Version 13

Version 13

By

The Gray_Man

 

Part II

      “Well this certainly beats the hell out of working for a living.”

      Jack leaned back, propping his boots up on the edge of the table and finished off another goblet of honey ale.  It didn’t taste like anything he had ever drank before...not that he was a big drinker in the ‘real world’.  Still, it was an acquired taste that he had spent the last few days trying to gain.  It seemed to the others around the table that he had succeeded.   After the last few drops crossed his lips he let go with a rolling belch that drew everyone’s attention accept for Axel.  He was sitting in the corner of the chamber by himself trying to see if, by sheer practice, he could regain some of the control abilities he had lost.

      “You know, its kinda sad to see you over there snapping your fingers and nothing ever happening.”

      “Patience my friend, it will come to me.  I am sure of it.”

      Jack chuckled. “Yeah.  Whatever. “

      More than a week had passed since he had been trapped in the computer world and nothing had really changed.   Day to day life continued on.  Or what could best be described as day to day life at Hargate Castle.  More like a boring version of life in the real world, medieval style.

       Even the finer details of life, such as bodily needs, were within the boundaries of the simulation.  He got hungry about the same time of day as he usually did so Jack dived right in to Hargate’s cuisine and surprisingly he had to admit, the food was excellent.  A testament to this was the greasy bones of a roasted chicken plated near his propped feet.  It had been served with an herb stuffing, buttered garlic potatoes and a heel of warm bread.  He would pay for eating it later, he knew, when he would have to make a deposit in his own personal waste closet.  For now he was content.  But the newness was wearing off and boredom was quickly setting in.  Lynette was so intent that nothing should happen to him again that she had placed a squad of her best guards at his set of rooms with orders to go with him wherever he went.  This had quickly got annoying and soon Jack abandoned exploring. 

       So if he was a virtual prisoner in his own rooms what was he to do all day?  Jack had wished on more than one occasion for cable but had to settle for reading the books his shelves offered.  He had convinced Ktari to play chess with him but he soon let her go once he realized she was purposely losing.  And Jack had even contemplated asking someone to send him a couple of nubile chambermaids to screw around with. This was, after all, supposed to be a sexual fantasy world.  Why shouldn’t he fuck every piece of ass in sight?  Because, horror of all horrors, he had lost all desire for sex after his run in with the ‘bitch in black’. 

       What was even worse is that he couldn’t even rest well as he waited for his session to end, just as Lothor had told him it would. Every night he would lay awake for hours trying to drift off to sleep, not sure if he would wake up in the Future_Line lab or even not wake up at all.  But eventually he would sleep, and he would come to as Ktari pulled the heavy drapes of his bedroom allowing in the first rays of the dawn.  Every morning Axel could be found in the same place trying to get back the power he had mysteriously lost.  And every morning the search for answers continued in the courtyard, the village, and the surrounding woods.  But nothing had been found yet.  Nothing that would help.

       Jack discovered he had been unconscious for a full day after passing out in the dungeon.  In that time search parties had managed to re-open the passage Lynette and some of the other guards had seen Ayla escape through.  Apparently she had barred the door to stop her pursuers.  By the time they got it open their quarry was gone.  The narrow, winding corridor they found was dark and rat infested and very easy to get stuck but it was empty.  The passage led directly from the dungeon to the outer curtain wall amid an outcropping of rocks near the edge of the forest.  In all likelihood the women were long gone.  At least that was what Sir Alwyn and Mistress Roslyn told him. 

       Axel seemed to think differently. 

       “Was anything found today?” He asked as Ktari approached with a pitcher of ale to refill his goblet.

       “No, my lord.” Sir Alwyn muttered.

       “So why have the guards spent the better part of the week searching the village and castle?”

       “Looking for one of your devil women.” Axel answered without even looking up or breaking his concentration. “We have been over this before.”

       “Yeah, so maybe we have.”

       Axel sighed deeply but deferred to the expert. “Sir Jeremy?”

       The big man straightened in his chair. “My lord, at the egress to the passage that we opened we found two sets of horse tracks leading away from the rocks into the woods.  The trail was followed by our best trackers but unfortunately was lost.  However, a third horse was found, saddled but riderless, wandering in the fields near the rocks.”

       “And that’s what makes you think one of those bitches is still somewhere around here?”

       “Your council is divided on this.” Sir Robin interjected. “, but it is a logical assumption.”

       “Agreed.” Axel said. “The tracks which have been found are not overloaded...say by a horse carrying more than one person.”

       “The guards were summoned and sent to their posts as soon as Sir Axel called upon me.” Lady Lynette added.  “Some were sent out the south and western gates as a matter of routine.  The passage exit is very near the western gate so perhaps the one we search for was unable to make her getaway for risk being seen.”

       Jack shrugged. “That still doesn’t mean she’s hanging round here.”

       “There is no place else for her to go.  The woods are notorious for swallowing people whole.  With no horse, no supplies, her companions gone, she must bide her time until she thinks the moment is right.” Axel said. “Besides, I can’t explain it but...somehow I can feel her presence nearby.  That’s how I can be so sure she is still here.”

       “Okay, Axel, that’s just creepy.”

       “Somewhere on the castle grounds I should wager.”

       “If she’s out there, where could she be?

       “The woodline has been searched well.” Sir Jeremy confided.

       “As have every room in the castle and every house in the village...thrice over.” Lady Lynette muttered.

       Jack threw up his hands in a shrug, spilling ale on his tunic, “Look, guys, we’ve been turning over every stone we can think of for a week looking for this bitch.  So if she’s not in the village and not in the castle and not in the woods, just where the fuck is she?  Hell, do we even know if she made it out of the tunnel?”  

       Jack noticed Axel suddenly look up, Lady Lynette frown, and Sir Jeremy glance at those around the table to see if they had gotten it as well.

      

      

 

 

      There were several things Jack had never thought he would ever do in life.  Ride a horse was one of them.  It just wasn’t one of those experiences which were high on his list of things to accomplish before he died.  But being stuck in a simulation of some twisted medieval world was quickly changing the size and composition of his list.  The horse was a massive destrier called Midnight, its shining black coat of hair giving ample reason as to why.

       Jack was scared at first.  The animal was huge, powerful, and thoughts of it raising up and slamming a hoof right into the middle of his forehead kept circling around in his mind.  But Ktari had told him, in her own halting way, that Midnight was as gentle a horse as she had ever known.  And that was saying a lot for a girl who had worked in the castle stables for the better part of her computer generated life.

      Jack squirmed in the saddle.  It was taking some getting used to.  After only a short time his ass was sore, his back hurt and his thighs were chaffing.  If he stayed on Midnight much longer he would have a blistered backside.  But he forced himself to remain there.  It would look bad if he got off, or complained about his soreness.  And besides, if Ktari’s scrawny little ass could sit on a horse and ride then so could he.  He was not going to be outdone by a fourteen year old girl who couldn’t form a whole sentence without a stutter.

      Of course, the hard part was not sitting on the horse, it was getting the beast to go forward, back and in whatever direction you wanted it to go in exactly when you wanted it to go.  Fortunately for him he had plenty of help.  After some brief instructions from Sir Jeremy, the horse followed along with the rest, nudging out some of the others for head of the pack.  All Jack really had to do was pull left or right on the reigns a bit and hold on as best he could.....which he did by leaning forward and clutching to Midnight’s neck for dear life. 

      At a canter Jack, Axel, Sir Jeremy, and an escort of nearly forty soldiers, rode to the top of a low swell in the grassy plain near the rock outcropping only a stone’s throw from the western gate.  Jack reigned in clumsily but Midnight responded, coming to a halt with only a slight turn to the left and the others followed suit.

      “Can somebody please tell me who came up with this hair brained idea?”

      “You did.” Axel answered. “Or at least you started us on the idea.”

      Jack shook his head. “Who ever heard of a hidden passage with hidden passages.”

      “In truth,” Sir Jeremy confided, “, the passage was only checked to see where it led to.  There was no thought of the tunnel itself being a place to hide.”

      They were within sight of the outcropping.  More than a dozen men were scaling the rocks, some with torches, heading toward the recently discovered mouth of the escape tunnel.  As Jack and the others watched, one by one they slowly disappeared into the dark cavity.

      “Trust me, Jack. “ Axel told him, “She is still here.  I can feel her closer now than ever.  We will find her soon.”

      Jack knew that on the other end, inside the deep recesses of the castle dungeon, there was a similar scene being played out.  Lady Lynette and a group of the Household Guards were moving down the tunnel from the opposite direction. 

