Take the body and give me the rest (23 page)

She started to
speak in a quiet but strong voice that carried in the silent room.
‘I’ve returned from a long trip away, and I want to thank my sweet
brother again for his caretaking and helping Black Rock thrive.’
The clapping inside was much louder. Seth saw that lined against
the wall were at least forty or so guardsmen in different uniforms.
Clearly, Renton’s personal guard and not all of them.

‘You all know I
was travelling far and away to continue the Black Rock tradition of
gathering knowledge and bringing it back for the good of all. But
now I’m glad I’m back to stay for good.’ Some clapping from the
traders and family members. ‘The world outside of these walls is a
very dangerous place, and I wouldn’t have come back at all if it
wasn’t for the help of a brave friend I made on the journey. May I
present Master Seth.’ Seth felt himself flush as all the eyes drew
to him. Maybe she wasn’t stitching him up; maybe she did want him
stay and do something here.

He was led by
Griffin in front of where she stood on the dais. She smiled at him
with warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time. ‘This young man and his
brave friends—she waved to indicate the smiling boys—‘saved my life
many times. He is both a man of learning and a fearless warrior and
swordsmen with no peer.’ Behind her, a chamberlain stepped up. He
was holding a lush scarlet velvet pillow. On it was a large and
very old broadsword.

‘With the sword
of my great-great-grandfather, I name you Sir Seth, Order of the
Black Rock Gatherers. May you seek the knowledge of the world and
use it for the good of all.’ Struggling to lift the blade, she
touched it on either side of his shoulders and then above his head.
It was a ceremony he knew only from others. In the North, there
were no knights, only named men, blooded men.

The chamberlain
passed her a plain steel circlet, which she placed neatly into top
of Seth’s head. ‘May I present Sir Seth. May he burn like a flame
in the darkness, casting light for all.’

The people in
the room clapped politely and Renton’s guards not at all, but the
four Northmen howled, whistled and shouted louder than them
all.

That night they all slept in a large guestroom with four beds,
had a bath brought in by servants and drank wine from the supplied
flagons. The room was like a huge version of
The Opulent
’s.

‘What does this
mean, Boss?’ asked Flint.

‘I don’t know,
really. It may mean she wants us to stay, be a part of what she’s
doing here,’ he said.

‘What about
work with Rosen?’ Goldie asked.

‘We’ll see what
happens tomorrow. Tonight, I’m happy we finally got a little bit of
respect for the North,’ Seth said.

‘We’ll have to
start calling you Sir Seth!’ said Grimm with a laugh.

‘Captain, Boss
or Seth are all fine. We’ve been through too much for titles.’

After one of
the best sleeps of his life with no dreams, Seth and the men were
woken in the morning by a chamberlain in black and gold who had
them fed a quick breakfast and then led to the armoury.

‘As part of the
tradition of one joining the Gatherers, you and your men are to be
outfitted properly,’ the chamberlain said. Seth looked around the
room. It was a soldier’s most violent dreams come true. Walls and
walls of freshly wrought swords, daggers, double head axes, shields
and bows. Northmen didn’t go in much for armour, but they were soon
all outfitted with strong mail shirts and black vambraces. Flint
and Stone took matching sets of axes. Seth was happy enough with
his stolen broadsword, rapier and dagger from Yend’s. He did change
his bow for a new one and took two quivers of barbed arrows; they
were hard to make.

As they finished putting on various items, swinging weapons,
whooping and carrying on like over grown children, Elizebetha
walked into the room with Lord Renton
and
their retinue. They approached Seth and his men, who stopped
playing and now really did look like a serious fighting force.
Matching armour and more weapons than a blacksmith’s market
wagon.

She smiled at
Seth. ‘Are you well pleased with you reward, Sir Seth?’

He smiled back.
He was. ‘We’re all very grateful. But if I can, what is the Order
of the Gatherers? What are my tasks at the Keep?’

Lord Renton
laughed loudly and long. As he spoke, he pinned a very ugly silver
wolf’s head onto Seth’s long thin black cloak. ‘My boy, it’s a
ceremonial order started by my great-grandfather—fine man.
Outriders, knowledge seekers, knight with a lust for travel.’ He
leaned forward and whispered in Seth’s ear, ‘People we don’t want
sticking around the Keep.’

