table of contents – (spoilers)
The gate was locked down when Peep and Choke returned from their time at Babs and Balan’s place, Tipple Crick. Corporal Lenny was on the north gate with one of his men and let them in. They then went straight to bed.
The next morning, Choke was awoken by Pinch blowing assembly on his bandit horn. Chagrined to be late, he quickly threw on his tabard without his armor and stumbled out into the courtyard. Heading to his place in front of the men, it took him a moment to notice that Pinch and Knuckle were standing off to the side talking in hushed tones with Corporal Dom. Approaching them, Choke could see something was wrong.
“Lenny’s gone,” Pinch said to Choke as soon as he was close enough.
“What?” Choke grimaced, scratching his scalp irritably. As little as he had drunk the night before, it had still been too much.
“He aint here. He had the watch last night, and he aint here,” Pinch hissed.
“Lenny? Corporal Lenny?”
“Yes!”
Choke scowled at the ground. “He let Peep and me in the north gate last night. He was here then. Everyone else is here?”
“Yes, sir,” Knuckle said, eyeballing the lined-up men, who were shuffling about nervously. “At attention!” he bellowed at them, smartening them up.
“Where’s Peep?” Pinch asked.
“Still in bed, I guess,” Choke answered.
“Must be nice,” muttered Knuckle.
“His squad is all here?” Choke asked, looking over at the men.
“Yup,” Knuckle answered.
Shortly after they had arrived at Bristlehump, Knuckle had shuffled the men to give Lenny a different squad. He had moved the troublemakers, Reece and Osgar, into his own squad where he could keep a closer eye on them, and replaced them on Lenny’s squad with two of the smaller, more docile men.
Choke took another moment to think before issuing his orders:
“Alright, Knuckle: dismiss all the men for breakfast except for Corporal Lenny’s men. They are to remain at attention.”
Knuckle nodded and turned to stomp towards the men as he shouted Choke’s command. Choke turned to Corporal Dom, who looked very nervous.
“What’s going on, Corporal?” Choke asked him.
“Look, sir, I don’t know. But I guess he probably split,” Dom answered.
“Probably split? What the hell does that mean?” Choke snapped.
Pinch got a stricken look as something occurred to him.
“The horses!” he said.
“Fuck!” Choke shouted. He started hurrying to the stables before remembering that his place was with the men in the courtyard. “Go check!” he barked at Pinch, who ran immediately towards the stables. Choke turned on Dom again: “Explain yourself!”
“I didn’t know he was gonna leave—”
“Desert, you mean!” Choke interrupted.
“Yes, sir. I didn’t know he was gonna desert. But the last couple days he was going on about the dreams he’s been having. Nightmares, like. But everyone’s been having them, so I didn’t think nothing of it.”
“What does his nightmares have to do with it? Hold on,” Choke held his hand up as he saw Pinch was returning from the stable, he was immensely relieved to see that Pinch was obviously relieved. “Report, Sergeant,” Choke said as Pinch rejoined him and Dom.
“Lenny’s horse is gone. And his saddle, of course. But that’s it,” Pinch said.
Choke sighed. “So he did us the kindness of only stealing his own mount. He has definitely deserted, then. How the hell did this happen? Corporal, I was just asking you about his nightmares. What did he say about them?”
“He was real upset, sir. It was all fire and mayhem, with goblins eating his kids, and his wife getting raped by demons and shit. But he didn’t say anything about deserting. I tried to calm him down, telling him that Bev should be showing up soon with their families. He just got quiet. Sir.”
Choke thought this over. Knuckle came back from having escorted the men into the barracks. Lenny’s five men were now standing at attention together. They looked terrified.
“So yar buddy fucked off, huh?” Knuckle said to Dom. “Ye didn’t know anything about it?”
“No, sir. Miss Otilla knows my mind on that. The night she cut Bev loose, she heard me telling him not to leave.”
“And d’ye think Bev is really coming here with the families?” Pinch asked.
“I doubt it. And I know Lenny doubted it, too. But I didn’t know he was gonna desert. I give ye my word on that, sir,” Dom said to Choke.
“Okay, Corporal. I believe you. Now go inside and have breakfast. Watch the men. If you can overhear what they know about it, that would be good. Dismissed,” Choke said.
Dom saluted and jogged into the barracks.
“Alright, let’s get this mess unpacked. Knuckle I want you to keep Lenny’s men out here. They are not to speak to each other. Pinch, you and I will interview them one by one in the dining room. Starting with that one there. He was the one on watch with Lenny on the north gate last night.”
It did not take a half hour to get the full story on how Corporal Lenny had deserted. It was not complicated. The night watch was always done by a single squad of five spearmen with their NCO. Two men were stationed on each gate, with two men patrolling the town, focusing mainly on the town square and the main street between the gates. They would change their posts every couple of hours, with the NCO switching off the spearman they were paired with.
