“I’ll be the judge of that. Search the village men. He couldn’t have gone much further in this storm.” The rest of the mounted men hastened to obey and disappeared into the swirling snow. Verkal turned to face Encer before he continued.
“Why hasn’t anyone left the valley?”
“Didn’t you see the valley mouth” Encer was honestly astonished that the men had progressed beyond the dragon signs.
“Of course we saw the mouth of the valley. We rode right through it not two hours past. What about it?” Verkal quieted his horse with one hand and controlled the reigns with the other.
“There are dragon signs all over the place. They leave them as a warning. Anyone that tries leaving is set on by dragons.”
“That would explain why our horses were spooked. It was too foggy to see anything beyond the horse’s nose in that murk.” Encer was started at the sudden appearance and speech of the mounted soldier at his back.
“Did you find anything?” Verkal addressed the soldier. Dismounting he rubbed his buttocks as if to massage away hours of riding.
“Not yet. It’s impossible to follow any tracks in this snow.”
“Then search every building until you are sure that he isn’t here.” Verkal turned back to Encer and continued.
“How does your village manage to pay taxes in no one leaves or enters the village?” Encer realized that he was treading on dangerously thin ice. It was well known what the penalty for not rendering the taxes due the crown into the crown’s treasury. If the burgomaster was fortunate enough to escape with his life then his properties were forfeit to the crown as punishment. The villagers were then required to pay the due taxes thrice over. The strict penalty had been accountable for the relative rarity of this crime.
“The King’s tax men never came. We tried to deliver the taxes but dragons appeared and drove the men back into town.”
“Liar. If there were dragons about, your village wouldn’t have survived the day. Dragons spare no one.” Verkal looked smug in his assessment of the situation.
“These dragons seem intent on keeping us imprisoned. No one is harmed unless they are seen to be attempting to leave the valley.” Encer didn’t like the look that came into Verkal’s eyes. By this time several people had assembled to observe these newcomers.
“We found him! He was hiding in a building over here.” Verkal was interrupted just as he was about to make a declaration in response to Encer’s assertion. Leaving matters where they were the commander strode off in the direction indicated. Encer followed a few paces behind intent on seeing who had been “found”.
They arrived at the storehouse where a group of soldiers and villagers were gathering. The door was open and the feet of a soldier could be seen inside the gloomy interior of the building. The soldier was lying flat and unmoving. On Verkal’s orders another soldier began edging his way into the doorway. Suddenly he grasped his head and screamed. A moment later he gave a couple jerks and fell to the ground.
“The bastard is too strong. We are going to have to do this the easy way.” Verkal said a few words to a subordinate that were lost before they reached Encer.
“What is going on? Who is this person?” Encer inquired of Verkal.
“A telepath and we are going to smoke him out.” Verkal glared at Encer in annoyance before returning to the task on hand. A moment later the soldier returned with a bundle of torches and a flint. Encer was still confused as to what the easy way was meant to represent. The torches were soon lit and distributed in a ring around the building. Encer then got an inkling of what Verkal was planning.
“You can’t do that! We have all our winter’s previsions in that building. If you burn it down we will starve!” Encer tried to get closer to Verkal who ignored him.
“Stop! You can’t burn our storehouse!” Encer was getting frantic now as the soldiers advanced on the building. Verkal swung around and caught Encer off guard with a right hook to the nose. Stunned he sat on the ground. Reaching up to his face he could feel the sticky warm blood already flowing.
“I will do what I want. You should have considered this when you chose to hide the cultist man in there.” Verkal’s voice positively dripped venom.
“But we didn’t hide him. We haven’t done anything wrong.” Encer was ignored and the first flames caught at the dry eaves. The telepath inside caught on to what was happening and several of the soldiers collapsed in screams. Encer watched helplessly as their fellows dragged them back from the flames that licked hungrily at the building. With horror he watched the smoke billow out of the door. In the light of the flames he was able to see the soldier who had first entered the building.
