Blood of the Redd Guard - Part One (2 page)

Judging by the big guy's unique fighting style, Adar figured he'd stolen the earring. Whoever he was, he wasn't a Radim and he probably didn't belong to the coastal gang. If Rarbon had been closer to the coast the man would have been too afraid to wear the earring.

Anybody who had ever been to Rarbon would have known that the Radim weren't allowed jewelry, not even the female soldiers were allowed such things. At that moment, Maual's necklace glinted in a ray of sunlight that made its way through the trees. Well, nobody that hadn’t taken the oaths.

Maual looked like he had the situation in hand, so Adar left him to it and instead focused on several merchants that were beginning to get their bearings. Two men and one woman. One of the men looked like a guard and he was bleeding from the side of his head. The others looked like the merchant and his wife. The merchant was pudgy and his wife was more than a head shorter than him. Both were tan and their black hair looked as though the sun had bleached it on top. Their wagon had tipped over and the contents were spilled out into the long patchy grass. Adar could make out small red peppers among the produce and stifled a groan. The traders were from Karchack. Even if his men had arrived in time to prevent the attack, this would still have been a delicate situation.

As it was, it looked like they'd arrived on the tail end of the bandit’s efforts. The contents of the other wagon had been tossed to the ground where more produce and bolts of cloth littered the sparse grass. Adar doubted the thieves had been happy when they discovered they'd hijacked a bunch of fabric, peppers, potatoes and cabbages.

Tere was already off his horse and had several of the bandits standing to one side while the other men were continuing to secure the scene. Some of the thieves were lying face down with arrows sticking out their backs but,
most were alive.

“Attacked by Radim and then saved by Radim,” said the short merchant’s wife. Her husband and their guard were examining the overturned wagon to see if they could right it. She was crouched down doing her best to gather up the peppers. Now that he was closer he could make out slashes of gray in her black hair, but she still had a youthful appearance. As a younger woman, she would have turned heads. Even now she still did, Adar noticed that several of his men were glancing her way a bit too often. She looked up at Adar. “Your hospitality leaves much to be desired.”

It was strange that neither she nor her husband were grieving over their dead traveling companions, perhaps they were still stunned by what had happened. If she was looking for an apology, she'd been saved by the wrong man. Adar wasn't about to apologize for something done by others.

“Your assailants stole our uniforms,” Adar said while getting off Slasher, doing his best to keep the heat out of his voice. Upon a moment's reflection, he decided that his tone had sounded too much like a sneer. It wasn't her fault that she'd been attacked, but he suspected she'd been to Rarbon enough to know these men weren't soldiers. He turned to his nearest men, Petor and Regory. “Get that wagon up and help them with their wares.”

The woman muttered a thank you that was barely audible and the merchant nodded his head as Adar walked over to Tere, leaving Slasher to graze on the dry grass.

A woman shrieked, drawing Adar’s attention. The merchant's wife was pointing down the road. Her husband encircled her in his arms as she buried her head into his chest. Adar's lips became taut as her cry pierced him.

By that time, Maual had managed to disarm the big fellow. The others had been subdued as well and brought to stand before Tere.

Adar walked up to the big man and pointed at the spot where the patch would have been signifying his army.

“What army?” When the man didn't respond, Adar unsheathed his sword and brought it to the neck of the man. “The penalty for impersonating a Radim is death.”

“Korew.” It came out as grunt; the man was still trying to catch his breath.

A round of grim laughter broke out among Adar's men, but Adar didn't smile. The man had sealed his own death sentence. “The only people allowed into Korew army wear dresses off duty.”

The man panicked, his eyes growing wide. If he didn't know enough about the Radim to know which armies enlisted women, there was no need to carry on the interview to determine his guilt. Adar did want to know more about who was behind all this, but that could wait until he'd dealt with the situation.

“Should we bind them?” Tere asked. The normal custom would have been to bring these men before the Rarbon Council where they would be put on trial.

