Nature Abhors a Vacuum
Chapter Four
The rain continued to fall unabated as they walked along the northern highway, though it seemed to ease as time wore on. Aiden kept his hand close to his sword hilt, and Colt’s longbow was ready to send a clothyard shaft hurtling through the air at the first sign of trouble.
Aiden's senses became heightened as they travelled and he found himself jumping at the slightest crack of a nearby branch or the subtle movement of trees. The large pines crowded in around them more and more as they went along and it was fairly clear they had now entered the south-eastern reaches of the Calespur Ranges, a large forest that was a source of wood for nearby communities and home to the King's game reserve.
They stopped for a quick break at what must have been close to midday for a meal and rest. There had been no sign of bandits or anyone else for that matter, a fact which made Colt more than a little nervous.
“I figure any group of men looking to snatch passing merchants would’ve set up a bit closer to Bracksford,” he wondered.
“Maybe there aren’t any,” Pacian suggested. “Maybe Olaf was just making it up?”
“If true, then it simply means we’ll be getting paid to go where we were heading anyway,” Aiden pointed out. “It’s three days to Culdeny, so I wouldn’t give up on running into trouble before then just yet.”
“They’re probably short-handed on soldiers as well, but they're far from defenceless,” Colt grunted, rubbing his eyes in the manner of someone with a headache. “If they got wind of any unlawful activity to the south, they'd have sent a squad to investigate.”
“It’s only a matter of time,” Nellise reminded them as she delicately ate some bread and cheese.
“You know, I wasn’t expecting a lady of the cloth to carry a staff around,” Aiden remarked. “Are you actually trained to fight?”
“Only to defend ourselves,” Nellise responded. “The last two months of my novitiate was partially devoted to dealing with shall we say, unpleasant situations. Though I’ve never been in a real fight, I am confident that I can hold my own.”
“So your order isn't a militant one?” Aiden inquired. Nellise suddenly seemed to realise where his line of conversation was heading.
“Oh, not at all,” she assured him. “In fact, Kingdom law prevents members of the clergy from having military or civilian rank, to avoid the sort of conflict of interest there was in times past. I am an acolyte of the Resolute Heralds, our local chapter of the Church of Aielund, dedicated to bettering civilisation. It was a different chapter that was responsible for certain unfortunate acts.”
“I’ve read a little about what you’re referring to, though I’d like to hear your perspective on it,” Aiden prompted.
“Last century, the Church had great political power throughout the land, greater than the King himself, and it was used... poorly.” Her voice was passionate - clearly this was important to her. “Many suffered needlessly from accusations of impurity, heresy and other such nonsense, as the more paranoid factions of the clergy took power. Specifically, the Divine Templars, a chapter whose ethos was more focused on maintaining order and strict adherence to the Codex Morium, our holy book and centuries-old treatise on proper conduct, than any other concern.”
“The King was a weak man, so it fell to the people to rise up and stop the tyrant Archieros and restore authority to the throne. The Divine Templars were disbanded, and only three chapters of the church remain. Since then, the training doctrine for the priesthood has been very strict, and places great emphasis on service, humility, and repentance above all else.”
“Damn right they do,” Colt grunted. He held his bow at the ready, keeping a keen eye on their surroundings. “They're tripping over themselves trying to help people, and always taking the blame for things they didn't do. It's disgusting.” Nellise's face revealed a long-suffering look, but Aiden wanted to know more.
“What do you mean, Colt?” he asked.
“They've been humble and repentant for a long time, and that has become their religion. They let just about anyone treat them like dirt. You people are pathetic. Don't you have any pride in yourselves?”
“Pride is what led to our downfall,” Nellise reminded him quietly. “We seek now to make amends and reassure people that our ways differ greatly from those of our predecessors.”
“That much is obvious,” Colt grunted. “I just think you take it too far is all. There's gotta be a happy medium. I can't stand being around priests these days, they just ain't men. Especially the women.”
“Are you even aware what words are coming out of your mouth?” Aiden asked earnestly. Nellise smiled faintly at this and Pacian quietly laughed.
“You know what I mean,” Colt growled. “Look, all I'm saying is that they gotta start acting like real people again. Fawning and kissing everyone's feet for stuff that happened a long time ago by other people isn't helping. Get over it already.”
