Chapter Fifty Three
Two days later we left. Eight of us took to the road early in the morning. Kalou was nervous and a little fearful, but she trusted me and knew I would do everything in my power to keep our children safe. Cadune had asked me again to bring hunters along to give us greater numbers in the fight, but I had to deny him.
“No Cadune. Only I and my children are going. We can travel much faster than anyone else. We need to rest very little, eat very little, and we are more skilled with weapons than any hunter. Hunters would only slow us down, and eight of us together are worth eighty of them, so we will not need them if there is a fight.”
While he hated the idea of only me and my children going, he couldn't disagree with my logic.
“Well, be safe Cain, I would hate to lose you now. You’ve finally turned into a good King.”
With a smile barely held in check I said, “I know, and you’re finally doing a decent job of helping to run this city.”
We said our good-byes to Kalou and the three youngest girls. While Kalou struggled to keep her tears in check, the girls being left behind were a little angry, since they also wanted to go. I hugged them good-bye and told them that if we still had problems when they were older, they would be able to go with us.
We travelled very light and carried only our weapons and small backpacks. The packs held only the bare essentials; a cloak and a change of clothing, a container of water, and some bread and dried fruits and vegetables. Like me, my children cared little for meat, finding its consumption to be both unnecessary and disgusting.
All of us carried bows and knives, and several of the children carried spears. Three of them had the lighter throwing spear, while one of my sons, Candal, favored the longer, heavier, stabbing spear which was commonly used against a large animal such as a lion or bear.
We travelled quickly, moving due south. For the most part we stayed off the roads and bypassed all the cities and guest houses. When we stopped to rest we would roll ourselves in our cloaks, and we slept with no fire, trusting in our instincts to wake if danger approached.
We pushed ourselves fiercely, and in only seven days we arrived at Darron. I sent Esan to go to his brother Corran and bring him to where we camped in the forest north of the city.
When he arrived at our camp Corran said, “I am very pleased to see you father, but why did you not come into the city? Why all the secrecy? What’s going on?”
I told him, “We do not want to alert those we hunt of our presence.”
I went on to explain my plan for bringing the outlaws to justice. He was surprised but excited about what we intended to do, and he wanted to join us along with his city’s hunters.
Regretfully, I had to deny his request. “I’m sorry Corran, but not this time. Your brothers, sisters and I have pushed ourselves far beyond the strength of men, traveling with little rest or food to come here and cleanse the land of this filth. We started this undertaking with just the eight of us, and I want the eight of us to be the ones to finish it.”
He didn’t agree with my reasoning, but he obediently, though unhappily, consented to return to his city later that day. He then proceeded to fill us in on the attacks that had been taking place; the locations where they had occurred and the atrocities that had been committed. I was disgusted by what these outlaws had done, and once again furious at myself for allowing it to come to this point.
Corran told us, “We believe their village is just north and to the west of here, but it is well hidden deep in the forest. My hunters have not been able to capture any of them or track them back to where they hide. They are vicious thieves and murderers, but they are very good in the forest. I believe many of them were once hunters for the cities. Why they left and chose this path, I do not know.”
“Why do any chose evil? Some just prefer doing evil to doing good. Some believe it is easier, and some even believe it is... fun,” I ended sadly.
“Whatever their reasons, it is time to show them the consequences of their actions. I will no longer allow evil to be done with impunity in my kingdom. This has gone on for too long. Even if people do not live in a city under our direct rule, they must still follow our laws or suffer the consequences!”
We spoke with Carron then of other, less pressing matters, since his siblings had not seen him for a few years. That afternoon he returned to his city and his duties.
After he left I turned to my other children and said, “Now we must sleep. Tonight we will find their village, and tomorrow we begin to bring justice back to the land.”
Waking late that evening, we left our camp just after night fell. We went to the northwest, and eventually by the light of the moon we were able to find a very faint, well hidden trail, which we followed through the night. These rogues were good; they covered their tracks very well, and there were few that could have tracked them to their camp. But I could, and we arrived there before dawn.
It was a well laid-out camp; really a small village. It was neat and appeared clean, and did not look like a place that would be the home of thieves and murderers. There were twelve small huts, all built around a central fire just like in the old days. With pleasure I noted the smoke holes in the roofs, some small gardens, and a rack filled with fish to dry in the sun. They had not gone completely back to the old days.
We spoke briefly and then I sent the children out around the camp, where they set a perimeter just inside the trees, their bows and spears ready for use.
Just after dawn broke I stepped to the edge of the camp and shouted out a loud hello. I carried only my knife at my side and my hands were empty, but I was ready.
Their reaction was swift and surprisingly well-organized. Men, and even a few women, boiled from the huts. In just a few moments I was facing well over twenty armed people. A few had bows with arrows notched, but most carried spears or knives.
I wasted no time, and before they could try to attack or question me I spoke.
“I am Cain, your King, and...”
I was loudly interrupted before I could get any further. The speaker was a large fellow, and by the way he spoke and carried himself, it was obvious he was their leader.
“We have no King. We are all free men and women here.”
I looked at him, and answered him directly, “I agree you are free, but I am still your King! All who live in this land are under my Kingship, whether they like it or not. It is not optional.”
With a sneer he declared, “Well, we have decided it is optional. We answer to no man, and we follow no rules. We do what we want, and we have no King!”
