Table of Contents – (spoilers)
Out in the farmyard, Peep pointed out their extra horse to Rodolf.
“Ye ride that. Ye stay in the middle of us and do as we say. And if ye get any funny ideas, well… I don’t gotta threaten ye, do I, Rodolf?”
“No, ma’am. I’ll do what ye say.”
“Good man. Ye see? You and yar missus stayed quiet and did as yar told, and yar coming through this just fine. Neva and her stupid fuckin husband, not so much. They do make a pair, don’t they, Rodolf?” Peep said.
“Yes, I suppose they do, ma’am.”
“Not for nothing, Peep, but those two ye fucked up were only behaving exactly like you would in that situation,” Pinch said.
“Yeah, well, I aint a fuckin peasant. And, if ye recall, when the Sheriff and his men had their boot on my neck, I had the good sense to keep my fuckin mouth shut, didn’t I?”
“Yes, I suppose ye did. So, what’s the plan here?” Pinch asked.
“To the church, yes? Barrelmender in the morning,” Choke said.
Pinch nodded. “Just ride straight there?” he asked.
Peep shrugged. “Well, it’s full dark now. I don’t wanna be crashing through the bush we don’t know with this package along,” she gestured at Rodolf. “So I think that’s what we do. Take it slow and quiet and head straight there. I don’t think anybody knows we’re here, but there’s always a chance. Gabe, if we cross the crick here, is there any easy way to get to town from the north over the hump?”
“Yes, Miss Otilla. There’s all kinds of good trails. But in the dark like this, I think we’d need a lantern to do it.”
“Well, that’s out. So, choices are: we go back inside and hole up here for the night, or go back on the road past Tully’s. Both choices suck in their own way. My vote is for going back to the church.”
“I agree. Let’s do it,” Choke said.
“Okay, then. Nice and slow. Real quiet. Me and Pinch out in front. Choke a bit back, ready to charge. Knuckle, you stay in back with Gabe and Rodolf. Shit kicks off, we ride straight back here and get in the bush and head back up the South Hill as best we can. At least we know that turf a bit. Right?”
They all nodded and mounted up.
“Yeah, and one more thing,” Peep said, looking at Choke, Pinch, and Knuckle in turn. “No more important talk until the youngsters are put to bed. Right?” she gestured to Gabe and Rodolf.
They rode on the wide trail from the farm to Tully’s, which was only about five hundred meters. The brothel was lit up with lamps on its veranda and its window shutters were open wide. The sounds of laughter and general carousing could be heard long before they reached the place. There was no one on the veranda.
The squad halted at the tree line where the Cowslip’s ravine narrowed as it approached the village. There, they dismounted and took what cover they could. Peep and Pinch went ahead on foot, keeping as far to the south from the brothel as possible. They stuck together and were able to determine that the way ahead was clear of any ambushes or obvious lookouts. Peep and Pinch returned to the squad and they all mounted up to press on.
Riding slow, they went on by Tully’s without notice. From there, it was just another few hundred meters to the Crotch, the intersection of the Cowslip and Bristle rivers. They rode on through the Crotch and up to the village’s palisade gates, which were closed.
“Ah. I see our Lieutenant’s fit of professionalism did not end with today’s patrol alone,” Choke said dryly.
While dark, it was not particularly late, and the sounds of normal village life could be heard all around them. It was a normal night, and the shutters of the cottages they had passed, as well as the homes just behind the palisade, were open. The lively noise of families at their evening leisure was ambient.
“Do we knock?” Pinch asked.
“Well, we have not been hailed, so if there is someone up there on watch, they are clearly in dereliction. And I don’t want to tip our hand to any soldiers if we can help it. Actually, speaking of dereliction, we should have guarded against that already,” Choke said with self-recrimination. He continued: “Knuckle. Please give Rodolf your cloak. Rodolf, put that on and cover up your face. There is no sense in advertising what we are doing.”
Knuckle and Rodolf quickly did just this.
“Okay, so we don’t knock. So, what, we go around to the north gate?” Pinch asked.
