Kingdom's Fall

Chapter 16, Part 1

Gray was barely done stomping the road from his boots before someone approached him. That someone recognised him wasn't unexpected; Heath's Cross was the closest town to the Pinch, the border crossing between the Kingdom and Carelia, and the garrison he commanded had depended on the townsfolk for all of their supplies. That the man rushed out to meet him, though, was a surprise. The relationship between the locals and the soldiers had always been one of distant, brittle politeness. The soldiers found it embarrassing to accept that the garrison depended almost entirely on what civilians provided for them. The townsfolk accepted the necessity of a martial buffer that afforded protection against outright invasion from the south, but were naturally wary of an established force of trained, armed, and - worst of all - bored men camped just under an hour's ride from the town's border.

He and Cuan had waited until night fell to leave Alyn, sneaking out into a darkness that felt heavy with the rumour of assassins. No-one challenged them, or even acknowledged them: what few people were out on the streets were subdued and mute, wrapped up in their own affairs. The king's death lay velvet-black across the capital, and before that shock could fade they had made good their escape. They travelled west, inland, and then south on the trade road. The further they got the more confident Gray became. At first they had moved on foot, and only at night. By the time they reached Greenhaugh, the first large town out of Alyn, they were already moving by day. When they left, Gray succumbed to the need for haste and bought horses to ride the rest of the way. They had been in sight of Heath's Cross when his mount had started limping. Gray, not keen on putting his face anywhere near the injured hoof, decided to walk the rest of the way. The skies obliged their change of pace by opening up and raining on them for the remainder.

"Ho, there! Captain!" The man hailed Gray cheerily enough, but there was something forced about it. Gray lifted a hand to acknowledge him, and stopped to let the man come to him. There was no-one else on the street, but he could feel the pressure of eyes on him. People were watching, waiting to see what he would do.

"I'm sorry, friend," Gray said, "You know me, but I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"Cooper, sir," the man said. He crouched as he spoke, genuflecting almost by reflex as he came within a sword's reach of Gray. "I'm sorry sir, but we weren't expecting you."

"Why would you have reason to?" Gray could feel his hackles rising in reaction to the confusion. He felt exposed standing out on the street, and cursed himself for not taking a slower approach into town. That there had been no reason to felt like no excuse at all. Hindsight was an unforgiving point of view, and it made him feel nervous and suspicious. "What's going on here?"

"The other captain, sir. He's already been for the payment."

"The other captain?"

"Yes, sir." The man ducked his head again, and Gray half-expected him to tug his forelock along with it.

"What was his name, Cooper?"

"His name, sir? I don't know. But he said you had left him in charge."

"He's a tall man? Black hair? Got a sneer on him could turn milk?" Cooper grinned nervously, too afraid to confirm it. He held up his hands, palms forward to the man. "It's okay. I know the man you're talking about." Ronan. He'd come south as Gray had ordered, but it seemed that had been the limit of his interest in following them. The idea of forcing money from the villagers and calling it protection was one that Gray had squashed plenty of times in the past. Faced with the choice of a thankless duty or the life of a bandit, Ronan had taken the easy path. Gray wondered if he had given the former even a second's thought. "How often does he come here to collect?"

"Every couple of days, give or take."

"Mostly take, I'll bet," Gray said.

Cooper chuckled. "It can't be helped, sir."