Interactive Story--The Maiden and the Mud Beggar

[DonaCatalina]

Captain Naives and the two guardsmen followed Matt Taylor into the barn. Devlin brought the other horses and pack mules along as well. The captain stopped short when three men stepped out from inside one of the stalls.

"Everything is alright Bart" Matt explained "These men came in with my children. They're not the robbers that we feared."

Each man had a weapon in his fist that he lowered after hearing Matt's clarification.  The clubs and shearing knives would make formidable weapons in the hands of men accustomed to their use. Matt turned to the captain and said "The rest of my men are moving most of the flocks to summer pastures. Bart, Tom and Harry here usually work here on the farm. We saw riders coming up over the hill so they his here in case the situation turned unfriendly."

The captain let out a long breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. "Thank you for your frank explanation" he told Matt. Then a crooked smile cracked his expression and he added "Let's get these beasts unloaded because I could eat a horse myself."

When the men got back to the farmhouse Walter and the girls took turns giving Anna Taylor an enthusiastic description of their adventures. The long table was already set with plates for everyone around a huge platter of bread and cheese.

"I've already told Pr.....Walter here that there is only mutton stew today." Anna explained "On Wash day I don't have as much time for cooking as I'd like." She glanced at her daughter before she continued "Without Edwina's help I have fallen behind in my work."

Both Walter and Edwina blushed at the implied rebuke. To change the sticky subject Devlin spoke up "So Dad, have those bandits paid a visit to the farm?"

"Not yet" answered Matt "But they robbed the old tinker between us and the Anderson's place. Not that he had anything but food to steal. And they smashed some of his pots for spite."

[Alphonse]

After supper Matt,Walter and the girls went out to the barn to check on the soldiers out there and bring in the dishes from their meal.As they entered they found that Bart, Tom and Harry had stayed around for awhile helping to clean up the barn and make it as suitable as possible for a nights stay for the three soldiers as they ate. Now that they were finished the men had gathered together taking small nips at a flask the Captain had produced from a saddlebag, while an impromptu war council took place.As the girls left with the dishes in the direction of the house, the conversation picked back up regarding the likely tactics that the bandits might use as well as improvised weapons that the farm hands might construct and their various uses.

Speaking up, Captain Navies asked a question,"where do you think it is that these bandits came from and how long have they been at this sort of thing?"

"There has been a good deal of speculation about that, here abouts as of late", answered Matt Taylor."As near as anyone can tell, it is believed that there are about a dozen of them, they washed up on the shore with the wreckage of a small ship. Some of the town folk say that they were the survivors of a pirate ship that the King's navy sunk when they caught it lurking just out of sight of the shore near there."

Victor made a face when he heard mention of the navy, Walter knew the man had helped to train some of them a few years back when the force was first formed. His father had been excited by the prospect of starting the navy, he viewed it as a force for exploration with a secondary role of policing the waters along the coast. The sad fact was, that they ended up doing rather more policing then they did exploration. Captain Navies viewed the sailors as enthusiastic armatures at best and little better then pirates when he was not inclined toward being generous.

"Well, now that we know that they are a problem here, I will see to it that a detachment of men will be moved here and stationed in the area until they are all run down and brought to justice. It will take about a week or two to gather the force and get it moved in and set up. I think a company of light cavalry would serve best, until they get here it would be most prudent for you to gather together as you are doing and keep a close eye on things."

Tom,Bart and Harry made ready to leave, they would head home for the night and bring their families back in the morning to stay in the barn as the soldier where doing tonight. The Captain made plans to leave the two soldiers here at the farm while he rode into to town the next day to put his plans into action. Walter was not happy with the whole idea but knew that it was necessary in order to protect the families here abouts, the bandits were a hurtle towards his plans of living among the people and learning whatever lessons it was his father and Alfred had meant for him. After seeing how they had wounded Devlin he understood that they were worse then a simple nuisance to his plans and ambitions but rather a deadly threat to the simple farm folks and their peaceful way of life.Seeing that an end came to this threat was much more important then anything he might learn here had they not been present.

