Angelsson

Chapter: III

When we got to the river, I noticed a path start to form along the river. The men turned onto the path and headed up the river, which was northwest. The men seemed to know where they were going, because they didn't stop for anything, except for the time when my buck slid off the wagon and fell onto the path. But that was the only time they ever stopped.

The path was a dirt path, with few pieces of grass sticking out of it. There was almost no rocks in it, but there was the occasional pot hole. The side of the path had large grass and cattails growing along it. I noticed bloodstains on the side of the path, but as it seemed, the soldiers didn't notice it.

There also was the occasional villager collecting water on the other side of the river. They barely noticed us, but when they did, the smiled, waved, and continued on with their business. When they saw me at the rear though, their smiles fell, and they lowered their hand. Sometimes they would attempt to be nice, but it was a small one.

Soon, a bridge came into sight. It was a regular stone bridge, with moss growing all over it. There was a villager fishing over the side of it, and when he saw us, he brought up his line, gathered his catchings, and headed toward the opposite side of the bank. He seemed to be in a hurry for some reason.

When we got over the bridge, the path turned into cobbles. A woman was waiting patiently at the end of the bridge, looking at the men as if she were searching for a piece of gold. She finally froze, smiled, and ran to a soldier. He opened his arms, embraced her, and then started to talk to her. I noticed that the man was the same man who I broke his hand.

"I could have made her more worried..." I muttered under my breath.

The woman suddenly gasped, looked at me, back at the soldier, and then began to walk toward me. I sensed that she was probably going to slap me, because I broke the man's hand, but she actually said something surprising to me.

"Are you alone?"

I was almost stunned, but since I deal with this question a lot, I just said, "No."

The woman looked at me as if she knew I was lying. "Really?"

I sighed, and said, "Yes, I'm alone. Don't tell anyone though."

She nodded, then said, "Where is the buck of yours?"

I started to walk over to the buck, when I noticed that the soldiers were untying it.

"Hey, Hey, Hey! What are you doing?" I asked them as I rushed over.

The person that looked like the person in charge rode over to me and said, "We made it to Eqvahall, so the payment is done."

I frowned, and said, "I don't see a single house."

The person in charge turned around, and pointed to a stream of smoke floating into the air. I then noticed that there were more people coming to the bridge.

"Oh...ok..." was all I managed to say.

The buck slid off the wagon, and thumped against the ground. I slowly walked over to it, and I picked up its back legs. I began to drag it when I remember the woman wanted to see it. I turned around, and dragged it to the woman. She inspected it, and then nodded when she was done.

"It might be 20 pieces...but if you include the antlers, then maybe 25..." she said.

I was almost tempted to include the antlers, but I needed them.

"No antlers." I said, glaring at the woman.

"Ok, then 20 pieces." She said.

"Are you the butcher or something? Because you don't have any right to buy my meat right off the bat." I said, putting my hands on my hips.

"I am the butcher." She said calmly.

I stared at her, then said, "Fine. But I keep the antlers."

She smiled, then said, "Good. The house is not too far. Just look for the house that has a cow head over the door."

I nodded, then started to drag the buck toward the town. The group of solders started off toward the town, ignoring me fully. I ignored them in return. The woman passed me, but before she could get far, I called to her. She stopped, looked over her shoulder, and then started to walk back to me.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Are you that soldier's wife or something?"

She smiled then said, "Yes. Lance is quite handsome, don't you think?"

"Uh...sure. You can go. I don't need you anymore."

She nodded then started to walk away. When she was out of sight, I began to drag the buck into town. The people there were friendly, not very scared of me, but mothers ushered their kids away from me if they got to close. I appreciated that greatly. Little kids were annoying. Although, I was one once.

When I got to the town center, I looked around. I didn't see the house until I saw the woman step out of a tall, almost cheery place. I then began to drag the buck over to her. She noticed me when I was maybe a few meters away from her. She nodded toward me, then ran into the house. I stopped in front of the house, and waited for the woman to come out. When she did, she had a saw with her. I took it from her, then I began to saw the antlers off. Meanwhile, she cut the head off.

When I finished cutting the antlers off, I put the head in front of the door step. Almost as if on cue, the woman stepped out.

"Hey, can I have the hide?" I asked the woman.

She picked up the head, then said, "Sure. But first, I need your name. I have a rack that I put out on the morning with all the hides from previous days."

I hesitated, then said, "James. James Angelsson."