“Fuck that,” Peep said. “That’s right under the watchtower. So if Dixon’s set a watch, that’s where it’ll be. Here, Knuckle ride right up next to the wall and boost me up.”
Peep and Knuckle brought their horses up to the rough logs of the palisade wall next to the gate. Peep handed her reins off to Knuckle before clambering onto the back of his saddle. From there, she climbed up to stand on his shoulders, and he grabbed both her calves to lift her easily straight up above his head. With this, she was just able to reach the top of the logs and pull herself up over the wall. It was less than a minute before she unbarred the gate and had it open.
The squad closed and barred the gate behind them and rode on through the village of Bristlehump to the church. If there was anyone that saw them, they gave no indication of it. They found the church locked up tight, just as they had left it, and were soon putting their horses away in the little church stable.
“I don’t want to use the village stable today,” Choke said. “If we can keep it quiet that we are back, so much the better. Let’s string a line between the stable and shed, and tether the three extra horses here.
They did so, and soon had the two new bandit horses tethered along with Gabe’s horse.
“I’m going to tend to the horses properly. Gabe, can you help me with that?” Choke said. “You four,” he gestured to Pinch, Peep, Knuckle, and Rodolf, “get dinner on. I’m famished.”
“And beer?” Knuckle asked.
“One or two. No more than that. We’re on full watch tonight.”
It was almost an hour before they were all seated around the kitchen table together, enjoying a hearty, hot gruel and some of Babs’ beer.
“Man, but yar mother makes a good brew. This is fuckin great!” Knuckle said to Gabe happily.
“Ye like that, ye should wait till ye try my corn mash potato wine,” Gabe said proudly.
“Lookin forward to it, buddy!”
When dinner was finished, Peep pointed at Rodolf.
“Okay, man, we sleep in the pews. Find yarself what ye can to make it comfortable and bed down. Tomorrow, we take ye to Barrelmender. And, tonight, ye don’t leave this fuckin church. If ye need to take a piss, or whatever, ye let us know. And I aint just worried about ye fuckin us around here, neither. If Dixon, or whoever, figures out what we’re up to here, they might just try to take ye out. So be smart. Right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank ye, ma’am.”
“Okay. Get yarself sorted,” Peep dismissed him. Then she pointed at Gabe: “You. Yar gonna stay here with us tonight. Before ye get yarself sorted for bed, ye clean up this kitchen. That’s one of yar jobs here now. Got it?”
“Yes, Miss Otilla. And I’ll be taking watch with ye, right?”
“If ye want. But not solo. Yar still doubled up with one of us. Ye can watch with me or Pinch. That’s when shit’s most likely to happen,” Peep said.
“You have last watch, right, Miss Otilla?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then, I’ll watch with you, if that’s alright.”
“It is. But I aint wanting for company. We won’t be talking. Ye’ll be looking out the front windows on the square.”
“Yes, Miss Otilla.”
They quickly set up their bedrolls in the pews while Gabe cleaned up the kitchen. They kept the doors barred, but opened the two, tall narrow windows that flanked it, so that they would be able to hear anyone coming out in the village square. Then Gabe and Rodolf went to sleep immediately.
Of course, they were all exhausted, but Peep gestured for Choke and Pinch to join her in the kitchen with Knuckle, who was set up on first watch. Knuckle was just inside the kitchen door on a chair, looking out at the yard and stables, which had a lit lantern hung over the door. He had with him two loaded crossbows, his longbow and quiver, and the big handbell.
Peep took a long look into the church to make sure Gabe and Rodolf were still in bed, before taking a seat with Pinch and Choke near Knuckle. She got out her little pipe and marijuana pouch and packed a bowl for them to share. Choke declined the pipe when it was passed to him, and shook his head at Knuckle when he looked about to reach for it.
“Not on watch,” he said.
Knuckle shrugged.
“Okay, so what are we thinking? That all worked out well, right?” Peep asked as she took her pipe back from Pinch.