      Jack sighed, utterly frustrated. “This could take days.  If there are more tunnels, she could be anywhere in the castle.  Axel, don’t you remember the layout of this place or anything like that?”

      “I am afraid I have found my knowledge of Hargate Castle to be faulty.”

      “Well, that’s no comfort.”

      “As we have said before,” He continued on. “, this is not quite right.  This program is not as it should be.  There are many things....wrong here.  It is but another mys...”

      Jack waved him off. “Oh please.  We have enough mysteries to solve for one lifetime.  I don’t think we need any more.”

      Shouts came from inside the tunnel.  They were faint because the group was so far away but they were incessant.

      Jack’s ears perked up.  What the hell?

      Axel was quick. “Sir Jeremy?” He called and without a word the big man spurred his horse into a slow gallop toward the rocks with many of the mounted soldiers in tow.  The commotion which followed was hard to see but still it was fascinating to watch.  He saw a woman with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail break from the tunnel entrance and try to climb down the rocks.  She was an agile little thing, he had to admit, as she bounded from one stone pile to the next until finally jumping down to the ground already at a run.  Men of the search party were erupting from the tunnel but they were all too slow.  The blonde woman was very fast with a huge head start and she might have even had a chance to get away if those on foot were the only ones in pursuit.  But she could not outrun a horse....much less thirty of them.

      She was halfway to the forest edge when Sir Jeremy rode her down.  Expertly he galloped up beside her as she ran, and for an instant it seemed as if the woman put on more speed in a vain attempt to get away.  But then two more riders came up, bracketing her and tossed forth a large hunting net which covered her completely.  She tripped and fell hard, tumbling to a stop as the mounted soldiers rode past.  Others jumped down and even then the woman did not give up, fighting desperately to claw her way out of the net and through the ever growing number of guards that surrounded her. 

      Axel gestured toward their captive with a wide grin. “I told you she was here.  Shall we?”

      He had not expected such quick results.  In fact, he had not expected any results.  “Well, hell yeah.  Let’s go see who we got.” He replied and awkwardly nudged Midnight forward. 

      By the time Jack got to them, the guards had removed the net from their captive, bound her hands behind her back and hobbled her feet to keep her from kicking.  She had already nearly shattered one kneecap and two sets of balls.  As he approached the woman caught sight of him, and almost immediately her struggling ceased.  Her eyes and appearance took on the look of a trapped animal amid her heavy breathing.  He examined her quickly.  Her hair and face were dirty, her clothing filthy from living in the passages for a week but it was the same person he remembered from the dungeon.  There was no mistaking her.

      Jack peered down at her. “Hey, Ayla.  What’s up?”

      She spit at him, the stream striking him in the shoulder.  One of the guards rewarded her with a fist slamming into her gut.  Ayla doubled over and sagged in the arms of her captors. “May you fall through the Great Abyss for all eternity.” She managed to groan.

      He wiped the spittle away from his tunic. “Yeah, its good to see you too, sunshine.  So..uh where are your friends at?  We could all get back together and talk about old times.”

      “Long gone I trust.  You won’t ever find them.” She managed to say.  She was a brave woman.  Jack had to give her credit.     

       Sir Jeremy pranced up on his roan stallion, “My lord, I’ve spoken with the commander of the search party.  She was exactly where we thought she would be, hidden inside a side tunnel no more than two feet high, living with the rats.  What shall be done with her?” He inquired.

      Axel nudged closer to his side. “She must be questioned.”

      Jack shrugged. “But what if she doesn’t want to say anything?” He whispered back.

      “I can assure you.  She will not tell us what we wish to know of her own accord so do not be naďve about what I propose.  This is a medieval simulation...of a fashion.  We must use whatever methods are available to us.”

      “I don’t exactly know how I feel about that.” He said hesitantly.  They were talking about some brutal stuff.

      “Remember,” Axel pushed. “This is one of the same women who tortured and almost killed you.  If the roles were reversed, you know full well what she would do with you.”

      That got his attention...and helped make up his mind.  He paused for a moment.  Then, “Okay....Jerry?”

      “Yes, my lord?” Sir Jeremy answered.

      “Take her to the dungeon.”

      Sir Jeremy nodded. “As you wish, my lord.”

      Ayla was dragged away roughly but in silence.  She knew what was coming and so did the others who carried her toward her fate.

      “I don’t want anything to do with it.” Jack finally said once the others were out of earshot.

      “Very well.” Axel conceded. “I shall handle the matter if you wish.  But you know it is for the best.”

      “Yeah...I know.” He replied, deflated.

 

     

 

       Some time later Jack finished another cup of ale.  His fifth in the last hour.  The sweet liquid washed down his throat and a buzz filled his ears.  He had never been the type to drown his problems with alcohol but the events of the day were pressing on his mind uncomfortably and a little numbing was welcome.  Ktari came out of nowhere and tried to refill the cup but he held up his hand. “No, that’s okay, Nibblet.  I’m fine.”

      “A..as you wish.” She stammered and fled.

      The sun was setting and the sky outside overhanging the battlements was an extraordinary display of clouds and color.  Absentmindedly he wondered what time it was in the real world.  Was the sun setting or rising on a new day there?  How much time had even passed?  Would he ever get back?  He didn’t know.  It was confusing to him and it made his head hurt worse than it already did.  Inevitably his thoughts returned to one thing. 

      Ayla

      He shook his head.  There was no telling what was being done to her.  Axel and the others didn’t seem to have the same qualms about torture as he did.  He always thought he was a product of a normal, civilized world where torture was a bad thing....something the bad guys did to the good guys.  It didn’t matter what she and the other two women had done to him, it was still wrong.  They were all a product of this medieval simulation.  Except for Axel.  He was all by himself in this.  But Jack guessed that personal program assistants didn’t have any more moral issues regarding the subject as anyone else.  Yet even with his supposed moral high ground it had taken him less than a minute to condemn Ayla to the dungeon. 

      “Oh fuck it.” He muttered angrily and got up from his seat.  Who was he to argue about moral issues when he had ordered the woman interrogated in the first place.  If she was tortured, then so be it.  Better her than him this time.  But if these things were being done in his name, right or wrong, then at least he should have the balls to witness them.

      He staggered once, then went for the door.  Sentries were posted outside and he ordered them to take him to the dungeon.

      Soon they came to the winding staircase which led down into the stone pit of a chamber.  A place he had not visited since he had been a prisoner of its walls.  He took each step slowly, regretting all the honey ale he had taken on board.  About halfway down there was the audible crack of a whip followed by a woman’s piercing scream.  Jack stopped, suddenly wondering if he could continue on.  Quickly he found he had no choice, not so much because of any moral issue, but because he was curious.

      The small torture chambers lined the wall.  Some were open and empty, others with their doors bolted.  The sounds of the whip and the screams got louder and louder until finally Jack came to the right cell.

      Ayla hung from the ceiling, her wrists bound behind her, her body hoisted up by her wrists in a cruel strappado.  Her feet dangled limply above the floor, and a thin sheen of sweat covered every inch of her naked body.  Her flesh was crisscrossed with countless angry lash wounds and her long blonde hair was matted to her forehead and sides of her face.  Her head rolled and she looked up with agony in her eyes.  She saw him.

       “You came to watch.” She rasped deliriously between ragged breaths.  Despite every fiber in his being wanting to turn away he was fascinated with the sight of her.

       “Jack?” Axel called. He was standing in one corner of the small cell overseeing the interrogation.  Quickly he pulled him to the side. “What are you doing here?  I though..”

       He nodded, “I know.  But I had to see for myself.  Any progress?”

       Axel frowned. “Not yet.  She is proving very stubborn, but you are just in time.  I think Sir Robin believes she is near to breaking.”

       “Robin?” Jack asked. He had thought Sir Robin Beckford to be distasteful as master-at-arms.  Now he was inquisitor too?  Somehow, Jack thought that fit better.

       The whip cracked again and he watched as the leather thong wrapped across her back, around her torso and struck against her ample breasts.  A fresh line of red formed and began to weep crimson tears as Ayla jerked in her bonds and uttered another earsplitting scream.  

      From another corner of the cell, Sir Robin, clad in a bloody leather smock and as creepy as ever stepped forward and with a thin, cadaverous hand, brushed a few strands of yellow hair away from Ayla’s face as she cried.

      “My dear child,” He said soothingly, “, you have suffered so much.  Is it not time to end this.  You have only to tell me the things I wish to know and we can make your pain go away.”