The night before, just after midnight, Lenny had left the man he was paired with on the north gate. Lenny had gone into the barracks for a few minutes. When he came out, he told the man that Miss Otilla had new orders for them. There was a rumor that the strange men from the south were going to attack the church. The man was to go and join up with the two soldiers on patrol. They were to guard the front door of the church without going in or bothering Brother Barrelmender. Miss Otilla would be joining Lenny on the north gate. The man had complied, and the three men had been on the church door all night, with the other two staying on the south gate. This had left Lenny all alone at the north gate.
Choke dismissed the men to breakfast as they told their stories. There was no reason to doubt them. Following this, Choke, Pinch, and Knuckle took their breakfast in the dining room. They were just tucking in when Peep wandered in with a big mug of steaming stugroot.
“What’s the ruckus?” she asked as she sat down.
Pinch filled her in quickly. Peep sipped her stug slowly as she took in the story.
“Dumb fucks falling for that bullshit,” Knuckle growled as Pinch finished.
“Give them a break, man,” Pinch responded. “He’s their corporal. They gotta do what he says.”
“He was their corporal. He’s a fugitive, now,” Choke said.
“They are dumb shits,” Peep said with a smirk. “Aint their fault, though, like Pinch said. And it was a good yarn. Good enough, anyways. And it aint like Lenny was worth a shit, so no big loss. Fuck it.”
“Losing an NCO to desertion is terrible. More men will likely follow,” Choke said.
“So we track him down?” Peep said wearily.
“He’s got a seven-hour head start,” Pinch said.
“At night. He can’t have gotten that far. And his pony’s no match for our horses,” Peep said.
“The Spitzer road is fine at night. We rode it hard at night no problem. And there was plenty of moon last night,” said Pinch.
“He aint on the fuckin road, man,” Peep sneered. “The Spitzer road goes to Spitzer, right? Father M looked him in the eye and told him he’d burn if he deserted. He knows he’s known in Spitzer. He aint fuckin going through Spitzer. He’s a bush guy, right? From out Didsbury way. So he gets on the Tanglefoot, humps to Callic, and then gets on that Didsbury trail that heads out from the Ungers’ place. He’s on the Tanglefoot right now; I guarantee it. And he’s probably only been going at a decent clip for the last couple hours. And he aint that bright, so he probably thinks he’s real clever taking the trail and aint pushing it. We head out fast now, we can probably catch him and be back for dinner.”
Everyone was thoughtful at this.
“Catch him? Ye bringing him back?” Knuckle asked.
“His head, yeah. That’s the deal, right? Or are ye real keen to flog him and hang him yarself?” Peep asked Knuckle.
“I don’t give a fuck.”
“We can’t all chase after him,” Choke interjected. “Barrelmender is going to Spitzer this morning. He can’t supervise the men. Some of us must stay here with them.”
“Who the hell said I wanted ye?” Peep smirked. “You and Knuckle on the trail aint exactly speedy. Me and Pinch get this done. Easy.”
“Fuck,” Pinch muttered.
Choke sighed. “I don’t like this. But, if he gets away, many of the men will assume they will be able to as well. And we have already discussed the alternative to flogging and hanging.”
“I know it. But what if he surrenders and comes back?” Pinch asked.
“Then you bring him back,” Choke answered.
“To be flogged and hanged.”
“That depends on his attitude. If he surrenders, is docile, and can explain himself, he might get away with just a flogging and a demotion. But he is armed with a bow and is going to be desperate. I don’t want you taking risks to bring him in alive. It is critical that you bring him back, one way or the other. So, Peep, Pinch: go get it done.”
“Yes, sir,” Pinch said grimly.
“We got ye, LT!” Peep said. “We’ll get our horses ready. See about having Hubert pack us some lunch and dinner, just in case. Let’s move!”
***
Peep and Pinch were out the north gate within ten minutes. Peep was, of course, riding Gorgeous Boy. With his preferred horse, Nickers, being a small bush horse, Pinch was mounted on the larger, fleeter horse he had ridden to Spitzer.
There was no stealth or caution to this ride; it was a chase. At the start of the Tanglefoot Trail, Peep slowed so that she could bend low in the saddle, looking for tracks. It did not take her long to spot some.
“Yup! Pony! Right there!” she wheeled her horse and stabbed her finger at some at some impressions in the packed clay of the trail.
Another hundred meters up the trail they found fresh horse shit, laid in a line by a horse walking.
“He was walking,” Peep said.
Pinch nodded, “yeah, it woulda been pitch black in here. He probably had a lantern, but he’d still have to take it slow.”
“And now he’s been riding normal for a few hours. We gotta hoof it!” Peep said.
