1

The light was way too bright! And it felt like someone had stomped on his head! It was pounding! Had he been in a fight? He did not remember one. Auldric Hearthstone had been getting into fights more and more often. Ever since that night in Golden Meadows. He was drinking more and sleeping in odd places.

As he woke up and took in his surroundings. He found himself in a simple room with a wooden floor. He must be in the upper floor of a building, an inn maybe? He was having trouble with the details. He was laying in a bed and a pretty comfortable one at that. A large window was letting a lot of light in along with a gentle breeze. That’s when he realized that not only was he naked, but he was not alone. There was a woman laying next to him who also seemed to be waking up as well. She was young, pretty and also completely naked.

“Oh, by the Gods! What time is it?” She exclaimed. She jumped out of bed. Next to the bed was a basin with cool water in it. She splashed some on her face and tried to find her undergarments. Her large breasts swung around wildly as she looked for them.

Does it hurt when they swing like that? Auldric wondered to himself. Oh well, it was not a problem he would ever have! What was her name? He searched his mind to think of it. Was it Jaz? Or Melony? Or was that girl in the last town?

“Get up! Get dressed! Hurry!” The woman said to him. She was almost panicking. She found her underdress and was already throwing it over her curvy body.

She was on the plump side for sure with a big bottom that just begged to be slapped. Not usually Auldric’s type. But then again, these days they were all his type. The best were the ones that made him forget whom he was and all the pain he carried around. Scars from the war, both real and mental. He sat up and found that his undergarments were close to the bed. “What’s the hurry… Jaz?” He ventured.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s Seika,” she replied. “Remember now? I work at the tavern. You spent all your money on drinks and then had nowhere to stay.”

“That’s right! I sung you a lover’s ballad and you took me home,” Auldric said piecing it all together. He rubbed at his temples. Make the pain stop!

“Yes, I wasn’t exactly sober either and you were a lot of fun. Any idea what time it is? That sun is very high for morning,” she asked him.

Auldric found his pants. In the pocket was a watch. “It’s about nine thirty,” he replied.

“Shit! My father will be home soon,” she exclaimed. “He’s coming back from my aunt’s place. It’s a two-hour ride on horseback from here.”

“Oh!” Auldric said. He quickly put on his breeches. “Sorry, I thought this was your place.”

“On a serving wench’s wages? Seriously?” She questioned his sanity.

“Sorry, my head is not right this morning,” Auldric replied.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the barn at the side of the house. “Fuck! He’s here now! He will beat the both of us if he finds you here!”

She had managed to get dressed in a floor length white skirt of several modest layers and a leather vest over top it, tied tight to contain her breasts. She threw Auldric’s shirt at him. “He’ll come in through the back door, climb out through the window!”

They heard the back door open with a loud creak. “Sieka? Are you home?” They heard her father’s deep and gruff voice. Sieka glared at him.

Auldric decided he did not want to meet the man that owned that voice. Quickly he climbed out the window and found that ivy covered the outside. Enough that he could climb down. She looked out the window checking the road in both directions.

“Until we meet again?” Auldric suggested. It was a hopeful goodbye at least. Usually, women seemed to like that.

“Ah, sure… Whatever,” She said absently. She slammed the window and closed the curtains.

Well, Auldric thought as he reached the ground and fell on his backside, not one of my smoothest exits, but I’ve had much worse!

This was Auldric’s life now. He would come into a town big enough to have a decent tavern or inn with live preforming music. He would use his charm and sometimes a song or two to persuade the owner to allow him to play. He would do a set of songs. Take a break for a drink and then preform his next set of songs before taking another drink break. Usually this left him stinking drunk by the end of the night. Sometimes the inn would have a room for him, sometimes he slept off his stupor in the stables and sometimes he got into a fight with some jealous man or another and got thrown out on his ass.

What had happened to the promising young man that he was just a few years ago? His parents were killed. So what? Like that was unusual these days. Lots of people had lost parents or other important people in their lives and yet they did not all become drunken fools, using hashish and opium whenever the opportunity presented itself. Well, he also fought in the war. Again, so what? Probably a hundred thousand people or more were soldiers in the war at one point or another, not to mention the other wars that had happened over the last forty years. Again, some had trouble handling it, other shrugged it off. Auldric could not just shrug it off. The things he saw, the things he was forced to do, they stayed with him, even now. He saw some of the worse things that men could do to each other.