[DonaCatalina]

Walter jumped up from the cot where he had been sleeping when he felt a hand on his arm. "Shhh" Edwina cautioned him "Ma says that Sarafina and I can't go milk the goats alone and everyone is busy except you."

Blinking sleep from his eyes, Walter looked around the darkened room. "Is it morning already?" he asked between yawns.

"Yes" she replied "or near enough. Come on now and we can get breakfast after the milking is done."

The door to the kitchen let a sliver of golden lamplight spill into the room where they stood. Devlin and the farmhands were nowhere to be seen. Whatever Walter had thought about farm life, it had not included rising before the chickens. He stumbled after Edwina to where the other girl waited in the back garden. The goat shed was behind the main barn on the other side of the walled compound.

Walter felt a little foolish to be wearing his sword into a goat shed.  The goats and their kids had already been awakened by the girls when he walked through the door. Still yawning, he watched as they took the nanny goats in pairs and tied them up in the milking stall. He tried to count the goats as they moved continuously around the pen. Around the number fifty he gave it up as an exercise in futility.

"Come here Walter" Edwina's voice broke into his sleepy reverie "Please take these full pails and empty them into that vat."

He looked in the direction she indicated and saw a very large tin vat in the corner. The full pails were heavier than he expected. They sloshed alarmingly when he tried to lift both at one time. Quickly he set them down and tried again. After both pails were empty he brought them back over to find that the second set of pails was nearly full. A quick glance told him that the girls had worked their way through nearly a third of the goats.

With each pail Walter became a little more adept at handling the full buckets and pouring the contents into the vat. About mid-way through the milking process Walter was struck by a sudden thought. He had been so proud of his skill with a sword. These people had skills which he lacked. And they needed these skills just to feed themselves and keep a roof over their head every day.

When the milking was finished, Walter thought that they would return to the house. He was surprised when the girls went into another building near the well house. Goggle-eyed he watched as they tipped a huge vat of curdled milk through a layer of cheesecloth. He felt a shrinking feeling as he realized that they had not even asked for his help. It seemed that his awkwardness with the milk pails had not gone unnoticed. The cloth covered rolls of cheese curd where moved into stone troughs and covered over.

"Finally we can get some breakfast" Sarafina announced as she straightened from the work "I'm glad I don't have to do the cheese at home." Edwina poked her in the side and laughed. "That's because you're not as good at it as your sister" she said jokingly.

Walter smiled wanly; sure that he had missed some private joke. The sun was well over the horizon when they marched into the kitchen.

[Alphonse]

He had left well before sunrise and now the sun had been in the sky at least a good two hours. When he left the farm, Captain Navies had gone back the way that they had come. Instead of traveling down the creek though, he had crossed and followed the treeline along the creek on the far shore. Good thing too, he thought as he reached down and gave his mount a pat on it's well lathered neck. He had been chased by the bandits since a little after sunrise. They had been on the opposite bank,from what he could see they had made a camp there, likely they were following the creek trying to track the party as best they could. He had the advantage being on the opposite side of the creek from them. They could ride as hard as they wished but it would do them no good, he had too much of a lead on them. He doubted that they would follow him much past the old bridge as it was too close to town and the help he would find there.

Back at the farm the three farms hands had returned in time for breakfast with their families.Between Tom, Bart and Harry their families tallied a good dozen or so. While the children and men folk ate, the wives figured out who would stay behind and who would join the men today at work out in the fields. Of the two soldiers that were left behind at the farm one would stay back and serve as look out for the farm while the other would go along with the men and watch for them. The man who stayed back at the farm had already taken up a position on the roof of the barn as the daylight began to burn off the morning fog.As the men headed out to the fields with their charges in tow the women divided forces and began preparing the loft of the barn into suitable quarters for the families who had gathered there, while the others began preparing the food for the noon meal.The whole farm seemed to have turned into a variable beehive of activity.

