Jaxen II
The winding dirt road kept on going for what it seemed to be an eternity. It was truly maddening, to reach the cusp of a once distant hill in hopes of seeing the town they were so eagerly looking for, only for more road to be revealed. The silhouettes of animals who watched them from the shadows of the forest appeared to mock the tired knights as they powered trough what seemed as endless walking.
“Say, captain, was it really a shortcut that you asked the hunters for, or just an excuse to put our resilience to test?” Asked Harlan
“You lot know little of resilience, as a little walking seemed to kick all the air off your tiny lungs” The captain bluffed. “I tell you, if you had been squires at the time of the invasion, I would have had you either run from the saw to the cliffs thrice, or be relegated to servants if you were to fail. Ohh, Things used to be much simpler before, you either were knighted, or you died, none of this “expeditionary force” or “men at arms” bullshit! Men at arms are supposed to be trained peasants for the lord's sake, no failed squires who couldn't toughen up halfway thought their training. I swear, if I were the High Marshall, I would have all those wimps-” The man suddenly stopped, as if realising something. “I was ranting again, wasn't I?”
“Yes captain, it's the third time since we crossed that stream a while ago, and once again because Harlan couldn't shut his mouth and focus” William complained from behind them.
“Focus on what? The dirt? The trees? The birds? Or your ear-piercing whines?” Harlan rebuffed him.
“It isn't poor Harlan’s fault that age is reaching for me with its cold, rotten grip, tough it would help if both of you quieted down and learned from young Cassian who has not emitted a single sound since we left that farmstead” said the captain, while looking to the young vitalier to his right. What he said was true, the young lad had almost never spoken since they had hit the road.
“You can say the same about Jaxen over here, spacing out as always” William added
“That doesn't count, he is always that way, creeps me the hell out sometimes” Harlan spoke while shaking his head.
Jaxen, who was leading the march, suddenly stopped in his tracks, the rest followed trough. He could see something laying in the ground between the trees.
“What is it Jaxen?”
“Something creepier than my daydreaming” Jaxen responded to Harlan while slowly walking towards the forest.
When he finally got closer, he realised it was a body, as he had suspected. It was laying down in its stomach against a blood covered stone.
“Is he still alive?”
Jaxen turn the body with his foot, only to reveal the pale face of a young woman dressed in ragged clothes, she had a bloody dent in her forehead and scratches in her arms.
“Poor bastard, maybe she tripped while foraging”
“She didn't trip, she was bashed against that rock, look at her bruised neck. And don't get me started on the scratches... the bastards that did this are probably roaming these areas to pick on unsuspecting travellers” Jaxen responded while kneeling down to close the woman's eyes.
“But why her? She is just a peasant, probably didn't have any valuables on her” Cassian asked nonchalantly, he was the only one who didn't seem disturbed by the sight of the corpse.
“Outlaws, young Cassian, they are greedy creatures. Their desires vary from day to day, one they may be hungry so they ravish the countryside, on another one they may be poor so they rob caravans and travellers from their silver and gold, but when they are bored... that's when the most senseless acts of violence are committed” The captain lectured the young knight.
“I see, as always, the peasantry prey on each other at the slightest of scarcities, such short-sighted savages” The youth spoke.
“They are as savage as you and I, Cassian” Jaxen said while standing up.
“I would never rob or murder my neighbours even during the most severe of famines, the lowborn just lack a fundamental lack of self-restraint to not kill each other like animals. We can of course educate them, that's the purpose of the monasteries and churches, so even the most savage can be enlightened by divine wisdom, just like you were, Sir Feiss”
The way the boy spoke with such pompous self-assurance made his blood boil. Since they had attached him to their squadron he had wondered about his background, his hands were too soft and lacking of calluses to have been born a working man, so he thought he had maybe been raised in a monastery or done artisan work. But the way he spoke about people with such apathy, such ignorance, he probably was the son of some filthy noble. He didn't have problem with the high born, William was one after all, but he didn't parade it around for all to see. But Cassian on the other hand, the bastard didn't even flinch when he saw the corpse, he looked at it as if it were dead deer he had just killed.
Jaxen turned and faced the young vitalier, his face was blank and stiff with supressed rage. Thousand thoughts rushed through his head while he stared down the knight, but he suddenly felt a hand in his shoulder, it was captain Spindall.
“Why don't you go ahead and scout the surroundings, we have to make sure these assailants are not still nearby. We will burn this woman on the meantime as we cannot afford the time to dig a grave” The captain ordered.
“Captain, with all due respect, the hierarchs have tasked us with a goal we must achieve in the least amount of time, burning this corpse will only waste time” Cassian objected.
