The pickaxe whistled as it arced through the air, then thudded into stone. Shards of granite flew with sparks in every direction, bouncing off the cloth Charles wore to protect his face and eyes. Only the outline of the rock was visible through the fabric, however as Mr. Palesong explained, that was the price to pay for keeping his eyesight.
“Hit it again, boy, on the fracture,” Arthur Palesong said.
Charles nodded, peaking under his protective cloth for only a second before bringing the pick above his head once more.
Crack!
The tip sunk deep within the fracture, then shifted unnaturally. Charles grimaced as he tore the cloth from his face. The wooden handle had shattered between his fingers. Fortunately, the thick leather gloves Arthur had provided him protected his skin from the splinters.
"It's finally gone Mr. Palesong." He called out of the trench as he pulled the fabric around his neck.
A large trail of shattered rocks lay strewn over the field, angling all the way uphill. The large ox of a man with well-oiled leather workman garb slid down the steep decline.
"Not another one!" Mr. Palesong grunted.
It’d been two long days since both Charles and Ellie started working for the Palesong family. After the incident with the notorious mayor, Maze had led them to a tavern called the ‘Well of Ale’ in the outer ring of town.
There they found Rose Palesong who took a shining to Ellie and quickly offered a job to her at her tavern. Charles had smirked when he watched Maze’s change in demeanour before the woman. She was definitely too young for the old man, being about middle-aged herself, but Charles agreed she was, as Maze put it, “a rather a fine-looking woman”.
When she saw the old man, she nervously played with her short blonde hair and giggled just a little too much. Maze confessed later that was because he was a kind of pseudo celebrity, however Charles found that hard to believe. Either way, Rose seemed to have quite the soft spot for him and the two of them greeted one another like old friends.
Maze had ushered them away and snuck away to speak alone in hushed, serious tones. Even at a distance, Charles could see that Maze's face slowly set into a hard scowl.
Within an hour of reaching Sorina, Maze had dumped Charles and Ellie into the care of the Palesongs and left, having explained that he urgently needed to travel north. Charles couldn’t have imagined what would make a man who seemed to do nothing, but smile look so grim.
For an instant, Charles swore he saw a hint of a bloodlust in the old man's eyes. Whatever it was, it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Rose could only offer them a weak smile when the old man had left, having sworn to secrecy.
As Charles worked furiously in the fields, Rose sat in silence beside Ellie with a wide grin. Rose had lent Ellie a clean, brightly coloured dress. Like her own, it had a small pattern of flowers and vines stitched into the pastel fabric. The two women stared down, smiling into the shallow valley at the two workers who had spent the better part of the day cursing on the farm.
Charles had been working solid for the last few hours swearing that he would take on all of Ellie’s chores until she felt better. This had left him under the watchful and relentless eye of Mr Arthur Palesong, Rose's uncle and owner of a local southern farmland that lay next to the Brancourt river. Throughout the day, he occasionally glanced towards the town of Sorina, the heart of which could still be seen in the distance.
"Here!" The man handed a worn handle to Charles and hefted yet another pickaxe over his shoulder. "These bloody rocks are gonna cost all me good tools."
"Where did they all come from?" The valley was strewn with waist-high boulders, leaving only a few broken down into manageable sizes.
"The King's new town hall." Arthur grunted. "The builders imported all the slabs from up north near the capital. They built their monstrosity and left these here on my bloody farm." He spat on the ground.
"Is there any way to cut some more wood to repair the picks?"
"We could," he said, hefting his pick to inspect the tool carefully. The man was meticulous. Arthur sighed. "But it will take time to treat the timber. The wood from the forest is too brittle and if you don't oil it beforehand." He made a snapping motion with his hands. "And treating takes a lot of time!"
He lifted the pick and moved a thumb over the edge where a large crack had appeared. "The metal repairs will be even harder to come by. The imported stone is much tougher than the usual rock we find around here. We might have to buy some foreign tools but with the new taxes.” He trailed off with a grumble.
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Charles inspected the edge and frowned. "Maze was mumbling something about the new tax before he left. He looked angry."
"He wouldn't be the only one. Most of the town is in an uproar with the new payment plan the King has implemented. He's calling it the protection plan, or some garbage like that. Says it's for the good of all, and that the outbreak of the swine plague down south could easily travel north and take everything."
"So, you mean the taxes pay for the men like the one we met outside of town?"
Arthur nodded. "Some protection... While he parades around telling us he’s protecting us from the swine plague he's building an army to march south with our money and food."
"So, is there a threat?" Charles asked.
"Don't know. But you saw the walls around the whole province, didn't you?"
Charles nodded.
"The walls been standing for thousands of years. Well, before any threat from vermin. Anyway, it's not about their excuses. The King's men have been coming down now in droves to protect us." He spat. "And we have no way of controlling them. They’re the real threat."
