table of contents – (spoilers)
Choke and Peep were pestered by excited and curious villagers the entire way to the church. Being mounted, they had no trouble getting through, but were unable to discuss matters with each other on the way. The church’s main doors were open and many people were still inside praying, so Choke and Peep rode around the side of the church to the back yard. They tethered their horses at the small stable and went through the kitchen door. There, they lit a lamp and went down into the crypts beneath the church.
“Finally a bit of quiet,” Peep said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Indeed. Let’s take a moment,” said Choke as he said the lamp down on a sconce near the bottom of the stairs. “So, you brought Lenny back alive.”
“Yeah. It seemed like the thing to do,” Peep shrugged.
“He didn’t give you any trouble?”
“Well, I brought him back alive, so whad’ye think? Yeah, he was a total pussy about it.”
“That’s what I figured,” Choke sighed.
“You’d a rathered I killed him,” Peep said, her tone a statement of plain fact.
“It’s not—” Choke started.
“Yeah, it is. I get it. But don’t think that me sparing him means that ye gotta go easy on him on my account. So, whad’ye wanna do about him?”
“Captain Edison told me that the first man to desert should be flogged hard and then hanged,” said Choke.
“That aint what I asked.”
“I know. We watched the man that stabbed me die that way. It was horrible,” Choke said.
“Yeah. That’s how that goes. What’s yar point? Ye don’t wanna be the one to order that on someone? So, ye wanna wait for Barrelmender to get back? Make him do it?”
Choke shook his head. “No. For one, this is purely a military matter. It doesn’t fall under his authority as magistrate. For another, whatever I decide, justice must be swift here. Finally, it is my duty to judge this matter.”
“Okay, then. So ye gotta do it. So, what’s yar options?”
“If we don’t hang him, a severe flogging at a minimum. Plus taking away his rank and docking his pay until further notice. Also, confiscating his horse and bow to give to another man who we elevate to corporal.”
“That needs to be Hardmod for corporal. He’s been working out great,” Peep said of her head slinger.
“Yes. That should be fine. Knuckle likes Osgar for it, though.”
Peep shrugged. “So give him to him. If Knuckle thinks he can work with him, why not? He’s the best fighter we got, and the men fear him. Bump them both up. Is there a rule about how many corporals we can have?”
“I don’t know, to be honest. But it has to be more than the number of sergeants, I’m sure.”
“So there ye go.”
“I’m just concerned that in promoting Oscar, we will be giving Reece more opportunity to make trouble,” Choke said.
Peep sighed. “Well, now aint the time to be worrying about that, is it?”
“No, it isn’t. I’m rambling here. I have to make a decision about Lenny. What do you think, Peep?”
Peep stared into the black depths of the crypt’s shadows around them for a while before she answered:
“Well, he did turn himself over like a good boy when we caught up to him. So there is that. But he also left the gate unguarded all night, like ye said. Ye don’t wanna know what Rackham did to guys that fucked up the watch. Kinda funny, though, because I was actually thinking that scam of Lenny’s to put the guys on the church was the best move he showed since he’s been with us. Still, it’s fuckin bad.”
“Watch your language, Peep. This is the final resting place of good Stronians here. They deserve better. But, you are right. He put us all in grave danger. That cannot be ignored.”
“Ye gonna talk to him about it? What’s the process here?” asked Peep.
“I court martial him tomorrow in front of all the men. And I don’t think I need to talk to him before that. We know everything he did and why he did it. All he’s going to do is cry and beg.”
“Yeah, that’s him, alright. So, why don’t ye sleep on it? Ye can decide tomorrow.”
“That is true. But you haven’t told me what you think I should do,” Choke said.
“Well, I don’t know. This all aint my thing. Out in the bush, guys either follow bandit bosses, or they don’t. If they get outta line, they get killed, but there’s really nothing stopping them from fucking off whenever they want, right? Now we’re out here trying to force these guys to stick with us and fight. So, what do I know? It’s yar call, man. Yar the LT. This is yar world here.”