Peep and Pinch rode fast to the switchbacks up to the ridge, where they slowed to a trot. Up on the ridge, the alternated between a fast trot and a canter, terrain permitting. As with their scouting, they took turns riding in front, switching off every ten minutes, or so, where the trail was wide enough to permit them to pass each other. After about an hour, Peep drew her Scythan warbow. Pinch was already riding with his deer bow in hand.
The ridgeline was forested and fairly even. The longest stretches of visibility along the trail were about a hundred meters, with normal sightline being as short as twenty meters. Occasionally, however, the topography would be such that they could see parts of the ridgeline ahead as it curved. At these times they slowed and watched carefully for any sign of Lenny.
Another hour passed and the horses were breathing heavy, so they slowed down to a walk to let them rest a little. Peep was in front. Pinch took this opportunity to speak up, keeping his voice low as he could:
“What are we gonna do when we catch up with him?”
“Good call. We should probably plot on this a little. If he’s going slow, he might hear us coming up behind him, although that’s pretty unlikely. Then he might gallop, or duck off the trail and try to hide. So keep yar eyes peeled to the side. Most likely, though, we’re gonna come up behind him and he’ll just be there suddenly. Whoever’s in front signals the other. Then we keep closing on him until we’re close enough for a clean shot. Or, if he notices us and bolts, we gallop after him. I aint no horse archer, so I gotta stop to take a shot. Yar the same, I reckon.”
“Sure. But, that’s the plan? We creep up on him and backshoot him?”
“If we get a shot, yeah. If that misses, and when he sees us, we can call for him to surrender. But that’s his only chance,” Peep said.
They rode on in silence for a while more.
“I can feel ye back there chewing on it. What is it? Spit it out,” Peep eventually said.
“It’s just that this is our man we’re talking about. He’s just trying to get to his family. And it’s not like he even signed up willingly for this. I don’t feel good about this,” Pinch said, saying the last part quietly to himself.
Peep ignored him and they rode on in silence. After another fifteen minutes of walking, they stopped and Peep dismounted at a stretch where the trail was softer earth.
“Yeah. There. And There. He’s barely at a trot. We should come up on him before too long,” Peep said. She unlaced her waterskin from the back of her saddle and took a drink. Pinch did likewise. When Peep mounted up, she met Pinch’s eye.
“Ye don’t need to like this,” she said, her voice level. “But we gotta get it done. I’ll stay on point now, and ye back me up. I’m gonna be watching ahead hard, so ye keep watch to the sides. Ye see anything, ye give me a whistle. Got it?”
“Yes. I got it,” Pinch answered.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Peep took Gorgeous Boy up to a canter, which was fast for the trail. Pinch stayed with her a few meters back. He did his best to watch out for Lenny and his horse in the trees and bush to the sides of the trail, but almost all his attention was required to stay mounted on the narrow, winding trail.
After ten minutes of canter, Peep once again slowed down to a trot to keep the horses from tiring. There had been no sign of Lenny. When they reached another stretch of softer earth, Peep slowed right down and leaned low in the saddle to peer at the ground. She snapped her fingers and pointed at the telltale scuffs of Lenny’s unshod pony. Then they were off again.
Ten more minutes of trotting and Peep kicked it up to a canter again. After just a minute, they came around a bend and she held up her right hand to signal a stop as she reined up and ducked down low in the saddle. Pinch did the same.
The trail had been winding along the south side of the ridgeline of hills in scrubby forest. The downward slope to their right had been getting steep. The ground was rockier than it had been, with bounders and stones protruding. As they came around the bend, a vista opened up before them. The slope was now all but a cliff dropping at least a hundred meters. Ahead, the trail wound its way up to the crest of the hill with a promontory over the south face.
“There!” Peep hissed, pointing to the crest of the hill about three hundred meters ahead.
It took Pinch just a second to spot a mounted figure moving through the stunted and wind-warped trees at the hill’s crest. With them at the lower angle, the rider’s movement was plain to see against the sky behind.
“Don’t fuckin move,” Peep said quietly, still laying low in the saddle. “Wait for it… wait… Okay!”
The figure had dropped from view as the trail went over the hill. Peep rose up and nudged Gorgeous Boy ahead. She turned back to Pinch:
“Not too fast, now. He wasn’t moving quick. Take it easy.”
Peep led the way up the trail at a trot, which, despite her admonition against speed, was as fast as Pinch would have wanted to take the rugged terrain. It took just a minute to reach the crest of the hill, where the trail went over and continued along the north side of the ridgeline. Peep slowed to a walk to check ahead carefully. The north slope was much less aggressive than the south, with thicker tree cover. The Tanglefoot Trail continued down into the forest. There was no sign of Lenny.
The trail condition was good once again so Peep kicked up the speed to a fast trot as she twirled her warbow to ready her grip. With her leading the way, they rode down into the forest. The trail now was almost straight as it cut along the slope of the hill. However, it did rise and fall with the undulations of the topography. They soon reached a high point where they could see almost two hundred meters of trail ahead of them, dropping down before rising back up to another crest ahead. A hundred meters ahead of them was Lenny, riding straight and true down the trail, completely oblivious.
