“Why did you made me show them my freakish parts? You knew exactly that I don’t want to be seen as some sort of freak.”
Balin blew up onto Bernhard. He could not believe what his master made him do.
“Well, I thought it was time for you to come out of your shell. It’s been a long time and you should accept who you are. Your anomaly makes you strong.”
“Don’t come at me with that! Your anomaly might make you strong, but you are still sure that you are fully human and not some sort of freak of nature, who made a deal with what might be the devil. People will stare if they see me like this. You heard their reactions. If people, see me they will all think the same. You out of everyone should be aware.”
Balin was just about to cry and it took Bernhard until now to realize how his actions have hurt his friend.
“I am sorry, I didn’t realize that it would hurt you to this extend. I… I think I got carried away. I am sorry.”
Without even answering Balin just turned around, went to his room and slammed the door behind him. Not answering the worried knocks of either Bernhard or Tracy until early the early evening, when the voice of a stranger could be heard in the house. After a few seconds a more forceful knock and more forceful voice ordering Balin to leave the room were made. It wasn’t until Balin heard his master order.
“Balin, I am sorry, but please come out. We’ve been ordered by the Barron to come immediately.”
After quickly making themselves presentable Balin and Bernhard went to see the Barron. This time he was sitting on a throne in a room with soldiers at every corner, looking both threatening and concerned.
“Bernhard Xavier!”
Boomed the older man’s voice.
“What are the stories about you bringing a demon into my estate? Explain!”
“Well he isn’t a demon. His name is”
Before Bernhard could make any explanation, the Barron made a signal with his hand. Immediately a few of soldiers came closer towards Balin and pointed their spears at him from a safe distance. Then two other soldiers came even closer towards Balin and started to grab his shirt. Balin was startled by this and tried to push them away in confusion. Bernhard tried to calm his friend down.
“Don’t fight back Balin, its ok. Just let them!”
Balin pushed the two men away and immediately the spearmen closed in, nearly touching Balin’s skin with their sharp tips. It was then when he Balin yielded.
“Bernhard, keep your slave in check and answer the question!”
“He is nothing to be feared. His name is Balin from the Rivervalley. He used to be a squire the knight of Sir Egbert the Swift, his uncle.”
“Who, is that Egbert the Swift? I seem to vaguely recall the name.”
“He was supposed to protect land from Lord Conway. A village in a valley after its been named. About 13 years ago he was second at one of the king’s sword fighting tournaments. His impressive ability to doge earned him his name.”
Shouted Balin. After a moment of thinking the Barron responded to that.
“I am sorry, that doesn’t ring a bell.”
“The village he was protecting was destroyed by a wild monster attack in early spring. He was reemployed to look out over an area called Woodquarry. A few days after starting his new work he was found dead in his own house. He was murdered.”
Once of the Barrons previously unnoticed advisors added.
“That is all fine and all but that doesn’t explain that freak in front of me. How did you come to be?”
It took Balin a moment to choose his wording, but he answered truthfully.
“That monster attack completely annihilated the village. There were no survivors. I myself was mortally wounded and buried under a wall that came crumbling over me. But something saved me. It replaced my lost body parts with ones made off rock and made it so that any lost parts would keep being replaced with new rocky replacements.”
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It took the Barron a minute of almost deafening silence to process what he heard.
“That Sir Egbert was murdered right? Was that you?”
“Yes, he ran from his duty of protecting the village. When I found him by chance, I killed him for his cowardness. He wasn’t the only one I killed. Others haven’t come to our aid despite having the obligation to do so. So, I killed them.”
“And how have you ended up in Bernhards servitude? That seems like quite a jump to make.”
“He tried to kill me as well. After subjugating him during his attack I took him in. I owed him so much.”
“What grudge has he had against you to do this?”
“The same as the others. I took up the towns offer to help them the defend from the beasts, but I couldn’t join the fight. My wife just died and my unborn needed my attention.”
After another minute of silence, the Barron said.
“This seems like quite the wield story. I can hardly believe it. But Balins autonomy is proof of this story… And he is under your full control?”
“He doesn’t ever refuse my commands and in an emergency, I can beat him in a fight. We have agreed that if I ever consider to be losing control over him, I’d kill him for good. We are sure that a decapitation would do the trick.”
