Near the end of another never ending Monday, I was overseeing a few new recruits as they practiced their hearts out in the art of archery – Unfortunately a few too many arrows hitting the wall, and not the target, really can send even the most patient of trainers on edge.
Eventually, they started to come closer to their mark – Not wishing to be bothered in my off time, she decided to head to Combe for a drink, instead of going back to the Prancing Pony.
Before I even made it through the front gates, a rather frantic looking hobbit halted me along the road.
“Help! Help!” The young hobbit did cry, “Those blasted brigands have started burning the farms out staddle ways!”
Unfortunate though it may be for my sanity, something needed be done immediately about this. Without the farms out in staddle, there would hardly be anything to eat all winter!
Upon returning to Bree, I enlisted Kuvira to assist me. Off to staddle we went to investigate the farms.
Barren though they were those farms, already burnt down and cleaned up. Quite unfortunate it was. Though there were still a few farms left unscathed. One upon the hill caught their eyes, and so they moved on to investigate. Sure enough, the farm burners were there, answering to a man named Vance, who mentioned working for a man called Jack. How helpful.
Vance was a big man, made a few cracks about people he’s killed. Enough of a confession for me, frankly – He spotted me in the brush as I listened in, and instantly issued an attack order. Three them against two of us? Well, we had ranged superiority. Vance didn’t last long. Next on the list was a man called Jack, maybe if we found him, we’d find our answers.
Sure enough, heading north to the Combe Lumber Camp, and having a word with their elder supervisor shed a good bit of light on the subject – He pointed out that some of his boys had been held up while they work working out in the chetwood. One of them, Melvin, mentioned two of them chatting about the burning of farms.
Trotting not too far off into the Chetwood, we ran across a small camp out on a hill; woodsmen perhaps? We approached weapons down, and one of them fired at us! Fortunately he was such a poor aim we couldn’t tell which of us he was even firing at. After a brief skirmish, we quickly bested the untrained highwaymen – Two of them ran off with their tails tucked between their legs, the other two foolishly swung their ways into an early grave.
Though there was nothing of significant note among these brigands, one of them scurried off to a nearby ruin, chalked rather full of these dastardly fellows. After some extensive poking around, searching, and the occasional confrontation of a few violent types, we found a man they were referring to as “Jagger Jack”.
As did the others, Jack instantaneously started throwing swings at the both of us. He was a bit tougher to deal with, but ultimately fell.
On his person was a parchment, hardly legible, but it stated something along the lines of a ‘Blackhall Brigand Leader’ being among the ruins, and something of his own affiliation with some ruffians out west.
Searching deeper into the ruins they called home, we came across the one known as Applecotton. As soon as we came into his little chamber in the center of the ruins, a man who was alongside him fled, and stormed out of sight before he could be stopped. Applecotton spoke briefly to us, admitting to burning the farms, and saying aloud that he did not intend to stop for any reason. He picked up a large hammer, swung for me, and fell just shy. Kuvira got him with her broadsword before he could rear back again. And after, was given the title ‘Constable’ instead of just, ‘probationary recruit’
“Congratulations, you’re a watcher now.”
The man who fled the scene was later apprehended by my watchers, as it shown in the report written by watcher Kuvira
To be Continued...