He did not have a wife or children, even though most men his age were just starting to settle down and have families. Maybe it was the distractions of life that help get over the nightmares and the horrors? Some people got lost in their work, but that was not helping him. He was good singer, he could play a dozen instruments and had a hundred songs that he could play, yet his vocation was making him more depressed. A bard needed to be sharp and thick skinned. There were some people that were not going to like you. There was nothing that could be done about it, but a bard had to be able to handle that. He used to be good at handling himself, but since he came back from the war, he was shorter of temper and quick to rely on his fists. He thought about changing professions, but so much was already invested in this one. It was his entire life up until now. He was in his mid twenties, and he was all alone. The women he met here and there did not help. They were interested in a quick tryst, which was great, but they were not real companionship and certainly not long term, like real friendship.

The road was a lonely life, he thought as he continued south down the Imperial Verant River Road towards the southern coast. Down there he would find a place called Seaside. It was a small city, a resort area with warm weather and white sand beaches. The nobility would often spend the winters there, since there was no snow that far south. Any friends he had from childhood lived back in Palantine where his family was originally from. He still had family there that he had not seen in years. Did they even know that his parents were dead? Or that he had been a soldier in the army? He never wrote to them in all this time so probably not. He would have to make it a point to visit them some time soon. If he lived that long. Now that was a dark thought, wasn’t it? Maybe that was where he was headed. Sleeping with men’s wives and daughters was a dangerous business. Maybe it was a death wish. He shivered at the thought as he walked along the road. He had left his pack at a back room at the tavern where he met Sieka. He made a point to grab it before leaving the village.

He thought about the last time he felt alive. It was that bar fight he was involved in with that young adventuring group. Elwin, Selby, there were a few others, right? They were fresh off the farm out in the west plains, and it showed. They were good honest folk. Auldric had liked them. They were good people and he had enjoyed helping them out. That was the kind of people he needed to surround himself with. The Siekas of the world did not give a shit about him, as long as they got what they wanted. They just needed him to move on and bother them no further.

This was not a proper way to live and he knew it. But what else could he do? He had no answers.

2

He got a late start that day and the sun was high up when he stopped to take a break. He found a clearing off the main road where he could start a fire and cook something to eat. The road was not too busy. He had only seen a few other people. Mostly, wagons heading north to the capital, another week of travelling ahead of them. He would always greet them. Sometimes they would greet him back, sometimes they would mind their own business. There was time before the war when everyone would have greeted him. Some would even stop and have a quick conversation. Since the war, there had been less trust as to who’s side everyone had ended up on. Auldric was loyal to Xander and had an immediate dislike for anyone who supported Getta. Supporting Getta was like watching a beast hunt in the arena and cheering for the beast. Those people sickened him.

It was a good day out, but it was getting hot. On the road it was impossible for everything to be perfect. It was either too hot, too cold, or it would rain, which was the worst of the three. Auldric had just finished eating and was washing out his pot in a small pond he found nearby. He heard a woman scream. It was a terror scream. The kind of sound that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He heard it again, but more muffled. Then her heard more voices. Male voices, maybe two? He was not sure. The immediate area was heavily wooded. Lots of old growth trees. Voices do not carry far in these places, so they had to be close.

Auldric frozen with indecision. Should he investigate the commotion? Was it any of his business? What if there was a group? He would have to stand by and watch helplessly? Such a situation probably would not help him sleep at night. Could he live with himself if he just walked away? Could he be killed if he interfered?

He finished washing his dish and put it away in his pack. There, next to his pack, was his mace. The one weapon he had been carrying around all this time. It was for personal protection, of course. He was trained in warfare. Could he do something?

He made up his mind to check the situation out and see what, if anything, he could do. He slowly made his way through the under brush. It was almost summer. The trees were full of leaves. The forest floor was covered with ferns of various types and sizes. He moved towards the noise. There was a bit of breeze and the rustling of the leaves masked the sound of his approach. He found a large tree he could rest his pack against. He made sure his mace was in his hands. From around a large elm tree, probably hundreds of years old, he spied the situation. There were two men, one a big brawny one and one smaller and skinnier. They had a young woman with them. The big one was struggling with her, but he had her on her back across a fallen tree. Her dress was hiked up and the man’s pants were down. He backhanded her and laughed. “Keep struggling bitch. It’s better that way. Make you nice and tight!” He held her legs wide apart.