“This is quite the predicament you have put me into. I don’t quite know what to do with all this information. On one hand he is an incredibly dangerous freak. On the other he is a powerful pawn. I need to think this over. Me and my advisors will need to retreat and discuss this for a while. Someone bring Bernhard and Balin a chair to sit down on and also put your spears down! They won’t leave this room until we come to reach an agreement.”
With that the Baron called his advisors from his side and left the room in a hurry. Neither Balin nor Bernhard said a word for quite a while. As ordered a servant quickly brought them chairs to sit on and water to drink. While the servant was attending towards the duo the guards left the room and were replaced by a fresh unit, who kept them under the same watchful eye as the ones before.
“Well this could have gone a lot worse. I guess.”
Bernhard tried to reinstate the conversation, but Balin didn’t answer.
“Father hasn’t sentenced us to death yet. So, we have that going for us.”
Balin still didn’t answer.
“You still angry with me? You can really hold a grudge.”
He got an angry and condescending stare back.
“I knew it was dumb the moment it left my mouth. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Also, I am sorry about forcing you to reveal yourself to everyone. The atmosphere has gone to my head. Please talk to me again!”
“I don’t know what to say. Today has been a bit much for me.”
“Understandable. Listen Balin, from now on. I promise you I wont ever make you do something like this ever again. It wasn’t necessary and outed you as a freak. And, once this is over, I will help you follow that last lead that you had about that girl. I promised you that and you know, I never break my promises unless necessary. Is that alright?”
Bernhard offered Balin his hand in friendship in an attempt to reconcile and after a second Balin took the handshake.”
While the two of them shook hands, the door opened again and the both of them and the guards immediately took on a more serious pose as the Barron and his advisors entered the room.
“We have come to a conclusion. We think the potential reward of keeping a power like him alive and a secret outweighs the risk of him going rampant. Bernhard you can keep him. But you must promise to keep a watchful eye on him. A single misdemeanor and he must die! We will keep the truth behind his existence a secret and about his crimes prior to his enslavement. Balin was completely justified in his actions. Not following your contracts and obligations towards the people and endangering them as a direct result is an offence second only endangering the crown. But punishment is necessary because even if his actions were justified, they are still horrendous crimes because he acted outside the law. We believe that living dangerously as a combat slave for the rest of his life is enough of a punishment. Furthermore, due to safety concerns, leaking the information about Balins body out will be considered a crime as well.”
Bernhard immediately fell to his knees and Balin quickly followed suit.
“Thank you, father, thank you for showing mercy towards my friend.”
“Yes, thank you for sparing me my Lord. I am grateful.”
“You are dismissed.”
The two left the room in which they were imprisoned just a few minutes ago. By now it has already gotten dark. The Barron has skipped today evening’s festivities to deal with Balin. On their way back Balin asked Bernhard.
“You do you think he let me go? Wouldn’t it have been easier and safer to just have me executed and be done with it?”
“It probably would have. I can come up with two big reasons for why he did choose to spare you. Firstly, you are a powerful weapon. A soldier that wont die from most wounds and can crush a skull though a helmet with a single hand is obviously valuable in case war breaks out. But I believe there is a second just as big factor at play here. Which is me. Not just am I a symbol of strength and a favorite among the people but I am just as, if not more dangerous than you are. Risking losing my loyalty and having me defect towards a political rival will rip a lot of influence. Furthermore, just having to try and subjugate you would probably be an investment that wouldn’t be worth it. You have already a frightening record. Losing Soldiers over an easily avoidable issue is not my father’s style.”
“That so. I came up with similar reasons. What now?”
“I guess we will continue as planned and search for that last girl you mentioned. Rose was it, right? But maybe we will leave a bit earlier than originally planned. I don’t want to run into the risk of exposing you more than I already have. So, for the time being I would suggest you stay in the mansion. Rumors will probably emerge but the less people in public are aware of what you are the sooner the rumors will die out.”
They spent most of the way back into the mansion in silence, both still thinking about the events the conspired that day. Balin did not leave the house during the rest of their stay and two days later Bernhard ordered them to pack up and they all left.