“It could have gone better. Did you have to be so extreme with the peasants?” Choke said.
“What? Ye heard the shit that bitch was saying. And her man? I go half-assed with him, and he’d have me as a hostage,” Peep said, not looking the slightest bit defensive.
“I understand that, but slashing his face was excessive,” Choke pushed.
“What-the-fuck-ever. It coulda been a lot worse. I mean, Knuckle coulda crossbowed a couple of the womenfolk to death,” Peep chuckled.
“Oh, fuck off. When ye gonna let me live that one down?” Knuckle griped at Peep.
“When it stops being funny to bring it up,” Peep answered.
“I hardly think any of this is funny,” Choke said. “I don’t like that happening in front of children.”
“Okay. What does what ye like, or don’t, have to do with anything?” Peep asked. “Ye fuck around with people near their home and there’s gonna be kids involved. It’s as good a way as any for them to learn what life’s all about.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that shit with Goldy’s bunch,” Knuckle exclaimed. “All them women and kids we left up there on that hill, they was all set to be swarmed with goblins right after we got outta there, right? So, if anything, I did that fuckin woman a favor putting her down like I did. Saved her having to watch her kids get eaten feet first by the gobos.”
“Well, when ye put it that way, yar a right humanitarian, Knuckle. Ye should think more often, and they’ll be proclaiming ye a saint in no time!” Pinch laughed.
“Yeah, that’s one way to look at it. Ye want I should cut yar throat and save ye the pain of whatever’s set to happen to ye in future?” Peep asked.
“Fuck no. I’m just saying,” Knuckle said.
“Yar just talking shit is what yar doing. But there aint no harm in it,” Peep said. Then she took one last deep pull off her pipe and blew a cloud of smoke Knuckle’s way.
Choke, meanwhile, had been sitting with his eyes closed and his hand on his brow. The shrieking of the simpleton and the crying children that day had upset him. To now be reminded of that crying little boy next to the corpses of his mother and father was almost more than he could bear just then. As the other three continued to banter, he slowly marshalled himself until he could summon the spirit to interrupt them:
“Okay. Enough. Let’s wrap this up and go to bed. We need our rest. Tomorrow’s a big day. Let’s figure it out.”
“Well, we got Rodolf. So, we take him to Barrelmender and get him to say what he knows. Then what?” Peep asked.
“If what he said is true, there is sufficient evidence for Lieutenant Dixon to be brought up on charges,” Choke said.
“By Barrelmender?” Pinch asked.
“I don’t know. He’s a kingdom officer, so I doubt that. He’s been colluding with criminals, not directly committing crimes. So, I would guess that the thing to do, if things were operating normally here—”
“Which they aren’t,” Pinch interjected.
“Which they aren’t,” Choke agreed. “But, if they were, I expect the thing to do would be for Barrelmender to submit a report to Dixon’s superiors. That would then be handled by a military court martial.”
“Okay. But things aint normal here. So how do we play this?” Peep asked.
“Good question. That all depends on Barrelmender. We have run out of road with this posture we have taken. If Barrelmender doesn’t act, we are done here, I think,” Choke said contemplatively.
“So then what?” Knuckle asked.
Choke shrugged. “I don’t know. Then we discuss it. I suppose we go back to Spitzer and report to Father Morrenthall. I am sure he will figure out something for us to do.”
“Okay. So, that’s if Barrelmender doesn’t get his shit together. What’s our target tomorrow?” Peep asked.
“At very least that Barrelmender hears Rodolf and issues a writ of evidence against Lieutenant Dixon,” Choke said.
“And if he doesn’t?” asked Peep.
“Then, we’ll be taking Rodolf to Spitzer. His evidence must be heard. Lieutenant Dixon is dangerously corrupt. Whatever our issues with him and the Outfit are, that must be dealt with for the good of the kingdom as a whole.”
“Wait, we gotta take that guy all the way to Spitzer? Can’t we just go and tell them what he said?” Peep griped.
