Paladin - the path begins

Chapter 4

Tar'vid's dreams were troubled, sleep coming infrequently to him as he re-adjusted his sword belt once again, placing his bag under his head roughly. He was starting to drift off when he heard footsteps on the stone outside, jumping up quickly he peered around the doorway of the storeroom. Five men had taken up residence in the centre of the tower now and were starting to build a fire.

"Oi Jacob, fetch me a torch would you" shouted a large man, waving over a thin man Tar'vid assumed was Jacob.

Tar'vid continued to watch as the other men hauled chests and sacks into the tower, dumping them a safe distance from the fire.

"Good haul today eh Sam?" Jacob said with relish to the large man.

"Yeah, but business is starting to dry up" Sam replied glumly, poking the freshly burning fire with a stick.

The other men had clearly finished unloading whatever they had looted and sat beside the fire as Jacob set up a spit, sliding a pig carcas over it without much effort. He heard wailing from somewhere outside the tower and the men looked up irritated.

"Benny, shut her up" Sam ordered, frustratedly pointing outside the tower.

"Why me?" Benny replied uncomfortably.

"'Cause otherwise I'll give you a firm thrashing" shouted Sam, shaking his fist angrily.

Tar'vid took the opportunity to slip away from the storeroom, skirting round the crumbling tower walls and keeping out of the moonlight, his heart was pounding now. He'd practised fighting all his life, but the prospect of actual combat was terrifying him, realising how truly sheltered he'd been. He continued to circle the tower until he spotted a waggon in the darkness, it's canvas covering was torn in several places and the wheel spokes damaged, there were no horses in sight though.

"Fine, I'm going" he heard Benny say sulkily.

Tar'vid heard heavy footsteps as Benny stomped across the floor angrily.

"Do it now Benny, Bastard... I'll cut his damned throat, the fat bastard" Benny mumbled, walking over to the waggon.

Tar'vid stalked closer to the waggon as Benny pulled a woman half naked and screaming from the waggon.

"I've told you before you stupid bitch, shut up" Benny shouted at her, emphasising the last words by striking her across the face, knocking her to the ground. The woman stared up at Benny, her hands and feet bound, she was slender and her bloody face glistened in the moonlight. Tar'vid turned his attention to Benny, he was only young, perhaps his own age, he was of a slender build and carried his axe with the poise of someone that could only intimidate with it. Tar'vid drew his blade slowly, keeping the weapon steady so as not to rasp it on the sheath. He stooped low and came forward carefully, avoiding the fallen brush and stone, though the woman's crying masked any noise he might have made.

"Be quiet!" Benny shouted at her angrily, pulling back his arm to strike her again.

Tar'vid had gotten close enough now and his nerves were gone, replaced with the calm of battle that Tar'son had instilled in him through his years of training. He drove the blade through Benny's neck, the blade tip bursting out through the man's eye socket. Tar'vid heard him gurgle as blood poured from the fatal wound. The woman was shrieking in terror now and he heard one of the men shouting Benny's name angrily. Tar'vid slid the blade free of Benny's corpse, allowing it to fall away. He put his finger to his lips and punched Benny's body in the chest, it made a sickening crunching noise.

"Gods be damned Benny, not so hard!" he heard Jacob say as he came sauntering round the corner.

Jacob mouthed something silently as he saw Tar'vid standing beside Benny's bloody body. Tar'vid thought quickly, and without missing a heartbeat he stooped quickly to grab Benny's fallen axe, throwing it impossibly fast it struck Jacob in the forehead, nearly splitting the man's skull in half. Jacob fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, blood gushing from the axe wound that had split his skull.