Adar hesitated and surveyed the ragged bunch of men. There had been eleven total, three of whom lay dead on the ground. Of the other eight, one was wounded and would die if he didn't receive medical attention soon. If he took these men back to Rarbon, they would be under the Council's jurisdiction and it would be a lengthy process of trials before they were hung. The outcome was certain with this many witnesses.

But, during that time, the problem would continue and Adar and the other generals would have to fight off these imposters. On top of everything else, the Council had been on the cusp of finishing a treaty negotiation with Karchack, it wouldn't do if that was delayed because of what these merchants had been through today.

Technically speaking, this matter was his jurisdiction even though it was against custom for him to handle something like this so close to Rarbon.

The law was in line with what he wanted to do.

Looking back at the merchants, Adar shook his head. “Bring some rope. We'll hang them here, all except that one.” He pointed at the man with the earring who'd claimed Korew army. “Once we've had a chance to talk with him, we'll turn him over to the Council. Search him for poison or any other weapons, see that he has an armed escort of ten men at all times. When we get back to Rarbon, anytime he is transferred, he better be covered in armor from head to toe, and twenty men go before him to clear the rooftops. This one is going to make it before the Council alive.”

There were murmurs among Adar's men and panicked sounds from the captives. Tere looked surprised and stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Before Adar could respond, Lucas rode up with a prisoner laid across the horse before him. The rest of Adar’s men were behind him.

“Good work,” Adar said to Lucas as the man nodded while handing off his captive to several soldiers.

Tere took Adar by the arm and pulled him to the side. “This just isn't done, especially this close to Rarbon.”

“It's within my authority. I don't like the thought of it any better than you, but there needs to be swift retribution for those that steal Radim uniforms and harass merchants.”

“There is more to it than that.” Tere gave Adar a knowing look.

Melyah.
Adar thought. The man knew him too well. Adar had never spoken of his distrust for the Council, but Tere had picked up on it still the same. It also wasn't common knowledge that there was a fracture between Adar and his father Abel, but somehow Tere had managed to ferret that out as well.

But this wasn't about Adar thumbing his nose at the Council or trying to find a way to mend fences with his father, there was far more at stake than that. It was time that the Radim began to act in a fashion that demanded respect.

He knew full well that this would mean that the Council would give him as challenging of a task as the law would allow, but that was fine by him. When he was made Ghar he didn't want it to be said that he'd walked through the trials with ease. No, he wanted people to know that he'd earned the right.

Adar grunted. “Two birds with a stone. Maybe three if I can manage it.” Maual approached carrying a rope and was tying the noose as he walked.

“Whatever trial the Council was going to give to you, when they learn about this you can expect them to scrap it and come back with something impossible.”

“I expect nothing less.”

Tere spat. “And what about me? I always end up bailing you out.”

Despite the grim situation and what they were about to do, Adar cracked a grin. “I'm more than sure you're up for the job. Besides I take issue with your use of the word always. It's been less than a handful of times.”

“More than it should have been to be sure. If you'd be patient a little more often, you wouldn't need me.”

Stingeel!
Adar thought,
that’s the name of the gang.
He studied the man with the Stingeel earring who had a distant look on his face that contrasted with those of the others
who knew their deaths were imminent.

Steeling himself for what lay ahead, Adar didn't respond to Tere as he took the rope from Maual. He wouldn't let it be said of him that he was afraid to get his hands dirty. As distasteful as the task that lay before him was, he refused to make others do something that he wasn't willing to do.

It was almost sunset by the time they approached Rarbon and the burst of energy Adar had experienced right before they had dealt with the bandits had long since been spent.

His head hurt and he was covered with the remains of sweat from the heat and actions of the day. If he sniffed right, he could smell his own body odor. Perhaps a hot bath would be what he needed to take his mind off things. That was still a ways out though; there was much he needed to get done tonight. A question had struck him earlier; originally, he’d dismissed the timing of the attack as coincidence, but the thought kept coming back.