Walter found himself among the men folk headed for the field. He was unsure what sort of work they would do but he resigned himself to the fact that he would lend a hand as best he could for the time being. As soon as the bandits had been rounded up, he would begin to consider how best to resume his goal of adventuring about the countryside. Walking along side Matt, he asked the old farmer what sort of work it was that they would be doing today."Well, said the farmer, we have gathered the animals up yesterday but hadn't finished cutting the hay that they would require to feed them. After that if we have enough light left we may do a bit of fence mending." It was then that the thought occurred to him, Walter was startled by it, he had never actually worked a day in his life. To be sure he had worked hard at master some of the skills Sir Alfred had tried to teach him and had spent many a long hour at that but he had never had to fix or gather anything until now. Perhaps there was a lesson in that he thought as he walked along the lane which led to the hay fields beyond.

[DonaCatalina]

The sound of approaching horses caused the group to bunch up on one side of the lane. Three wagons rolled into view between the fields of tall hay. Walter saw that Matt Taylor's face broke into a grin almost immediately. The wagons held four or five men each, with the first one driven by a barrel chested man with gray hair.

"Dag Anderson" he greeted the man in the leading wagon "and Tim Bartram what on earth brings you all over here?"

"I'll tell you Matt" the man answered "We heard from Bart's sisters that you have a Royal officer and some men come to help with the bandits. I convinced Tim to bring his boys and lend a hand. We finished our haying, as soon as your is done we can plan on how best to scotch those scallywags."

The middle-aged Dag climbed down from his wagon seat and Matt shook his hand gladly.

"We're glad of the help" Matt told them all "My thanks to you."

Walter watched in something like awe as the men piled out of the wagons with their tools. Briefly he considered asking for one of the big scythes. This was before he felt the awkward weight as he helped unload the wagons. The men went about their work resolutely but with a few smiles and small jokes. Walter found himself paired with a boy who looked far too young for the heavy tool he carried.

When the boy handed him two reels of twine Walter questioned him "My name is Walter, what's yours?"

The boy shook Walter's hand an answered "Tom Bartram, my father is Tim. You probably met him earlier." He gestured towards an older man with Devlin who was worked a row of hay next to them.

The larger number of men meant short work of the haying. Thomas Bartram swung the scythe with a deceptive ease from long practice. The hay piled up almost too quickly for Walter to catch and bundle. By the time they were finished Walter's hand were filled with rope splinters from tying the bales that Tom had cut.

All of the workers piled onto the wagons to ride back to the farmhouse. Walter and Devlin were accorded the rare privilege of riding on the back of the hay wagon. Even with a break for lunch, Walter had not worked this hard or this long at anything that he could recall. He picked the splinters from his hands as his tired feet dangled from the back of the wagon.

"What do you suppose your Captain Naives will think about the additional fifteen men we are bringing with us?" Devlin asked.

"I can't guess" Walter answered "But I can't wait to see his face."

[Alphonse]

Captain Navies luck had gone had gone steadily south as the day wore on. He had kept ahead of his pursuers as far as the old bridge but as it began to come into sight he realized that there was a group of bandits there as well. He doubted that they had any idea he was coming this way but they were ready for him as he approached none the less. He turned his horse away from it's parallel course with the river, hoping to swing wide of the bandits there.

It did him no good though, while he managed to stay ahead of both groups, one of the bandits from the bridge was able to loose an arrow that struck his horse in her left flank. He felt her body shudder with the impact and looked back and down at the arrow firmly lodged there. She did her best and ran on but the wound had slowed her and the bandits gained on them as they all raced away from the river.It wasn't much longer before arrows began to rain down around him, he wasn't surprised in the least as he felt the pain of one that struck him in his low back. He did what he could to hold on but with his legs gone numb as they had it was a futile effort as he slipped from the saddle and fell off.

The horse ran on as the bandits slowed to a stop where he had fell. Victor thought to himself, good perhaps at least she would live. He managed to pull himself up right but could not rise as the arrow wound blazed like a small fire in his low back. Tears filled his eyes as he drew his dagger, he knew that he would not be able to fight them off for any real length of time, if he had thought that he might, he would have instead drawn his sword. He had failed, there would be no hope of any help coming to young Prince Walter and the Taylor family.The only thing he could do now was take his own life, he didn't want to die but knew that it would be best if he did. When faced with enough jackals even a lion may fall prey to them. He had no intention of suffering their taunts and torture, possibly to reveal a fact or clue that might aid them on their attack on the farm stead. With that thought he plunged his bade below his breast plate and into his own heart. As he waivered there on the edge of conciseness,mercifully all went black for him as he watched his own helmet sail through the air as the club of one of the bandits struck him in the back of his head. 

