My sleep was interrupted by the screams of animals. It was particularly the high pitch scream of sheep in distress accompanied by the flustered neighing of horses which awoke me. The location of the ruckus was out behind my yurt to be more precise it was coming from my new pens. I jumped awake in a start, throwing the blankets that were covering me off to the side, grabbing my sword, that I always had close at hand, by its dark leather scabbard and bolting to the door in one smooth motion that would impress anyone watching.

Once outside I headed around my circular home towards the pens that were out back. The pens were not directly behind the yurt but a good distance away to keep the smell of the shit and natural stench of the beasts from annoying those of us on the inside of the home, I had to run forty yards or so to get to the first set of pens that now belonged to me. I was not the only one who was awoken by the distressed screams of the animal’s, others were starting to gather outside their yurts and a few were even heading over to check their animals same as I.

I finally made it to my pens and what I saw shocked and crushed my soul all in one swift move, like a scythe slicing through dead grass. The first thing that I saw was MY horse lying on the ground unmoving with four arrows sticking out of its side, then there were the sheep and goats, at least a dozen were scattered around dead, their throats being slit, they were all now eternally resting in massive dark pools of their own blood. I had killed animals in the past, I had killed dangerous animals such as wolves to protect our herds, I had killed rabbits, sheep, goats, and dulfar to be eaten, I had even killed horses that had grown to old or had broken a leg and could no longer function properly, but never in my life had I seen such a useless waste of life.

Once the shock had abated I was consumed by a burning rage that was swiftly overtaking me, I usually try to control my anger so that I do not do something I would later regret but not this time, no, this time, I let the anger rage through my body like an unstoppable force of nature and I let it take control of me for once. This was not just anyone’s animals that had been so pointlessly killed, these were my animals, they were all my property to be done with as I pleased and now they were taken from me. I had owned all these creatures for less than a day and now they were already dead at someone else’s hands and I had no say in the matter.

I scanned the area for the culprits and I saw three dark figures standing on the far end of my pens holding bows and daggers in their hands. I could not get a good look at their faces since it was so dark, but what I could tell was that they were laughing at me and at what they had just done. I could not stand there and watch them do that, so I darted in their direction, two of the assailants, the two smarter ones apparently, started to run as soon as I did, the other however; hesitated and got a late start. That hesitation was all I needed, I was able to run him down with relative ease.

Once I was in striking distance I removed my sword from its scabbard and slashed out at the person’s defenseless back. I connected and was rewarded with a high-pitched scream and a fresh spray of hot blood that coated the tip of my blade and the hand holding it. It was not a serious wound but it was deep enough to draw a decent amount of blood and cause some serious pain. The hit from my blade tossed the killer onto the ground where I proceeded to stop running and throw my knee into the fresh wound while pulling his head up by his hair so that he had to arch back and strain in order to look up and see me. “Who are you, and where are the others going,” I growled looking down at the human trash before me. the boy, for it was a boy younger than me I noticed as I looked into his pale and trembling face, looked into my eyes in fear but did not say a word he just shook his head dumbfounded. Either he did not know where they went, or he did not want to tell me, either way it did not matter, I already knew what I was going to do with the one I had caught. I removed my knee from his back which was followed by a shuddering breath let out by my prisoner as the pressure was removed from the wound. The relief I gave him did not last long as I stood up hand still full of his shoulder length hair, I dragged him back to the village and towards the center, no one would be sleeping tonight not before I get done with him. I would be sure to cause a scene.

This boy probably thought he would not get caught and even on the off chance he was, that I would not be able to touch him for fear of stirring up trouble with his family but that was a severe mistake on his part. I do not give a fuck who your family is, if you mess with me I will get my revenge regardless even if you are the chief himself. I needed to stand up for myself and my new house. I needed to show the entire tribe that I was not someone to be taken lightly in order to prevent this type of attack from happening again. From this night onwards, everyone around would know just what I could do when truly pissed off.