‘So were not to
stay and serve you, my lady? You want us to go?’ Seth asked. He was
so stung with hurt. He hadn’t known what to expect, but he’d
thought once she’d given him such a gift like this, surely she’d
want him to stay.

‘You’ll see,
Seth. It truly is an honour and this is what I and, of course, my
brother Lord Renton think is for the best. Isn’t that right,
brother?’

He smiled
smoothly and coldly at Seth with his spoilt young face. ‘Oh yes,
men like you are needed outside the walls. Come, we’ll escort you
now. We’ve had your few belongs packed and horses saddled.’

As he turned to
leave, The Duchess handed Seth a small wooden-bound chest with two
hands, she struggled to lift it herself. ‘And here are some coins
for your troubles,’ she said.

Her brother
stopped them all. ‘Now surely, sister, you are being over
generous.’

With a hand,
she undid the clasp on the chest and opened it wide for all to
see.

‘It’s all
copper, if that’s okay, Sir Seth. Small coins for trading with the
small folk.’ There were around three hundred inside, less than
Rosen had given them for their troubles. Goldie hissed through his
teeth. Elizebetha closed the chest and handed it to Seth as Lord
Renton laughed.

‘Very cruel
sister, very cruel indeed. Now, guards, let’s see these fine men
out of the gates with an honour guard.’

Seth and the
boys stormed out of the armoury room and followed the guards
through the Keep, down the stone stairs and onto their waiting
horses. He was tempted to tell them to keep the stupid chest of
coppers, but something was better than nothing. They mounted up and
Seth looked back over his shoulder. He could see Lord Renton
talking quietly to The Duchess, who would not even look at them
depart.

Seth shouted
loudly, ‘Let’s go!’ and followed the ill-named honour guard through
the streets. As they trotted along and out the gates, Seth looked
at the faces of the guards and knew none of them from the barracks.
They were all Renton’s personal guard. They had glared where the
Northmen had been cheered only a day earlier. As soon as they were
past the gates, the bridge was raised and Seth half expected to get
some arrows in the back.

Once they were
a mile or two down the road, Seth stopped his horse and said
‘Dismount’ to the men. They all got off and stood on the roadway
with bridle straps in hands. Goldie was fuming with anger, Grimm
looked suspicious and Flint and Stone looked confused and
angry.

‘So, lads, what
the hell was that?’ Seth asked thoughts of his own forming.

Goldie spoke
first. ‘The bloody stitch. You can be a knight, sure, but then they
escort us out, basically at sword point, and what is that chest of
coppers all about? That’s a bloody insult!’

‘What do you
reckon, Grimm?’ asked Seth.

‘I didn’t like
the look of those guards much. One day love us and the next day
hate us.’

‘They were
different men,’ said Flint. ‘They’ve got a different eagle on their
shirts.’

Seth laughed at
himself for not noticing. He reached up to his horse and got the
small chest from it. He set it down on the hard-packed sand road,
opened it and, taking a few of the coins, placed one in each of
their hands. Goldie took the coin and bit it in a reflex
action.

‘Fuck me,’ he
said, without even looking at it. As he drew the coin from his
mouth, gold shone through the copper layer where he’d bitten. ‘It’s
gold just painted copper or something. Why would she give us three
hundred gold coins? We didn’t do that much.’

Seth spoke up.
‘Maybe it’s for what we’ve got to do now.’

‘He’s taken the
place back, hasn’t he?’ said Grimm.

‘I’m sure of
it. He marched us out as easy as pie, gave us enough to get us
going and leave her behind. Now he’s got loyal men on the wall and
key spots.’

Seth reached
his hand through the chest of copper coins and, finding a small
folded piece of paper unfolded it. Seeing words in Elizebetha’s
hand, he read it aloud. ‘My brother has joined with the Dark Guild.
It was everything I could do to get you out alive. He’s not in full
control yet, as half the men are still with me, but he has sent to
someone for reinforcements, I don’t know who, but I can only assume
it’s the Duke of Twin Plains. I would rather you have this than he.
Go back to the North with the boys and try forget about all of this
horror.’ They stood in silence as the words sank in.

