The wind carried sounds of a screaming woman into Hellrien’s and Ingrandor’s ears. Hellrien froze on the platform where she was standing and tilted her head. The screams had come from her left, where a path sloped down a grassy hill by a small copse of trees.
”What was that?!” Ingrandor asked.
”I don’t know. Let’s go see.”
”Let’s hurry.”
Hellrien jumped down the platform and sprinted down the path. As she reached the edge of the slope a big region of clear-water lakes suddenly spread out about a mile in all directions in front of her. In the lakes floated small islands where verdant hardwood trees stretched out their leafy branches over the deep blue water.
There was movement in the nearest islet. Hellrien counted five men and one woman before she dropped down in the cover of tussocks of tall grass. Ingrandor knelt down next to her, slowly pulling his sword out of it’s scabbard.
”I am not waiting to see what happens next”, Ingrandor muttered. Hellrien saw that there were five men standing next to a big tree in the island. Two of them were holding up a woman, while a third man stood in front of her, slapping her around the face. The woman’s face hung on her face; her dress was wet, muddy and ripped to shreds. Two of the men were armed with swords and two had maces. The interrogator was cracking a bullwhip in front of the woman, but as far as Hellrien could see, he hadn’t used it on her yet.
”Our offer is excellent, Mrs. Thornley. It's very good. So good that you're not in a position to turn it down. Just look around you!”
Ingrandor stood up and protruded out of the bushes with a sword in hand. ”Yes, look around you!” he shouted.
Hellrien stood up too and stepped forth to stand by Ingrandor. The men turned around to gaze upon the intruders, surprised by the unexpected interruption of their ’negotiation’. Ingrandor brought his left hand down through the strap and brought the shield forward. His other hand pulled the cord to untie it and let the weight drop in order to support it fully with his left hand as he got into a battle stance.
”Get lost, you two!” warned the man with a bullwhip. ”This is none of you business!”
”My business is getting into trouble boy”, said Ingrandor. ”You can't do anything about it.”
Bullwhip gave a laugh: ”As far as I can tell, there are five of us and two of you. You do the math boy, it's not worth dying for, is it?”
Ingrandor looked at Hellrien, who nodded, then at them. ”Let's say it's ten of us and five of you. Let's do the math in a proper way, shall we?” He slammed the sword against the shield two times and took two steps forward.
”Very well then”, shouted Bullwhip, ”have it your way. We are waiting.”
Ingrandor looked at the water, then at the island, back at the water, at Hellrien and at the water again. Then he shrugged. ”Well, we're gonna get wet with blood anyway.”
Ingrandor and Hellrien walked into the lake and waded through chest-deep water to get to the other side, where the thugs were waiting with bared weapons. Hellrien charged at them like a wraith and a shrill, wordless cry emanated from her throat. Coming behind her, Ingrandor took some steps to the side to give her space but followed to close any gaps to her left.
The whip lashed through the air as the leader tried to hit Hellrien with it. She ducked below the lash and slashed him in the gut with the sword in her right hand, the dagger in her left fending off attackers from that direction. Two men charged at Ingrandor, one armed with a sword and the other with a mace. Ingrandor stepped forward to his left, blocking the sword as it came down on him. Then he turned right, moving his right foot back to dodge the swinging mace, pushed the swordsman away with his shield and struck the other man in the face with the pommel of his sword. The pommel broke the man’s nose and he fell to the ground, howling like an animal. The swordsman regained his balance and swung his sword towards Ingrandor’s neck while the other two remaining thugs attacked Hellrien at the same time. The blade scratched at the right side of Ingrandor’s neck and blood sprayed from the wound. He leaned to his left and lunged forward with his arms almost open to hit the man’s torso with his right shoulder and push him back before he slashed against his torso with a horizontal swing of his sword. The blade slashed through his side into his soft belly, spilling his guts out. The man with a broken nose cursed and swung his mace towards Ingrandor’s knee, still lying down and holding his nose with his left hand. Hellrien blocked a swing from a sword and managed to sink her dagger into the other attacker’s chest as he fumbled his attack and tripped over the body of their leader at his feet. Ingrandor felt his knee give in as the mace struck it and forced him to kneel forward. Being so close to the man’s face he slammed it with the pommel of his sword again before swinging the sword to disarm him. The blow cracked all his front teeth in and the mace flew into the lake. Hellrien deflected the attack of the last remaining swordsman with her dagger and counter-attacked, impaling him with her sword. Ingrandor pushed himself up and took a step towards Hellrien, ready to slam whoever was up with his shield to incapacitate him, if possible.