Suddenly a black robed man came out of the door at a full run. He leaped the supine soldier at the door and impaled himself of Verkal’s sword. The commander had been waiting with sword in hand. Yanking it from the dying telepath’s chest he watched as the man collapsed to the ground. Death took a minute as the man coughed up his life’s blood. By now the whole building was engulfed in fire.
Encer started as he saw the man inside stirring to life. A couple of the soldiers outside tried to rush inside and drag their compatriot to safety but were thwarted by a burst of fire. The man inside was standing now and trying to shield his head from the heat that surrounded him. The soldiers at the door were about to make one last attempts when a portion of the roof collapsed on the man inside. Out of the swirl of cinders and falling roof beams a shrieking figure wreathed in fire darted. Screaming in agony the man rushed out of the burning building with his clothes and hair on fire. A couple of the soldiers were able to knock him to the ground and pack the falling snow over him. A moment later and the flames were out. The man was mercifully unconscious now.
The storehouse was soon demolished and a steaming pile of charred timbers in the snow. The entire village had assembled to gape at the catastrophe that had befallen them. Verkal had ordered the dead telepath thrown into the flames when the fire had died down enough to approach. Encer didn’t know how long he had stood staring at the fire before Mytera tugged him away. The world came back into focus then.
“Is Inadar alright?”
“Yes, she came home and told me about the fire. If she stayed where I told her then she should be there now.” Mytera proceeded to wipe the smeared blood off Encer’s face.
“All our stores are gone.” Encer stated the obvious in a dead flat voice.
“I see. We will survive. We managed that first winter didn’t we?” Encer knew that Mytera was trying to cheer him up but he didn’t feel like being cheerful. She did manage to make him begin thinking about what must be done. Several soldiers began shouting out an order to assemble in the middle of the village. Encer and Mytera were among the last to appear. Several of the villagers around them seemed barely able to contain their anger. It was all Encer could do to convince them that any attempts at violence would only worsen their predicament. After being assured that enough people had gathered Verkal rode into the center of the group. A ring formed around him but to Encer’s satisfaction no one made any foolish moves.
“It has come to my attention that this village hasn’t paid taxes for five years. A fault of this magnitude would normally require the highest penalty. The death of the village council. However I am not unreasonable. You claim to have made attempts to pay your taxes and since the tax collector didn’t perform his duty the blame cannot be laid entirely at your feet.” Encer closed his eyes and prayed that the low murmur that rose around him didn’t escalate into action.
“Instead of executing your council members, I am appointing myself the land master responsible for these lands. Dragon’s Hamlet is now mine.” Verkal rode out of the ring after he made his shocking announcement. Encer wasn’t entirely sure what Verkal had planned but he didn’t like the guesses he was able to make.
Encer and Mytera made their way to their house silently. Encer’s coat was soaked through by now and the snow didn’t give any signs of letting up. Once inside
he shed his outer garments and crouched near the hearth to regain some of his heat. A few minutes later Inadar slipped in the door. Neither Mytera nor Encer had the energy to scold her so she scurried off to her room.
The hours passed as Encer and Mytera discussed their situation with the dozen or so villagers that slipped in and out. By the time that the day was spent a foot of snow had fallen. Encer had a better idea of what Verkal was doing. He had assumed that because the fugitive had been hiding in the village that they had known about it. The storehouse had been the punishment for this interference with his search. After the announcement earlier, Verkal had stated that the soldiers would be housed and fed by the villagers. The already short ration supplies would be strained even further by the extra mouths not to mention the probable manners of the troops. Encer was about to retire when he heard a soft knock on the door. Upon opening the door he saw an ice covered soldier standing outside.
“I’m to sleep here?” Encer peered into the red rimmed eyes above the ice encrusted beard. He assumed the man had inhaled smoke from the fire and stepped wordlessly aside. The man stepped inside after stomping most of the snow off his feet. Mytera came from the kitchen and stopped upon seeing the soldier. The soldier walked across the room and slumped into a chair. Encer glanced at Mytera who stepped back into the kitchen. Encer wouldn’t have it said that he aggravated their situation by refusing food to the soldiers.