“Okay, then. Thank you for your thoughts, though. Let’s get those manacles and get back. I think they’re just over there somewhere,” Choke said, picking up the lamp.
They grabbed two sets of manacles and a longer length of chain, which they took back to the military compound. Pinch was supervising the men as they worked on more one-on-one fight drills, while Knuckle was standing guard outside the kennel cage on the side of the stable. As Choke and Peep rode up to the stables to tether their horses, the men stopped what they were doing to stare at them.
“Hey! No one told ye to stop! Keep it up!” Pinch yelled at the men, who slowly got back to it.
Inside the kennel, Lenny was in just his breeches and jerkin, sitting on the ground with his back against the stable’s outer wall. His head was low between his raised knees, with his shoulders drooped miserably. When he heard the rattle of the chains as Peep and Choke approached the kennel, Lenny gasped in panic and startled, shaking his head as his eyes flew around wildly. He soon managed to get himself under control, and Choke had Knuckle open up the cage. With Peep covering him with her shortbow, Choke and Knuckle shackled Lenny’s wrists and ankles before running the longer length of chain through both shackles and out the cage. Choke pounded a stake into the ground to secure the chain out of reach. Then they latched the cage again.
“That should hold him for tonight,” Choke said. “And I’ll take the watch tonight and keep an eye on him personally. That’s it for now. Let’s get back to the training.”
There was still a good amount of afternoon left. With Choke, Knuckle, and Pinch working the men, Peep went down to check on Mariola and the Holy Wailers at the Wilson Place. She was pleased to find that they had finished thatching the roof. The three tents from the prostitution camp were set up and occupied, which gave the site a bit of a community feeling. As well, they had finished making three archery targets that Peep had requested: basically small round bales of cut grass propped up on rough timber frames. Mariola had already been practicing on them with Pinch’s old shortbow.
Excited, Peep went back to town. She, Pinch, and Dom took the men who claimed to have archery experience back down to the Wilson place to see how they did on Lenny’s shortbow. They spent an enjoyable two hours shooting together. It turned out the best shot among the men was Hardmod, the lead slinger. However, with him already being a deadly hand on the sling, he was not going to be getting the bow. By the end of the two hours, with Peep, Pinch, and Dom conferring, it was decided to award Lenny’s bow to a man named Leof. He was one of the better shots and had caused no trouble to that point that any of them had noticed. This settled, they gave him the bow and quiver and went back to town to rejoin the other men.
That night after dinner, Choke, Peep, Pinch, and Knuckle gathered together out in the courtyard to talk things over. Pinch and Knuckle had an ale with them. Peep smoked a bowl. They stood in a square for a moment, staring up at the stars for a quiet moment before getting into it.
“I had a word with Peep at the church earlier about Lenny,” Choke said. “Now, Knuckle and Pinch, I want to hear your thoughts. What do you think we should do with him?”
“Well, it aint about we, man,” Pinch said. “Yar the officer. And ye got orders on it from the captain, right? We gotta flog him and hang him, right?”
“Fuckin rights,” Knuckle seconded. “He fuckin deserted. And he left the north gate unguarded all night to do it. We don’t string him up, what’s that gonna say to the rest of them fuckers? We won’t have half of them left in another week!”
“I agree. And the flogging?” Pinch asked.
“Fuck it. I’ll do it, man. Just a question of how many, right?” Knuckle said.
“Alright, then. Thank you for your thoughts. It’s been a long day, so I think you should turn in. I will take watch tonight and guard the prisoner,” Choke said.
“Fuck man, ye don’t need to do that,” Knuckle said. “Ye did the sermon already and all the rest. Ye look bagged! And ye gotta do the whole court martial thing tomorrow. I’ll fuckin do it!”
