vengeance

chapter 4

Chapter 4

  Brandon woke with a hangover and darkness was gathering. His head was pounding but at least the common room was quiet for now. He sat where he woke that afternoon on a bench in the corner of the common room. He most likely passed out drunk the night before. He was surrounded by drained flagons of ale and stout , Brandon was always fond of Celtic stout. Pea-brain and Potbelly had been drinking earlier when Brandon woke first to stumble outside for a piss. It wasn’t their real names or even their real nicknames but Brandon called them that because he had forgotten their real names.

  Pea-brain was tall and thin. He wore rusted mail and a ridiculous pointed leather cap. He was fond of his hand-axe and was most always resting his right hand on the axe head as it hung from his belt. This meant he always was quick to draw it. Pea-brain thought he was clever , always making deals with people, it was because of this Brandon assumed he was stupid. In reality he had the brain power of an ox, but that meant Potbelly had the brainpower of a stone.

   Unlike Pea-brain , Potbelly was short and bald. He had a bushy grey-black beard that was always full of crumbs and droplets of beer. His arms were thick like a blacksmith’s but Brandon always suspected he was too stupid to shape a blade. He did however favour a blade , a huge great sword five feet long and three inches wide. Brandon thought he used it to compensate for the short reach of his arms. 

   He had been travelling with both men for nearly three months now but Brandon knew neither were his friend. They would rob him and kill him at the first opportunity. For some reason Brandon didn’t mind , it added an extra trill to their travels but he still made sure he drank the same amount as them so he would not have to fight a sober man while stone drunk. He checked his coin purse , it seemed lighter than when he last checked but most likely he spent it all while drunk the night before. He began to check his other possessions.

  His heavy falchion was still sheathed on his left hip , although no one was like to steal that. It was a finely forged made by master smiths in the highlands but it was purposely fashioned to look crude and cruel. His dirk and skinning knife were both of more value. Both of their blades were decorated in ornate carvings of the sun and a lion and each had a sizeable diamond as the pommel. Despite all their value they weren’t his most prized possession, that title went to his bow.

  It was a double curved longbow made of stained black wood. The leather grip was held in place with bands of gold inlaid with tiny shards of jet. Strange glyphs inlaid with gold leaf lined the curves in words Brandon couldn’t read. At either end was a gold cap that protected where the bowstring  met wood , each was topped with a single pointed piece of coal black jet.

  He didn’t have to check if his bow was still there because he could feel the hard string against his chest even through his studded leather jerkin. He could feel the wood between his back and the stone wall. Brandon had grown used to sleeping while constricted by his bow. The uncomfortable sleeping was much better than having it stolen. He loved that bow more than words could describe. He loved it more than he loved any person. Sometimes when he was drunk, tired or scared he felt as if it was speaking to him. It spoke with a warm women’s voice like that of the mother he could  barely remember. 

  Brandon grew bored of listening to pea brain and potbelly rambling on about past exploits so he put up his hand and called for a drink. The serving wench that brought it couldn’t have been more than sixteen. She was tall with long brown hair and small breasts. She sat the foaming tankard down on the table and went to walk off but Brandon pulled her down onto his lap. Not to his surprise she wasn’t amused. She kicked and screamed and squirmed to break free of Brandon’s playful embrace. The whole common room stared in silence except Pea-brain and Potbelly who were roaring with laughter. The serving wench slapped him so hard it made his head spin and left his cheek burning. She took her chance and ran off to the owners quarters.