Table of Contents – (spoilers)
Captain Edison led Father Morrenthall, his sergeant, Peep, and Choke down to the fort’s courtyard. From there, they went around to the loading bays of the fort’s storerooms and granaries.
Sergeant-Major Orel was making a good show of being busy with his ledgers in his office nook near the main storeroom’s loading door. He was a small, slight man with the intensity of a whippet. He was in a very fine tabard with the four stripes of his rank at the shoulder. His weaponbelt was bright with silver buckles and embellishments. It housed only a fine, bright steel dagger.
Orel stood to attention smartly and saluted when Captain Edison entered the storeroom. His eyes showed no surprise when Father Morrenthall, his sergeant, Peep, and Choke followed.
Captain Edison returned Orel’s salute.
“Sergeant-Major. You are ordered to go with Magistrate Morrenthall to his church for a formal interview. Go with him now,” Captain Edison said.
Orel blinked slowly and worked his tongue across his teeth under his lips as though preparing to spit.
“Ordered, sir? Whose order would that be? Colonel Hart’s?”
“Excuse me? It is my order, man!”
Orel met Captain Edison’s eye squarely. “I think, maybe, sir, that ye’ve forgotten what all I have going on right now. I don’t have any time for that. We’re provisioning and equipping a lot of new men, sir. I think—”
“I am aware!” Captain Edison bellowed, interrupting Orel, “of what you are doing! My order stands! Go with the magistrate! Now!”
Orel stared at Captain Edison, seemingly even calmer than he had been at first. “Sir. I think ye need to be checking with Colonel Hart about that. He won’t be happy, you pulling me off my duties just now for this…” Orel looked Father Morrenthall’s way as he worked his mouth again, “this… little investigation. If I have time tomorrow evening, I’ll come down and give the magistrate my report. Sir.”
Now livid, Captain Edison stepped around Orel’s desk to tower over him.
“Insubordination! Sergeant Orel! You will follow my order! You will go with Magistrate Morrenthall to his church now! If you do not, I will have you clapped in irons and dragged there! Your court martial will then commence immediately upon your return from the church! Is! That! Clear!”
Orel took his time considering this, just as though Captain Edison had invited him to afternoon tea.
“All right, then, sir,” Orel finally said. “Just don’t ever say I didn’t try to warn, ye. Sir.”
“Shut your mouth, man! Not another word! Go!” bellowed Captain Edison.
Orel finally nodded and moved around his desk to leave his storeroom.
The Holy Sword sergeant, Peep, and Choke moved so they could surround Orel in a triangle as they took him to the stables. When they were inside the perimeter of Holy Sword men, Father Morrenthall turned to his sergeant:
“Sergeant. Stay here with Sergeant-Major Orel. Maintain a tight perimeter. Captain Edison, I think it best if the Sergeant-Major waits here at the stables with my people while we go and get the other. Yes?”
Captain Edison nodded. “Stay here,” he ordered Orel. Then to the nearby corporal: “saddle two horses.”
Captain Edison and Father Morrenthall left the fort on foot through the main gates. Having collected his full kit from his men, the Holy Sword sergeant dropped into a ready stance with his shield in his left and his spear in his right, two meters back from Orel. The Holy Sword sergeant’s steady gaze never broke from Orel.
Peep gave Choke a thumbs up and moved to stand with Knuckle and Pinch, who were under the stable’s awning in the shade. This left Choke and Orel standing near each other. Completely ignoring the Holy Sword sergeant menacing him, Orel relaxed into an insolent posture with his hand on his dagger as he worked his mouth again. This time he spat, right in front of Choke’s feet.
“Well, haven’t you just polished up into a fine-looking officer,” Orel smiled at Choke.
“Thank you, Sergeant-Major.”
“Ye know, if it’s just the two of us talking here, I don’t think we need to bother with all this rank horseshit, do we, jink?”
“The fuck you say?” Knuckle shouted as he pulled the jailer’s cudgel from his belt and moved straight for Orel.
“Sergeant! Hold!” Choke barked, pointing hard at Knuckle.
Knuckle stopped where he was, but stood working his grip on the cudgel as he shifted his feet under himself restlessly.
“Ye watch it, motherfucker,” Knuckle growled.
“Sergeant! Enough!” Choke shouted again.
Orel laughed.
“I am curious, Orel, why it is you feel we can be familiar with each other here,” Choke said, as calmly as he could. “We haven’t met before, have we?”
“No. But we may as well have, what with everything that’s been going on. I’ve been hearing so much about ye, for so long, that it feels like I know ye.”
“I am not sure what you might be getting at, Orel. This is the magistrate’s business. Be that as it may, I have heard next to nothing about you,” Choke said.