“He’s dead.” The soldier cradled his chin on his hands with his elbows on the table.
“The man in the fire?” Encer took a seat opposite the soldier. He had noticed his sword hanging by the door and was hoping to keep the soldier from looking in that direction. It might be misinterpreted if seen.
“My brother. The burns were too bad. I couldn’t save him. I tried but it was too hot. I should have braved it. I’m just a coward and now he is dead because of me.” Encer realized that the red rimmed eyes were not from the smoke. Mytera returned with a bowl of soup in time to hear and Encer could understand the pity he saw on her face.
“Did Verkal know your brother was inside and still alive?” The soldier winced as if Encer’s words had hit a tender bruise.
“He knew.” The soldier ignored the soup and removed his helm. Mytera gave a small gasp on seeing how young the soldier was. Despite the beard he couldn’t have been twenty.
“We were both drafted on our sixteenth birth day. We were twins you see. We only had two more years and we could have returned home and finished our apprenticeships. I only had a little more to go on my blacksmithing before I could have become a journeyman. Morden would have finished a few months ahead of me. He was a leatherworker. We were going to be journeymen together.” The soldier choked and was unable to continue. Encer found it hard to think of the man in front of him as an enemy. He was only a boy grieving the loss of his twin brother. Unable to think of something to say he remained silent.
“I’m sorry about the storehouse. I had no idea. It wasn’t until after the fire started that I found out my brother was inside.” The soldier got out of his chair and took one step towards the fire before doubling up and falling to the floor. Encer rushed to the soldier’s side and felt for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief on finding that he didn’t have a dead soldier to explain.
“Is he...?” Mytera apparently feared the same thing.
“He is alive. Probable exhaustion combined with cold.” Encer felt the man’s forehead and found it to be boiling hot. “He has a fever on top of everything.”
“Poor thing. I’ll go get the bed roll. He can sleep near the hearth.” Mytera left on her errand and Encer began stripping away the wet cloths. Under the cloak he found a light plate mail over a chainmail armor. Removing this he found the clothes underneath to be wet also. Mytera returned with the bed roll and a few blankets. As the ice melted the man’s beard thinned and became the scraggly growth of an adolescent. Stripped down to the skin the young man was dried and wrapped in blankets. He weighed little so placing him on the bed roll didn’t require much effort.
After tucking the soldier into the bed roll Encer hid his sword and laid the man’s armor and clothes out to dry. By then it was getting late so he went to bed himself.
Morning found the man mumbling incoherently and alternating sweating and shivering. Mytera spooned water and a thin soup down his throat. Encer checked his coat and finding it dry stoked the fire and carried in a bundle of wood. After dropping into the bin he brushed himself off and was about to ask Mytera about the soldier’s condition when the door burst open.
“Where’s Torroth?” Verkal stamped some snow off his boots in the middle of the floor.
“He is right here.” Encer recognized Mytera’s tone and knew she was not welcoming their new land master in her home.
“He needs to be in his armor and out with the rest of the troops in five minutes.”
“He will be doing no such thing.” Mytera stood up and looked Verkal in the eye.
“He will do what I tell him to do!”
“Tell him yourself but I doubt he will be doing anything in the next couple of days.” With this announcement Mytera stormed out of the room leaving Verkal looking surprised.
“He has a fever and collapsed last night.” Following Encer’s words Verkal scanned the battle harness laid out beside Torroth as if doing an inventory. Satisfied that nothing was missing he turned and stomped out of the house.
“Without as much as a thank you.” Mytera returned through the door that she had stormed through only a moment past. Encer suspected that the entire thing had been a show for Verkal’s benefit.
“He was never much on gratitude”
“You know him?” Mytera shot Encer a questioning glance.