      A shiver went down Jack’s spine as he saw the look in his eyes.  Sir Robin was not only a good interrogator.  He was enjoying this.

      “MAY THE GODDESS DAMN YOU!” She retorted with a screech of pain.

      “Very well.” Sir Robin nodded to someone in the background and two big men, sweaty and stripped to the waist, appeared.  One held a rope and the other a large stone ball which Jack judged to weigh about twenty pounds.  As he watched, one man grabbed Ayla’s ankles.  She tried to resist but every movement was agony to her strained shoulders and before long they were tied tightly together.  The other man then hooked the twenty pound stone to her bound ankles and with a shove, pushed it out of his lap.  The ball fell to within inches of the ground before the line caught sending Ayla swinging.  The extra weight was a shock on her arms and she screamed and cursed wildly.

      “I’LL SEE YOU ALL DIE FOR THIS!” She exclaimed between screams.  “MY...MISTRESS....WILL SEE YOU ALL....BEG FOR DEATH!”

      Another session with the whip followed.  More screams and more blood.  The men helping Sir Robin spun Ayla around so Jack could see her backside as well.  In the same manner as her front side, bloody wounds marked the flesh of her back, ass, and legs.  The weight of the stone attached to her ankles made her toes point to the floor and Jack could even see marks on the soles of her feet.  After what seemed like a lifetime Sir Robin finally asked her the questions again.

      She was out of her head mad with pain and she was beginning to utter things which they had been searching for without even realizing it.

      “YOU WILL ALL....DIE LIKE DOGS...WHEN MY MISTRESS COMES!  HER ARMY..WILL SWEEP YOU ALL...AWAY TO THE ABYSS!”

      “We are not afraid of your mistress.” Sir Robin told her.

      “YOU...WILL...BE!”  Her breath was coming shallow and hard now, sweat and blood pooled at her feet.  Ayla looked exhausted, like all her energy was gone.  And just then, Jack could see into her eyes, and it looked as if hope was leaving her as well.  Her spirit was failing, her bravado gone.

      “Tell me my dear,” Sir Robin cajoled softly. “, tell me what we wish to know and all of this will be over.  Don’t you wish for me to stop?”

      “Y...YES!” She screamed.

      “Then tell us.  Tell us so we may help you.  Do you wish to tell us?”

       Ayla started to cry then, openly sobbing and Sir Robin and one of his assistants moved in to support her.  “GODDESS FORGIVE ME!” She bawled. “IT HURTS SO MUCH.”

      Jack watched Ayla break like a twig in front of him.

      Axel went over and knelt down next to Sir Robin as the stone ball was removed from her ankles and she was gently lowered to the ground.  Jack could hear her sobbing but occasionally she would mutter a few words to her tormentors.  Jack paced back and forth, watching and waiting. 

      Finally Axel stood, and so did Sir Robin.  They both peered over their shoulders with worried expressions.  After a brief conversation Sir Robin ordered his helpers to carry Ayla’s limp body into her cell.  They did so and Jack noticed, after putting up with so much for so long, she had passed out....just as he had done. 

      His assistant walked over and Jack could see the expression on his face.

      “What’s wrong?” He asked.

      Axel sighed. “We have a problem.”

      Jack threw up a stomach full of ale across the dungeon floor.

 

 

      In the darkness Hargate Castle was usually a quiet place.  Only the guards and a scattering of servants were up at all hours.  The fires along the battlements would have been lit to mark the castle’s line and to keep the sentries who manned the walls warm.  The gates would be open for easy access by returning patrols from the dark wood, along the roads and inside the town.  The villagers would be soundly asleep, under their covers, warding off the damp chill.

       But tonight was different.  The fires along the walls were extinguished so as not to blind the night vision of the sentries.  The castle gates were up and barred and the servants and guards were all turned out.  The village watch went from door to door waking every family and calling out those of the levy.  The household was in an uproar and no one really knew why....except for a few in the master’s tower.

       “So who was this queen bitch?” Jack asked.

       “Lady Cora Golwyn.” Axel answered. “Your woman in black.”

       “The Countess of Sharford .” Lady Lynette supplied like Jack was supposed to know what the hell she was talking about.

       Axel saw his confusion and drew him over to the map table where a local scroll was laid out. “Here.  A large tract of land and holdings about seventy leagues to our south.”

       “Oh.” Jack said.

      “I should have known from your description, my lord.” Mistress Roslyn lamented. “She adopted the sigil of a silver scorpion on a red and black field after her husband died mysteriously not long after their marriage.  It has always been said she put scorpions on him in her own wedding bed.”

      “Well that makes sense.”

      “Indeed, my lord.”

      “So if she is gone and she lives so far away, why all the extra precautions?” Jack demanded.  The guards at many of the doors and gates had been doubled.  The echoing footfalls of people resounded everywhere.  The place was alive with activity.

       “Ayla supplied us with much information about the Countess of Sharford.” Axel told him.

       “For instance?”

       “For instance,” Axel rejoined. “The countess has made a bargain with someone who wants you dead.”

       “Me? Dead?  No kidding.”

       ”Precisely...though who and to what purpose we do not know.  Neither does Ayla apparently.  She only knows she was sent here with her companion and the countess to take you with womanly guile and force you to enable the failsafe as quickly as possible.”

       “Well, I could have told you that.” Jack said sarcastically. “Anything else?”

       “That she may be marshalling her forces and preparing to march on us.”

       Jack was dumbfounded. “Huh?”

      Axel clued him in. “It would seem that the countess, after having failed at her clandestine approach to kill you could now be trying a more conventional method.”

      Jack shrank down to his chair.  His head fell into the palms of his hands. This was just a never ending nightmare.  At one point Jack had wanted nothing more than to stay in this fantastic computer world.  That had been his first five minutes here.  Now he wanted nothing more than to go home.  He had been here a week and already there was another attempt on his life brewing.  Things were so much simpler in the real world.  He wished Future_Line had their free giveaway stuck up their asses sideways.

      “Any idea if what Ayla told you is even true?” Jack said, grasping at straws. “The girl would have told you anything to stop what was being done to her.”

      “True.” Axel agreed. “But there is a way we may know for certain.  Sir Jeremy’s scouts are already well on their way to the River Nyder.  It is the border between Golwyn and Dullman lands.”

      “It could take days for scouts to get back.” He whined. “What are we supposed to do around her until then?”

      “Prepare for the worst.” Sir Alwyn told him. “The Scorpion, if she comes, will be a hard match for anything we may put in her way.”

      “Maybe we could talk to her...try and work things out.”

      Axel smiled, as a father would to a child. “Jack, my dear friend, this is deadly serious.  If they come then they are coming for you.”

      “Yeah, but....”

      “If she comes for you then she will settle for nothing less than your capture.  And if you think what was done to you before was harsh....then you have no idea what suffering truly is.”

      “I don’t know.”  He said, suddenly remembering the smell of his own flesh cooking over a fire. “I think I have a pretty good idea.”

      “Do you?” Axel asked, suddenly harsh.  “You think you may escape whatever fate awaits you because you have your safe words?  Instant suicide once the going gets too hard?  Suppose the words don’t work.  We really don’t know if they do.  So many other things have gone wrong that I cannot say.  Then you will be trapped here and you will be completely at the Countess’s mercy.  I wonder how long she could keep you alive?...a few months perhaps?  A year or more?  You heal so quickly.  Do you understand if you are captured you face what we did to Ayla only ten times worse?”

      Jack exhaled sharply, and ran a hand across the top of his bald head. 

      “I didn’t think like that.” He said apologetically, but his companion was not finished.

      “And what do you think will happen to them?” Axel pointed to the others in the room, Lady Lynette, Lady Jane, Sir Jeremy, Sir Alwyn, Sir Robin, Mistress Roslyn and Ktari.  “They are risking their lives too...and for all I know I may be as well.”

      Jack shrugged. “What do you mean by ‘risking their lives’?  They’re all computer programs.”

      Axel’s mouth nearly dropped open.

      “Computer programs?” Axel repeated finally. “Do I seem real to you?”

      “Well yeah.” Jack said dejectedly.

      Axel pointed to the others who stood around uncomfortably silent. “And how about them?  Do they seem real enough for you?”

      He nodded reluctantly. 

       “Let me tell you something you may not know.  Each one of them is a sentient program like me.  They eat and sleep and reproduce, feel pain and pleasure, are happy and sad.  These computer worlds were built to be as authentic as possible and in this world we are just as real as any human.  After witnessing what we did to Ayla is there any doubt still left in you.”