“Thank you, Knuckle, but—”
“No, sir! Ye go and rest. Yar the one guy here that has to have his fuckin head on straight. So get some sleep. And, if I take watch tonight, tomorrow, after the court martial and the flogging and hanging and all that, I’ll get the afternoon off after I sleep. Right?”
“Yes, that is true. So, you’re sure about this?” Choke asked.
“Yes, sir! Fuckin rights! So hit the sack. I got ye!”
“Thank you, Knuckle. I appreciate that. Okay, then. We’ll do the court martial at dawn, right after muster. Dismissed.”
Knuckle and Pinch saluted and headed to the barracks together, Pinch to hit his bunk, and Knuckle to assemble his squad for night watch. On their way, Knuckle began excitedly pestering Pinch about Annica and Mya’s respective merits in the technical aspects of their trade.
Choke and Peep ambled together behind the Pinch and Knuckle. Peep chuckled.
“A moth to flame,” Choke sighed.
“What, Knuckle? He aint gonna get in trouble over it. He might spend all his money, but that aint our concern.”
“I suppose you’re right, Peep. Thank you. And thank you for everything else. I couldn’t do this without you.”
“Oh, I know it. Just don’t ye forget it,” Peep laughed. She gave Choke a slap on the shoulder. “I’m gonna take a bit of a skulk around town and check things out before bed. You hit the sack. Another big day tomorrow, sport!”
“Indeed. Well, thanks again. Goodnight, Peep,” Choke said, patting Peep on the shoulder in return.
Peep tipped her brow before pulling up her wolfhead and slipping off into the night.
***
The night passed uneventfully, but Choke slept fitfully and awoke feeling more tired than when he went to bed. He got out of bed well before dawn and went outside to scrub himself clean in the trough. Knuckle was keeping watch by ambling up and down the courtyard between the kennel and the north gate, where he had assigned Reece and another man. Lenny was still chained in the kennel, curled up in a ball against the stable wall.
“Nothing to report, sir,” Knuckle said after he had saluted Choke.
“Good. Thank you, Sergeant. Carry on.”
Once clean, Choke went back into his room and read is Holy Book by the light of a candle. When he heard the men rousing themselves to head to the latrine, he armored up, put on his better tabard, strapped on his weaponbelt, and went back out into the courtyard.
Knuckle and Pinch were standing together near the barrack’s main entrance. They were talking and laughing as they kept an eye on the men going to the latrine. Envying them their apparent peace of mind, Choke nonetheless was relieved that they seemed to be getting along again. He left them to it and stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking around the space, trying to gather a notion of how this court martial should be performed. He had, at least, seen Horace’s, the trooper that had stabbed him in Spitzer Fort, so he had something of an idea.
Choke gave a short whistle and gestured for Pinch and Knuckle to join him. He quickly told them how he wanted the performance arranged, as well as their part in it. While there was not much to it, he felt that they should look as though they knew what they were doing. He left Pinch to arrange the particulars, and went into the barracks looking for Dom.
Their only corporal was still in his bunk. He was fully dressed, with his boots on, laying on top of his blanket, staring up at the ceiling. Most of the men were up and about, tense and talking in hushed tones. They quickly hopped to attention and saluted as Choke entered. Dom took note and got up off his bunk to do the same.
“At ease men,” Choke said, returning the salute. “Corporal Dom, join me in the kitchen, please.”
On their way there, they encountered Peep coming out of her bedroom of the armory. They all went to the kitchen together, where the cook, Hubert, was almost finished with the breakfast gruel. Choke grabbed three wooden mugs and filled them from one of the big pots of stugroot boiling on the stove. He handed one to Dom and then Peep before taking them to the dining room.
“Have a seat, Corporal,” Choke said.
“Thank you, sir.”
“So, how are you holding up? Are you okay?” Choke asked Dom, once they had all taken their seats.
Dom took a long moment before answering: “I suppose so, sir. But, I mean, it’s not like I can do anything about it, one way or another. He’s brought this on himself. Sir.”
