Cheilin Saga ~ 04 The Controllers' work begins…
The days passed swiftly, following the same set routine. Aldor diligently followed their example, proving to be a quick learner. As best he could, he adopted their methods of mind control, how they regulated their body functions - breathing - temperature - and more advanced techniques slowing their respiration until to the uninitiated they might appear to be dead. They could also speed the flow of blood to increase the quantity of oxygen reaching their lungs, enabling them to produce incredible bursts of speed, for both action and reaction, over short periods of time. He knew that he might come to emulate them in time, but it was early days. Orden was silent, aware that his presence might be detected by Lomax.
Nearing the end of the second week they came down, from the mountains, onto a broad open plain covered in wide swathes of waist-high grassland that stretched out in all directions as far as the eye could see. Only the foothills stubbornly resisted their spread; that and the patchwork of hard-won land farmed by the local inhabitants. For most of that first day, they followed the path of the sun, until they came upon a well-used farm track. Contrary to previous practice, they turned onto it.
"We will be visiting several local farms
to collect winter supplies, "Meillo explained.
They had been on the road for a quarter-hour when they heard the sound of approaching horses. They melted into the grasslands on either side of the track. A dozen armed horsemen passed at a gallop also traveling toward the sun. When they had passed, the Carnivores turned in the opposite direction, with the sun at their backs.
"Are we not following them, to give aid
to your friends if it proves necessary?" Aldor asked in amazement.
"It is not our concern," Lomax
replied.
"That is ridiculous!" Aldor
exploded, "the Tylywoch are small in numbers, so you will need all the
friends you can muster. Who are the
people you are most likely to attract as friends? The people who inhabit these plains,"
he said no more but ran towards the sun, in pursuit.
The Bears looked askance of Lomax, he was
their charge, if anything happened to him…
Lomax gave a curt nod and the Bears were off in pursuit. By the time Aldor approached the farm, Lomax
and the Carnivores were right there beside him. Three farm workers were steadfastly
defending themselves with farm implements.
Two had already been struck down.
Women and children were being herded from the farmhouse and buildings,
and lined up against the plain side of the lapboard barn.
"Aaargh!" Aldor yelled as he ran
into the fray to distract the attackers.
The farmworkers, he could see, stood little chance against swordsmen. Even as they turned to assess the threat,
Aldor cut one down, cutting another almost in two. Three men ran at him, swords raised. As he engaged them he heard the clash of
steel over to his right, 'that would be
Lomax' he thought. A quick glance
showed him Lomax forcing two men onto the back foot. Then arrows flew past him like angry insects
and two of his three opponents fell.
Looking around, he realized the fight was almost over. He clubbed his remaining opponent over the
head with the flat of his sword, and all the others were dead or dying. The farmhands ran to the women and
children, creating a protective cordon around them. Aldor and Lomax sheathed their swords and
the others relaxed.
"We are here to collect a wagon of grain
and beans," said Lomax fixing the farmer with a smile. "Hopefully our associates will have
left a wagon with you when they paid for the goods, possibly two or three days
ago," he extended the smile and his hand towards the farmer. Seeing the man glance nervously towards the
corpses, he added "Wolves tidy up this mess." They borrowed several hand carts and began
loading bodies.
"No no, that one was my son in law,"
the farmer said. A young woman roused
from her shock by her father's words ran to the body of her husband, and they
carried him into the house.
"This one is not dead;" Aldor said
“I think we might interrogate him or, follow him back to his lair."
"Ah, I thought you had become a little
squeamish," said Lomax.
"Leave him with the bodies, and we will do just
that. Follow him home Wolves let
us know where and how many."
The farmer seemed to come alive at the
suggestion that there might be others; suddenly his extended family became very
anxious. "They will return and kill
us all when you are gone," he wailed.
"Had we not intervened, do you think they
would have allowed you to live?" Aldor said. "They would have killed the very young
and the very old, yourself included, the women would have been abused and the
survivors shackled and driven off like cattle to the slave markets of
Kettar. But, they will not do so if we
kill them first! This we will do if you
swear allegiance to the 13th Clan, and request its protection."
"We will do anything you ask, the clans
have always refused us protection but, I have not heard of this 13th
Clan," said the farmer.
"What is your name," Aldor asked.
"Eldred sir," the farmer replied.
"Eldred, all those not of the twelve are
invited to join the 13th Clan.
In time, we will be the most powerful force in the Empire. Take the weapons we have liberated today and
hide them, they will be required to arm the Cheilin defence force."
"What will this defence force want from
us in return," Eldred asked, ever mindful that nothing is free.
"You will release one man in five, from
your workforce, to be trained and to fight with the force for two years, then
when he returns you will send others in their place, and so on until all your
men are trained," said Aldor.
"Is that all?" Eldred's surprise was
evident.
"In addition, you will feed your
candidate and provide a further 1/10th share of food to pay for his
training. When your men return, they
will be responsible for the defence of your lands and people. They will be responsible for summoning the
Force in case of emergency, and if needed, would be expected to rally at the
muster point to defend the Empire against interlopers. The Force will be responsible for the
defence of an area of twenty-five miles in diameter, for as long as you abide
by our agreement."
"It is almost time for supper, won't you
join us?" a young woman asked.
"Tilla is my youngest daughter, an
excellent cook," Eldred explained invitingly.
Lomax was on the point of declining. It had always been Tylywoch policy not to
fraternize with the common people.
"That is most gracious of you, we would
be delighted" said Aldor, "Might we be allowed to contribute a little
something from our supplies?"
Tilla looked at her father, then spoke
out. "We are very low on
salt," she said hesitantly, a shy smile dimpling her cheeks.
Both Aldor and Lomax produced their small
pouches of salt, pouring half their contents into a bowl that was hastily
produced from nowhere. The Tigers and
the Bears followed suit.
"You are too generous," Eldred
protested, "since these animals have been blocking the roads we have not
been able to obtain supplies or send our produce to the Clan cities within the
jurisdiction of the 10th 11th & 12th Clans."
"There are marauding bands of a hundred
or more preying on the local rural population.
They usually take our produce, but leave us sufficient to live on,"
said Tilla.
"They have never before threatened our
women and children, or our lives," said Eldred, "but, recently they
have become more angry and aggressive…"
"Do you know where they are from and the
cause of their discontent?" Aldor asked.
"I know they were evicted from the
fringes of the 9th and 10th Clans for nonpayment of
Tithes. It has been a very hard year,
very dry. The rivers dried up early and
their rice crops failed," Eldred explained.
"They were certainly not swordsmen,"
said Lomax "they must be getting desperate if they are attacking the farms
that have been sustaining them."
Copyright
Len Morgan
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