Since she was a child Risa had prided herself on noticing small but important details. It was a skill she believed had once saved her and her family from a lynch mob intent on killing some more of the people they referred to as water rats, the river gypsies that Risa knew were her true people. It was the talent that had allowed her to notice when the barking dogs suddenly fell silent giving her and her family just enough time to flee into a skiff mere seconds before the mob overran their river-bank settlement. And, it was ultimately why she knew now without a doubt that they were royally screwed.
You are so full of it.
Not now! She sent every scrap of frustration and fear to whatever part of her mind was responsible for the voices and hoped it received the message. I need to think.
The woman holding the spear pointed at her chest regarded her with a look that Risa could only describe as hunger, the way Risa imagined a starving woman might regard a steak, as if wondering how best to carve it so that she could eat it soon.
“Easy now,” said Risa. “No need for all this.” She risked a quick glance at her men. None had given an inch of ground, but the uneasiness and fear in their expressions mirrored her own.
The problem, she knew, was that they were outnumbered and badly outmatched. The soldiers had kit of excellent quality, but well used. Elbows, cuffs and collars were worn, hauberk’s rusty and reeking with the stench of iron and sweat. Their uniforms were not regulation but hand-dyed fabric in a similar but not quite identical shade of dark indigo. Their boots were scuffed, and some had grazed patches that she knew from experience would take many hours of buffing to bring back to regulation standard. Their mounts appeared rested and well fed, and strangely calm despite the smoke and the smell of blood that they must certainly be aware of. These were soldiers who were no stranger to skirmishing. A cohort of soldiers living rough but not traveling far enough to exhaust their mounts. Horses behaving calmly when they should be unsettled and snorting, almost as if they were familiar with the area. If this had been a cohort of Severnhelm mounted infantry, Risa would have thought little of them other than that they must be well and truly ready to return to barracks. But they weren't Severnhelm mounted infantry. Risa knew many of the female soldiers by name and most of the rest by name and reputation. There were several women here she'd never seen before. Where did they come from? In a close-knit community like theirs, there was simply no place for an entire cohort to appear from whole cloth. That and the fact that none of the horses in Severnhelm’s stables were this well behaved. So were they really Devilsbluff dogs and if so, what were they doing so far from home?
Other than raping, murdering and burning down villages?
“Weapons down, you’ll all be spared. Move even an inch and I’ll have you cored and spitted.” The voice came from the back of the group.
“Boss?” Python’s voice had an edge nearly as sharp as the point of the spear that still hovered in front of Risa’s chest.
“Easy,” she said. “Easy.” She willed her men to patience. She just needed to think it through.
You should have run.
Easy for you to say, she thought. Taking a deep breath she said, “You have us at a bit of a disadvantage.” As she scanned the soldiers’ faces, she saw an array of emotions. On one face, boredom. On another, curiosity. Yet another seemed overly excited and all she could think was that he was keen to get the stabbing over and done with. The longer she looked at them, the harder it was to pretend that this was not the band responsible for the slaughter up and down the valley. It had to be them.
“Your weapons,” he said again. The man nodded towards two of the soldiers who then dismounted and gave their reins to one of the others who remained in the saddle. They started moving towards her.
Risa tried on her best smile and theatrically began to lower her sword.
“Boss?” Python said again.
“Who are you? You’re not from Dell,” Risa said, still moving as slowly as she could. “You lot have been busy. You’ve left behind quite a mess.”
The man snorted. “You could say that.” He straightened in his saddle. “You lot don’t give us trouble and all will be well.”
“So you can tidy up?” Risa forced her smiled to widen. “I’m sure you’ve had a big day.” Risa saw Sweetlip turn his head towards the smoking ruin of the cottage. Was there an exit through it? He seemed to be indicating there might be, though it hardly seemed possible through the coals, beams and rubble. “We’d hate to make it worse for you.” Risa had the point of her sword resting near the ground, her arm by her side. “But frankly we’re helpless here, as you can see. And with you lot a-horse we’d have no chance.” She gestured slowly with her other arm. “And really, where could we run anyway?”
The river.
Unless we cross the river… Was it possible to make it that far? They’d have to make it across the rice paddies then through the trees, and to get there they’d have to find a way through the cottage. Despite the grim chance of success,an ember of hope began to kindle within her. “But,” Risa went on, still frantically running the scenario through her mind, “you have to know that we’d take several of you with us.”
The approaching men had spears in hand and were nearly on her.
Their leader shrugged, apparently not concerned with losses or unconvinced that there would be any. “We’ll take our chances. Take them,” he said.
There was nowhere to run that wasn't a wall of steel. Risa deflected a jab from one of the men that would have impaled her neck. The shock of the blow vibrated up through her head. She set her jaw, wiped sweat from her eyes and risked a look at Python. “Time to go.”
Taking a deep breath she turned and began to run towards the thick of the smoking cottage. “Out of the frying pan..”
“Don’t lose them!” The mounted soldiers wasted no time. With well-practiced, but terrifying ease they spread out, some dismounting, others kicking their horses into a canter and scanning the buildings for the best way to head them off.
Beside her Karney and Sweetlip were fighting off the two spearmen. Python was right behind her. Smoke swirled around them. It was hard to breath, and harder still to see.
“To the river,” she shouted. “We can lose them there!”
With Python beside her they knocked a path through the burning building, shouldering aside beams and finding patches of stone clear of debris. Exiting through what had once been a side door, they picked a path between the rice fields where the earth had been formed into raised earthen walls like thin dams that ringed each of the fields.
More of the soldiers had dismounted and were in pursuit but others were coaxing horses along the road, intent on intercepting them. She grinned as the fear she’d felt evaporated. They weren’t going that way. They had a chance.
In moments they reached the cover of the river bank where the woods were thick with ferns, palms, scraggly fruit trees and the ever-present thick, reedy grass that had always left Risa itchy as a child. On the far bank the forest gave way to low, marshy land interspersed with higher stands of pines on rocky outcroppings and stony washes where the river eddied during the rainy season. That was the country she knew well, and once there, she was certain she could lose their pursuers.
Thanks for reading. This is another part of what would be a full chapter. The full chapter will be about 3000 words (ish) with the next scene taking place after a scene break. To save you all from having to read 3000 words in the "chapter" I've cut this here. I also wrote this very quickly and have not given it the polishing time I would usually give it. So this is pretty raw.
As I always say, thank you to everyone for reading and encouraging me to keep posting this story. I love hearing your feedback so please let me know what you think in the comments.
The earlier chapters are here:
Here is what passes for Chapter 1.
This is Chapter 2.
This is Chapter 3.
This is Chapter 4.
This is Chapter 5.
This is Chapter 6.
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