“No?” Orel said, before spitting again at Choke’s feet.
“No.”
“Bullshit. Yar lot got Billy burned up. Ye pulled in the Sheriff. Ye killed Wes. And now yar gonna drag me in like that’s gonna do anything to stop what’s coming for ye.”
Choke cocked his head and stared at Orel with an amused smile.
“What? Did I say something funny, ye fuckin jink?” Orel said.
“No. You are about as funny as a goblin raid,” Choke said, his smile widening just a little.
“Horsefucker!” Orel hawked and spat again, this time onto Choke’s boot.
Choke raised his hand Knuckle’s way to halt him before he could begin. Knuckle obeyed the gesture and stood mute, creaking the cudgel’s leather strap on his wrist.
“What is it you are up to here, Orel?” Choke asked quietly. “Are you trying to provoke us into killing you? Do you think that would be an easier fate than what Father Morrenthall has in store for you? If you are that afraid to face him, why didn’t you just run?”
“If getting killed here was my goal, jink, I think I’d rather just throw down and end you proper,” Orel leaned towards Choke to emphasize his hand that was still on the hilt of his dagger.
“A company man to the end. Good for you, Orel. Making a fine show of it. A proper minion; if not a soldier. But you have this all wrong. Don’t you see? This is the end of your Outfit out here. And it has nothing to do with me and my people’s beef with Murray in Strana. That was only the catalyst. You people. You are the ones that ended this for yourselves,” Choke said.
“What the fuck are ye talking about, jink?”
“The future. Your future. Certainly not the past, when you mattered. You asked me if I thought that having you dragged into the church would save me from what is coming. Right? That is the past. It is irrelevant. What is happening here has nothing to do with any of that. And it shall be a better man than me that makes that very clear to you. Very shortly, I think.”
Choke paused to think over his next words:
“You gangsters. You talk about yourselves as though you are inevitable. As though your masters’ ire brings retribution as surely as sin brings damnation. But this is simply not so. You do know that, Orel, don’t you? You are just men. And the more of you that come, the more of you we get to kill.
“And, finally, Orel, I would like you to know this. And take it to heart: If your lot had just left us alone. If you had done nothing, then none of this would have happened. It was your organization’s actions that precipitated what is about to happen to you and your fellows. It brought you to the attention of those that matter. And a day of reckoning is at hand because of it.”
Choke smiled beatifically at Orel.
Orel looked very much like he might draw and try to stab Choke.
Choke stepped a little back to shift into a fighting stance as he dropped his hand to his own dagger.
“Or, Orel… you can take your fate into your own hands.”
Orel and Choke stared at each other for a long moment. Then the Holy Sword sergeant, still standing at the ready within his striking distance, cleared his throat to speak:
“No. Neither of you dies here. The Father will be back soon enough to save you bleeding out from my spear through your thigh.”
“Well, there you have it, Orel,” Choke said. “Like children in a dormitory, we can only play at autonomy. But I think you are a smart enough man to realize that there is another way forward for you. And, in closing, I will say: spit on me again, and we’ll find out whose thigh gets the spear when we both throw down.”
Choke and Orel stared at each other for a while more. When it became clear that Orel had nothing more to add, Choke released his grip on his dagger and held his hand flat out in front of him, palm down, with his fingers spread. His hand was rock steady.
“You see, Orel? You do not scare me. And your petty insults do not upset me. So, if I were you, I would keep my peace and take this moment to think about how to handle what is coming your way. Good chat!”
Choke turned his back on Orel and went to Knuckle, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder. The two walked over to Peep and Pinch, who were standing with their bows unlimbered and arrows notched.
“Ye shoulda let me make him lick yar fuckin boots clean, man,” Knuckle said quietly.
“Well, then I would have even more of his spit on them, wouldn’t I, Knuckle?” Choke said with a grin.
It took just another ten minutes for Captain Edison to return with Lieutenant Hamon. When Lieutenant Hamon saw Sergeant-Major Orel standing in the ring of Father Morrenthall’s men-at-arms, his stride faltered and he looked as though he might throw up. It took just another minute to get the Holy Sword soldiers and their prisoners mounted. While both Lieutenant Hamon and Sergeant-Major Orel were still armed, there could be no doubt that they were prisoners as the Holy Sword men formed a tight circle around them on horseback.
Father Morrenthall mounted his horse and tipped his helmet to Captain Edison.
“Thank you, Captain, for your cooperation. It is most appreciated. Lieutenant Pekot, sergeants, thank you for your service. Good luck on this, your next adventure. Otilla, while you are in town here, please do feel free to check in with me from time to time. As your schedule permits, of course. Good day to you all! Now, men, to the church!”