Why had the attack on the merchants happened in Napael territory today when he was out of town?

His decision to go on patrol had been made on the spur of the moment several days ago in the middle of the night. As he’d left, he’d given specific orders to anybody that had known about it that this trip was supposed to be kept confidential.

If somebody within Rarbon was behind the attacks, the best time to do something like this in the Napael territory was when he was gone.

“Bloody business, that,” Tere said, breaking into his thoughts. Tere was riding to the left of Adar and they were bringing up the rear of the patrol. “You gonna to tell the Council?”

“I’ll send a report when I turn him over.” Adar motioned to their captive who walked near the front of the group. His hands were bound and a noose was tied around his neck; the other end was held by Lucas.

After the first execution, Adar hadn’t said a word to the man, but he’d given him a look that had made the man swallow. Hopefully, the man was thinking that those who’d been executed were the lucky ones. After all the executions had been carried out, Adar had the man stripped and searched to ensure that he didn’t have any hidden weapons or vials of poison. Adar didn’t want the man committing suicide before he had a chance to interrogate him.

The prisoner’s head was bowed, he’d stumbled several times, and tears had streaked his face earlier; for the deaths of his friends or his own circumstances, Adar hadn’t been able to tell. It wouldn’t be long before Adar would pry out all the information they could before handing him over to the Rarbon Council guards. But first Adar had to get the man into the right state of mind. He had found that sleep and food deprivation along with keeping a man on his feet all night did wonders for loosening lips.

“You need to be careful,” Tere said. “You’re going to get a reputation of disregarding custom that will be hard to change. We need the council to work with you and you’re pushing them away. I don't know the last time a general carried out his own orders, particularly executions, but they're going to think you're losing it.”

After leading the first several, Adar had handed the task off to other men. He didn’t regret the choice, no matter what Tere said, he would not give an order that he wasn’t willing to do himself. “Some will no doubt see it that way, but that won’t be everybody. These men know the truth.”

“It won't be enough that the men support you. You won't get anywhere without the Council.”

Adar sighed, there was truth in what Tere said, but it seemed such a small thing compared to the events of the day. How could the political wrangling of the Council even compare to this?

Some of the condemned had cried out, speaking of their wives and children or lovers or what could have been. One thin man with a frown broken by missing teeth had whimpered for his mother.

Others had maintained their composure right up until the end. The final man had spat on Maual as he hung the noose around the man's neck. While Adar might have expected Maual to retaliate for the spittle, he had instead wiped it off with the back of his hand and continued the task without anger, treating the man with respect and dignity.

Afterward, when Adar's eyes had made contact with Maual's, they hadn't spoken but had exchanged silent nods. The challenging look that Maual had so often worn wasn't there and Adar was left to wonder whether something had changed or if the event had left Maual tired as well.

After the execution of all but the man with the Stingeel earring, Adar had left several soldiers behind to bury the bodies and erect a post describing the crimes and punishment of the dead. Before each man had died, they’d taken down his name if he'd been willing to give it, which would also be carved into the post.

Adar repressed a shudder when he thought of the man that he had hung first. After sliding the noose onto the man's neck, Adar had asked him if he had any last words. The man had remained silent, his eyes never betraying a hint of guilt or remorse. He’d rarely encountered such a hardened criminal.

“I appreciate the reminder,” Adar said at length. “You are correct, this might bother some of the Council. I’ll think it over, but I don’t intend to change my plans.” The wind rustled through the forest and it felt good against his face. The twin light of the moons lit the walls of Rarbon and cast the pine trees on either side of the road in shadow.

A sense of loss had filled Adar during the execution. In addition to the lost lives of the executed men, there were also the innocent that would be affected by the justice he’d handed out. Surely some of those men had families who had fallen on hard times; they had been doing what they thought they needed to do to survive.