[DonaCatalina]

Supper came and Captain Naives did not return. The men grew restless as the hours dragged on towards dusk. Some lounged against the trees in the kitchen gardens with their pipes and a mug of ale.

Tim Bartram approached Matt Taylor as the sunset touched the clouds with pink. "I left three men with my daughters but I'm uneasy leaving them alone at the farm overnight."
Matt tapped his pipe against his leg thoughtfully. "Would you be agreeable to having them come here?" He asked. Before Master Bartram could answer, Dag Anderson broke into the conversation. "My wife and two youngest boys are home with three of my men" he explained "I told the boys to look after their Ma and the farm; but if I had my druthers, I'd bring them here." The men who were outside gathered around to listen the farmer owners.

Matt frowned and looked at the darkening skyline. "With night coming on its chancy to be outside the walls" he commented "We'll have to send some men along to gather them up while still leaving enough here to defend the farm."
Walter had walked up at the end of this sentence. "Whoever goes will have to ride light and swift. How many men here can ride?" he asked of the group. Every man around the prince held up a hand. Walter sighed and asked "How many men can ride fast and fight from horseback?" Only four hands remained up. "Begging your pardon" Dag interrupted "But who are you, boy, to tell us what we need?" Matt Taylor's face went white, but Walter did not react. Placing a hand on his neighbor's shoulder Matt explained "I have been asked to keep this a secret, but the circumstances have changed. This young man is Prince Walter." This time it was Anderson's time to turn pale. Everyone who stood nearby stepped back several paces.

Walter's face broke into a sad smile at the physical and psychological distance that this statement created. With a shrug he responded "Yes I am Prince Walter but the matter at hand is more important. I and Devlin will go and take the four men with us. The rest can stay here and guard this farm. It's closest to the road and is at more risk." One of his remaining guardsmen stepped forward and added "If you think you are going anywhere without us, your highness, you are very mistaken. It's our lives if anything happens to you." Walter started to protest, but the set of the man's jaw told him that argument would be useless.

"Very well" Walter agreed after some moments "Let us saddle up and head north for the Anderson farm first."

When the men were ready to set off, Edwina came up to Walter's stirrup. "Be careful" she told him "Come back safe with everyone."

Pride and concern warred with each other in her eyes as she watched her brother ride off at Walter's side.

[Alphonse]

Earl turned the body of Captain Navies over and saw that the man had stabbed himself in the heart and was dead,roaring anger completely seized his conscienceness as he began to kick the body in the head. While he did so Franklin scanned off in the distance looking for any signs that the rider may not have been alone. Ned dismounted and stood by as Earl stomped the dead man's head into a bloody pulp. He was waiting for a chance to strip the body of anything of use or of value.

"That's enough Earl!" yelled Franklin as he looked at what the man was doing.

Earl gave a bellow of rage and stormed at the man still on his horse, and screamed at him, "I am tired of you always ordering me around,like you was a captain aboard a ship or something, your not damn it do you hear me!" When he approached close enough Franklin flipped his drawn sword up and into the man's throat, he checked himself in time that it didn't quite pierce the flesh.

In a deadly quiet voice, Franklin told Earl, "your right, I ain't no captain, only a second mate without a ship but even if I was a simple seaman you'll do as I tell you or I will kill you where you stand and that's all the authority that I need, you remember that and you may live to see the sunset."As Earl stood glaring at Franklin, Ned began gathering up the weapons that lay strewn around the body while keeping an eye on the two. Experience had taught him that when Franklin talked like that someone was about to die.

Earl gave a snort of contempt and spun around on his heel and went off to mount back up. Ned had taken everything of even remote value from the body and began to mount up himself. As he did so, Jones, the first mate slowly approached Franklin as his horse glided quietly along side.

"Did he just kill that man?" he asked Franklin.

"No, answered Franklin, he took his own life with a dagger as we approached."

