Tak

The Borderlands - Part 2

     The soldiers were riding in single file, their wary eyes fixed on the sharp and deadly weapon and on the crossbow held by the homesteader's wife. No longer pointed at them, it was true, but able to be brought back into aim in a moment if she sensed anything was wrong. The soldiers were wearing tough slennhide breastplates which would probably stop a crossbow bolt, but there was always a chance that a lucky shot would find a major artery in an arm or a leg. They glanced at a man in the centre of the column, therefore, as if expecting him to defend them, and that drew the attention of Tak's father to the man.

     He wasn't a soldier. He was wide about the waist and dressed in gaudy robes and a tall hat. He had no visible weapon, but he carried himself with arrogance and authority as if he was a king out among his subjects. Another homesteader, one who'd never been anything other than a farmer, might have thought him to be a nobleman, travelling abroad for some reason, but Tak's father had seen such men before, from his days in military service, and he felt his guts tighten with fear. Wizard! What was one of them doing way out here?

     The wizard spared him only a disinterested glance, though, as the seven riders drew up in a line in front of him and dismounted. Most of his attention was directed on the house, where two pairs of bright blue eyes were peering at him over the bottom edge of the window.

     "Welcome, sirs," said Tak's father, allowing a measured, calculating gaze to pass from one of the visiting soldiers to another. "Always a pleasure to meet fellow servicemen. It's growing late. Will you accept our hospitality for this night? A warm meal and a dry bed. It would give me great pleasure to hear what's happened in the world since I discharged myself to marry."

     The soldiers' expressions didn't change. If they were impressed by the revelation that this was a fighting man, or even cared, they didn't show it.

     "We accept your hospitality with gratitude," said one of the soldiers. A decurion by his rank insignia. "We have ridden far and have far still to go."

     He signaled to his men to dismount and Tak ran from the house to take the horses to the barn where they had a store of hay to see their own horses through the winter. The soldiers then followed Tak's father back to the cabin, but the wizard paused for a while, staring thoughtfully at the boy's departing back. His face was almost hidden beneath a great bushy grey beard, and the wide, drooping rim of his hat was pulled low over his eyes, but someone standing close to him might have seen an expression of surprise and sudden interest pass across his features. He stared until the boy passed out of sight into the barn, then followed the soldiers to the cabin.

     Tak's mother had hidden the crossbow out of sight and was now trying to pretend it had never existed as she welcomed her guests. She glanced at her husband, then glanced hurriedly away before he could see the fear in her eyes. If the soldiers did decide to help themselves to her and her daughter, there would be nothing Tak's father could do about it. Any attempt at resistance against so many men would be futile, and if he injured or, Gods forbid, killed one of the visiting soldiers, the whole family would be put to the sword in retribution.

     Tak's mother told her daughter to stay out of sight as much as possible, therefore, and to keep her long, golden hair, her most beautiful feature, tucked away under a small, cotton cap she gave her to wear. Either the ploy worked or the soldiers weren't in the mood for that sort of thing because neither female was molested, either by the soldiers or the wizard.

     Tak was sent back out into the fields for another half hour of hoeing, and it was full dark before he plodded wearily back to the cabin. The soldiers had already eaten, having hungrily devoured enough to keep the homesteading family going for a week, but it was worth it as they were now relaxing lazily on the hard packed earth floor, their backs against the log walls, and would soon be asleep.