I dragged the boy into the center of the village which was surrounded by the chief and his family’s residences. Once there I threw him face first into the mud getting a good look at the wound on his back that I had caused earlier. It was fairly deep and still oozing blood, looks more brutal than it had when I first looked, I could even see some flesh hanging off of the wound but sadly it was not life threatening. I found a piece of wood about three feet long that looked like it would make a good stake if formed properly. I used my sword to sharpen one end of the soon to be stake while the boy was scrambling trying to get to his feet. Once I was pleased with my work I kicked the boy back to the ground and was rewarded with a satisfying squeal from the boy’s mouth. The squeal brought a smile to my face as I looked around the village center. A crowd was beginning to amass, which was good for me and the demonstration that was about to ensue. I looked back down at my prey and saw that he was propping himself with his hand that he held off to his side. My smile grew to span from one ear to the other he really was making this easy for me. Without warning I drove my newly made stake down into his hand pinning it into the ground which brought a shriek of pain and terror from the boy. I can assume this was something he never expected to happen to him with the look of terror that was plastered onto his face.

Once the boy had stopped screaming the entire village had grown eerily silent none of the on lookers daring to say a word, either out of shock, terror, or both it was not everyday you saw a preteen boy have a wooden stake driven into his hand. I leaned in close to the boy bringing my mouth up to his ear so only he could hear what I was about to say. “No one and nothing but your words from here on out can save you,” I whispered with venom in my words making sure the point got across, “So, I advise you to be honest with me from now on.” The boy shuddered and nodded. It would appear he understood exactly what I was saying and hopefully he would be quite forthcoming in his answers from this point onwards.

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I leaned back taking a commanding stance over the cowering boy who refused to even look up at me in a submissive manner. I smiled at his stance and began my questioning. “Who are you three, and why did you attack my animal’s?”At the mention of the boy’s crimes the amassed crowd gasped in unison. It was a terrible crime to attack one of your tribesmen’s livestock, a crime that was punishable by servitude and even death in some cases depending on the severity of the attack and if the offended showed mercy or not. I did not intend to kill the boy, only scare him and get what is owed to me from his father, but the boy did not know this and had apparently just realized how severe his latest actions were because he began to shake uncontrollably, and from the smell he had even pissed himself. A few seconds had passed, and I still had not received an answer, so I began to grow more and more irritated the more time passed without him answering my questions. I took a step closer so that when the boy looked up, if he looked up, all he would be able to see was the empty scabbard at my waist. “I will not ask again,” I growled in impatience. He shuddered more violently than ever nodding his head in affirmation. He either knew what I would do to him if he did not answer me or he was making wild guesses which scared him into submission either way was fine with me since I got my way regardless. “I-It was Bataar,” he said shaking with every word, “Bataar made us do it.” Damn, my own little brother attacked me, that little shit, I thought while scanning around the amassed people looking for Bataar and or Alton, but I found neither, so l looked down at the kid cowering before me shaking and gripping his wounded hand. It would seem that the new wound I caused on his hand had made him forget about the gash on his back. “What is your name and who was the other attacker in your group?” I asked kicking the boy in the side eliciting a whimper as I did so. “I-I am Khenbish, a nobody so please let me go I beg of you,” the pleading coming from Khenibish pissed me off even more, so I rewarded him with a hard kick to his side which was accompanied a satisfying crunch beneath my foot, I might have broken a rib or two. Because he was now gasping for air. “I asked for the other attacker’s name now tell me who it was,” I yelled getting more and more agitated the longer Khenbish stalled.