Peep reined up and turned Gorgeous Boy a little to the right to give her the ideal shooting posture as she pulled a war arrow from her saddle quiver and notched it. As she raised up the bow to draw, she shouted down the trail at Lenny:
“Lenny! Halt!”
Lenny startled and almost fell from his horse as he turned around in the saddle to look back. The little horse did not appreciate its reins being yanked, and skipped a little as it wheeled around. Lenny pitched hard the other way, barely keeping his seat.
As Lenny righted himself, Peep shot her arrow into the dirt of the trail about a meter in front of his horse’s feet.
“Last warning!” Peep shouted as she notched another arrow. “Dismount! Now!”
Lenny was sitting frozen on his horse, which was now facing sideways on the trail.
“Pinch: get after him! I’ll cover,” Peep said. She nudged Gorgeous Boy a little to the side so Pinch could get around her. Once he had, he rode at a trot down towards Lenny, who was still motionless, staring up at them.
With Pinch in front of her, Peep had no shot for a few seconds until he dropped out of her way. As soon as he had, she shot again, this time sending the arrow about half a meter to the right of Lenny’s head.
“Fucker! Dismount! Now!” she hollered.
Whether it was Pinch fast closing on him, or the arrow that had whistled by him, Lenny finally snapped out of it. He dismounted and threw his hands up in the air as he stepped towards Pinch. His horse gave a snort and took advantage of its sudden freedom to step off the trail and snarfle around for something to graze.
When Pinch was about ten meters from Lenny, he dismounted himself and notched an arrow. Behind him, Peep started their way.
“Drop yar weaponbelt,” Pinch said to Lenny.
Lenny immediately complied, and broke into a sob as he did. “Aw, fuck, man! Fuck!” he wailed, smacking himself in the face several times with both hands. “Fuck!”
Pinch started to say something, but decided against it. He stood, bow in hand, watching Lenny express his despair until Peep joined them.
“Aw, fuck!” Lenny howled again as he beheld her. His legs failed him and he collapsed to his knees. “Please, Miss! Please! Don’t kill me! My kids! They need me! It’s my kids!”
“Shut up!” Peep snapped.
She dismounted and stomped up to her arrow in the ground, right next to where Lenny was kneeling. He cringed in terror as she bent down to pull her arrow out of the dirt. Peep ignored Lenny as she had a careful look at the arrow’s needle bodkin head. She grunted and wiped it off on her boot before going back to her saddle to return it to the quiver. She then went back past Lenny to look for her second arrow. She found it after a minute.
“Look at this shit!” she said, holding the arrowhead under Lenny’s nose once she returned. The arrow shaft had snapped right below the head, whose point was badly curled over. “It hit a fuckin rock. This fucker would be in better shape if I’d just put it through ye. Which I shoulda done, by rights.”
“Please, Miss…” Lenny blubbered.
“Shut up, I said,” Peep said, not too unkindly. “Ye run again, and I kill ye. Ye come with us peaceful, like, and ye’ll get the LT’s judgement. He said that if ye turned yarself in and come back with us docile as a lamb, that ye might not get the rope. Did ye hear what I just said to ye?”
“Miss?”
“Dumbshit! I’m telling ye that if ye come back with us without a fuss, ye’ll probably live. Ye got that, or do I gotta stomp some fuckin sense into ye?”
“I got it, Miss! I do! I’ll come back with ye! I give ye my word!”
“Yar word,” Peep sneered. Then she hawked and spat. “Ye gave that to Stron. What was that worth? Ye best hope ye work yarself back into our good graces in this world now, or yar gonna get it in the next. So let’s get the fuck back. We don’t got nothing better to do than spend the day dragging yar sorry ass back home? Fuck. Dumbshit!”
With her last invective, Peep hit Lenny across the back with her broken arrow’s fletching. Then she threw the arrow into the bushes.
“Okay, Pinch. Search him and his horse. Get all the weapons onto yars. Then bind his hands in front of him and he can ride back home between us. And you!” she stepped around Lenny to jab her finger at his face. “Look at me! I meant what I said. Ye fuck around even a little bit and I’ll kill ye. I aint fuckin playing now. Don’t you test me!”
“I won’t, Miss. Thank ye! Thank ye!”
“Dumb shit. Fuck you for this dumb shit. This is what I’m doing now? Fuckin gobo country with assassins lurking out here somewheres looking for our hides, and I gotta ride pell mell out here to sort out your dumb ass? What the fuck else is gonna…” Peep turned her back on Lenny and Pinch and stomped back towards Gorgeous Boy, continuing to mutter as she went.
Muse Vassal 