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Between Winters

By Glycanthrope

Part VI

Fort Jaansworth - The imposing, centuries old granite fort was the military centre of Namairith and home to the esteemed Order of the Sabrehold Knights.

During its construction, a team of surveyors and architects worked meticulously to plan its exact location, so that the fort would be erected in the middle of the Namairian continent within an error margin no larger than a foot, as a symbol of humanoid superiority.

A slight problem arose when it was discovered that the centre of Namairith shared coordinates with a very large and rich vitellium deposit. Scrapping this in favour of the planned fort would be disastrous for the continued production of chainmail armour, and so the problem was solved simply by allowing the feline tribes of the neighbouring Sheterran Empire to conquer a few miles worth of eastern Namairian territory.

As a consequence, the centre of Namairith moved a few miles to the west, and this allowed for construction of the desired fort in a neutral location.

Far to the north of the fort were the battlefields -known by their human name as the Grimslade Plains, and the mountains. These were home to some of the rebelling tribes: orcs, minotaurs, centaurs - maybe even the pig people. It was difficult to say exactly whom the human-elven alliance was up against, as rebels seemed to form new alliances with every report. Still, the savage tribes were not yet sufficiently organised to launch any sort of movement against the fort.

To the east and west were open fields. They were barren and no army could sneak up on the fortress undetected - not that anyone would really care to do so. True, some of the rebel tribes had recently declared war on humans, but this was generally seen as a wail of discontent rather than a battle cry, and all combat so far had been limited to the Grimslade Plains.

Ashford Tanner had manned the same post for weeks, valiantly protecting the fort against any type of excitement or change to the momentum of the daily routine. He turned around in a clockwise direction and found himself facing south once again - the fourth and last direction from which no enemy was expected to appear. Unless of course the rebels decided to arrive by road from Peregrines Landing, knock on the main gate and start throwing daggers and insults - both of which would be a welcome change to sentry duty. Ye Gods, if rebels were to charge the fort, all they had to do was knock and Ashford would personally be the first to open the portcullis and invite them inside for warm grog and combat.

Ashford heard hastened steps coming down the hall. He spun around and saw his friend Teddy Arbinger leaping towards him with an enthusiastic spring to his steps and a secretive smile to his mouth, almost breaking into an open grin.

"I know something that you don't".

"Are you going to tell me - or are you going to break into a song and dance routine first?"

"I was in Sir Walstan's office, and just happened to take a peek in his logbook."

"and?"

"Somebody we know is about to rank up..."

"who?"

Ted Arbinger said nothing but kept widening his grin. "He's really savouring this moment" Ashford thought. Gods, he looked like a sparrow that had just found a ripe horseplop.

"You of course, bonehead"

There was a continuing silence while the news sank in.

"No kidding. I'm next?"

"You, me and a couple of other recruits"

This was the break that they had been waiting for. After nine months of exercise, weapons training and long freezing sentry duties, moving up to the second rank was the reward for - well, for simply not quitting the Knights Academy.

"It'll be GREAT", continued Ted, we're going on assignment together, all four of us: You, me, battle and glory". He slapped Ashford enthusiastically on the shoulder in a seemingly never-ending barrage.

Ashford drew his sword and thrust it towards the distant mountain ridges to the north "For death or glory!"

"Take no prisoners!"

"- and for all the pretty lassies who fancy heroes like us!"

"No prisoners at all!!"

---

"Another couple of miles and we'll be at the crossroads. Once we get there, we'll rendezvous with the troops from Fort Sweetwater".

Ted Arbinger, Ashford Tanner and Sir Oghier were on horseback, going south from fort Jaansworth towards the town of Peregrines Landing.

"So who exactly is this Black Denton guy, anyway?"

"He's just a drifter from Pembroke, who turned highwayman at some point and decided to prey on merchants and travellers in the Oakhills area, along with a few other outcasts. One of them is reported to be a goblin."

"Some fine company", Arbinger sneered in disgust.

