The party crept quietly through the forests, relying upon the moonlight to see, for they carried no torches. Rather, they held their swords and axes tightly, ready to strike and kill. They were clad mostly in boiled leather and light chainmail. Among these warriors walked Nal, daughter of Sigrid, and her cousin and companion Ulfr.

“Are you excited?” Ulfr whispered “Our first battle! Mark me, we’re done guarding gates, sparrow.”

“It’s just one group of bandits.” Nal muttered to her cousin “We’re hardly marching into war.”

“Have some sense of poetic occasion, cousin.” Ulfr replied “We’ll both have bloodied our swords, come dawn. Do you think it will be a red dawn, to mark the occasion?”

“It hardly seems to matter. You ought to get your head out of the clouds, Ulf.”

“You two! Quiet down!” The captain hissed “They’re just up ahead! Look!”

The orange light of a campfire filled the forest, cast out from a nearby grove.

“Weapons ready.” The captain said softly, the militiamen raised their arms “Forward!”

It was not the glorious battle Ulfr had hungered for. It was a slaughter. Morning was still far off when the bandits lay dead or captive. The survivors’ wrists were bound and they were marched off to Eirsmet where the dungeons awaited them. A small party. There had only been a dozen raider.

The cousins were among those left behind to loot their camp and recover any stolen treasure. No such wealth was to be found. They had no gold or silver, nor goods taken from traders. The carcass of a stag hanging from a tree, some rabbits... furs. While Nal poured water over their fire and kicked out the last embers Ulfr spoke his voice heavy with disappointment.

“These weren’t bandits. They were poachers.”

“That, or very poor bandits, I should say.” Nal laughed.

“It’s not funny, Sparrow. Why would the Earl send the militia out to slaughter mere poachers?”

“They broke the law.” Nal shrugged “It’s his sworn duty to uphold the law.”

“This is all wrong, Nal.” He said sadly “This is butchers work! It’s unbecoming of a soldier!”

“More of this?” Nal groaned “Someday, the damned Basilians will try to invade. You’ll have your war then.”

“It’s not war I want, it’s honorable work!” Ulfr snapped “Patrolling the city! Slaughtering peasants for hunting a stag they shouldn’t! Is this what you dreamed of, Nal?”

Nal planted her feet in the ground and crossed her arms.

“I dreamed of a way to use my blade without having to leave as my mother did. I’ve found that well enough.”

“In the training yards.” Ulfr grunted “This was our first real fight and it was hardly a fight.”

“What about the brawl we put down last week?” Nal asked.

“Pfa!” Ulfr grumbled “Hitting drunks with clubs isn’t an honorable fight.”

“You can’t know the future, Ulfr.” Nal said, clapping her cousin’s shoulder “They’ll be expecting our return before long. Not much to bring with us… I suppose we could bring the stag. It’ll make for a good dinner.”

“Is it not the Earl’s stag?” Ulfr snorted.

“Aye.” Nal chuckled “And we’re the Earl’s men, so let’s enjoy it, eh?”

He grinned at this, though as they walked back to Eirsmet together, there seemed to be a distance between the cousins. It was a strange feeling. Since their first meeting, Ulfr had been Nal’s closest companion. This separation was wholly unfamiliar to her. It felt wrong.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

~

“I’ve been speaking to one of the poachers.” Ulfr said over a stein of ale a few nights later. “Very interesting story, she has, Nal.”

“They’re still in the dungeons?” Nal asked, chewing some beef “I thought the Earl meant to take a hand from each and send them on their way.”

“It’s to be a public spectacle. That’s not what matters. Do you know why they turned to poaching?”

“No.” Nal said bluntly, before taking a gulp of ale. “Why did they then, cousin? I know that look on your face. Just say what you’re thinking.”

“Taxes.” Ulfr laughed “They were petty farmers. Not so different than our own families, though lacking our status, and perhaps your mother’s mind for business. They couldn’t find their way in the new world. They lost their farms. They were just trying to feed themselves, Nal.”

“Well. What of it, Ulfr? I’m sure many bandits and criminals have sad stories behind them. Why are you concerned over this one…? You said it was a woman you were talking to?”

He glared at her.

“What are you saying, cousin? I haven’t been seduced, if that’s your suggestion. I’ll admit, she’s fair enough to look at but… Have you truly gone so cold, Sparrow?”