“Sir Slaint, the church might have instructed us with a goal, but we have also been trusted to deliver the Lord’s justice to every place we travel to, we are knights of the order for the lord’s sake! And giving this woman a proper farewell is part of the divine mission, so you better start picking up sticks and stop complaining” The captain ordered them again while turning to face Jaxen “And you better look well, I don't want any unwanted attention to come to us”
Jaxen nodded silently and started to look around while the others scrambled to find firewood. The ground was wet from the recent storm, so he maybe could find some footprints. He scanned the surroundings to only see tall grass and some dead leaves that carpeted the floor. The reflection of something in the ground caught his attention, it was a fallen collar similar to William’s, with a torch as its centrepiece. That was odd, although the metal wasn't gold or silver, it could still be worth something, yet it had been left lying in the ground. Not even the most sadistic of outlaws would leave ornaments or coins laying around, something was certainly off.
He continued walking towards the forest when he encountered what seemed to be a path of footprints, that must be them. He wasted no time and started swiftly sprinting, although he was going fast, he did it quietly, that was the reason why the captain always trusted him with scouting. He wasn't the fastest on the team, that would probably be Harlan, but he knew how to track and find his way through the wilderness better than anybody.
The prints suddenly stopped near a hill as the ground there was less wet, but he could still follow the little drops of mud that was left on the grass. He suddenly stopped when he heard what seemed to be chatter and knelt down. It sounded like two men, but he couldn't make out what they were talking about, he needed to get closer. He started to crawl towards the hill, trying to make as little noise as possible.
After reaching the cusp he peeked his head in between some roots and grass to see two men sitting around a campfire.
“Those are some nice pelts, they probably had to hunt them hares out in the prairie close to the old village” one said while gnawing on some meat.
“I don't care how fancy they are, I ain’t gonna sell em” The other responded while he sharpened his knife in a whetstone.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“What you gonna do then?”
“Give em to me wife so she can knit a warm hat for next winter, last one me ears almost froze stiff!”
“You reckon none will notice? I mean, a damn hare hat will stick out among your hole filled clothes”
“The answer is easy, if the ask to many questions, they will appear dead in some ditch, with all these bastards murdering and stealing around these parts lately no one will even notice”
Jaxen crawled a little more so he could see the whole of their camp. He was confident he could take both of them were something to go wrong, as they had no armour and it seemed they were only carrying knifes. It sounded like they were talking about robbing some hunters, but nothing about the dead woman, so Jaxen chose to listen a little bit more.
“I will buy me some good ale or cider with my part, this winter had me dry as a desert, about time I knock myself out with something good”
“Always thinking about what are you going to drink next are you? If you keep going like that you went reach next harvest in one piece”
“And maybe that's for the better you know, taxes been getting heavier but crops ain’t growing larger. I prefer to go meet the maker drunk rather than starved”
Still nothing about the woman, he was getting tired of hearing, it was clear he was going to have to talk to question them himself. He started slowly crawling down the hill and stood up once he had reached the bottom. The knight started walking around the elevation so it would seem he was coming from the path to avoid any suspicion.
When he finally reached the men in the camp, they jumped up from the rocks where they were sitting and pulled out their knives. One was trembling so hard like he had seen a ghost while the other pushed the pelts out of sight with his foot while he stared down the knight.
“Good afternoon travellers and may you be blessed” Jaxen greeted them
The men kept staring at him without breaking eye contact, he knew it was probably strange to see a knight around these parts, but he had never got that reaction from anyone.
“By the Lord... a fucking knight... right here in front of us” The trembling one murmured to his partner.
“Keep yourself together, he doesn't look like one of em” The other told his companion.
What did he mean by “one of them”, maybe they were talking about the outlaws that roamed those lands.
“Fear not men, for I mean you no harm, I am a knight of the order of Saint Arthur based up north, I just wanted to ask you two some questions and I will be on my way” Jaxen reassured them. For some strange reason they seemed more troubled after he mentioned he was a knight, but they still kept calm.
“Say...sir knight, we were just camping ‘ere out round the bushes looking for some meat, we weren’t doing no wrong”
“I am sure you were, I just wanted to know if you have seen a woman around these parts recently, with blonde hair and dressed in a green tunic”
Both froze again at the mention of the woman, they knew something for sure.
“I... I’m afraid not sir, I ain’t see no woman round these parts”
They still lied, even while being frozen in fear, so they were either responsible for the murder or they had seen who did it but didn't want to tell for some reason. He suddenly remembered the necklace that she was wearing, if these two had been responsible they for sure would have stolen it.
“I see, she was wearing this also, try and see if you remember now” Jaxen said while pulling out the necklace.
And just as if he had pulled a severed head out of his pocket, both men’s eyes filled with dread at the mere sight of the ornament. One began to tremble harder while the other side eyed the knight's sword, they were certainly thinking of doing something drastic.
“There is no need to worry, I'm just asking a simple question, like I said, I mean no harm, that I swear upon the Lord”
The pair still kept silent, but Jaxen chose to not reach for his sword as to not escalate things.
“Fuck this, they are gonna know! They are gonna know and butcher us like God damn pigs!” The trembling one yelled one pulling out his knife. The other one did so too and lunged at the knight aiming straight at the gap in his neck. Jaxen swiftly dodge the attack and tripped the man with his foot while he drew out his sword. The time of asking was over, now his life was in danger.