At his last statement all the men and women around him cheered loudly. I waited patiently, a half smile on my face, and when they quieted down I continued speaking.
“I have been told this, that you do what you want. Unfortunately, what you want to do is murder and rob other citizens; people under my protection. This is not acceptable and cannot be tolerated. For these crimes you will be judged and punished!”
At this statement some in the crowd began to look anxious, and I noticed several of them looking behind me towards the forest. Their eyes searched for those they now realized must be there, but they saw no one, since my children were well hidden. Their leader and some others were not so wise, and still did not seem to realize the danger they were in.
The leader laughed and said, “Since you call yourself our King, you think you can come into this forest, into my village, and pass judgment upon us?”
I looked at him disdainfully, and pulling myself up to my full height I declared, “Yes! I have come into my forest to pass judgment on those that have murdered innocent people. Any of you that wish to proclaim their innocence in these murders drop your weapons and step over there.”
I pointed off to the side, next to the fire, and continued, “Surrender and you will receive a fair judgment in accordance with your crimes. But any that are found guilty of murder will die immediately.”
At this the leader had heard enough. With
a vicious cry he charged, followed closely by over half of his people. Within three strides every one of them lay dead.
I had not moved, remaining still as they charged. Now I calmly spoke once again.
“Those that attacked are judged to have been guilty of murder. Any that continue to hold weapons will also be considered murderers. If you want a fair trial, drop your weapons.”
Everyone still facing me immediately dropped the weapons they held and eyed me, silent and fearful.
Judgment of the outlaws did not take long. I sat upon a log and questioned those that were left. Remaining were seven men, and six women who between them held three babies and two toddlers.
The women all insisted they had no knowledge of what the men did in their frequent forays away from their settlement. From this I concluded they were at best liars, since they would obviously have known the food, clothing and tools the men brought back were ill-gotten. But I was able to judge from their voices and words that they truly did not realize the extent of the violence the men had done, and none had joined the men on their raids.
Every remaining man was adamant that they had not murdered anyone, but only stolen from travelers and guest houses. I questioned them extensively and decided that while some told the truth, three men lied and had killed others.
My judgment was swift and sure. The murderers were put to death that day, while the others were shown mercy.
I told the remaining people, “Leaving your cities to live in the forest is not the problem. The problem is that instead of living lives of peace, you chose to live lives of violence against your fellow man. I give you one more chance to live as God wants you to live. If you fail again, there will be no mercy.”
We escorted them back to Darron where I met with Corran. After much discussion they were allowed to go back to their previous homes and return into society, but they would be watched. A return to the life of an outlaw would bring swift justice.
My children and I returned to the forest, tracking more of the lawless. This went on for over thirty days, but by the time we were finished we had eliminated all the outlaws from the forests of the south.
Any settlements made up of those that wanted only to live peaceful lives away from the cities were left undisturbed. Though I would not allow a return to their barbaric past, I had no real quarrel with people leaving the cities, as long as they followed the laws and customs of the land and acknowledged me as their ruler.
We returned home after two months, all of us unharmed.
On our journey home I mulled over what my children and I had accomplished, and what this could mean for the future of my land.
Under normal circumstances the hunters could enforce the rules and laws of the land. But unfortunately there would always be those with truly evil intentions; people whose capacity for violence and love of bringing suffering to others was beyond the ability of the hunters to overcome.
All my offspring were fierce warriors, intelligent and hardy. Their superior physical abilities and capacity to go without sleep and food allowed them to do things no common hunter could do. Most importantly, they all had a devotion to justice and a single-minded focus to do what was best for the land; to stop any behavior that hurt our people or damaged our nation.
I saw no need, and in fact believed it would be harmful to the future of the land to have my children permanently become warriors and traveling judges. But to have my offspring serve in this capacity only as necessary, when the seriousness of a situation warranted their involvement, could be helpful for the nation’s development. I believed if the royal family took a personal responsibility to bring swift and final judgment upon those people that caused inordinate suffering to the nation, it would minimize the willingness among the populace to do evil.
Upon our return home I spoke with Kalou about my thoughts. Like any mother, she was worried about her children’s safety.
I did my best to reassure her, “I know Kalou, I worry also. But there is evil in the world, and our children are more equipped than any others to battle against those that want to harm others. People living freely as outlaws eats at the heart of the law-abiding citizens and causes them to fear travel from city to city. It could isolate the nation and stop our growth, killing our future. If allowed to go unchecked, these outlaws could cripple the land.”
“But why our children? You took care of the problem for now, but why can’t the hunters take care of the outlaws in the future?”
“Evil will always come back in one form or another, and because of their abilities our children are supremely gifted to face those challenges and win. God made us this way to be the leaders of the people. I now believe we are also to be the protectors of the people. For too long I wanted to use my abilities to grasp power for my own gain. It took me many years to realize these gifts were not given to help me, but to help everyone.”
Kalou nodded, “I believe this too, and I'm so proud of the man you have become. But I still fear for our children. What if one of them is killed?”
I thought carefully before I answered with all honestly, “This is a possibility and I cannot deny it. But we are all destined to die someday. I believe that as a leader, it is better to die in the pursuit of justice for your people than to live a safe life while your people suffer and die around you.”
Kalou thought about this for a while, and finally said, “I understand, and though I agree, I will never stop worrying about our children.”
“Neither will I Kalou, that’s what parents do.”