Captain Edison watched the nine riders leave the fort. Then he took a minute to compose himself. Once he had, he looked over to the recruits Dom and Lenny.
“These are the two Morrenthall spoke of?” he asked Choke.
“Yes, sir.”
“They have horses and gear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“But they have not been trained.”
“Only a little, sir,” Choke said.
“Very well.” Captain Edison turned to Dom and Lenny: “Go with the corporal and see to your horses in the stable. They may stay here until you depart. Store your equipment by their stalls. You may not be armed during your training. Bring only your clothes, cloak, and eating kit. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Dom and Lenny said as they did their best with a salute.
Captain Edison returned their salute stiffly. He turned to his corporal: “Corporal, help these men get situated. Keep a close eye on them.”
“Yes, sir!”
When the men were gone, Captain Edison rolled his head back in a neck stretch as he sighed deeply.
“Your horses may also be kept here,” he said to the Pekot squad. “Of course, as officers and NCOs you must be armed at all times. We have many new recruits here. Take care that your personal belongings are secure. Theft is rampant in this kind of situation. You two sergeants: go and see to your horses, as well as Lieutenant Pekot and Miss Otilla’s,” Captain Edison ordered Knuckle and Pinch.
“Yes, sir!”
Once Knuckle and Pinch were inside the stable, Captain Edison took another moment to look around the fort and make sure that he, Choke, and Peep were alone.
“Lieutenant Pekot. Do you have any idea who it is that your magistrate has just arrested?” Captain Edison asked wearily.
“Hamon? He aint shit, is he, Captain?” Peep said with a big grin.
“Him? No! Sergeant-Major Orel!”
“Well, he’s just a supply sergeant, aint he? And a dirty one, by all accounts,” Peep said.
“Just a supply sergeant, you say? You obviously have no concept of military matters, Miss Otilla! There is no such thing as just a supply sergeant. And they are all dirty, to some degree or another. It is the nature of their duty.”
“Well, if ye say so, Captain,” Peep said amiably.
“I do! And this is no mere supply sergeant. He is this fort’s quartermaster. Do you not understand what that means? Any military unit lives and dies on its supply. Food. Equipment. Weapons. Armor. Animals. New recruits. Who do you think it is that coordinates all this? Officers might give orders, but it is sergeants that manage the logistics of it. And a colonel’s sergeant-major quartermaster can make or break a lesser officer’s career.”
“Really?” Peep asked earnestly, now obviously intrigued. “How’s that?”
“To do our duty, for our men to do their duty, we must have supply. Something seemingly as basic as rations is critical for morale and fighting readiness. Cross a quartermaster and it is quite possible that all your men shall be receiving is the moldy remnants of last year’s animal fodder.”
“Well, dang,” Peep said. “I guess Father M got just the guy he was after, then! I wouldn’t worry, Captain; the Father is gonna sort Orel right out and get to the bottom of all this. Get everyone pulling in the same direction.”
“Yes. Wonderful,” Captain Edison said darkly. “Miss Otilla: please wait here with your men. Lieutenant Pekot: come with me.”
Captain Edison led Choke into the keep and into the small chapel, which was unoccupied. They both quickly took a knee in front of the altar: a yellow sun in front of a basic Stronian Wheel.
“Have a seat, Lieutenant,” Captain Edison said, gesturing to the pews.
Choke sat down and Captain Edison moved to shut the chapel doors. He then sat down near Choke and rubbed his eyes and temples with a pained grimace.
“So, tell me, Lieutenant: Where does this end?”
“Sir?”
“Where does this end? Who is he after?” Captain Edison almost shouted.
“Father Morrenthall?”
“Yes! Who else?” Captain Edison now shouted.
“Sir. He is not after anyone in particular. He is simply seeking to root out corruption.”
“Oh, indeed? And where do you suppose that ends, Lieutenant?”
“Well, sir, I suppose it ends where it ends. Like Otilla said: Father Morrenthall is going to get to the bottom of everything and do whatever he has to do to clean it up. I will add, Captain, that the Father is earnest about forgiveness. And he is thorough. He shall uncover all. I am sure of that.”
Captain Edison sighed deeply and closed his eyes. He sat for a long while like this, breathing deeply. Eventually, Choke felt compelled to continue speaking:
“Captain. I am sure that Father Morrenthall is not seeking to gut the military. He will redeem everyone he can. In short order you will have your people back, and you can be sure that when they return, they will be conducting themselves properly.”
Captain Edison laughed. It was the laugh of a man on the gallows, beyond all hope.