“Come on,” the other one said. “You’ll rip her in two!”

“So, what if I do? She won’t be missed,” the big man replied.

“Don’t ruin her,” the other one said. “I still want a turn.”

“You’ll get it, but her cunt will probably be ruined,” the man laughed. The woman was crying, she had given up struggling. “You can have her ass though. I’m sure that’ll be tight!”

“No!” The woman cried and renewed her struggle. The big man punched her.

Auldric assessed the situation. He could not fight them both, that would be suicide. That big one could probably kill him alone. They had two horses that were tied up to a branch about fifty feet away from them. The knot was loose, he could do something. He saw an opening.

Using the large trees as coverage he crept over to the horses. In an instant, he had the knot untied. He remained unseen. With a quick slap on the rear flank, he spooked the one horse which in turn spooked the other horse. They both bolted out of the clearing towards the road. Auldric duck and kept tight against the far side of a large tree hoping he had not been spotted. He had his mace in hand, ready for the next part.

He heard swearing and the skinny man ran off after the horses. As soon as they were out of the clearing Auldric check on the other.

The woman struggled momentarily. The big man grabbed her by the throat. “You ain’t going anywhere until I’m done!” He growled. His back was turned to Auldric while he dealt with her.

Auldric knew he could not hesitate. He only had one chance to save her. He ran out with his mace at the ready. The man was tall, close to six and a half feet. He could go for the head, but if he missed, this man would kill him for sure. He remembered his training from the army. There were certain rules of combat that were important. The most important one was that if you opponent has higher ground, you need to bring them down to your level. He saw the move her would make. The big man was not wearing any sort of armour or gear. They were not expecting a fight or any sort of resistance from a woman. They had not counted out Auldric being there that day.

Auldric swung hard for the right knee. The mace smashed it so hard he could feel the knee blow apart and the shin bones splinter. He completely destroyed the man’s leg. The spikes on the mace could do considerable damage.

The man spun around in blinding pain. He saw Auldric with his mace. His face was a display of complete shock. “What the…” He started. He went to take a step and crashed to the ground. On his hands and knees screaming in pain, Auldric finished what he started. He hit the man in the head so hard that the sound of the skull fracturing echoed in his ears. The head split right open. The blood splattered everywhere. Auldric hit him again for good measure, but it was completely unnecessary. The man was just a lump of flesh sprawled out on the leaf covered ground.

The blood was everywhere. All over the ground, the mace, Auldric was covered in it. The woman and her dress had been splattered in blood, but some of it was also hers. Her lip was cut and bleeding. She sat up in complete shock. Whether it was from what had happened to her or witnessing what Auldric had done, he could not say. Her cheeks were red from being slapped and punched. Only half of a minute had passed. The other man was still off chasing the horses. He grabbed her by the hand. “We have to run, now.” He spoke clearly and slowly so she could understand him. He nodded to her. “The other one will be back. We have to go.”

She nodded back, dumbly. Auldric grabbed his pack, but she did not want to go off in that direction. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him and pointed off towards the river. Auldric nodded. She had not said a word. Her dress was torn, her breasts were exposed. Her skin was randomly scratched. She did not bother to cover herself up. She just hiked up her dress and ran. She kept checking behind to make sure Auldric was following.

“I was close by,” Auldric tried to explain. He tried to keep up, but the girl was fast and knew the area well. “I heard you scream.”

She stopped so he could keep up. She grabbed his arm and pulled him. He tried to pick up the pace, but he also had a fully loaded pack on his back and a mace in his hand. The mace felt so heavy. He saw that the brain matter and bone was still stuck to it.

“I had to do something,” he told her. “I mean, when I saw you and what was happening… But there was two of them…”

She gave him a signal to be quiet and almost dragged him down the path. He could hear the river. It was close now. There was a steep embankment that they nearly slid down as they tried to maneuver down to the shore. They came out into a clearing, a stony area next to the river. The river was incredibly wide. Auldric reckoned it was well over a thousand feet across.