       After a moment’s silence Jack cleared his throat.  “Hey, I’m sorry, Axel.”

       “Then wake up.  This is life and death for the lot of us.”

      “My fault, big guy.” Jack consoled. “I should have known better.”

      “Yes, you should have.” Axel told him, rubbing it in. “But things could be much worse.”

      Jack snorted as the tension eased a bit. “And just how is that?”

      “At least we were given some warning.” Axel reminded him. “If Ayla’s information is right and the Scorpion is on the move, had we not questioned our young captive then the first we would have known of it would have been when the van of her army came thundering up the south road.”

      “What would we have done?”

      “Nothing,” Axel answered simply.  “It would have been too late.”

 

 

     

 

       That night Jack could not sleep.  About midnight a light rain began to fall and the temperature dropped causing a damp mist to form along the ground.  Jack stood at one of his bedroom windows and watched it roll and billow and creep through the streets of Hargate as his mind wandered.  There was so much going on he couldn’t comprehend it all.  Imminent death approaching from every turn.  The lives of people he was starting to think of as his friends, especially Axel, hanging in the balance.  It was all too much to deal with.  So much to grasp.  His mind refused to work.  He tried to concentrate on the problem but he kept drawing a blank.

      “Time to take a walk, I think.” He muttered to himself and headed straight for the door.

 

     

 

 

       The heavy door opened with a squeal of rusted hinges.  The guard stepped in with his guttering candle and held it forth so Jack could see where he was going.  He eyed the cold stone walls warily, the flickering light providing little comfort and even less warmth.

      “There, my lord.” The man pointed. “Against the back wall.”

      Jack took the candle. “Thanks, man.”

      The guardsman bowed. “My lord is too kind.”  And he was off.

      The cell was as damp and cool as the outside and despite the clothing he wore he shivered. 

      “So you’ve come back.” A frail voice called out to him, still, after everything that had happened, taunting in its tone. “Going to finish the job?”

      Jack held the candle out until the light hit her.  Ayla winced at the brightness.

      She was laying in the floor, curled up on her side in an effort to keep warm.  Her arms were pinned back behind her in a leather arm binder, her ankles chained to a large ring in the floor.  Her naked body had been whipped bloody, her shoulders were dislocated, and her eyes betrayed a person dealing with constant pain.

      “Go ahead...I won’t stop you.”

      “I ya...I came down here to ask you some questions.” Jack said.

      Ayla managed a lame smile though she did not move a muscle. “More questions?  Haven’t I already told your people everything they wish to know.”

      “Maybe.  Maybe not.” Jack told her. “There are things I wanna know and right now you are the only one who can tell me.”

      “Why should I say anything to you?”

      “Because your answers will decide exactly what happens to you.” Jack explained.

      “I am a dead woman anyway.  It makes no difference to me.”

      “Oh I don’t know.  There seems to be a lot of really horrible ways to die in this world.”

      This time Ayla managed a laugh, but it was cut short as it seized into a caugh which racked her already agony filled body.  She groaned and made a soft cry out, almost like the mewl of a wounded animal.  A tear caught in the candle light but there was no sob with it.  Jack thought about brushing it away but thought better of it.

      “If you have come to threaten me, you should find someone else.”

      “No threats...just answers.”

      Her eyes looked up to where he stood and stared for a moment.  She fought through the pain and focused on him silently.  It was as much an unspoken consent as he was going to get.

      “Who sent you?”

      “The Countess of Sharford.  I was in her employ.”

      “How did you get into the castle?”

      “The same way we got out.”

      “But you three were waiting from the very moment I got here.”

      “Yes.” She answered.

      “How?  How did you know I was coming?”

      “I don’t know.  I only know we left from Nordale more than two weeks ago.  We stayed in Hargate Village until the Countess said you were about to arrive and then we made our way into the tunnels and prepared while she went to bring you to us...like a spider enticing a fly into its web.”

      “You said us.  You mean you and the other girl?  Varisa?”

      “Yes.  Varisa.”

       “Why did you want me to say the safe words and activate the emergency failsafe?”

      “So you would die.  The Countess said you would die if you said the words.” She answered that one just as she had done with the others.  She did not flinch as she told him.

      “Why did you want me dead?”

      “So we could collect on our reward.” 

      “What was the reward?” Jack asked, shifting uncomfortable as the answers became more and more personal.

      “A gift beyond imagining.”

      “That doesn’t tell me much.” He commented.

      “It wasn’t meant to.”

      “Who is the Countess working with?”

      “I don’t know.  That is a question you must ask her when she gets here.”

      “Is she really coming back with an army?”

      “I suppose so.” She said coyly.  “It was her plan to do so if we failed.”

      He shook his head. “Why didn’t you just finish me off the moment you had the chance?”

      Ayla smiled. “The countess wanted to play with you for a while.  She found you fat and amusing.  She watched in the darkness for all of your punishment while...well I think I have said enough.”

      “One more question.”

      “Enough questions.” Ayla mumbled. “Leave me be.”

      “One more,” Jack demanded. “What would you do if you had a second chance?”

      Her brown eyes made contact with his. “I would have brought out the hot coals first.” She said without hesitation.  “I would have gagged you so you couldn’t end your suffering and pushed the fire between your legs and let your cock and balls roast.  Then I would have made love to my darling Varisa while you screamed.”

      Jack started to feel queasy. 

      “You don’t remember, do you.  You screamed so prettily....just as your friends soon will.”

      That did it.  Those last six words.  He stood there for a moment watching her and despite the pain coursing through her she managed a wicked smile.  It was the same wicked smile she had given him after she kicked the brazier between his spread legs.

      Finally, Jack nodded.

      “Thank you.” He said. “You’ve been a big help.”

      And he turned and left. 

     

 

 

      By the next morning the rain had stopped, the clouds were gone and the sun was burning away the last vestiges of fog that still clung to the land.  Jack went down into the courtyard, his guards scurrying behind him, and found Axel talking with Sir Alwyn while a scattering of knights and squires huddled around.  At a distance he called to him.  “Hey, big guy, can I see you for a sec?”

      Axel looked up, gave a brief acknowledgement to the Master of Foot, and came over.

      “Yes, Jack?  I’m a bit busy.  May I help you with something?”

      “Actually I was wondering if I could help you?”

      Axel gave him a curious expression. “I don’t know.  I’m just a computer program.”

      Jack chuckled.  “Okay...I know at times I’ve been an ass so far.  But I did some soul searching last night and I think I can help.”

      “In what way?”

      “Well, for one thing, you seem to be taking all this on your own shoulders and that’s not fair.  This is my fantasy, I should be doing something too.”

      Axel nodded.  “Ideally, yes, but let us be frank.  I am responsible for you and your safety while a part of this program.  If I were you I would try and not worry about it so much.”

      “Not worry?” Jack responded incredulously. “If psycho bitch is headed this way then its because of me and she won’t be satisfied until I am dead and gone.  That puts everyone that helps me in danger.  That means you too, my friend.”

      “Yes, but...”

      “So I’m supposed to sit up in my tower and wait for my best pal to rescue me?  I don’t think so.”

      “Just how can you help then?”

      “Well, actually I need something from you first.”

      Axel arched his eyebrows in an unspoken question.  Jack smiled sheepishly.  “I need someone to help me train.”

      “Train?”

      Jack slumped, looking both ways to make sure no one would hear him.  “Axel, I’m a janitor.  I clean floors for a living.  I don’t know how to fight with a sword, I don’t know how to shoot an arrow....I’m damn near helpless if you think about it.”

      Axel frowned. “Wait..a janitor?  You’re bio-file said you were a maintenance engineer at a prominent local university.”

      “Yeah,” Jack answered.  “What do you think a janitor is?  Look, bottom line is that I need some help and soon you will need every able bodied person you can get.  I know you’re getting ready for war here, but can you spare somebody?”

      He stood there, brow furrowed in concentration. “I tell you Jack, I can’t think of anyone.  Everyone is busy with something...Lady Jane and Mistress Roslyn with the castle, Sir Robin with the armories, Sir Alwyn with organizing the levy....”

      Jack threw his hands up. “Except me.  I’m not doing a damn thing but sitting around waiting to die.  I’ve tried talking with these idiots.” Jack pointed out his guards with a sweeping gesture. “But they’re so busy guarding me I can’t learn a damn thing.”

      “Well there is someone...” Axel explained.

      He jumped at it. “Who?  I’ll take anybody.”

      “Well Ktari is available.”