I could not say anything else or even get a response however because behind me from the group that now surpassed two hundred individuals came an irate voice screaming, “Khenbish, is that my son Khenbish over there.” I turned to look at the owner of the voice and saw a large shadow detach itself from the onlookers and barrel is way towards me and Khenbish. I stepped back behind Khenbish putting the kneeling boy before me and the angered man who I would assume to be his father. The man stopped just before he got to Khenbish and looked him over I assume he was making sure that it was in fact his son. Apparently, it was his son because the man’s breaths suddenly got more labored and I noticed him clenching his fists in apparent anger. “What is the meaning of this?” he asked in a whisper that was almost to low for me to catch. If he thought he could scare me and get me to back down because he was larger than me and a seasoned fighter in the tribe then he was dead wrong, my father was Alton and he trained me personally, this man before me who I recognized as being a warrior named Muunokhoi could not come close to scaring me and I would show him that truth. I placed my foot onto Khenbish’s back and leaned on my knee bringing my face closer to Muunokhoi with a cocky smile on my face, “This trash beneath me attacked my animals tonight killing my horse and some other livestock and I demand compensation.”

My actions and words infuriated Muunokhoi even more. He pointed his finger into my face and screamed, “You little shit, you think you can do this to me and my house and get away with it? I will have your head for this.” I had him right where I wanted him, he was enraged and fuming just like I needed him to be in order to dig his own grave. I leaned back and looked at Muunokhoi condescendingly. “Your son Khenbish attacked my house tonight killing several of my animals,” I spoke just loud enough so that the crowd around us could hear me and take my words to heart, “And you, Muunokhoi a warrior of our Dulfar tribe are saying that I cannot have my compensation for this cowardly act but instead you threaten to kill me, do you not respect the old ways and traditions of our people?” At my words Muunokhoi went silent in realization, while murmurs began to pick up in full force among the crowd. This was the affect I wanted my words to have, and it was definitely working to my advantage. For the sake of face, Muunokhoi would have to give me compensation for his son’s actions or risk being ostracized by the tribe for not respecting the traditions of our people. “Now I am a reasonable man and do not wish to kill Khenbish for he is still young and learning, but I do need to know who all was involved and to receive some animals from you of my choosing in order to replace those of mine that were killed tonight by your son and his accomplices.” I said adopting a magnanimous pose and tone of voice still making sure the crowd could hear my every word. If they were on the fence before my last words sealed the deal and I had now officially gotten the crowd on my side, I showed them that I was not a bloodthirsty brute who was out to kill some kid and that I would let him off with only the names of all the attackers, and the livestock to replace my dead, this showed I was a merciful man. As long as they forgot what I did to his hand with the stake I would be ok. Muunokhoi was essentially trapped as he could only accept my terms because if he did not he would go against tradition and would be seen as petty after I had given such lenient terms to him and his boy.

Losing livestock was hard on anyone but losing a son was worse for those not as strong as my father and the other great warriors so he could only accept and give up a horse, some goats and sheep or risk losing a son which was a much more valuable resource for smaller houses like his. Muunokhoi let his head sag as he sighed, “Tell him Khenbish.” Khenbish finally looked up from his wounded hand and at his father but there was no relief to be seen there in his eyes since he knew that even if he was not going to be punished by my hands he would still receive a punishment by his father’s. I almost felt pity for Khenbish but then I remembered the sight of my dead horse with the arrows sticking out of his body and that little bit of pity was washed away by more anger that I had to fight to hold back so that I did not lash out and kill the boy now that I said I would spare him. “I-it was me, Baatar and Khubilai, who attacked fighter Aridan’s livestock tonight.” Khenbish said turning his eyes from his father back down to the ground. The entire crowd gasped when Khenbish mentioned Kubilai’s name as did I and Muunokhoi. Kubilai was not just anyone’s son no, he was one of the chief’s sons. Holy shit, I thought, this is bad. Just as I was thinking that I was in some deep trouble the crowd parted as both the chief and Alton walked over towards me side by side.

I wanted to back down and just say all was forgiven but my pride would not let me, so I had to act tough until the very end, like I did with Muunokhoi. I just hope it goes as well with Alton and the chief as it did with Muunokhoi.