“Oh, you think that is my only concern, Lieutenant? Now what do you suppose your Father’s adversaries shall be doing while he roots out their agents? They’ll be sitting still, will they?”
“Well… I suppose not, sir. But what can they do?”
“What can they do? Whatever they fucking well want, man! Look at that spectacle on Main Street last night! They beheaded the teamster boss and left his head at the Sheriff’s office!”
This gave Choke real pause. He had been assuming that the charade of playing Wes’ killing as an Outfit move would be almost universally dismissed. Orel’s declaration of this had confirmed his thinking. But here was the captain of the fort, seemingly a credulous dupe of Father Morrenthall’s subterfuge. Allowing his real surprise to show on his face, Choke decided to play the role of devil’s advocate. There was no sense in overselling the story.
“Sir? The teamster boss was killed by the Outfit? But he was their man,” Choke said, doing his best to look confused.
“Exactly! His killing has Outfit job written all over it! The Father arrested Sheriff Waters, so the Outfit knew it was only a matter of time before they worked their way up to their man Wes. So they took care of him!”
“They do that to one of their own? A loyal man?”
“It’s the Outfit, man! They are animals! And was he loyal? He must have cooperated with you when you all interviewed him at the depot two days ago. Didn’t he?”
“Sir. I am really not at liberty to talk about anything concerning Father Morrenthall’s investigations.”
“Yes, yes, yes. Thank you very much for your support, Lieutenant. I won’t forget it. But he must have said something. Or, if he didn’t, they’re probably angry that you lot are still alive. It’s a good pretext to take the only sure way to cut off any connections to more important people.”
“Yes, I suppose you must be right, sir,” Choke said thoughtfully
“Oh, come off of it, Lieutenant! You can drop the act! You have been at the priest’s side this whole time. You all know very well why Wes was eliminated.”
“Yes, sir. I am sorry, sir. This is a difficult situation for me, sir. I only hope that you can accept my assurance that I will do my best to do my duty to the Kingdom and Colonel Hart, as best I can. Sir.”
Captain Edison stared hard at Choke for a long moment. Then he relaxed a little.
“Well, Lieutenant, if nothing else, at the very least I can be sure that you are not sent here by the Outfit to clean up anything else.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Alright, then. We can only do our best. And something has to kill us, sooner or later. So, as to your duties. As you know, we are critically understaffed with officers and NCOs. What NCOs I have are out drilling Lieutenant Hamon and Lieutenant Cooper’s new recruits. As well as that, I had Lieutenant Hamon and one sergeant, along with a few men, out on the east slope supervising your recruits. They are expanding our defensive works and should start clearing the woods. Right now it is just Sergeant Euan and five men supervising your thirty. Take your sergeants and relieve them. Euan and his men are to return to the training of Hamon and Edison’s recruits.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take command of your men. We’ve been having them dig defensive ditches these last few days. But the woods need to be cleared. I didn’t trust Hamon’s people to supervise them in the woods with axes. If you feel that you and yours can manage it, you can have your men get to work on the lumbering. Rough hew the timber to support the defensive ditches. I don’t know what engineering experience you have, but do your best. Focusing on clearing the woods and building up a stockpile of lumber. As to living arrangements: your men have been sleeping against the east wall in the courtyard. Any questions?”
“Yes, sir. Are the lumbering tools at the site?” Choke asked.
“Yes, I believe they are. Sergeant Euan can set you right. Take a good count of them, and all other tools, at the start and end of every day.”
“Yes, sir. And what about discipline. How shall I punish those that steal or attempt to desert?”
“Ah. Good. Yes. Flogging for most infractions. Have your big sergeant get a scourge from the armory. I don’t know what you know about that business. Ten lashes on a bare back is bad enough to make a strong impression without hurting a man too badly. Twenty to fifty will leave him fairly useless for at least a week, if not crippled. Fifty or more will often kill weaker men. And even if they survive, they are rarely good for much afterwards.”
“Yes, sir. And desertion?”
“The first that tries it gets fifty lashes before being hanged. More than fifty and he’ll be too insensible to put on a good show on the rope. Full assembly to watch the punishment. You may issue judgement and see through the execution yourself. You may as well have full control of this farce from the beginning.”
“Thank you, sir,” Choke said. “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, how long do you think it shall be before we will be dispatched back to Bristlehump.”
“Well, Lieutenant, I suppose that all depends on your priest, doesn’t it? When I have my two lieutenants back from him, then I think I shall be able to cut you loose. Right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Alright then. Dismissed.”
Captain Edison stood up. Choke did likewise and saluted him crisply.
“Yes, sir!”
Captain Edison met his eye squarely and returned a proper salute, sending Choke on his way to begin his command.
Muse Vassal 