      “Aw, come on!  Nibblet?” Jack said. “She couldn’t hit her ass with both hands much less teach me how to defend myself.”

      Axel shrugged. “Jack, what do you want from me?  We are preparing for a fight to the death.  I can’t spare anyone else.”

      “I’ll tell you what.  Throw in her sister for at least a few hours a day and I’ll promise to stay out of your hair.” He suggested.

      “Very well, Jack, you drive a hard bargain.”

      “Same to ya.” Jack said as he shook hands on the deal.  “Well, I gotta go track down Ktari so...”

      “Good luck.” Axel told him.

      “Yeah, Axel.  Peace and hair grease, pal.”

 

 

 

      Jack tracked down Ktari, and willingly or not, she began his first lessons in the art of self defense.  She was a squire and thus a potential knight in training.  Unfortunately he soon found out that Ktari had a better grasp of books and songs than swordplay.  She knew the histories and lineages of all the great lords and ladies of the land, she could sing any song he wished to hear as long as it was not too bawdy, and Jack was surprised to find that the little thing had a powerful set of lungs on her.  She even rode better than he did, which was not a shocker.  So he studied with her every day from sunup to sundown and beyond with the occasional riding lesson thrown in from time to time.  But Jack was just as interested in learning how to fight.  His life might soon depend on what he learned.  And knowing the things that might await him if captured spurred on his determination to fight it out...even if it was to the bitter end.

      That was where Lady Lynette came in. 

      For three special hours a day the redheaded guard captain kicked the Master of Hargate’s overweight ass up one side of the training arena and back down the other.  Even though they were using practice wooden swords, Jack went back to his studies with Ktari every day with countless bruises and scrapes which, by the time he got up the next morning, had healed.

      If only his ego healed as quickly as his physical wounds he would have been fine.

      

 

 

       Jack sat up, pulled off his iron cage practice helmet, and brushed the sand from his coat.  The heavy leather was thickly padded to avoid serious sparring injuries but the pain of every strike she had landed pulsed angrily.  He laid the wooden sword at his side and slowly picked himself off of the ground, purposely ignoring the worried attentions of Lady Lynette.  “Oh dear, I didn’t mean to!  My lord, are you alright?”

      He nodded and held up a hand, silently smarting in pain.  “I’m fine, Lynn.  I’m just tired of getting knocked down.  How many times have I hit the dirt today?  Fifteen?  Sixteen?”

      “Thirty one, my lord!”  Ktari yelled out happily from her vantage point on the lip of the arena pit.  She had gotten better with the stuttering speech and he was actually beginning to warm up to the child as she came out of her shell around him and began to show the true imp that she was. 

      “What?” Jack focused on her and called back playfully.  “Keeping score now, Nibblet?  Shouldn’t you be off doing something official, like polishing my armor?  Yeah, that’s right!  Run along!  Go empty a chamber pot!”

      Jack turned back to his tutor. “Your sister is a little shit sometimes.  You know that?”

      “My lord, if you wish to replace her...” Lynette stammered.

      “No.  I was just kidding.  She’s actually not that bad when you get down to it.  She’s certainly been helping me out with some stuff. I....”

      “My lord!”

      A messenger with a blue and gold sash across his chest came running out onto the arena floor.  He stopped and knelt before them, his head bowed as he spoke. “Sir Axel’s compliments, my lord.  He has called the council in your private chambers.  He bids me inform you that the scouts have returned from the south.”

      Jack looked to Lynette and without another word they were both heading out of the sand pit, shedding their heavy coats.  Ten minutes later Jack came into his chambers with Lady Lynette directly behind him.

       “So what’s up?  Can somebody fix me a drink?  I might need it before this is over.”

       “We may all need one before this is over.” Axel replied somberly.

       Ktari had already poured a cup of honey ale and handed it off to him as he approached the map table on the lower level of the main room.  Sir Alwyn and Sir Jeremy were there as well.

       “That bad, huh?” Jack asked after gulping down half the cup.

       “Well it’s certainly not good.” Axel said.  Across the table was a parchment map already laid out and held down by weights at its four corners.  Jack studied it for a brief moment.  There was a dense forest in the center with a mountain range to the north and a wide plain to the east.  A long river ran from the mountains down the length of the plain and hooked to the west to run parallel, and in some cases, butt up against the edge of the forest.  He immediately recognized it. 

       “Our scouts have confirmed what the girl Ayla told us.  The Scorpion has not only called together an army but they are already on the move.  They have crossed the Nyder here,” Axel pointed. “, and are fast approaching the village of Raven’s Forge from the south.”

       “How many?”

       “Seventeen hundred foot and near a thousand horse.”

       “What about us?” Jack asked. “What do we have now?”

       “The levy is nearly complete.” Sir Alwyn supplied. “We’ve twelve hundred infantry.”

       “And eight hundred cavalry.” Sir Jeremy interjected.

       Jack whistled.  This was going to get real nasty. “So what do we do now?”

      “We do not dare risk open battle, my lord.” Sir Alwyn told him.  “We are outnumbered and with few options.  I feel we should stay and strengthen the castle for siege.”

      “Nay, sir.” Sir Jeremy retorted hotly. “We should go forth and offer battle.  A siege here would be a disaster.  It is spring at Hargate and we have not the food to last a month after so long a winter.”

      Jack turned to his friend. “Axel?”

      The blond man nodded. “Both their arguments hold merit.  The Scorpion has moved fast so she may not have planned for a long siege.  But on the other hand, if she has, we would indeed be doomed if we stayed behind these walls.  So after careful consideration I think this is what we will do.  We shall...”

      “Who’s closer to Raven’s Forge,” Jack calmly interrupted. “,us or the ‘Bitch in Black?’”

      Those around the table glanced at one another.  Sir Jeremy’s eyes shot over to Axel then back to him. “The Scorpion, my lord, but only just.” 

      “So we could reach the ‘Forge’ first if we really pushed it?”

      Axel shifted uncomfortably but nodded. “Yes, Jack.  What are you getting at?”

      “This is what I’m getting at.” He stated as he pulled a chart from its slot and unrolled it, spreading it out to replace the one already on the table.  The others studied the field the new map showed with puzzled expressions. 

       Jack smiled as he saw their confusion.  “While everyone else was off prepping for the big fight, I was actually stuck in here for the last two weeks studying maps and reading books and I tell ya, I still may not be able to beat anybody in single combat but I can damn sure plan a battle.”

       “Jack,” Axel cajoled. “I understand you wish to help but perhaps you should leave this to us.”

      “Look” Jack said with a shrug. “Give me a few minutes to tell you what I propose and if you still don’t believe in this then you can go along with your own plans.  How is that?”

      There were no objections.

      Jack laid out his idea over the next five minutes.

      “And that’s about it.” Jack finished proudly as he stabbed a finger in the center of the map. “That’s what I think we should do.”   

      “There was silence around the table.  Axel finally looked up, his eyes surprised. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He muttered.

      Jack laughed sharply. “Axel, did you just curse?”

      Lady Lynette cleared her throat. “It is certainly an....audacious plan, my lord.”

      “Audacious.  Yes.” Sir Alwyn commented. “But perilous too.  If things go badly then we will be slaughtered.”

      “If we lose under any circumstances I fear we will be slaughtered.” Sir Jeremy said, stroking his pointed beard. “But this plan just might work, especially if her scouting forces are as thin as my people tell me they are.”

      “This may very well work.” Axel agreed, studying the map closer. “Of course the Scorpion would have to go exactly where you want her to go.”

      Jack threw up his hands. “Look at the terrain.  Where else can they go?”

      “Is this map even accurate?” Axel asked, trying to find a point Jack had overlooked.

      “It is, my lord.” Lady Lynette answered. “I was raised in this area.”

      “See, that’s even better.” Jack offered. “We have our very own local guide.”

      Axel exhaled slowly.  His eyes focused on Sir Jeremy in unspoken question.  The Master of the Horse gazed back and nodded firmly.  Sir Alwyn was next and reluctantly he nodded as well.  Finally came Lady Lynette and she nodded too.

      “Jack, are you sure about this?  If we lose...”

      “I know, Axel.  If we lose we’re all dead.  Or worse.  But we have to do something and this is as good a plan as any.  Do you have a better suggestion?”

      “I thought I did.”

      Jack patted his program assistant on the shoulder.  “If we fail then so be it.  We tried, right?  But if we win....we can kick the ‘Bitch in Black’s’ sorry ass all the way back across the River Nyder.”