Ashford grew quiet, it was easy for Ted Arbinger to be judgemental, "a few more months and I could just as easily have been one of the bandits", he thought. Ted came from a comfortable background in the court of Oakenford. His father was a herald to the count and his mother was a seamstress to the royal family, so joining the Sabrehold knights had been an obvious shortcut to the glory that he so desired.

The path for Ashford Tanner had not been as clear. Both of his parents were tanners in a small settlement, and the reagents used for tanning the hides through the years had ruined the lungs and eyes of both parents. Ashford had no intention of going in their footsteps, and so he took on odd jobs and started drifting from one settlement to another.

That was until he met Rosalee, and for once in his life he found something that he wanted to hold on to, and for the first time he got to know the warm sensation of loving and being loved. He loved Rosalee before she got pregnant; he loved her the moment that he made her pregnant and for the next five months while the foetus grew inside her womb. Then he panicked.

The prospect of settling down and becoming a family man was too much. He became unpredictable and violent, and eventually they had a back-alley sorcerer in Oakenford channel the unborn child away. The mists rising from the womb were unforgiving while the procedure took place and Ashford got a glimpse of the life they had just denied - It was a beautiful baby girl.

Rosalee was wrecked with grief, and Ashton found that he was no longer welcome in the settlement, so he took to the road again, and the following months had been a haze of drinking, fighting and self-loathing. Eventually he had signed up as a recruit with the Order. After some discussion, they eventually accepted him for his fighting skills - not for his personality.

The riders arrived at the crossroads intersecting the paths to Peregrines Landing, Fort Jaansworth and the Oakhills. Here they met with two recruits from Fort Sweetwater, and an elf by the name of Silent Windfall.

The two recruits, Hendrek and Anfroi were in their early twenties, just like Ted and Ashford, and were just as nervous. The elf was like no other elf that Ashford had ever met. Most elves were jovial and spirited, but this one had a face that was as unmoving as a wooden mask, and his eyes looked cold and devoid of any feeling. Ashford decided that he would stay well clear of the elf unless forced otherwise.

Sir Oghier called the riders together.

-"The road between Farvale and Oakhills has been plagued by a small band of brigands, led by a petty criminal known as Black Denton. Our scouts, led by Silent Windfall here, have located their hideout to a shepherd's cottage just east of here, and tonight is the night where we put an end to their activities.

"You recruits are mainly here to watch and learn, but be prepared to jump in if anything unexpected happens. Finally you will serve as the clean-up crew"

-"Clean-up?" Hendrek asked.

• "You guys retrieve any stolen items, so that they can be returned to their rightful owners. You will also pack any other objects that can be considered as having any practical value to the Order".

"You two recruits, follow me!" Silent windfall drew his longbow and signalled for Ted and Ashford to follow him closely. As they moved towards the shepherd's cottage, they noticed a human figure sitting by an outside campfire. "They've posted a sentry".

The figure made no movement as they drew closer. "He's probably drunk or asleep, but that only makes out work easier". Silent Windfall aimed an arrow at the sentry. He inhaled deeply, held his breath for a moment then let the arrow fly.

The arrow hit the sentry in the left side of the neck and went straight through with its head protruding from the right side. The man staggered from the impact and reached for his throat. His eyes were wide open in horror and his lips moved without making a sound while his fingers probed the arrow lodged in his neck. Within moments, Silent Windfall had fired another arrow, which hit the sentry in the chest and he collapsed on the ground.

"A shot to the chest stops the heart and kills them in less than fifteen seconds, but that still leaves them time to scream and attract attention. A shot through the throat makes the muscles cramp up and they can't say a word, but it sometimes takes a full minute before they suffocate in blood. During that time they can still make noise by crashing into things. Therefore a two-shot approach is a very efficient takedown. You recruits will do well by remembering this".

Moments later, the three were joined by Sir Oghier, Hendrek and Anfroi. "Now that the sentry is down, we can take the rest by surprise".

"We expect Black Denton to be inside with another two men and one goblin, that's four in all. We expect them to be asleep and unprepared, so Windfall and I will neutralise the cell, while you recruits hang back here and observe.