"Tis a shame, from his clothing it is obvious he was a solder and possibly some kind of officer, said Jones, he might have told us much. You should have killed that mad dog for being insubordinate, none the less."

"Hell sir, we are pirates, answered Franklin, if we do not make it back out to sea ere long, we are all liable to hang for mutiny and insubordination ourselves, soon enough. Earl's just abit of a hothead, I can keep him reined in."

"Fair enough, said Jones, it's your call on that, but I got a feeling about him. If you don't kill him yourself, he will end up being the death of you. When that happens, I will kill him myself. All right then back to the bridge with the whole lot of yous, we will gather there and then ride on the farms, in order to scratch up enough supplies to hold us until we can ride out of here and quit this forsaken country for a port in a neighboring land to find ourselves another ship." With that Jones wheeled his horse around and rode off with the others in his wake.

[DonaCatalina]

The trip to the Anderson and Bartram farms was both less eventful and took longer than Walter had anticipated. The families and the other men were reluctant to leave their homes at first. But after some argument they were convinced. Then the packing took some time. Walter was knew that bringing sufficient food for the number of people was important, but he was not prepared for them to insist on bringing every goat, cow and horse also. As his rescue mission turned into a herding expedition, Devlin chided him for his impatience.

"Your Highness" he said to Walter "These animals mean having enough to eat and the means to support themselves in the future. As long as we are able to bring them along, we should."

"You are correct" Walter muttered "I just wish it didn't take so bleeding long to do. I can't help but feel that something will happen and we will all be caught out in the open."

Devlin shrugged and replied "If it does, then it does. But fretting will not hurry things along."

It was well after midnight when they came in sight of the walled compound of the Taylor farm. To Walter's dismay, several lanterns had been strung along its length and a bonfire burned bright inside the gate. He spurred his horse towards the nearest knot of men. Dag Anderson and some of his men stood around the fire.

"You need to put out this fire immediately" Walter shouted with a hint of desperation in his voice "This and all those lanterns do you no good."

Dag's mouth dropped open in surprise but he stood stock still while the rescued people and livestock streamed past.

"What are you going on about now?" Dag asked sarcastically. He still was not satisfied as to the truth of Walter's status.

With a sweep of his arm Walter indicated the lanterns along the wall. "All these lights will merely destroy your night vision and provide targets for these marauders."

One of the guardsmen who had followed Walter added his voice to the discussion. "His highness is correct" he told Dag in deadly earnest "No lights on the walls if a siege is imminent."

Dag appeared to digest this for a moment before he turned to the nearest man. "Pass the word to douse the lanterns." He instructed "No lights outside until after dawn."

Satisfied, Walter nodded to Dag and then started his horse towards the stable.

Since he knew practically nothing of livestock handling, he left it to Devlin and his father to settle in the newcomers. His first order of business was to make a round of the walls. About halfway round he encountered Tim and Thomas Bartram. The older man stopped Walter and told him "I want to thank you for going after my daughters. I have stationed men along the walls to watch. I hope that's to your liking."

A brief moment of panic washed through Walter. On one hand Master Anderson questioned every thing he said, but here on the other hand was Master Bartram looking to him as a military expert. In that moment the young prince most keenly felt the loss of Sir Alfred.  A touch at his elbow brought him back to the present. He turned to see the fair face of Edwina. She said nothing but stood and looked at him expectantly.

With a tone of confidence that he did not really feel, Walter answered "I'm sure you did the best you could. Just make sure that the men get some rest in rotation. It would not do for the bandits to hit us at dawn and find us all exhausted.

"Good thinking that" Tim replied. And with his son Thomas grudgingly in tow, he went to see to the arrangements.

Walter was lost in his thoughts again as he watched the pair vanish into the dark. When Edwina spoke, the unexpected sound startled him.

"Do you expect them to attack at dawn?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know exactly what to expect" Walter answered sadly "I only know that the attacks seem to be getting closer and closer. They may be trying for the mountain pass into Ausastrasia. This would mean passing through Beade and turning south."