Charles thought back to the guardsmen he had seen ever since entering Sorina. It was as if the King had chosen every scoundrel he could find. And the emblem that was painted on their chest. For some reason, it sent chills down his spine.
"You see, the capital has stopped recruiting from the city. The main force of men have been posted south to continue the war across the borders. Most are rejects from Branside or worse."
Arthur grunted as he hefted his pickaxe only to find it shattered to pieces as it made contact with the boulder's impossibly hard surface. He swore loudly and threw it away. Rose made her way down the decline and put a hand on her uncle's arm.
"Calm down Arthur! You will cause yourself another injury."
He grunted and pulled away.
"Say, can the two of you move these aside?" Rose interjected. "You know enough for the planting. That way we can use some of the land. Until at least you manage to get some new tools."
Arthur hugged the stone and tested its weight.
“There’s no way,” he said.
"We could try to ply them from the middle of the field." Charles interjected.
"Ply?" Arthur asked.
"You know, like a seesaw." Charles' words did little to help Arthur’s confusion. "Here, watch."
He climbed up the hill only to return moments later with a thick plank of wood. Fortunately, many materials had been discarded by the builders even freshly cut planks of a particularly tough and wiry timber. Charles rolled a smaller stone beside the boulder and placed the plank under the edge of the boulder and over the smaller stone. With his own body weight and the acute angle, the larger stone rolled a few short inches.
"Brilliant!" Roared Arthur as he patted Charles' shoulder and helped him move the stone and plank into a closer position for another few inches.
Charles smiled back at him and again stood on top of the wooden plank and once more the boulder moved a hand's width further to the edge of the field.
"Well, ’ello gorgeous!" A large helmet bobbed over the edge of the hill.
Charles' eyes narrowed at the familiar voice.
“Hey!” shouted Arthur, “What in blazes.”
Charles jumped from the plank and followed Arthur up the incline as fast as he could. Ellie stared at the climbing men in confusion, then spun in her seat when a large greasy hand grabbed her shoulder. It was the man from the tollgate.
The edge of his burnt beard poked its way out of the bottom half of his metallic helmet and wobbled as he spoke. “Who’s this lovely lass?”
Charles could clearly see the man's greedy eyes peering through large slits. Three other guards stood behind him and were staring at Ellie. The middle guard elbowed his fellows as he murmured a joke that couldn’t be mistaken as cordial.
Charles' jaw clenched as he saw the looks they gave her. It was identical as the one the short man gave Ellie the first day they arrived. A twisted gluttonous look that instantly boiled his blood.
"Hey, get away from her." Charles ripped the man's grip away from Ellie and pushed his way between them.
"What are you doing?" Growled the guard. The men behind him snarled.
"I could ask you the same question, Chris!" Responded Arthur, his eyes filled with rage. The two men stood inches apart, frozen in the hatred they had for one another. The guard's hands all instantly moved to their rusted weapons, eager for blood.
"Get off my land!" Arthur growled dangerously.
Chris Naught ripped off his helmet.
"Your land?" He gave Arthur a wicked smile. "You still think this is your land?" The men at his back laughed. "You’re as stupid as they say."
His eyes followed Rose as she climbed to stand next to her uncle. His gaze moved insolently up and down the length of Rose and then at Ellie. Chris laughed. "You don't own anything!" He took a step away from Arthur. "Nothing."
The men behind him laughed again as Chris ordered with a signal for them to move on ahead. Charles stared at their backs as they disappeared across the field and down the road out of sight.
Arthur sighed and sat down on the wooden plank. As Rose sat next to her uncle, Charles noticed that her hand was trembling.
He moved towards Ellie and brushed a wisp of hair from her face. He couldn't stand seeing her so defenceless. This was Ellie. Losing her hearing had taken a large toll on her. Before all of this, she had never been helpless. She was strong, smart and clear-headed. That's what initially attracted him most when he first met her. He couldn't help but remember the countless times when she was the only one to calm him down and was always there. His support. His anchor. Now it was his turn to be there for her. She smiled up at him slowly she held the clear stone in her fist.
"I'm OK." She mouthed.
He could barely hear her voice over the shallow wind that blew gently over the field. He leaned closer and kissed her gingerly. Her chapped lips caressed his own in a tightening embrace. She felt frail under his arms. She grabbed his hand and squeezed three times. Charles smiled and copied the gesture.
Charles held Ellie close and turned to Rose who was eyeing the two of them with a wistful smile on her face.
"She's nothing but skin and bones. Can we get her something filling to eat?" Rose pleaded. "How about some meat stew?"
Charles nodded enthusiastically and led Ellie behind Rose. Arthur trailed after them, his face still set in outrage.