 

 

 

      Lady Cora Golwyn, the Countess of Sharford, stretched her naked body across her luxurious fur covered bed, and yanked playfully on the cord attached to the slave’s gold adorned collar.  The young man caught the hint and sank down as easily as he could while both his hands and elbows remained tied behind him.  He squirmed briefly and situated himself between her spread legs, his face moving to her groin.

      “Oh, yes, Noran.” Lady Cora uttered breathlessly as the slave’s moist tongue moved straight for her clit. “That feels ever so good.”

      Noran was one of her newest acquisitions and thus she had chosen him to come along on campaign with her specifically so he could be properly trained...and also because of his tongue.  He was not as well gifted in other areas.  Her personal slave quarters held male slaves with longer pricks and more toned bodies.  But Noran was a novelty.  He was the best male she had ever seen with his tongue.  And what a tongue it was.  Three inches in length.  Pink and soft as silk. 

      Waves of pleasure washed over her and her fingers entwined in his curly dark hair.  She moaned as she slowly built toward orgasm but suddenly she pushed him away roughly. “Not yet, fool, you’re going too fast.  I’m not ready yet.” 

      “Yes, mistress.” The slave said and returned to his work more carefully.

      There was a call from outside the tent entrance.  Lady Cora yelled back her consent between gasps and a slim blonde woman clad in armor came into the tent.

      “Mistress, the prisoners who begged to petition you are here.” The blond informed her sourly.  She had not been the same since they had been forced to leave her companion behind.  They had neither heard nor seen anything of her for many weeks and privately Lady Cora thought she was already dead.  If she was, then so be it.  Their mission had been not only extremely risky but far bolder than anyone would have suspected someone of her stature and rank to attempt.  But the rewards would have been worth it had they only succeeded.  They had both known the risks .   The woman who stood before her would simply have to get over it.

      Very well, Varisa.” Lady Cora said as Noran’s head bobbed in her lap. “Bring them in.”

      The two prisoners were pushed in by a pair of guards wearing the black armor of her personal watch.  They were a man and woman, both in their mid thirties, their hands bound in front of them.  The man’s clothes were dirt covered, his face streaked with mud.  The woman’s dress was torn, her auburn curls a tangled mess.  They were but two of a growing number of refugees which had been taken prisoner as the Golwyn army advanced toward Raven’s Forge.  They both sank to their knees in front of the bed, their heads bowed in fear and shock of what was happening in front of them.

      Lady Cora pushed up on her elbows to get a better view of the pair, watching them intently as Noran continued to pleasure her. 

      Finally she said angrily. “Well, does one of you know how to speak?  I must assume you have disturbed my pleasures for a very good reason.”

      Both man and woman smarted as if stuck physically but kept silent.

      “Well speak up, damn you!” She yelled.

      “If it please, Your Ladyship,” The man spoke shakily without looking up. “, we had thought to come before you with a plea for our children.”

      “Your children?” Lady Cora repeated. “What about them?”

      “Your Ladyship’s soldiers came to the pen where we have been kept and took them away this morning.  To where, we do not know.” The woman said.  She lifted her gaze briefly and the look in her eyes told of a person nearing hysteria.

      Lady Cora’s brows furrowed. “Truly?”

      “Yes, Your Ladyship.” The man answered. “They are young and innocent and have done no harm to anyone.”

      “We beg of you.” The woman started to cry, her bound hands clasped in front of her ample bosom. “We ask only they be returned.  We fear for their safety.”

      “I forget who you are.  We have captured so many prisoners lately.  How many children do you have?” Lady Cora asked, fighing to maintain control as the pleasure between her legs built.

      “Three girls, Your Ladyship.” The woman answered frantically. “Please, we meant no harm in comin’ here.”

      “Most unfortunate you were trying to travel with your entire family at such a time to begin with.” She commented as she thought. “Varisa, do you remember anything about the children of these peasants?”

      The blond concentrated for a moment then nodded. “I believe they mean the three young girls who volunteered for service today.”

      “Ah, yes.” Lady Cora purred as she fought back moans of pleasure. “Now I know of who you speak.  I had them brought here so I could give them their tasks myself.”

      Both man and woman looked up.  “Y....Your Ladyship,” The man stuttered. “, we did not know it was done on your orders.  We thought they had been taken by the guards to....”  He trailed off, leaving his darkest fears unspoken.

      “They are safe?” The woman asked.

      “I am sure my men are taking good care of them.” Lady Cora told her. “They could not wait to offer their services to my men.”

      The woman started to cry what sounded like tears of joy.  The man was not nearly so moved.  Immediately he looked more wary. 

      “My lady, we are farming folk.” The man told her in a pleading voice. “We have very little but whatever we have we will give for the return of our daughters.  They are everything to us.”

      “Really?”

      “Please.  We harbor no allegiance to the Lord of Hargate.  We have no quarrel with you.  We place ourselves at your mercy and ask that you please give our children back to us.”

      A shudder washed over her. “Ah yes...right there, right there, Noran.  That’s the spot.”  After a moment she focused on the two kneeling before her. “It would seem that your daughters have taken to serving under my banner.  Why should I take them away from their duties and simply give them back to you?”

      By now tears were streaming down the woman’s face.  “Please, my lady.  We only want our children.   They are so precious to us.  As a woman, you carry the heart of a mother as well.  Can you not see your way to letting them go.” She managed to say between sobs. 

      Lady Cora’s eyes turned cold just before they rolled into the back of her head and her breathing came hard.  Waves of pleasure washed over her as her muscles tightened and flexed.  “Yes, Noran, fuck yes!..now!...now!...now!...YESSSSS!”  Her back arched and her breath came out in a long moan. 

      Once it was done she fell back on the furs, her respiration settled, and her fingers grabbed Noran by his hair.  “Wonderful, my slave.  So good of you.  Remember to take it slowly next time.”

      Noran finally came up for air and flicked his obscenely long tongue at her. “Whatever your pleasure, mistress.”  He was rewarded with a harsh slap across the face for his brief insolence.

       “Get away from me, dog, before I have you whipped!”   She commanded menacingly and slowly he slinked backward.  Lady Cora threw her leg over him and rolled onto her stomach.  She propped her head up on her forearm and gazed down at the prisoners.  They had cast their eyes down again so they would not see what was happening on the bed. 

      She asked them.  “When were you captured?”

      “T..two days ago, Your Ladyship.”

      “And where were you taken?”

      “Along the road, Ladyship.”

      “Why?  Where were you going?”

      The two looked up, their eyes growing wide. “M...my lady, we...we were...”

      “I shall ask again.  What were poor farm folk doing traveling the South Road headed toward Raven’s Forge when they should be working on their lands?”

      They both tried to utter a nervous answer at the same time but the Countess held up her hand to silence them.  “Let me venture a guess.” She remarked coldly. “You were fleeing from me.  Running as fast as you could to the north and the safety of that great, fat pigeon at Hargate.  But in your own stupidity you and your family stumbled into our lines and were taken.”  She looked to Varisa. “Does that about cover it?”

      “I should think it does, mistress.”

      “You thought to come and petition me for the safe return of your daughters as if you were my own subjects.  But you are nothing more than spoils of war taken on enemy lands.  I will therefore use you as such...just as I have done with your daughters.”

      The woman turned frantic again.  The man was looking trapped.  Lady Cora waved a hand to the guards who grabbed the hapless couple amid shouts, sobs and protests.  She then told Varisa. “Take these two fools to the common grounds where I had their daughters pilloried.  Strip the woman and place her next to her daughters.  I suspect they have been well used by now and my men will appreciate a fresh set of holes to poke.  Then take the man and have him impaled on a pike.  Make sure they are facing him so they may witness him die as they continue servicing the lust of my troops.”

      Varisa bowed. “As you command, mistress.”

      She left the tent amid screams of panic and horror.  And then there was silence for a time.  She leaned back onto the soft, decadent fur covering her bed and nearly drifted off to sleep.

      “My lady!” The call came from Lorri, another one of her slaves.  Lorri was a beautiful brunette with a voluptuous body.  She, like Noran, had also been selected for the campaign because of a special talent.  She was Lady Cora’s personal servant.

       “What is it, Lorri?” She demanded irritably.

       “I was sent by Sir Olric.” She said in a soft voice.  “He bids me tell you that the Lord Commander has urgent news and wishes to see you.”

       Lady Cora sighed heavily. “Very well.  Get me some cloths.”

       Lorri quickly came back with a sheer black sleeping gown.  The countess stretched her muscles lazily then stood while her servant dressed her in the simple garb.  Then she took the Countess’s long black hair and bound it in a quick ponytail.  One final touch was the silver scorpion necklace she wore every night to sleep.  She turned briefly to a mirror and once she was satisfied told Lorri to bring him in.