"We could bring one along, just to level out the numbers", the elf suggested

"Alright, one of you recruits can come along. Any volunteer up for it?"

"I'll go!" Ted Arbinger nodded. He drew his sword and the three disappeared into the night.

-"This is wrong, they should have been back by now"

-"They've only been gone a minute, Anfroi".

-"Something is wrong, I can FEEL it".

-"Our orders were to stay behind and watch, and by Odys that's what we'll do".

Eternities passed, but eventually Sir Oghier reappeared along with and the elf and Ted Arbinger.

"The good citizens of Oakhills can travel this road again in safety, for right has prevailed once more, in a very decisive victory."

"Ha, they were drunk and asleep. They never knew what hit them".

"That was so intense!" Ted Arbinger was hyped and wide eyed "I slit his throat while he slept and he didn't even struggle or nothin'".

"The human died the way that he lived", Windfall commented dryly. "If he had stayed sober and alert, he would have been defeated in battle, but instead he died gurgling on the floor by his own choice".

"Hendrek, Anfroi, Ashford! It's your turn now. Get in there and round up anything that can be of use to the order".

"What about the surviving bandits? Shouldn't we tie them up or something?"

"They were all heading for the noose, so there was no point in taking prisoners. We have just spared the hangman of the trouble."

The three recruits entered the cottage and were greeted by the aftermath of the short struggle. They began to rummage through the bandits' belongings, and were soon joined by Ted Arbinger and the elf.

"Hey Ash, look at this guy", Ted Arbinger whispered, and tugged at Ashford to lead him to a corpse on the floor. It was a human male in his early-twenties, but an unkempt beard made him look older than his age. "I took care of this guy while he slept".

The ground around him was soiled by blood, which originated from what seemed to be a very wide, extra mouth at the base of his neck.

"Oghier and Windfall took out the ones that were awake. I did this one myself, cut his throat like this, krrrrrk!" Ted Arbinger made a cutting motion across his own neck with his thumb.

They were joined by the Elf, "In a situation like this, you will want to avoid direct combat. Recruit Arbinger was correct in judging that neutralising the target in his drunken stupor was the more efficient way."

"But he made this really crazy sound when he died. It was sort of halfway between a pig squeal and a donkey's bray, and he just kept making it. That really creeped me out-"

In his characteristic, matter of fact way, the elf explained "When you cut his throat, the windpipe collapsed. What you heard was the lungs trying to suck in air. They do that for a few seconds, and then they die. Once you hear that sound, you will know that it is safe to move on to your next target".

The four recruits began to pack items of interest into saddlebags: a few weapons, armour, pieces of stolen jewellery. Ashford noticed Ted Arbinger flipping through a book that he had found. Ted winked at Ashford, and then stuffed the book into his shirt. "This might come in handy".

---

Sir Walston was very pleased when they returned to fort Jaansworth. "You did a first class job out there. Everyone did just what you were supposed to do, and that is why you return victorious and in good health. You guys have made the road safe for the honest people of Oakhills, and for that reason, we shall celebrate tonight. Let it be known that the Order of the Sabrehold Knights knows how to appreciate its heroes."

Ashford Tanner had too much to drink that night.

The returning heroes enjoyed the hospitality of the inn -all paid up in front by Sir Walston, they basked in the admiration of the locals and in the envy of the lower ranking recruits, as well as receiving the intimate attention of ladies, whom Ashford did not recognise as locals and seemed to have more experience than they claimed to have.

Outside, a local woman returned from the forest with her donkey laden with faggots for the fireplace. As they passed by, the animal began to bray loudly.

"Listen Arbinger, Mr. Smiley-face has come back to haunt you."

"Well, haunt THIS!" the laughing Arbinger made a rude gesture with his hand, and the entire inn howled with laughter.

Ashford felt the room spinning madly around him. He doubled over and got violently sick on the floor. He was too drunk to stand, so he just leaned over and collapsed across the table. From his paralysing stupor he watched his comrades drink and drink and dance and dance while the world spun around him.

"It could have been me on that floor..."