“That’s true. I’m glad to hear you say it. And I’ve heard from Otilla here that you previously were a good friend to him and Bev both, counseling them against desertion. You have done a good job. You have earned the rank I entrusted you with,” Choke said, leaning across the table to give Dom’s shoulder a squeeze.
“Thank you, sir.”
“And now, as I discussed with you before, I need you to show your mettle. For the men, I mean. When justice is done here this morning, I need you to stand tall and bear witness to it. The men look up to you. They will look to you in this moment, to see how you carry it. I understand how difficult this must be for you, with Lenny being your friend, and all. But it is critical that you help us lead these men. Can you do it?”
Again, Lenny paused before meeting Choke’s eye. “I think I can, sir.”
Choke squeezed his shoulder and gave it a pat. “Good. Good. Thank you. And to help you with this, if you wish, I will tell you what justice I shall dispense upon Lenny, so that you can make your peace with it before you go out to face the men. Do you want to hear it?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
“I am sorry to tell you: he must hang. If it was only a peaceful desertion with a quick surrender, I think I would let him off with just a heavy flogging. But he pulled men off the north gate to facilitate his escape. He left this whole community vulnerable. This I cannot abide. It is this selfish dereliction that must be punished. There is no way around it. I hope you can understand it.”
“I do, sir. Thank you for telling me, though.”
“Of course. Now, you may sit here privately and take what time you can with this. We shall leave you alone here. But when you hear Sergeant Nikolas’ horn, you must come out and help gather the men. And you must stand tall and carry your burden with courage today. The men will take note of it. As shall we. Now take a moment to yourself. I think I can give you ten minutes. You may stay seated. Thank you, Dom.”
Choke rose and held his hand out to Dom, who did not hesitate in taking it. The two shook hands and met each other’s eye squarely. Then, Choke and Peep left Dom alone in the dining room.
Outside, almost all the men were already milling around in front of the barracks with Pinch, who had his bow in hand. Knuckle had stationed himself in front of the kennel, as ordered, still fully armed from his night watch with greatsword on his back along with a quiver on his weaponbelt and his longbow in hand. Also as Choke had ordered, a table and chair had been set near the barrack’s side wall at the edge of the courtyard. Everything was in order.
It was not quite yet dawn, but already the street to the north gate at the edge of the courtyard was crowded with townsfolk who were milling around and waiting. It was obvious they were going to stay there for the whole show. Among them were Mariola and the Holy Wailers. Seeing him see her, Mariola gave Choke a little wave and a warm smile. Choke returned the wave with a nod, wishing he could go straight to her. Instead, he looked to Peep, who was standing at his side.
“Any thoughts?” he asked.
“You two are fuckin adorable. Makes me wanna go and take a shit.”
“Thank you. I meant about this whole Lenny thing.”
“Nah. All good, man,” she answered.
Choke nodded. “Alright. I’m going to take a few minutes in my room.”
“Cool, cool,” Peep said, giving Choke a friendly nod before turning on her heel to head Pinch’s way.
Choke went into his room, where he got down on his knees by his bed with his Holy Book to pray. When he was ready, he stood up and went back outside with his Holy Book cradled in his right arm.
In the courtyard, Pinch was waiting with Peep at his normal spot for calling muster on his bandit horn. Choke went to the table and chair that had been set out and put his Holy Book down on the table. He stepped in front of the table and squared his shoulders before nodding Pinch’s way. Pinch saluted and blew the call to muster the men.
Knuckle moved over from the cage so that he and Pinch could stand to either side of the men who formed up in their two lines facing Choke. They were already milling around outside the barracks waiting for the event to start, so they did it in much faster than usual. Corporal Dom hurried out the dining room door to take up his position with them. Choke was pleased that with the audience of the villagers standing around the edge of the courtyard, his men looked somewhat sharp and professional as they stood to attention in front of him. Choke took a moment to look them over before addressing them:
“Men! You gather here today to bear witness to the judgement of Corporal Lenny. You all know what he did, so let us not waste any time. Sergeants! Bring the prisoner!”