“Thank you Colt, I'll take that under advisement,” Nellise replied coolly.
Aiden was about to speak when he locked eyes with someone crouching in the shadow of the tall trees ahead. It appeared to be a woman - her long red hair bedraggled and matted against her mud-splattered face. She wore tattered animal skins and furs hung around her, but it was the look in her eyes that made Aiden's heart pound in his ears. It was like looking into the eyes of a wild animal, one that was prepared to rip his throat out if he moved too quickly.
They stared at one another, motionless for a few seconds before Aiden's companions noticed what was happening. Startled, she bolted further into the trees, running faster than he thought was possible given the conditions. Aiden suddenly gasped for air, only now aware he had been holding his breath.
Under the aegis of Colt’s longbow, Pacian rushed to where the strange woman had been standing moments before but she’d vanished. On his way back, he discovered something lying on the ground amidst the trees.
“There’s a body here,” he called. Aiden and the others quickly joined him and grimaced at the site of the bloody remains of a man, stripped of all possessions except for the blue tabard identifying him as a member of the Bracksford militia. Colt suddenly felt the urge to curse loudly.
“What's your problem?” Aiden asked. The big ranger glared into the distance, in the direction they last saw her.
“I didn't see that bloody girl until we were almost on top of her,” he grumbled. “Stupid, bloody hangover! She might have gone off to alert the rest of the bandits that we’re coming.”
“If we weren't together in a group,” Pacian muttered, “she could have killed one of us while we were busy talking. Can you track her, Colt?”
“Of course I can track her, she was right here a minute ago!” the ranger roared.
“Wait a moment,” Nellise interrupted, gesturing at the body before her. “Colt, come here and look at this.” Still fuming at himself, the big ranger swaggered over to see what she was pointing at.
“Are you seeing this?” Nellise asked quietly, drawing a slow nod from the ranger.
“I don't know who that woman was, but this man died over a week ago,” he grated ominously. Nellise nodded sagely, as if anticipating this answer.
“She may have just stumbled across the body as we did,” she explained when Aiden looked at her curiously.
“We can’t take the risk,” Colt growled. “We move, now, and assume they could be upon us at any moment.” There was no dissent from the group as they gathered up their equipment and continued on, this time in silence.
They moved at a brisk pace for several hours without incident until Colt spotted something ahead and called for them to halt, while he crept in closer to investigate. Not far ahead of them was a wagon with one of its two wheels broken, leaning heavily against a thick pine a few yards off the road. The long gouges in the ground denoted its final movements.
“How long ago did this happen?” Aiden asked when he moved in closer to see. Pacian drew his dagger and altered course t
o take him through the nearby trees. Colt was already kneeling to check for tracks, and it didn't take long for him to draw a conclusion.
“It came from the north more than a week ago,” he grunted. “I think we both know what happened here.”
“Someone tried to run the blockade and failed.”
“They made it this far south though, which tells me the cowards who did this can’t be far from here.”
“What about the cargo?” Nellise inquired.
“Give me a moment,” Colt rumbled, clambering into the back of the wagon for a closer look. “A couple of loaves of stale bread and a lot of empty crates back here,” he reported. “I guess they took everything of value, because who wouldn’t?”
“I think I found the driver,” Pacian called as he joined them from the forest, carrying a filthy crossbow and a couple of pouches in his hands. “If I had to guess, I'd say he ran off at the first opportunity after the attack started. Poor bloke never stood a chance really. I guess in the downpour they missed this, and a coin pouch I found in the mud.
“I'm guessing it's been mysteriously emptied,” Aiden remarked dryly.
“No, actually,” Pacian replied, raising an eyebrow at the implication. “There were no coins, but there is an interesting glove in here.” He upended the pouch and it fell into his waiting palm. It appeared to be a leather glove with a gemstone fixed onto the back of it, held in place by a metal band. The glove itself had no fingers, and seemed quite aged.
“I don't think our deceased friend will be in need of this,” Pacian quipped, “so I'll just hang on to it for safe keeping.”
“Wait, let me have a look,” Aiden interrupted. Pacian tossed the glove to him, giving Aiden a chance to examine the gem up close.
“Are you also a jeweller?” Nellise inquired.
“Not really,” Aiden murmured as he continued the examination. “But sometimes gems like this possess value of a different kind.”