[Alphonse]

"One thing I learned about war from Sir Alfred, said Walter, that is the enemy will always try to do the unexpected and gain advantage from it. We will have to allow for every possibility that we can imagine."

"That could end up being anything, spoke Edwina thoughtfully, I have a big imagination."

"Well perhaps we can work that to our advantage, answered Walter. If you were a bandit on horseback in strange and unfamiliar land, what would you do?"

"Unfamiliar,huh? said Edwina, that would make me uncomfortable. Not sure that I would care for that,I would try to get back to what I knew. Being out of my element, I would be worried that the things I thought to be right, might not hold true here."

"Out of the mouth of babes..." said Matt Taylor, as he and Tim Bartram walked up.

"Indeed, replied Walter, it all makes sense if you think about it. Being stranded pirates they are likely feeling as much the hunted as the hunter. I bet as soon as they begin to get better organized that they will look for some way to get back to sea and leave the area, I know I would."

"I see the wisdom in it,answered Tim, what these young folk is saying makes sense. After a short pause he added, something else occurs to me as well, I bet they will be fighting like they was aboard their ship."

"How do you mean?" asked Matt Taylor.

"Well I figure, if your a pirate you don't go around a jumping on every man-o-war you see sailing on the horizon, said Tim. You lay low when a warship comes around and try to sneak off if you can, what you are really looking for is not a fight with a ship that can match you but rather a fat merchant ship, full of valuable freight that can't put up a fight."

"Well I can see the logic in that, I suppose but this ain't the sea,spoke Matt. I don't see how any of that would carry over to what they are liable to do out here in farm country.With a laugh he went on,Lord this has got to be about the craziest war council that I have ever heard tell of."

"I am not so sure I would write it all off so lightly, answered Walter.I fought some of these men,they will not stand and fight when the odds appear to be even, what Tim guessed at, I know first hand to be true. I think you discount all of our ability to make a guess at what these men might do."

"Well begging my pardon, Prince Walter, but honestly what war councils have you stood in on? asked Matt Taylor.We ain't fought a war in nearly a generation, all our heroes are either dead or old men with one foot in the grave."

"Your right, this is the first war council I have been in, such as it is,answered the young Prince.But I have been trained all of my days by men that have been heroes and sat in on war councils for battles that changed the fates of nations. They taught me that heroes are not always great warriors bred to a life of war, but rather men who are scared, as much so as anyone else, who make the effort to fight their fears and face the unknown in order to protect their families and homes. You take away the grand titles and ribbons and gold braids and you'll find those grand heroes and leaders in their great war councils are just people like us,here now, trying to figure out how to stay alive another day or two by out thinking their enemy.And the stories that I have heard told of war councils was that they were often as not, desparate affairs held out in the open as we are now. "

[DonaCatalina]

Franklin let his horse fall behind Earl's as they cut through the woods north of the road. The old pig trail they followed was barely wide enough for them to ride single file in most places. Though Franklin was young to be a second mate, his level headed thinking did not fail him here. He hoped that the old trail led to one of the more isolated farms where they could scrounge some food and supplies. But in getting there he was not about to leave his back to Earl. The mad-dog gunner had often proved his worth aboard ship, but he was too unpredictable by far. There were no men that Franklin had ever heard call Earl their friend. The gunner was no great shakes to look at either. He kept his head and face shaved clean so his web work of scars was visible across his head and face. Along the right side of his face, a cannon misfire had destroyed the ear and left a blue grey tattoo of powder burns. From his left ear dangled a single earring that he called gold. In the last few days it had taken on a distinctly green hue. Franklin could afford to chuckle to himself about it, but he dared make to comment to the gunner. As he brushed aside yet another prickly tree branch, the second mate wondered how on earth he would keep this motley group alive long enough to return to the sea.

The morning sun was not yet over the horizon when they approached the end of the trees. The weak light showed the landscape in shades of gray. Jones, Dorsett and Martin the blackamoor drew their horses up beside the Second Mate where he had stopped just inside the tree line. Earl had ridden boldly out into the clearing. A cluster of buildings was just visible no more than a mile from where the men stood. Strain his eyes though he might, Franklin could discern no movement.