       As Lady Cora stretched out along her bed once again, Sir Ansyl Wellock, the Lord Commander of the Golwyn army entered into the tent and stood before her.  He was a tall, strong man, with graying hair at the temples and a full, salt and pepper beard.  His face was square and handsome with the faint pucker of a scar across his left check.  He wore the obsidian black armor of personal Golwyn service with a red cape and silver scrollwork on his breastplate.

       “Yes, Sir Ansyl, I must assume you have very important news otherwise you would not be standing in my tent at such an hour.”

       “It is indeed, Your Ladyship.” He said gruffly. “Our scouts have made contact with an army to the north of Raven’s Forge.  They fly the blue and gold of Hargate.” 

       Lady Cora’s eyes widened in surprise then she chuckled. “Really?  The pigeon has found his balls, has he?”

       “It would seem so, Your Ladyship,” Sir Ansyl told her. “, he is encamped for the night with a force of what looks to be near two thousand men.”

       The countess stopped chuckling.  “How far from the Forge is he?”

       “Only five leagues, my lady.”

       Her scouts had informed her the terrain just to the north of Raven’s Forge offered excellent high ground and easily defended positions with thick forest close in to either flank.  It was, in essence, a bottleneck.  The first of many in the area.  If the Pigeon of Hargate could reach that ground before her army he would have a distinct advantage.  That pudgy little shit was closer but if she could force a march during the night she could probably still beat him to it.  It was a race now.  One she was determined to win.

      “Strike the camp,” Lady Cora said decisively.  “I want our vanguard moving within the hour.  You shall make for the heights to the north of the Forge and capture them before that fat pig gets there even if you have to march all night to do it.  Understood?”

       “As you wish, Your Ladyship.”

      “As usual I shall stay here a while longer.”

       “Verywell, Your Ladyship.”

       “Make no mistake, Ansyl,” The countess said with an icy tone. “, as the Goddess is my witness, tomorrow evening I want the Pigeon of Hargate brought before me in chains...and before the week is out he will wish he had never been born.”

      “Praise be to the Goddess.” Sir Ansyl said.

 

 

     

      A light rain had been falling for hours and it looked as if it would continue through his first battle.  Jack had passed the point of being simply nervous.  Now he was closing in on being terrified and was probably fast approaching being catatonic.  But Axel was as cool as ever, sitting atop his horse in his gray armor.  It was both annoying and re-assuring that someone could be that confident.

      Jack pulled back on Midnight’s reigns and stopped at his side.  He had gotten used to sitting on a horse but what still bothered him was the odd feeling of being encased in wet cloth and steel.  His stomach was held in by his breastplate and his posture was held perfectly straight.  His boots felt funny too.  They were stiff and unforgiving.  His helmet fit a little too tightly for him, it made him feel claustrophobic, and he had decided he wouldn’t put it on until it was absolutely necessary.  It all felt weird to a guy who had usually lounged on a couch all day in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

      “So,” Jack whispered to his companion. “Do you think this is gonna work?”

      Axel leaned his head over to him, peering out from under his steel helmet. “It’s a little late to be asking me, don’t you think?”

      Jack winced. “Well...maybe.  I’m just worried, I guess.”

      “It’s too far gone to worry.  Everything will either be fine or it won’t.  We will know soon enough.”

      Jack looked to the left and the right.  There was enough morning light now to unmask the ethereal forms which only moments ago had danced in the dark mists.  He could make out rows of horsemen, armor clad and at the ready, standing vigil in complete silence for as far as the eyes could see in the poor visibility, their blue and gold sashes worn proudly across their chests.

      “I think these guys look ready.” Jack commented.

      “They are ready.  They are confident.  They are yours.”

      “Okay so what does that mean?”

      He nodded to both sides at the lines and beads of rain water streamed down his helmet.  He whispered. “These people are not here today because of me.  They are not here because Sir Jeremy and Sir Alwyn ordered them to be here.  They are here because of you.”

      “Me?”

      “They are more than simple vassels required to do whatever you order them to.  Over the weeks you have talked to many of them where one of their own lords would not have.  You have been kind to them as many of their own would not be.  And they have all watched you struggle to learn and adapt.  In many ways they respect that most of all.  You may be a stranger in a strange land here but you have fit in main well.  You are their leader.  You may not see it but I do.”

      “Me...a leader?  I’m not a leader, I’m scared shitless.” Jack chuckled quietly.

      “So are all of them.” Axel countered. “They are not blind.  They see the threat the Scor...”

      Jack wagged a finger up in front of him. “Alright, the ‘Bitch in Black’...they see her threat and understand what it would mean if she wins this fight.  Hargate would be destroyed...and their homes and families with it.  They would rather die than let that happen.”

      For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence broken only by the faint whinny of a horse.

      “Axel, there’s something I have to tell you.”

      “Yes?”

      “Whether we win or lose today, despite everything that has happened...I think its been a pretty good run.  Don’t you?”

      He saw Axel turn to him and smile. “It’s only been little more than a month...but yes.  It has been.”

      They offered a steel covered hand to one another and there was a barely audible clank as they shook.  Then it was back to sitting and waiting while the fog swirled and the rain came down amid the pale dawn.

      In the distance, along the tree line, a shape formed in the mist.  It grew in clarity as it came closer.  It was one of the scouts on foot.  Jack watched as he ran up to Lady Lynette and knuckled a salute.  He spoke briefly then Lady Lynette came over to where he and Axel waited. 

      “The vanguard has passed.” The beautiful redhead told them.  “The main body is before us.  Now is the time to strike.”

      Jack took a deep breath and gave Axel one last look. “Well, here goes nothing.”

      “See you on the other side, my friend.” He responded as he drew his sword.

      Jack removed his hat quickly and put on his helmet.  He had a sword but also two crossbows, holstered on the flanks of his horse, as many of the cavalry had.  They were light, easily handled with one hand and even easier to use, though tricky to reload in a fight.  He drew one of them as Lady Lynette and her guard detachment pulled their swords as well.  Others followed suit and soon the action was being repeated up and down the lines.  Then, in a great tide everyone seemed to move forward to the edge of the forest until there were no more woods to hide in and the empty ground that marked the South Road seemed to go on forever.  Bannermen came up and unfurled their flags, the golden eagles of Hargate rampant on their aquamarine fields.

      Swords dropped to point the way forward and the army began to move out at a walk then a slow trot.  Jack’s frightened eyes searched the mists as he rode among the others.  As they moved through the thick fog a long dark shape appeared in front of them which seemed to be crawling along the road.  The shape turned into a column of infantry, unarmored and unsuspecting.  Then the shouts arose and many spurred their horses forward into a full gallop to close the distance in an instant.  The shouts grew in an ever increasing wave until it hurt his ears.  Jack’s heals dug into Midnight’s side and the big destrier surged.

      It was then that he yelled at the top of his lungs. “This is so fucked up!”

      He lowered the crossbow at a surprised target and pulled the trigger.

 

 

      There were several factors which helped determine the Battle of Raven’s Forge, as it became known.  The terrain was one.  The topography to the south of the village was flat land along the road with large stretches of thick forest nearby for the attackers to hide in.  Another factor was the weather.  If it had not been so poor on that day, as some would say later, then things may have come out differently.  And yet another factor, and purely the fault of the Lord Commander, was the lack of any significant scouts on the flanks of the Countess of Sharford’s forces.  They had been virtually non-existent.  This oversight on his part was perhaps because he had not suspected an attack or believed one was possible at such a time and place.  Another reason could have been that he was in a headlong rush, driven by Lady Cora, to reach and engage his enemies on ground which would have favored him.  Whatever the case for his failures were, there would always be speculation about them.  Sir Ansyl Wellock, the Lord Commander of the Golwyn army was killed in the opening moments of the battle by a crossbow bolt through the eye.  He was identified later due to his distinctive armor and facial scar.  With him lay eight hundred of his men.  Many were captured, others fled.  With those who escaped were Lady Cora and her Household Guard.  She had stayed behind at the previous night’s encampment to watch the torment of her wayward victims.  Once she heard of the disaster that had befallen her army, she lapsed into a state of shock that remained unbroken until they crossed the river Nyder and back into Golwyn lands a week later.  Among those who crossed with her were Varisa, Noran, Lorri, a half dozen other slaves and only two hundred soldiers.  The rest were gone.