“I say, is that crossbow still intact?” Nellise asked of Pacian, who took a closer look at it.
“Seems to be, though the moisture hasn’t done the string any good.” He took a bolt from the other pouch he’d recovered and loaded the weapon, then aimed it carefully at a nearby tree and pulled the trigger. The bolt lodged into the tree as the string snapped straight, an effective demonstration of its capabilities.
“Let me use it,” Nellise advised. “If we’re going to be shot at by bandits in a forest, I’d like to be able to shoot back.”
“I’m starting to like you more every minute,” Pacian smirked as he gave her the weapon.
Aiden wasn’t paying them a great deal of attention, for his sharp eyes had noticed engraved writing in the metal surrounding the gem. It was not written in modern Aielish, the common language of the Kingdom, but he did recognise many of the letters from his years of study.
“Doesn’t take a genius to figure that gem has to be worth a small fortune,” Pacian confided to Nellise. “This expedition has just paid for itself.”
“More than you know,” Aiden mumbled. He was silent for a long moment as he concentrated on the strange symbols, trying to recall their meaning. “I think this glove was made by a wizard. See these symbols?” He leaned over to let his friend take a closer look. “I've managed to translate a bit of it and if I'm right, this is a command word that will invoke some sort of magic.”
“Any idea what it does?” Pacian inquired with more than casual interest.
“No, but I figure it's either a weapon or some kind of protective device. Either one would be the only reason to attach something this valuable to a glove.”
“What was that?” Colt suddenly whispered, whirling around and raising his bow. Raindrops hitting the soft earth were the only sound in the vast, empty forest, yet Aiden drew his sword as quietly as possible and leaned his back against a tree, his heart racing and ears pricked for the slightest noise.
Pacian and Nellise took cover behind the broken wagon, from where they watched in silence for any sign of danger and as it happened, they didn’t have long to wait. Pacian suddenly pointed ahead of them and hissed a warning to Colt, who responded by levelling his bow in the same direction, holding it steady for a few seconds, then releasing it. The sound of the shaft flying through the air was cut off abruptly as it struck something that let out a strangled sound before collapsing to the ground.
Pacian rushed forward in the direction of the noise, closely followed by the rest of them. The dark shape of a man lay at the base of a nearby tree, rolling around in agony and making choking sounds. Colt's arrow had struck true, taking the man in the chest.
Nellise knelt for a closer examination, but Pacian pushed her aside at the last moment as the injured man swung at her with a short sword gripped tightly in one hand. It narrowly missed her as she fell back onto the ground and Pacian didn't hesitate, stabbing him in the heart to finish what Colt had started.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he hissed to Nellise as loudly as he dare.
“He was suffering, Pacian. I couldn't just leave him like that,” she protested, clearly upset. “Besides, how do we know he's even a bandit? Colt might have just shot an innocent man.” Pacian didn’t seem impressed with her argument, as he quickly started frisking the body for valuables.
“We're in the middle of nowhere. What did you think he was doing, catching up on his knitting?”
“Enough,” Colt grunted, making an effort to keep his volume low. “This one was obviously a lookout, so he probably has friends nearby. If we don’t take out the scouts, we could be facing a whole bunch of them at once. Stay in cover and keep quiet. Nel, are you any good with that crossbow?”
“It wasn’t officially part of my training but I’ve used one a couple of times before,” she answered quietly. “I’ll make do if I have to.”
“Good enough. If we can spot someone giving orders, we’ll take him out and hopefully that’ll send the rest of these bastards running.” He retrieved the arrow from its grisly resting place and strode purposely forward.
“Some people in this group are a little too comfortable with killing,” Nellise remarked grimly, hefting her crossbow and following along with the rest.
From his place at the rear, Aiden could see little of what Colt was up to, though he did hear the occasional arrow being loosed from the ranger's longbow as he quietly took down the unsuspecting targets. Pacian was quick to move in and keep the fallen bandits quiet in their last moments, but so far Aiden felt they had been lucky.
He glanced down at the body of one of the highwaymen, and saw that his clothing was thick and warm but tattered, devoid of any gear that would help one survive in the wilderness. His beard was thick and untamed, and his skin dirty and scarred.