“No. I have explained this already. That would be hearsay, which is inadmissible as evidence in a lawful trial. There is no way for the magistrate to know if the witness was lying. Rodolf must give evidence himself. There is no other way,” Choke said.
“Well, let’s hope it don’t come to that. So, let’s say Barrelmender surprises us and does his job. What then?” Peep asked.
“Then we push him to make me his apparitor, and you three my deputies.”
“And if he don’t?” Knuckle asked pointedly.
“Then, Knuckle, your original opinion on Barrelmender and our prospects in this place will have proved true, and we’ll take the writ to Spitzer and wash our hands of this place,” Choke said with finality.
“Good,” Pinch said. “Now, let’s assume everything goes our way and we get the writ and our position with Barrelmender. What then?”
“Then, we do what Barrelmender orders us to do. Or, if he doesn’t care to issue orders, which I suspect will be the case, we will be free to act on our own. To a degree.”
“So what’s the plan with Dixon then?” Pinch asked.
“I’m not sure. There are basically two options. One: we take our evidence to Spitzer and have him court martialed. Or, two: we threaten him with that and see what he does.”
“That one! Number two,” Peep snapped her fingers. “I like that one.”
“I am inclined to agree, Peep,” Choke said. “If he can be threatened into doing his job, at least nominally, then everything will be much better for it.”
“And we’ll have him in our pocket,” Peep said.
“Yes, that too.”
“Okay, sounds good. We just have to see how tomorrow goes and figure shit out from there. But, before we turn in, I wanna go over what we know about Sneed. That guy gives me the vapors. Something aint right about how this has played out,” Peep said.
“Okay. What are your thoughts?” Choke asked.
“Well, he’s Outfit muscle, right? Brought in special to deal with us,” Peep started.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Pinch said.
Peep scowled at him. “Yeah, we do. Babs told us that he’s only been in town for a few weeks. And, he hasn’t done shit with the teamsters in the time he’s been here. So, obviously, he was sent in to deal with us.”
“Babs said that? When? I don’t remember that,” Pinch said, looking disturbed.
“She said that on Sunday night, after dinner. If ye didn’t get so fuckin drunk, maybe ye’d remember. So, anyways, he’s an Outfit goon brought in sort us out. And there he was outside Tully’s when we head out on our thunder run. But he didn’t make any move when all them killers in the bush jumped.”
“Yeah, so? The thunder run fucked that plan up, right?” Knuckle said.
Peep nodded. “Okay. Yeah, that’s right. But something’s still fucky there. Rodolf’s people at the farm there, that Neva bitch, he said her kinfolk were connected to the bandit squad that moved on us. It’s obvious all them farmers been mixing with the bandits this week. But, when we brought Sneed up, Rodolf had no idea who we were talking about.”
“Do you believe him?” Pinch asked.
Peep nodded. “Yeah. I do. That seemed legit. Rodolf aint no fuckin complicated mind. He was spilling his guts, and he had no idea of who Sneed was when Choke brought him up. So, that means that Sneed didn’t have shit to do with that ambush set up.”
“At least not on a tactical level,” Choke said, nodding thoughtfully as Peep’s worry sank home. “Strategically, he may have been in something of a command position there.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Peep said.
“Or, maybe, he’s just a fuckin nobody,” Knuckle said.
“No. That cat is a high-end death technician. I’m fuckin sure of that. And those three with him at Tully’s looked to be cut from the same cloth. If he wasn’t in play during that ambush, it means he chose not to be there. Even if he wasn’t in charge, that means he had the juice to sit it out. Because anyone in charge of that move would have put him into play if they could’ve.”
This silenced everyone as they thought about it. The situation got scarier the longer they did.
“In chess, the Queen is not brought out early. The King sends out the pawns first,” Choke said.
“I have no idea what that means,” Peep said. “Am I the Queen?”
“No. We have no idea who is. We are playing this game in the dark.”
“Well, let’s see if we can’t get our good Lieutenant to light a candle for us, then,” Peep said with a grin.
Muse Vassal 