      There were many who reviewed the battle and simply discounted the fact that the plan the Lord of Hargate had come up with had been brilliant.  Sir Alwyn Kessel had led a force of only two hundred infantry and barely fifty cavalry to the north of Raven’s Forge and encamped there, waiting for the enemy scouts to come, purposely putting up enough tents and keeping enough fires burning at night for ten times as many.  They had been the bait which had drawn the forces of the Scorpion in.  Meanwhile, with cold camps and barely fed soldiers and horses Jack and the greater part of his army had watched for the right moment in the dense thickets and dark woods bordering on the road to the south of Raven’s Forge.

 

 

      Jack sat on the ground beneath the shade of an oak tree only a stone’s throw from the river.  It was mid spring now and quickly growing hot in the noon hours so a bit of cool rest was welcome after a long ride.  At least he thought so.  They had ridden hard to reach the Nyder.  Now the horses drank from it and the soldiers filled their skins along its banks.  They had all earned their brief rest. 

       He took his hat off, dropped it on his lap and wiped a tunic sleeve across his sweaty brow.  Axel sank down next to him, offering him a fresh cup of honey ale to wash away the dust from his dry throat.

      Wordlessly Jack took the cup and with one flip drank it all down in a few gulps.  He handed the cup back.

      “Feel better now?”

      Jack smiled. “Not much.  I’m worn out.  This campaigning shit is harsh.  How are you holding up?”

      “I’m doing well as always.  Thank you for asking.”

      “You’re a sorry bastard, Axel.  The least you could do as my personal program assistant is have some sympathy exhaustion.”

      “Not in my programming, I’m afraid.” Axel retorted smugly.

      “It figures.” He pulled a parchment from his waist sash and opened it on the top of his hat.  It was a map of the surrounding area and he began to study it closely.  Axel watched him and laughed.

      “What’s so funny?”

      “For someone who thinks campaigning is so harsh, you certainly have become good at it.”

      The Lord of Hargate leaned back against the oak’s massive trunk.  He looked around to the perimeter guards and over to where Lady Lynette and Sir Jeremy stood in full battle armor talking beneath the blue and gold flag of his house.  Satisfied there was no one else around he leaned in close to his companion.  “You remember I told you I was a janitor at a local university?” He said softly.

      “Yes.”

      “I worked in the History Department.”

      “Well, that explains something.”

      “What can I say.  I learned a few things while I was on the job.”

      “You learned how to run a campaign?”

      “Naw.  Not exactly.” Jack told him. “But I did learn enough to know this is one fucked up place.”

      “On that we agree.” Axel said.  “There are many things not right about this world.”

      “That’s an understatement.  Look at those poor bastards crossing the river.”  Jack pointed to the ford not far from where they sat.

      The Nyder, due to the spring runoff from the mountains where it started, was running a little deep but the ford was still manageable for horses and those on foot.  It was the same place where Cora Golwyn had fled, heading south with those few who remained to her.  It was the place his army would soon cross in pursuit.  And it was now where a long straggling line of men, women and children, both old and young, barefoot and disheveled worked their way tentatively through the waist deep waters.  Some wore plain shifts of different colors, others simple loincloths.  While a lucky few drew two wheeled carts others carried small bundles which seemed all they owned in the world and many carried nothing at all. 

      “I don’t remember this being in the brochure when I picked this damned program.” Jack told him as he watched a group of cavalry cross to the south bank.  Most of the refugees shied away from them, running for the nearest cover or keeping their distance.  Some, a brave few, flocked to them like vultures with arms reached out for any handouts they could get.  “Where the hell are they all coming from?”

      “Nordale and the surrounding farms I should guess.” Axel said. “Our advanced scouts have already reached the town and have found many peasants left behind while their masters have fled.”

      Jack shook his head. 

       They started to appear two days earlier.  Sir Jeremy Ross’s vanguard of cavalry began coming across first one, then another, then entire groups of them.  At first Jack had thought they were simply fleeing from the path of the fighting but they were moving to the north from Golwyn lands, not south.  Then he discovered the truth.  They were trying to escape from Golwyn lands.

      Jack had taken the time to ask about them and Lady Lynette answered. “They come across the river to find an easier life for themselves and their children.  There are many lords and ladies of the land who are ruthless toward their own people.  The Countess of Sharford is one.  It is even rumored she keeps an unfortunate few in perpetual bondage.”

      “You mean like tied up?”

      “No, my lord.  I mean slavery.”

      Jack had let that go, unsure of what to make of it.  Later that night, as he went to his tent, he asked Ktari if she knew anything about the slaves the Countess was said to keep.  She was sitting on the ground doing her nightly cleaning when she looked up.  She nodded happily.

      “It is said she keeps two classes of slaves.  The lowest wear a plain collar.  They are the workers and servants.  And the ones who wear the collars with the gold bands...” Suddenly she trailed off.

       “Yeah?  What about the ones who wear the gold band?” Jack pressed.

      “...they are the pleasure slaves, my lord.” She said finally.

      He thought about it for a moment.  “Oh!  You mean the sex slaves.”  Then he had a sudden wicked idea enter his mind.  He pictured Lady Lynette Hunter wearing a collar with a gold band and nothing else, her long, flowing red hair reaching nearly to her full breasts as she went down onto her knees and....then he saw her sister sitting on the ground polishing the grime off of his kit, eyes level with his rock solid hard on.  It had been his first boner since Ayla had...well...

      “Talk about an awkward moment to get your groove back.”

      “What was that, Jack?”

      “Oh. Sorry, Axel.  I was just talking to myself.”

      “Perhaps you were talking yourself into a solution for these people.  They are choking the roads we will have to use to advance and could become a strain on our resources.”

      Jack held up his hands and shut his eyes. “One disaster at a time, please.”

      He had no idea how he was going to deal with the potential flood he was facing.  But for the time being things would not be as bad as Axel made them sound.  Odds were the majority of them had stayed where they lived anyway and were waiting either on him or on the return of their masters and mistresses.   It was the safe bet considering the things that could happen to those who were caught escaping. 

      Jack did not know what their punishments would have been but he had seen firsthand what happened to people who had unexpectedly fallen into the hands of the Countess.

      The day after the fight at the Forge they had come across the campground where the Countess of Sharford had spent the night before the battle.  His scouts had found an entire family who had been taken; a father, mother and their three daughters.  The mother and three daughters had been stripped naked, bent over at the waist with their heads and wrists fitted into sets of wooden stocks and their ankles spread wide and tied to stakes in the hard ground.  It appeared as if they had died there after having endured rape after rape until they simply collapsed from exhaustion and were strangled by the cruel pillories.   But before they died they had watched their father and husband as he was impaled on a greased pike and suspended in mid air in front of them.  He had ordered them buried on the side of the road.  It was the least he could do. 

       But the grisly discovery was not an aberration.  Day after day they stumbled across other campsites as they advanced, where pillories had been set into the ground, and nearby to each of them were freshly dug graves.  

      “We have to press on.” Jack muttered as he fought with the memory of the young girls’ blue faces and violated bodies laid out on the earth side by side.  He pushed against the tree and gained his feet.

      Axel looked up, perplexed.  “I thought you were worn out?”

      Jack shrugged as he walked over to his horse with renewed purpose. “I am....but it doesn’t mean I can rest yet.  We started on this mission because we thought the ‘Bitch in Black’ was out to get us.  Now I’m out to get her before she can do any more damage.  She is one evil woman, Axel.”

      Axel stood, brushing himself off as Jack climbed up onto Midnight. “You have a long road ahead if you are going after every evil person in this world.”

      “Hey man, I’m not trying to change the world.” Jack said as Midnight pranced and pawed the earth beneath his hooves. “But I can at least do some good until we can figure out how to get me home.  And getting rid of her would be a big start.  Besides, if we get to Nordale tonight I might actually get to sleep in a real bed again.  If that’s not a good enough reason to keep moving, I don’t know what is.”  He lifted a hand in farewell. “See ya there.”       

       Jack pulled on the reigns and Midnight galloped away.  Axel watched as Lady Lynette and Sir Jeremy mounted and rode with him, ringed by a detachment of Jack’s personal guards.  Axel shook his head as they turned down the main road and hit the ford at a steady trot, crossing to the south bank amid splashing water and scattering refugees. 

      “You may well do some good, my friend.”  He said after Jack shrank out of view. “I only hope once you are done you will have a home to go back to.”  He went over to his own horse in silence, climbed into the saddle and crossed the River Nyder alone.  The invasion of Sharford had begun.