They continued on through the forest, moving parallel to the road for another half an hour, encountering three more scouts along the way. All of them were eliminated before they knew what hit them, thanks to Pacian’s scouting and Colt’s apparent expertise with the longbow.
The rain had eased over the last few minutes until it finally stopped altogether, though heavy drops still fell from the trees. Aside from bird calls echoing through the forest, there was little to mask the sound of their movement.
In the fading afternoon light, Colt waved them over to his position near a small copse of young trees. He was crouched down, peering at the ground at his feet as the others gathered around.
“Alright, we've made a good start here,” the ranger grunted with a low voice. “Those men were obviously looking for anyone trying to break through from Bracksford, but I think they were expecting a bunch of rookie guardsmen, or a desperate caravan, not a professional assault. Oh, and we checked to make sure they weren't trying to rescue kittens in trees, in case you were wondering,” he added dryly, drawing a sour look from Nellise.
“If any of you have been paying attention to the smells around you,” Colt continued, “you'll have noticed the faint hint of wood smoke in the air. That te
lls me we're nearing a camp, probably with most of them in one place. One of us should go take a look and get an idea of the numbers we're dealing with. Hard to make plans based on guesswork.”
“I suppose you're looking at me,” Pacian grumbled.
“Well I could go,” Colt mused, scratching his unshaven chin, “but I have just spent most of the afternoon killing their spotters and I think I've earned a break. So yeah, just go look. Don't try anything else on your own killer, or you'll bring down all sorts of hell on us.” Pacian took a deep breath and heaved himself back to his feet. Using his surroundings to conceal his approach, he started moving upwind towards the smell of the smoke. In his camouflaged leathers, he quickly disappeared into the damp forest.
“I have been wondering,” Nellise said after a few tense minutes had passed, “should we try talking to these people?”
“Are you serious?” Colt scoffed. “After what happened to you a few hours ago?”
“Colt, that man swung at me after you'd shot an arrow into his chest,” Nellise reminded him. “I can't say I would have done anything different under the circumstances. I’m suggesting we might be able to talk them down, or perhaps even find out why they're doing it.”
“I don't think they're starving farmers looking to put food on their family's table,” Aiden responded. “Have you looked closely at the one’s we’ve left behind? They look like a bunch of drunken louts.”
“I don’t think these are the kind of men you reason with, Nel,” Colt added. “We need to show them force before we can make then surrender. If we went in there to talk with them, that'd just give away our only advantage - surprise.”
“All of that is based on their looks, a spurious argument if ever I have heard one,” Nellise mused. “I offer no apologies for making an effort to find a peaceful solution. I only hope we are able to deal with being outnumbered, should you choose to fight.”
“You've got that right,” Pacian said, appearing next to them and giving the young acolyte a start.
“Do you mind?” she exclaimed. “You almost gave me a heart attack.” Pacian shrugged, his expression grim.
“Sorry. I’ve counted a dozen men around their camp, and that's not including any hiding out there in the forest.” Nobody spoke as the enormity of the task before them lay bare.
“Damn,” Colt muttered, and then went on to spit out a number of other colourful words that had Nellise blushing furiously.
“Alright, just calm down,” Aiden advised. “We still have the element of surprise, yes? Pace, what are they armed with?”
“Some hunting bows, short swords, lots of knives, that sort of thing,” Pacian explained. “Oh and one guy had a big sword, just like Colt's. He was the only one wearing armour, too.”
“Probably their lead man,” Aiden mused, recalling what Olaf had mentioned about Fletcher. “What if we could create a diversion?”
“Even if we could get close enough – and by 'we' I mean 'me' – I'd have to drop him with one shot,” Colt said. “It's one thing to kill a man while he's standing perfectly still in the forest, and another to do the same to someone walking around a camp.”
“The longer we wait here, the greater the chance of being discovered,” Pacian warned.
“Would they be spreading around the area to attack travellers?” Aiden wondered.
“That's the general idea of bandits yes,” Pacian confirmed, a little exasperated.
“When they’re isolated from each other, we strike at each group separately,” Aiden instructed with a scathing glance at Pacian. “We bring enough force to face each group and defeat them before assistance can arrive.”
“That'll probably work, provided we're careful,” Colt agreed. “I sure as hell can't think of anything better. Pace, take point and spot them for me and Nel.” Pacian nodded in understanding and with a gesture from Colt, they continued forward.
