* * *
As Cole entered into the town he asked around to see if there was any work. He found out that he was in the south of France in a town called Avignon. While he continued to walk the road a young boy ran after him.
“I heard you were looking for work Monsieur, there is a man down by the supply store who is looking to hire a few men to travel north with him. He has a large load of supplies that he is carrying back to his employer and he doesn't have enough workers with him to get all of it there.”
Cole looked to the north. That direction felt right. And if it ended up being wrong he would just disappear from the job. “Thank you for telling me,” he nodded to the boy. He wished he had some tip to give to the boy but at present his pockets were empty. Instead he headed to the supply store to find the man the boy told him about. On his way there he was accosted by four young men. They looked as though they hadn’t bathed in months and they all had weapons that could do some serious damage. One that had an eye patch on spoke to Cole “Your money be all that we are needing good monsieur.” At that Cole began to laugh. He could not believe how stupid these men were. “Laughter will not protect you!” The man stated with aggravation.
“No perhaps not but I find it rather amusing that you would rob a man who has no money.” Cole responded acidicly. He sized up the men surrounding him and felt no concern for his safety. Common thugs are what he would categorize these four as. Young ones at that. The oldest could be no more than twenty years old. “You must be the stupidest thieves that ever existed. It is no wonder you look as though you haven’t eaten in weeks.”
Eyepatch looked at Cole with malice. As Cole watched Eyepatch one of the boys jumped at Cole from behind. Cole deftly side-stepped the attack. The boy flew into the stone road and Cole heard a crunching sound as the boy’s head hit the ground. One down Cole thought. He turned to look at Eyepatch just as the other boys launched an attack at Cole. They seemed to attack with the anticipation of Cole maneuvering away from them. They each came at opposite sides with knives held to slice Cole’s throat. Cole leaped into the air and somersaulted behind one of the boys. He shot his fist out and slammed the boy into his partner. The sound of their heads slamming into each other gave Cole a sense of satisfaction. He was about to turn to Eyepatch when he felt the point of a blade at his back. “Just hold it there!” said Eyepatch with a cold and menacing voice. Cole instinctively pulled his hands up. He was not concerned with this man and was debating as to whether he should kill Eyepatch or just knock him unconscious as he had done with the other boys. Cole could smell the evil pouring off of Eyepatch. In that instant he knew he had to remove him from the world. He swiveled around and took the knife from the boy. The boy flew at him and landed on the knife. The boy’s eyes looked at Cole and just as he was going to spout off a curse Cole slammed his fist into the boy’s face. “I rather not be cursed a second time thank you very much!” Cole said with disdain.
He pulled the knife from the boy’s gut. He was surprised to find how nice it was. Cole used leaves from the surrounding trees to clean the knife off and stuck it in his waist band. He turned from the dead body and walked away. “Excuse me sir? Um, did I just see you take down four thieves with no weapons?”
Cole sighed. He expected another delay. “Yes sir. They had attempted to rob me. I was only defending myself. Only one of the four has passed on to the next world.” Cole responded hoping the individual would have mercy on him.
“Magnificent! Those boys have been a menace to our town! No one has been able to defeat them. They work as a group and only attack individuals. I need your services.”
Cole’s eyes widened in surprise. He had not anticipated that this gentleman would want to hire him. “What exactly would you want me to do for you sir?” Cole asked suspiciously.
“What? Oh, ha ha, I need a guard to ride with me back to Loudon. I was supposed to be there yesterday for my brother’s wedding and ran into trouble on the way. I was robbed and am ill equipped to defend myself. Would you ride with me?” The man asked earnestly.
Cole smiled. This would be much easier than working on a supply run. “How much will you pay?” He asked. He didn’t really care but to agree too readily would make him look suspicious.
Five francs a day until we arrive. It usually takes four days but I am hoping to arrive in two at the most. I will give you a bonus if we arrive faster.”
Cole agreed to the terms. The man provided him with a horse. Once they had stocked their supplies they left.
The man introduced himself as Pierre. He was studying in Rome and when he heard of his brother’s impending nuptials he rode as quickly as he could towards Loudon. His mother wanted him to become a priest. Pierre said he enjoyed women too much for such a commitment. He had been raised with the priesthood in mind so he had never learned to fight properly. That was his brother’s education. When Pierre had crossed the border into France he had been jumped by four thugs. They took his bags and tied him to a tree. Pierre was rescued by a young woman who happened to be in the woods walking to her grandmother’s cottage. They fed him and supplied him with a horse. He had just arrived in town when he saw Cole being accosted by the boys. “To tell you the truth I wanted to help but had no idea what to do. It was good to see you can hold your own. I wish I knew how to defend myself better.” Pierre said embarrassedly.
“It is noble to dedicate your life to peace. Fighting has been all I have known. My people live by the sword. When I was younger I was stolen from my home and forced to defend my kidnappers. They treated me fairly so I obliged with little resistance. I am now running from them. I suffer because I know how to fight. It is not as great as you would think it to be.” Cole said remorsefully.
As they rode they fell into an easy rapport. Cole found Pierre to be a decent travel companion and was glad that he could help Pierre. The money would be helpful when they parted ways if he hadn’t found Arlana by then. This brought a question to his mind. “Pierre? If you had been robbed, how can you pay for our travels?”
Pierre laughed. “I was wondering when your mind would put the pieces together. Fortunately enough my mother always taught me that I can only trust the lord with that which I hold precious. My bible holds all that is precious. Not that money holds a dear part of my heart but it is necessary to be able to get to my brother. Thieves think it bad luck to steal bibles. At least that is what they said. I believe God was looking out for me.”
Cole stared at Pierre. After a moment he smiled. Someone was watching out for him that Cole believed. If Pierre had been completely robbed Cole would have never had the chance to move northward. Could Diokles be feeling remorse? No, Cole thought after a moment. He realized that Diokles had been very intent in his rage. God or luck was all that played in this he thought.