Pinch and Knuckle both saluted and stomped over to the kennel. They undid the chain tethering Lenny’s shackles before dragging him from the kennel. It seemed as though his legs were not working, and they had to support him, one on each side to bring him over to the table. As they did, he moaned and cried softly, just audible over the chains of his wrist and ankle manacles rattling.
Choke sat down in the chair with his back to the barrack’s wall, facing the assembled men with the table in front of him. The Holy Book was right in front him. Choke took a moment to adjust it, taking comfort in its protective, black leather covering. When Knuckle and Pinch finally had Lenny upright in front of the table facing him, Choke raised his eyes from the Holy Book. Lenny would not meet his gaze.
“Corporal Lenny!” Choke said, pitching his voice as loud as he could without shouting. “What you did is not in question. The night before last you deserted and took a horse belonging to the King’s army. Further, in doing so, using your rank of corporal, you ordered your men off the north gate so that you could make good your escape. This left this entire community vulnerable to attack for the entire night!”
Choke paused for a long moment. His soldiers stood quietly, but the villagers around took the opportunity to murmur to each other about this. Only when an expectant hush had returned did Choke continue:
“Now! I told you earlier that you would have your chance to speak. This is it. What do you have to say for yourself, Corporal?”
As Choke had been speaking, Lenny had seemed to Mashal himself somewhat. He now was able to firm himself up a little between Pinch and Knuckle, who still had a strong hold of his arms.
“Sir. I know I done wrong, sir. I know it. It’s just the dreams I’ve been having, sir! They’re horrible. Always my wife and kids being killed and eaten and worse by goblins and devils. I can’t take it! I have to see them! I have to do something to protect them! Please understand that, sir! I know I done wrong, here. But I was just doing it for my family! Please have mercy, sir.”
Choke took a moment to think this over before replying:
“I see you speak from the heart, corporal. But your family is being brought here to you by your friend Bev. Along with his. This was horrible foolishness. Made all the worse that you left us all vulnerable as we slept! I would remind you all!” Choke’s voice now did rise to a shout. “That simply falling asleep on watch is an offense punishable by death!”
“Sir, please! No! I—” Lenny wailed, seeing now where this was going.
“Shut up! Another word and you will regret it!” Choke bellowed, rising up out of his chair.
Cowed, Lenny dropped his gaze and whimpered. Choke sat back down.
“The only factor mitigating this is that Otilla and Sergeant Nikolas have told me that you gave them no trouble when they caught up to you. That you surrendered immediately and came back docile. The punishment for your actions ought to be fifty lashes followed immediately by hanging. Given your peaceful surrender, I can relax that just a little. So, Corporal Lenny, I hereby sentence you to be stripped of your rank and ejected from the King’s army, your oath forfeit. You shall receive ten lashes before being hanged to death. Your sentence shall be executed as soon as your gibbet can be erected. May Altas have mercy on your soul.”
“What? No! I surrendered! No!” Lenny wailed as he began to struggle.
Choke flicked his gaze Knuckle’s way to actuate him. Knuckle smiled and stepped away from Lenny, pulling up sharply on his elbow with one hand as he drove his fist hard into his gut with the other. Lenny doubled up with a gasp and Knuckle and Pinch let him fall.
As for the logistics of the execution, there was not any question of needing to know how to go about hanging a person. Everyone there had seen many people hang. There was nothing to it. The standard was simply to string the condemned up by their neck from whatever could bear their weight.
It was immediately decided that the watchtower would be the best structure. A log was fetched and lashed to the tower’s frame about three meters up so that it stuck out as a beam. On the end of that was tied a pulley and rope from the stables. This all took no more than fifteen minutes.