"Jones" he he quietly "Does that place look awfully deserted to you?"

"Aye, it does at that" was the equally quiet reply.

Earl continued on without a backward glance. After a moment Franklin said "We might as well go on and see if there is anyone."

It took quite awhile to cover the distance but each step brought the scene more clearly into view. Long before the reached the walls they could see the house was shuttered and barred as well as the gate. Earl and Martin scrambled up the rough timber wall. This type of barrier was no obstacle to men who were accustomed to climbing a ships rigging in the teeth of the wind. When they got the gate open, Franklin and Jones brought the horses inside. The gunner slammed one of the house's stout iron locks in disgust before he went off to search the barn. The men split up and searched all the open barns and sheds. The second mate managed to get the lid off the well and drew water for the horses in addition to filling his waterskin. While he was busy with this, Earl stalked up and slammed a bundle onto the ground. The soft white substance within landed with a moist slap and leaked onto the bare ground.

"There is naught to be had here but some hay and overripe cheese" the gunner bellowed at Franklin "We should have followed the tracks on the road. All the food has gone with those lubbers to the south"

"Mebbeso" he replied "But it will take a hard fight to wrest it for ourselves. That was a powerful lot of tracks heading south; maybe too many men for us to take."

[Alphonse]

Dawn broke upon the Taylor farm much as any other day but the place was more crowded then it had ever been. Another thing that was differant on this day was there was no work to be done, other then the absolute essentials, feeding the animals and cooking was all. It had been decided that it would be best for everyone who had gathered here to stay together as much as was possible until Captain Navies returned with the men he had promiced to bring.

Mean while well to the south a patrol riding along a road not far from town, came upon a wounded horse.Sargent Smyth hopped down from his horse to examine the beast,she had taken an arrow to the flank. Lt. Hawkins rode up along side and asked the man, "what do you make of it,Sargent?"

"Well sir, answered Smyth, she's been wounded some time now and she is fitted out in military style tack and harness. I looked in her saddle bag and found these letters. I couldn't tell much from them but they look to be important possibly even some kind of orders." As he handed them over to the officer.

"Hmm? said Hawkins as he began to read them, this looks to be written for an officer of the Kings own Guard a Captain Navies, charging him with free pass regardless of the circumstance as he is charged with the safety of Prince Walter and appears to be signed in the King's own hand.Do you realize what this means, Sargent?"

"No sir, but I figure it must be grave as the horse of the Kings guardsmen is found wounded and abandoned along the road."

"It means that Prince Walter is at risk, possibly even dead of captured. You take three men and ride into town  with word of what we have found, I will take the rest of the men and begin scouting along the road to see what we can find. I will leave a man at the old bridge with word of where we head after that."

Franklin turned to Jones and asked,"well then what will it be?"

"We ride for the pass and quit this country while the getting is good" answered Jones.

"Good I was praying that you'd say that, I got a feeling that we have over stayed our welcome here", spoke Franklin. "What will we do for food ?" he asked.

"We will live off the meager rations that we have, take the cheese there with us and hunt when and if we can. Tis better to be alive and hungry, rather then full and dead."

"Aye it is, answered Franklin. I think this easy living here on the farm land has made us a bit too soft, a bit of a fast is just the sort of thing that we be needing as well as a firm fix on getting back to the sea where we belong, to see us right again."

"Indeed, your a wise man and it has made it a privilege and an honor to have served with you, said Jones. Making a virtue out of necessity is the very heart of what we do. Besides these landlubbers has circled their wagons so to speak and if I haven't missed my mark, guess that it would be too hard a fight to take what we need from them. We ride on and will only fight if we must."

[DonaCatalina]

After making it back to the cover of the forest, Franklin started a fire with some twigs while the others gathered up the deadfall for firewood. All of the others, that is, except Earl. He paced around the tiny clearing while the second mate sat down to whittle some sticks into usable skewers. Two scrawny rabbits and a pound of cheese would barely make a meal for two men, much less five of them. The gunner's pacing set Franklin's nerves on edge but he held his silence out of respect for the other man's uncertain temper.

"I think we should have made a try for one of the other farms" Earl snarled "They can't all have locked up and gone away."