The other one sheepishly slashed at him from behind hitting his chainmail undershirt. Jaxen turned around in a flash and in a sweeping motion he slit open the man’s throat, making him drop stiff while gargling blood.
The other one was still in the ground grunting from the pain of the fall, so Jaxen pointed his sword at him.
“Drop the knife if you don't want to end up like your partner sir, I don't wish to waste another life today”
The man looked at him for a moment, seemingly evaluating all options. Jaxen wished for him to just drop the knife and surrender, there was no point in throwing his life away.
But the man seemed to conclude that there was only one way out, and that was killing the knight in front of him. He threw some dirt at Jaxen's helmet and tackled him to the ground, he then proceeded to beat him endlessly. The punches had left him a little dazed and the dirt was still covering his eyes, so he could see little out of the helmet. He then heard a sharp sound against dirt, the man was picking up the knife to finish him.
Jaxen wasted no time and head butted him to release himself from his grip, he then took of his helmet and wiped the dirt of his eyes. His vision returned just in time to see the man lunging at him again, knife in hand, so he barely dodged the attack again and kicked him to the ground.
He knew there was no peaceful end to this, so he grabbed his sword and headed towards the man who was moaning in pain in the ground. When the man saw the knight coming, he tried to grab the knife again but Jaxen kicked it out of his reach. The knight then faced the terrified man, sword in hand.
“May the Lord grant you mercy when you meet him” Jaxen said while lifting his sword over the man’s throat. The latter accepted his fate and closed his eyes. And with the wet sound of steel crushing meat and bone, it was all over.
Jaxen sat at one of the rocks, panting and with a face full of dirt. His thoughts dwelled not in his pain, but as to why had the men choose to attack him rather to tell the him the truth. It was clear there was something to fear more than facing a fully armoured knight with a pair of simple knifes. As to what it was, he had no clue.
The image of their dread filled eyes was all he could think about. He didn't understand their surprise to seeing a necklace bearing the torch of the Illuvian fate, had they not been to a church in all they life?
A collum of smoke rose from behind trees in the distance, the captain and the men probably had already started the funeral pyre. He took a deep breath and grabbed his helmet, then he stood up and made his way back to his comrades.
He finally caught sight of them in the distance, the captain was standing in front of the pyre while resting his hands above his ground stuck sword. He was uttering the sacred word while Cassian threw Mistletoe into the fire as per the custom. Harlan and William were standing to the side with their eyes closed. Jaxen silently approached them and drew his sword to rest it in the ground like his comrades. When the captain finished uttering the word he turned his head to Jaxen.
“What the hell happened to you boy? You look like you were laying in a pig pen with that much dirt and mud in your armour” The captain questioned the newly arrived.
“I encountered two men resting next to a hill, I tried questioning them but they attacked me as soon as I showed them the necklace from the woman” Jaxen responded.
“Didn't expect more from such savages, they probably were responsible for the murder” Cassian added while putting away the sacred herbs.
“They were not the ones who murdered her, I am sure of that”
“How come? They were the only ones who were around, if your skills as a scout are to be trusted” the youth further questioned him.
“I eavesdropped on them for a while and heard nothing that indicated they were involved, and there is the fact that they feared the necklace as if it were death incarnated”
“Thats still nothing, they could easily have killed the woman and left the necklace due to some stupid peasant superstition, I expected more from you, Sir Feiss”
“It was no mere superstition, these men genuinely feared for their lives as soon as they saw the damn thing, and do not dare question my skills, I have spent more time in service than you have pissing your pants, boy”
“Although it could very well have been superstition, there is still merit to the word of Jaxen. I trust his judgement when it comes to these matters” The captain interrupted trying to defuse the tension “We will continue with steady pace now, we must hasten up our rhythm if we want to reach Thorin in reasonable time”
The four of them nodded silently and formed up on the road again. Cassian followed the leading Captain like a baby duck trailing after its mother. Harlan stayed in the middle while William and Jaxen trailed in the back.
“It seems that the boy is finally showing its colours, Jaxy” William quietly spoke to him, his grin clearly showing from behind his visor.
“To my dismay, yes, he spoke more now than he has the past weeks” Jaxen responded in an annoyed tone.
“I feel you brother, this culture shock tends to happen to the highborn that first go out on a mission, hell toughen up like I did”
“I hope so William, now what I want most is for the Lord to bless me with a stream so I can get some of this dirt out, I don't want to beat Harlan in the bad hygiene contest after all”
"Did I hear my name back there you runts?” Harlan asked from the front.
“We were just talking about the putrid smell form your armpits, when are you going to take your next bath anyway, you walking barrel of dung” William mocked him
“If you are so interested maybe I will make one of you stick your heads under one of them till your nose hair burns form the smell” Harlan threatened them.
The tree chuckled and continue walking down the winding dirt road. Jaxen laughed, but inside he wondered if they would find more about what the men were so scared of. He shrugged the thought off, if Cassian was right about something it was of the importance of the mission, that came first after all, so his doubts would have to wait.