The tension increased as they crept forward for what must have only been ten minutes, but felt much longer. Aiden's heart pounded as Pacian spotted first one, then two hooded men moving silently through the forest ahead.
The big ranger slowly turned to face them on one knee, with his longbow set and ready. Nellise mimicked his posture and aimed down the length of her crossbow towards their unsuspecting prey.
“You take left, I take right,” Colt whispered. He slowly drew the bow and took aim, exhaling softly as he held the string back. The two men had stopped moving, taking up positions near trees close to the road.
“Now,” Colt whispered finally, loosing his arrow.
“God forgive me,” Nellise breathed as she unleashed her crossbow bolt. Both weapons struck true, dropping the men in quick succession. Suddenly, Aiden heard a cry from the other side of the road – someone had witnessed the two bandits fall and raised an alarm. The forest came alive with the sounds of movement and shouted orders, and Colt silently cursed at the noise.
“We’re in for it now, people,” he growled. “Get into cover and be ready.” Aiden and the others ducked beneath nearby shrubs and held still, waiting for signs of activity. Soon, a man in a heavy green cloak hurried past their position, heading towards his fallen comrades.
Pacian, impatient as ever, silently crept out of the bushes as soon as the bandit had moved past. Aiden didn't dare call out the many, many expletives that crossed his mind at that moment for fear of blowing their cover. Pacian, dagger at the ready, matched the bandit step for step, slowly closing in behind him until he was within reach before putting his dagger to work.
Pacian caught his victim’s body on the way down and dragged it into brush where Aiden and the others were hiding. A few moments later, two more men strode into view through the fog, hunting bows held at the ready.
“We can take them,” Colt whispered, inching a hand towards his quiver ever so slowly. Nellise had already pulled back the lever on the crossbow and put another bolt into place.
“Wait,” Aiden whispered back, wanting to see what the bandits did before they acted. Two of them were looking around warily, hoping to spot the archers who’d brought down their comrades. One of the bandits was kneeling down to look closer at the arrow and bolt gruesomely embedded in the bodies, and as Aiden feared, it was obvious to the man what direction they had come from.
An arrow shot through the air at that moment, let loose by Colt as it became clear they were going to be found. He struck one man in the back, piercing all the way through to the other side of his chest. Nellise shot a moment later but it went wide of the second man, lodging into a tree. He cried out in alarm and from nearby came responding calls of more bandits, too many to take on at once.
“Move,” Colt snapped, driving Aiden and the others to leave cover and run after him. The bandit loosed an arrow from his simple bow and a second later it whistled right past Aiden’s ear. Colt drew and shot another arrow as he ran, dropping the brigand as they rushed past, with Aiden’s heart thundering in his chest. Shouted threats and taunts from the bandits echoed through the trees, driving Aiden to run even faster. They kept this up for another minute before Colt slid into another dense area of foliage and gestured for the others to follow him in.
“Now what?” Aiden asked Colt as he fought to catch his breath.
“Smell that wood smoke? Their camp is close by,” the ranger whispered with beads of sweat trickling down his brow. “I’m willing to bet their leader won’t be on the front line with his mates, so if I can get a clear shot, I could take him down in one go.”
“There’s a dense fog moving in,” Nellise remarked between breaths.
“Brilliant, that’ll help us avoid being seen. Stay low and follow me in.”
Keeping the noise of the searching bandits far to their left, they moved ahead as quietly and quickly as they could. It wasn’t long before the distinctive noise of a crackling fire could be heard just up ahead through the encroaching mist.
They found good cover and Colt peered through the brush at the scene. The sound of a
deep, irritated voice could be heard, giving out orders and clearly not enjoying the news he was hearing from his people.
“I wager that’s our man,” Colt whispered, nocking an arrow ready to shoot. “I see half a dozen with him. Just be ready if this doesn’t go to plan.” Aiden tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and exchanged a tense glance with Nellise, when Colt took in a deep breath, then burst into action.
He sprang out of cover and took aim, drawing the string back on his bow and loosing it in one smooth action. The distinct sound of the arrow striking a tree echoed through the forest, accompanied by a phrase from Colt that did not instil confidence in his companions.
“Bloody hell, I missed.”