horse had taken an arrow to its front flank, which is what caused it to bolt. Then I looked down and saw a barely visible scratch along the surface of my breastplate.

Crap, Jorb was right, now I had to shut up and wear this stupid stuff.

As my thoughts turned to Jorb, my eyes went wide. I had just left my friends in the hands of assassins. I got up quickly and went to the horse. I knew I should put it out of its misery, but I didn't have the guts. So, instead, I grabbed the crossbow attached to the saddle. The bolts had scattered everywhere when the horse fell, and I searched until I found three. I doubted I would get a chance to fire all three if I ran into enemies, but it was better to have more than not enough. The windlass was on the opposite side of the horse, pinned underneath it. It's not optimal, but it's better than the other way around. There was no way I was going to be able to lift the horse off the windlass, and even if I did, I doubt it would still be good.

Using my strength, I put my food in the stirrup at the end of the crossbow and pulled back the string. Leaving it knocked wasn't all that great for it, but I doubted the murderers would give me an opportunity to pull it back if I found them.

I started to make my way back up to the road slowly. As soon as I got to where it was visible, I started making my way along through the forest. My polished armor would stand out no matter what, but at least I would have cover. When I got back to Bicman, I would have them paint it dull in a camouflage pattern or at least a dull grey.

I recognized that heading back to the others was a stupid move. Dropping my armor and running as fast as I could to Mellnon would be smarter, but I thought of Emily and the others. I couldn't leave them. It would be better to die trying to help than live knowing I had turned my back on them. Stupid? Yes. The right decision? I thought it was.

I was going at such a slow pace that any fighting that had occurred would already be done by the time I reached them. However, if I rushed back, I could head into another ambush or be taken out by someone looking for me. So I would move about ten to twenty meters. Look around, including up. They say nobody ever looks up. Well, I was going to look up. I would take thirty to sixty seconds to look around the place and continue on.

About five fractions into my walk, my plan saved my life. There was a man in a brown leather vest and brown linen pants running down the road from the direction I was heading. His shirt was colored green in the style of one of our new villages. Well, no plan was foolproof but this did let me know the guy wasn't where he was supposed to be. Not that the bow in his hand and the way he looked as if he were sweeping the area with his eyes wouldn't have clued me in. I hid behind a tree as he passed and then stepped out of the woods.

I didn't yell for him to stop. All that would do is give him time to turn around and shoot me. I took aim and fired my crossbow center mass. I had not practiced much with the crossbow, so I had no faith in hitting him, even at the twenty meters he was from me. That is why I dropped it, pulled out my sword, and charged toward him. It was a good thing I did because my shot went wide. Fortunately, I could feel good in the fact that the only reason I missed was because he was already in the process of turning around due to my less-than-quiet exit from the woods. I wasn't very sneaky. But how many people built like linebackers could claim to be stealthy?

I was almost on top of him by the time he had his sword out. My first strike was an overhand, trying to cleave into his collarbone. He jumped back, and my sword penetrated the leather armor deep enough to cut him across his chest. The attack threw him off balance, and he did not get his sword up into a guard position.

"Wait!" he yelled.

I didn't wait. One thing everyone who sparred with me said was to never hesitate and never give anyone the chance to recover. I was average at best when it came to the sword, and any hesitation would get me killed. That was the thought that was going through my mind as I used my longer reach to plunge the tip of my blade into the man's gut. There was slight resistance from the leather cuirass, but that gave way to the feel of a knife going through soft butter.

The man fell back on the ground and clutched at his stomach as blood seeped out of him. All I could do was stare wide-eyed at the scene. It was fascinating and horrifying at the same time. You would think the 21st-century internet would desensitize me. But the man's face twisted in agony, causing me to freeze. All I could do was gape with my mouth open as the man's eyes glazed over.

I had more adrenaline pumping through my veins than I had ever had before. Even when the Rabiss had fired at me on the beach, or when the duke had stabbed me, it had not caused my heart to beat this fast. As the chemicals began to leave my system, I started to shake. Then I began to vomit.

That was stupid. So stupid. I almost got myself killed. Why didn't I wait? He would have left in a few minutes, and I could have continued to look for my people. Engaging a killer in battle. That was… That was… I vomited again.

I was in so much shock that I didn't hear the hoof beats behind me. I don't know how long it took for Rick to get my attention, but he wasn't willing to approach me while I still had my sword clutched in my hand.

"My lord, you're ok. It's over."

I didn't understand his words at first, but when it finally hit me, I collapsed to my knees and dry-heaved again.

"My lord, the assassins are dead."

I don't know how long it took for my body to calm down, but when I was finally able to stand, the first thing I asked was if everyone was safe.

"There were six of them and ten guards. I think their only objective was you, so the civilians were fine. I am sorry I didn't chase after you right away, but the horses were spooked and uncontrolable. Also, I had to deal with the immediate threat or I would have arrows in my back."

"Emily, is she ok?" I said in a panic. She was also on horseback when the attack came, and I was worried that she would have been thrown from her horse in the chaos.

My question caused Rick to smile. "Other than the fact that I had to have one of my men hold her reins so she didn't charge after you as soon as things calmed down and the fact that she was swearing at me when I left, I think she will be fine."

"Yeah, spending time in the kitchen would probably make anyone have a potty mouth. She will probably be pissed at me for letting my horse bolt."

"Would you like to hide in the woods until I can go back and calm her down? She is probably going to chew you out, my lord," He chuckled.

"Nah, let's not give her any other reason to be mad at you. Besides, I am a count. If she gets mad at me, I will just lock her up."

"Yeah, we will see how that goes," Rick said in a barely audible voice.

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