“I knew of him. We didn’t cross paths often since he was the captain of a different unit and I was only a soldier.”
“What do you think he wants?” Mytera checked on and Torroth before setting the table.
“I honestly don’t know. He wants something but I’m not sure what.” Encer noticed that Inadar wasn’t present. He checked her room and found it empty. He surmised that she had slipped out earlier in the morning to observe the soldiers in the village. He didn’t blame her. Encer had once been her age and only hoped that she didn’t get into much trouble. Mytera on the other hand was more worried about the girl’s absence. She feared that Inadar was up to some mischief.
Breakfast was almost over by the time Inadar showed up. She was being escorted by two soldiers with stern expressions. Encer joined Mytera in fearing the worst at this point.
“She was throwing snowballs at us.” The sterner looking soldier explained.
“She could have been punished but we heard how well you are treating Torroth. Just see that it doesn’t happen again.” The second soldier further divulged. They both had a look at Torroth and left without further words.
“Inadar, you can’t be doing anything like that. You could get us all in trouble.” Mytera fixed Inadar with a look that to the child was worse than a physical punishment.
“I only did it because they burnt down the storehouse and they wouldn’t let us look at their horses and they smashed Ted.”
“Who is Ted?” Encer interjected.
“My snowman. I didn’t know they could run so fast.” Encer sighed in an attempt to cover a sudden urge to laugh. Inadar was feeling the oppressive atmosphere and had attempted to initiate a guerrilla war. The cold blooded murder of an innocent snowman had triggered her violent side and only a grievous miscalculation of the running speed of an armored pursuer had ended her short military career.
“Just be nice to them and don’t try anything like that again no matter what they do.” Mytera had an odd tilt to the corners of her mouth that told Encer that she had detected the amusement in the situation as well.
While Inadar was being fed her breakfast a couple more soldiers appeared. They weren’t interested in Inadar’s past transgression. They informed Encer that they needed to search the house. Encer
’s first thought was for his sword but he allowed them in anyways. They searched high and low but never found the sword. Encer decided after watching them for a few minutes that they weren’t looking for weapons. They examined several of his carvings and a couple pieces of Mytera’s jewelry. Evidently not finding what they came for they apologized for the intrusion and left.
A few minutes later several villagers arrived and began complaining about the searches. One claimed that the soldiers had taken a hammered dragon shaped pendant. Another said that a metal shod staff with dragons and various designs carved into its length had been taken also. Encer realized that the only things taken had something to do with dragons. This was further confirmed when a newcomer complained that his new hat decorated with shed dragon scales had also been taken.
All the villagers fell silent when a low moan escaped Torroth. One look from Mytera and everyone assembled silently departed. Torroth opened his eyes a slit and groaned again. Mytera was by his side a minute later with a thin broth. Torroth was hardly able to swallow a few spoonfuls before he dropped back into a sleep. Mytera informed Encer that the fever had lessened but the lad still needed to rest.
Unable to remain inside any longer Encer took a walk. He looked over the village under its new blanket of snow. When he reached the burnt storehouse he began picking through it to see if there was anything that had escaped the conflagration. He was disappointed in this endeavor and only found ashed and burnt remnants of the food that had been stored there. In some spots smoke still rose into the air and the snow around the building was tainted a dingy gray by the ash.
Despairing on salvaging anything Encer stopped by the houses of the village trappers. The wives of two informed him that they had departed first thing this morning with every one of their spare traps intent on catching everything that they could. Accept for one the rest were making preparations to do the same. The one that wasn’t was recovering from an injury sustained a week past and still hobbled about with the help of crutches. He volunteered his traps to an able bodied trapper in the interests of the community. Encer was soon satisfied that most of the villagers were supplied well enough for the time being and baring a poor trapping season they would not starve in the future. The greatest loss aside from the food had been the tools and seed kept for next year’s crops. Several of the villagers had seed stored enough for planting if none was ground or eaten. Time would ultimately tell.