The battle had only lasted a few seconds. There were three immobile men lying on the ground, but the man with a broken face kept moaning and spitting out his teeth, and the whiplasher was still writhing, trembling and cursing hoarsely. Hellrien could see him as if through a red haze. She turned the man with the tip of her boot. He groped at the area of his belt with bloodied fists. Above the belt buckle there was an enormous slash spurting out blood. Staring eyes were fixed at Hellrien. ”For the sake of the Valar, help me!” he groaned.
Hellrien’s cold blue eyes narrowed into slits as she raised the blade of her sword.
”See?” Ingrandor smirked. ”I told you, his math wasn't correct.”
”Don’t!” croaked the whiplasher.
Flashing blade cut the voice and finished the pleading stare as well. The man’s head rolled down the gently sloping ground and thumped softly against the tree trunk. Ingrandor leaned down to wipe the blood of the blade on the trousers of the decapitated corpse. Blood was rushing in Hellrien’s ears and her vision was still clouded by the red haze as she focused her attention on the last surviving foe and took a step towards him.
”Let him carry the news”, Ingrandor said.
Suddenly the humming in her ears stopped and the red haze cleared away, replaced with a deafening silence. Hellrien sheathed her weapons, felt nauseous and supported her hands on her knees. She stood like that for many seconds before she became aware of the sound of a woman sobbing quietly.
”All is well now”, Ingrandor’s voice said softly.
Hellrien felt herself going pale and turned, almost frightened. Ingrandor kicked the last remaining scoundrel in the stomach. ”Run along now, tell your master that he's done.”
The man crawled away, scrambled up on his feet and started to limp towards the lake. ”You made a mistake today, mark my words!” he groaned pathetically.
”Yeah yeah, you all say that”, Ingrandor muttered and put his weapons away.
The woman sat crouched by the tree and tears streamed down her strained face. Her whole body was trembling with the force of her sobbing.
Hellrien seemed to finally snap out of it. She walked over to the woman, undressed her cloak and wrapped it around the other woman. The woman pressed her face against Hellrien’s chest. Wrapping her strong arms around the woman Hellrien squeezed her against herself so tightly that the sobbing stifled. Hellrien sunk her face in Mrs. Thorley’s hair and kept her eyes tightly shut as she muttered strange, comforting words into the other woman’s ear.
When Mrs. Thornley had calmed down a bit, Hellrien pushed her away gently, stood up and walked to Ingrandor, who was waiting a little farther away, his back turned towards Hellrien and Mrs. Thornley, staring at the direction of Dogwood’s farm. ”We should throw the corpses in the lake”, Hellrien said quietly.
”I will when she goes”, Ingrandor promised in a quiet voice.
”Robb!” Mrs. Thornley suddenly cried out. ”And Nate! They came over here to dig holes for the well, but they never came back. You have to find them!”
”We will, miss”, said Ingrandor, turning his head around. ”You and Hellrien now go back to your house to talk. I will find them.”
Hellrien went to the woman and stretched out her hand. ”Are you able to walk? Let's get you back home, alright?”
Hellrien picked up the whip that had initials ’N.J.’ burned onto it’s walnut wood crop. She wrapped the whip up, shoved it under her belt and then helped Mrs. Thornley to wade across the lake to the opposite shore.
”What happened?”
Mrs. Thornley looked down on her muddy boots and started her story: ”Robb and Nate went here in the Everclear Lakes to dig holes for a well yesterday. I became restless when they didn’t come back so I went after them. I met that bunch from Dogwood’s farm on my way there and tried to get rid of them. But… they…”
”All right, all right. Is Robb your husband, Mrs. Thornley?”
”Please call me Rose. Yes. And Nate’s a farmhand.”
”My name is Hellrien.”
The wind rose again, and Rose wrapped Hellrien’s cloak tighter around her. Hellrien looked at her.