‘So, what’s the
plan?’ asked Stone.

‘We’re going to
see how many much of an army three hundred gold coins can buy,’
Seth said, shutting the lid on the chest.

Chapter 25

Pellota was the
smallest of the three major cities in the country known as Pelloss.
Yet still, it was the home to a vast number of people. The Northmen
rode into the city and were surprised at the level of activity and
trade occurring. Rosen’s caravan had only arrived five days ago and
a ship had also come in yesterday. People were quickly buying and
selling all the new trade goods and bringing new slaves to the
markets.

Seth was
surprised that, as they rode, people stepped respectfully out of
their way. The faces of the people whom they passed looked at them
with a slight mix of fear and awe. Seth caught many looking at the
steel circlet he wore with pride on his head. Lord Renton may have
considered it a joke, but Seth didn’t. He knew Elizebetha had given
him everything she could in her power to help him. Making him a
knight made all of this possible; otherwise, he was just another
slave in rebellion. Not a faithful retainer fighting to reclaim a
seat of power.

Their horses
trotted easily through the city. Seth stopped at some city guard
standing duty near a market with pikes in the ready position. The
men were young and looked at Seth with almost bewilderment. He
spoke to them in perfect Pellosi.

‘Hallo, my good
men. Where would one find the Happy Merchant Tavern?’ he asked.

‘It’s actually
on this very road,’ one of the guards said. ‘Just keep going on and
you’ll see it. It’s painted an awful bright yellow, so it’s hard to
miss.’

As they spurred
their horse to continue on, Seth thought he heard the words ‘Brave
North’ whispered from one guard to the other.

Grimm started
to laugh. ‘Looks like Rosen has been spreading news of our little
battle. I wonder how many brigands it is by now. Twenty to thirty
perhaps.’ They laughed, knowing it was likely to be true. He wanted
everyone to know his caravan was the safest and thus increase his
business.

The cobblestone
road of the city soon brought them alongside a brightly painted and
well-made wooden tavern with a painted sign hanging over the open
door way featuring a painting of a fat and smiling merchant.

‘Does Rosen own
this place?’ asked Goldie.

‘I wouldn’t be
surprised if he owned half the city,’ said Seth, lifting one leg
over his horse and stepping down to the road. Two boys appeared
from inside the tavern and took their reins, leading the horses
around the back. ‘Flint and Stone, can you boys stay with the gear?
We won’t be too long,’ Seth said. They weren’t letting that chest
out of their sight.

Seth
straightened his clothes, adjusted the wolf pin on his thin black
cloak and checked the circlet on his head. The pin was so strange
to him; it looked more like a Wolvern than a wolf, so who indeed
were the Gatherers? Were they the other side of the coin to counter
the dark guild?

Holding himself
a bit taller, he strode into the tavern with Goldie and Grimm
behind him. The cool air of the room and the familiar smell of a
tavern hit them as they walked in. Hard leather boots stepping
loudly on the hardwood floor.

The Happy
Merchant was filled with patrons even at midday. It was clear this
was a trading hub of some kind. Different men sat around tables,
drinking and talking. Some had leather ledgers and even small bags
of coins on their tables. One man had a device that had a few lines
of coloured stones he used for counting. Loud voices reached them
from a large table to the side of the room. Seth could see Master
Rosen himself, dressed as ever in brightly coloured silks and his
chubby face glowing red with too much alcohol. It was only midday.
Seth thought of the yellow painted building and thought it did ring
of Rosen’s lack of taste.

As they
approached, everyone at the table looked up at them and
conversation stopped. There were six men sitting with Rosen. Some
Seth thought he recognised from the caravan, one of the guards
maybe. The others looked like thinner versions of Rosen. They all
sipped on glass of clear alcohol that Seth could smell from where
he stood, while the guard held an ale in his hand.

Rosen stood
quickly to his feet, with a slight stagger. ‘My good fellows, it is
the Brave North! The very same fellows I have just been telling you
about.’ He toasted them and a few of the men clapped and cheered or
sipped on their clear glasses of spirits.

Seth laughed.
‘Well met, Master Rosen, and thanks for the fine tales I’m sure
you’ve been spinning for us.’