The preparations made, the men were reassembled at attention in front of the watchtower. The villagers clustered closer; everyone in the community seemed to be there. Knuckle and Pinch dragged Lenny over to the base of the watchtower and propped him up. Lenny now seemed in a state of shock.
“I am sorry that you chose to do as you did. You have left me no choice. Do you have any last words before punishment commences?” Choke asked.
As though in a drunken stupor, Lenny slowly raised his gaze to meet Choke’s.
“It aint right.”
“Do you have a message for your family when they arrive? Do not waste this moment,” Choke pressed, his voice quiet now, speaking to Lenny alone.
This gave Lenny pause. He sobbed before he managed to answer:
“Just tell my wife I love her. And my kids too. And tell them not to trust any man of the King. I never signed up for this! Ye tell them I said this aint right!” Lenny shouted, finding his spirit at the end.
“I’ll tell them. Although I will remind you that you took an oath to Stron to serve our King. None of us can choose our fate. Yours was to be called upon to serve in these dangerous times. And you broke your oath and put all of us in danger. And that’s enough said on this today, I think. Sergeants: prepare the prisoner for flogging.”
The watchtower had been well chosen; it’s frame was perfect for securing a man to be flogged. Knuckle pulled his cudgel and grabbed ahold of one of Lenny’s wrists while Pinch undid his wrist shackles. They then tied him to the watchtower frame, his arms stretched out to the side, his back to the assembled men. Pinch then cut his jerkin off while Knuckle went to retrieve the scourge he had taken from Spitzer fort. This was a wooden handle with about a dozen, fifty-centimeter, knotted leather cords.
While ten lashes was not considered a particularly heavy punishment, Lenny’s back was bleeding freely by the end of it. Knuckle had either been practicing with the scourge, or was just a natural talent with it. He stroked hard and fluid as Choke called out the count. Lenny bore up well enough and did not wail.
The flogging done, the hanging followed immediately. The rope with a slip knot was dropped from the pulley and put around Lenny’s neck. Pinch cut the chords tying his wrists to the watchtower and Knuckle pulled him up for all to see. With the pulley, Knuckle had no trouble and tied the rope off to the base of the watchtower. Then, everyone stood and watched Lenny kick and struggle for the long fifteen minutes it took him to die.
When it was finally done, Choke dismissed the men for breakfast. He gestured for Pinch, Knuckle, and Peep to hang back with him.
“Knuckle, after breakfast, you and your squad are free to go to sleep. Then you have the afternoon off. Do as you will. Pinch: leave Lenny up there another hour. Then, drop him in the cart and fetch that gravedigger. We’ll let Lenny keep his head, but he’s not going in consecrated ground. He broke his oath to Stron.”
“Yes, sir,” both Knuckle and Pinch said, Pinch looking grim, and Knuckle excited.
“Good. Thank you, both. You did well. Dismissed.”
When Knuckle and Pinch had gone, Peep looked up at Choke.
“You okay, man?” she asked.
“I think so. Couldn’t be helped. I could use a favor, though.”
“Sure.”
“After breakfast I want to take a ride. Do you think you could go and tell Mariola that I’d like to meet her? Perhaps she can come down the trail to the road and wait for me there.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sure, I’ll go tell her. And after that I’ll go and take that shit,” Peep said with a weary look.
“Thank you, Peep. I appreciate it.”
“Yeah, ye’d better. But ye deserve it. I’ll go catch up to her now. Ye go eat. Ye’ll need yar energy, I reckon.”
Peep and Choke clapped each other on the shoulders. Peep then turned on her heel and jogged to catch up to Mariola and the Holy Wailers who had just left out the north gate.
Choke took a moment to stare at Lenny, still swaying just a little. In the courtyard, there were still about two dozen villagers, mostly children, gawking up at the corpse with its contorted, purple face. Having seen enough, Choke went back to the table, picked up his Holy Book, and went into the barracks to have his breakfast.
Muse Vassal 