”We’re almost there. Ingrandor will find Robb and Nate, don’t worry about it.”
”That’s what I’m afraid of”, Rose said quietly.
Hellrien helper her up the stairs and waited as Rose opened the door. After stepping over the threshold she stopped in the soft glow to light a lamp. Hellrien looked about and experienced a strange feeling, as if she was suddenly at home. Home? she pondered to herself. No, home was something she had never really had.
”I have to get dressed”, Rose said with hesitation.
Hellrien smiled, and the smile felt stiff against her teeth. ”Take your time. Get dressed, wash up, rest a little. I will wait in the patio. It’s a beautiful day.”
Hellrien sat down on a chair in the patio next to a small table, filled the chamber of her pipe and sucked it’s lip nervously. She could hear sounds coming from the inside: wash tub clanging, water splashing, cabinet door banging.
When Ingrandor returned it was starting to dusk already. He was all muddy and and there was dirt even on his face from wiping sweat while digging. He had taken his cloak off and tied it around his waist. He had removed his shoulderpads too. They were just hanging on his left shoulder. He spotted Hellrien sitting in the patio and dropped down on the other chair, letting his cloak, shield, sword and shoulderpads fall on the floor.
”Oh boy”, he sighed. ”I forgot how it is to dig that much.”
”Rose needed to rest a little. She should be out shortly. Did you find them?”
”Well, the earth was disturbed on the other bank. In the same way as it was for the graves that I dug...”
Rose came back wearing a dark, long-sleeved blouse and leather skirt. She had mustered her hair up into a bun. Her face appeared freshly washed. Now Hellrien noticed that Rose was younger than she had first thought. The woman was barely in her mid-twenties – and already widowhood had been bestowed upon her. The thought made Hellrien frown.
Rose picked up some dirty plates from the table between Hellrien and Ingrandor.
”Are you hungry?”
”I cannot refuse that”, said Ingrandor, smiling at the woman bitterly and then looking away. ”I am a little tired.”
”Come inside to the kitchen. I will make us all pancakes.”
Rose led the sellswords into a small, cozy kitchen, lit a fire in the hearth, filled a coffee pot and hung it on an iron hook. Hellrien smoked another chamberful of pipe-weed as Rose fried pancakes. The coffee boiled up and Hellrien took care of the pot.
They sat at the table opposite to Rose. Hellrien looked at the woman, who had suddenly started to appear calm, almost relaxed.
She looked away from her quests. She hadn’t asked Ingrandor about her husband. She didn’t need to. ”Robb was a good person”, she said softly. ”He deserved a better life.”
”He had an honest job, giving work to others and a family”, said Ingrandor. ”He surely did. ”But this wasn't the last we saw of them... We'll give them something to remember for it.”
Hellrien tasted her coffee. Questions were burning on her tongue.
Flickering flames illuminated the dark walls of the room. It was pitch black outside already. Wind howled in the chimney, and a loose shutter kept banging somewhere.
Rose lifted her gaze. ”The wind always tears it open.”
”Why don't you have one of the farmhands fix it?” Ingrandor asked.
”Not too many of them left now”, Rose smiled tiredly. ”We were married for five years, Robb and I. We had everything good. Then came Crampbark.”
Hellrien stretched her body. A spark of pain went through her and then shut off. The feeling of empty loneliness made her lower her head. Ingrandor nodded and took a sip of his coffee. ”Where did he come from?” he asked.
”I have no idea”, Rose replied. ”And no idea why he killed the Dogwoods, and why he wants now our farm too. Crampbark will not be happy when he hears what happened to four of his men. And then...”
”Then we'll kill more”, said Ingrandor feistily.
Rose let her head fall on her hands. ”I am so tired.”
”Go sleep then. Both of you. I'll stay up for a few hours to watch”, Ingrandor said.
”It's a good idea”, Hellrien agreed. ”We can think of how to deal with Crampbark and his men tomorrow.”
”Yes, with a clear and rested head. I can wake you before dawn to change guard.”
”Yes, I think I can manage to sleep a little now... when you are here”, said Rose.
”Good. Do so. If something happens... my sword's still thirsty, I went easy on them.”