Nal sliced off another piece of meat.

“Cold, am I?” She laughed “No, Ulf. I’m just not ready to weep over a single story. All those warriors you dreamed of slaying had their own too, you know.”

Those words hit him hard. Ulfr was silent for some time. They’d gone through a keg of ale and the mess hall had practically emptied by the time he rose up and spoke two words.

“I’m leaving.”

“What’s that?” Nal said, swaying in her seat “Ready for bed? Can’t handle any more drink?”

Ulfr looked at her. He frowned. Was that pity in his eyes? Disgust? Nal glared right back.

“Come on, Ulf.” She said firmly “Speak up, then.”

“I’m leaving the militia, Nal.” He said “The pay isn’t worth… all of this.”

“Hah. You’ll regret it, when something exciting happens.” She grinned “What will you do, then?”

“I don’t know. Go back to pa’s farm, for a while, I suppose. Take up fishing again. Maybe go abroad myself. Who can say the way fate will go? I just know I can’t spend another day here.”

He plucked the silver bear badge from the breast of his tunic. He looked at it in much the same fashion he had at Nal.

“I suppose I’ll spend the night, at least, and do it properly tomorrow morning. Return this to the captain. Let the Earl have his silver. I wouldn’t want them to hunt me down for desertion.”

He let out a sad laugh and passed through the doors, walking out into the night. Nal finished another stein, then another, before stumbling off to the barracks. She was too drunk to check if Ulfr had followed through on his words, or he had chosen the more romantic path. She feel into her bed and sank into a deep sleep.

~

One by one they were led up to the stump which had been placed in the town square. The Earl and his own household guard oversaw the proceedings. Once they were there, their arms were stretched out over the stump. A sharp axe lifted up into the air, and then came swinging down. The hands fell into a large basket which had been placed beneath. The poachers were led off to have their wounds treated and bound before being sent out from the city. Banished, of course.

The Earl made some speech about the price of treachery, taking a hand from the basket and waving it about. Damned fool. He couldn’t see the hatred in the eyes of the crowd. It was one thing to rule through fear, as Eadric had. It was another thing entirely to tempt fate. Perhaps Ulfr had some worthwhile ideas. Serving such a worm of a man. Still. Her badge brought stability and a reputation among…. The sort of people who mattered. The Southern Merchants who did business with her mother, who she would have to deal with when Sigrid was too old, or when she passed. Nal left to return to her post at the gates half way through the bloody procedure.

Sunset came, painting the horizon red. She was waiting eagerly on her relief when saw her cousin approaching. He was clad in common clothes. So he had left the militia. Hah. She hadn’t been sure the captain would let him. Though they weren’t as desperate as they had been. After the first wave of recruits, they’d seen all sorts of newcomers. Adventurous youths such as herself. Ambitious ladder climbers looking for authority. Hungry urchins looking for a bed and a meal. What loss was one young man?

The woman with him, on the other hand, she took Nal by surprise. She had a thick tangle of black hair, emerald green eyes, and olive skin. She looked almost Basilian, but she carried herself like a Karlunder. Not that her heritage drew Nal’s gaze. It was the bloody stump at the end of her left arm, wrapped in bandages. It was the way Ulfr comforted her.

“Oh. Hello, Sparrow.” He said sadly “I thought I might find you here.”

Nal frowned.

“I thought to find you there.” She gestured to the empty post on the other side of the wall. No guardsman and yet been assigned to replace her cousin there. “I see you are going through with this… whatever it is.”

Ulfr nodded.

“This is Astrid.” He said, as though introducing the poacher at a family gathering “The one I was talking to.”

The woman averted her gaze. Nal couldn’t blame her. She was, no doubt, still in shock.

“Ulf.” She whispered “Please… Let’s just go. I don’t want to be here any longer.”

He gave her an encouraging squeeze, then the pair started through the gate.

“I’ll miss you, cousin.” Nal said sadly “I’m... Well I didn’t imagine it would end up like this, when we set out together.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Nal.” He said, before passing through the gate.

Her relief came soon. She made her way up to the wall and watched as Ulfr and his new companion made their way across the plain. She watched until the sun passed over the horizon, filling the red sky with black, then stars came.

They were beautiful.