"Maybe so and maybe not" Franklin replied with a tired sigh "But like as not they are for now. 'Tis no use fretting over what cannot be helped."

For a moment he thought Earl would say more but they were interrupted by Jones's return. He had been running to judge by the way he gasped for air.

"Soldiers on the road" he wheezed "Looked to be headed for the village."

He picked up a water jug from the ground and chugged several swallows. The second mate was on his feet in a second.

"How many did you see?" he asked in alarm. Jones wiped his mouth with his sleeve before he answered "Seven, maybe as many as twelve. I couldn't rightly see as I ducked under a fallen tree to keep from being seen."

Franklin scratched his chin thoughtfully. He looked back at Jones and replied "If they was looking for us, they would be looking at the farms first." He raised an eyebrow at Earl and added "It was a good job that we didn't hang about that farm long or we might be on the gallows on the morrow."

Martin and Dorsett returned just in time to hear the end of this conversation.
"What do you mean?" they asked almost in unison.

The second mate pointed to the rabbits near the fire. "What this means is that we eat and lay low until dark. That old geezer we found said it was possible to walk down that stream and end up at the bridge south of the village. In the dark we may be able to slip by these soldiers and those blasted farmers."

The others nodded in agreement. All of the others, that is, except Earl again.

Once their inadequate meal was consumed they threw dirt on the fire to put it out. The lack of ale and grog now gnawed on their tempers more than the lack of food. Some tried to sleep on the carpet of old leaves. But to all it seemed an eternity before Franklin deemed it dark enough for them to move.

The quarter moon made just enough light for the white gravel of the road to show up as a silver ribbon against the charcoal gray grass. They found the edge of the stream easily enough and walked their horses out into the middle. The canopy of leaves arched over them and shut out even the moon's feeble beams. They stumbled occasionally on wet rocks that they felt more than saw.

Jones edged his way over to Franklin. After a few cautious minutes he whispered "I am beginning to have a bad feeling about this."

Franklin half slid as the creek shifted the left and dropped several inches. "I'm beginning to have a bad feeling about this myself." He replied worriedly.

A skittering noise and a splash made them both turn towards the sound. Only a hint of movement was visible in the dark. Earl came up spluttering and cursing. "I'll be lucky if I don't break my leg doing this." He snarled to the group in general.

The creek bed became steadily steeper from that point on. The part that caused Franklin to worry was the action of the horses. It became almost impossible to drag them forward along the course of the stream. He heard Dorsett's voice some distance in front of him in a steady flow of profanity after he fell and scraped his shins. Jones slowed and fell behind as they continued to feel their way. Franklin had been so concerned with the slope of the creek that he only then realized that the water was deeper. Cold water swirled around his thighs when he reached the place where Dorsett had fallen earlier.

"Rough water this is" Jones mumbled in complaint. The second mate stopped to catch his breath and the force of the water made him stagger slightly.

"I think we need to turn back. This would be treacherous to navigate in daylight much less in the dark" Franklin said to Jones. Before they could turn their horses a yell shattered the night. A lot of splashing preceded another yell. Both men tried to wade towards the continued yelling and splashing when a voice let out a blood curdling scream. A loud thump and a louder distant splash froze their blood in their veins.

"Help me" Earl cried out weakly "Please God help me"

Franklin dropped his horse's reins and practically crawled to the sound of Earl's voice.

He found the man in deep water clinging to a projecting rock for dear life. Jones stumbled up and between the two of them they pulled Earl back to his feet.

"My ankle" he whimpered "I think it's sprained." Martin stumbled along behind with the horses and the worked their way to the edge of the water. Using tree roots for a ladder, they climbed up the embankment. The horses managed to climb the bank after a couple of false starts. Once out of the water they collapsed onto the dirt.

Franklin coughed a couple of times before he asked "Where is Dorsett?"
When he received no answer he sat up and asked again "I said, where is Dorsett?"
"Gone over the edge" Earl answered in a pained voice "That old man gave us bad information. This creek doesn't lead to the bridge. It leads to a god cursed falls."

Franklin sank back again as the meaning of what he had heard became clear.