The woman let go of his hand and fell to her knees at the shore. She lapped water onto her face to clean off the blood, sweat and tears. Then she squatted and relieved herself, right in front of him without shame. Auldric was shocked to say the least and a bit embarrassed for her. After what had just happened, her modesty did not matter much. Auldric tried to look elsewhere. He took his mace over to the bank of the river and washed it off. He washed his face as well. The water was muddy and felt gritty when he rinsed with it. There was no other source of fresh water in the area that he knew of. He did not know the area.

He looked at the woman again. The hem of her dress was getting wet from the river, but she did not seem to notice or care. It was a servant’s dress, nothing fancy or expensive. A very common attire for a lower-class woman or slave. She had no other clothing, either they were ruined or left behind. She was young, maybe twenty and pretty. She had pale freckled skin, around her face and shoulders. And reddish hair that ran down her back in loose curls. If he had spotted her at a tavern, he would have introduced himself for sure. She looked grim and did not smile, but Auldric expected that considering what she had just been through. He put his pack down and rested for a moment.

“When I woke up this morning, I didn’t expect to kill someone,” he said as much to himself as to her. His mind was reeling. He was still in disbelief about what he had just done. That man was twice his size and he finished him off like it was nothing. A reflex, like in war. You do what must be done to stay alive. You only have a fraction of a second to decided. There was no room for hesitation.

Only this was not his fight. He did not have to save anyone. He could have continued down the road and minded his own business. Yet he could not. He was compelled to do something. Was that chivalry? It was the kind of thing one would read in a book. Auldric did not think of himself as a knight.

He looked at her again. Her back was to him. She was still squatting, but she was done her business. Auldric took off his cloak. He was too hot in it anyway. She looked cold and frightened. He walked up behind her. She was momentarily startled when he put the cloak over her shoulders. He backed off not wanting to scare her. His hands up, he said. “Sorry my lady. You looked like you needed it.”

She stood up and turned around, her modest size breasts still exposed. Her face already swelling on the one side, she would have a black eye soon. She stepped up to him. He kept his hands up. “I mean you no harm…” She grabbed him in a tight embrace. She began to sob uncontrollably. Auldric did not know what to do, so he embraced her back. Auldric had no idea how long she cried, but it was a few minutes. Finally, when the tears stopped. She whispered. “You’re my hero.” In his ear.

Auldric shook his head. “I did what any real man should have done,” he tried to explained.

“Then there are no real men anymore,” she replied. Her voice was light and breathless. It was hard to believe that this was the same woman that let out that ear piercing scream earlier. “Only you. And I owe you… my life.”

“We need to go,” Auldric said to her. He did not want to think about what she was suggesting. “That man will be looking for who ever killed his friend. Where do you live, I can take you there?”

She shook her head and nuzzled her face in his chest, even though his clothing was covered in blood. “I can’t go back. Those men know me. They’re nobles, I’ll be killed.”

“Nobles?” Auldric said alarmed.

“I minor house,” she said. “But still, they have a lot of influence around here.”

“Fuck!” Auldric said to himself. “I just killed a nobleman. We have to get out of here!”

“I’m going wherever you are going,” she stated.

“South,” Auldric said.

“Sir,” the woman said. “We can follow a path here a long the river for a while. Horses can’t get down here.”

“Lead us,” he said. “And its Auldric by the way. Auldric Hearthstone. And you are?”

“Brie,” She said. She wrapped the cloak around her as she stepped away and began leading them along the river. “Sir Auldric Hearthstone,” she said to herself.

“No, not Sir. I’m not a knight,” he clarified.

“You are to me,” she replied.

“Like I said, I did what anyone should have done,” he tried to explain.

She stopped and turned to face him. Her eyes were like deep wells ready to overflow again. They were dark and pierced into him, finding his soul. His true heart, who he really was. “That’s not the first time I’ve been raped,” she stated. Her lip trembling. She swallowed hard. “But it’s the first time someone actually care enough to do something about it.”

Auldric just stood there, mouth agape and shook his head in disbelief. Finally, he embraced her. “I’m so sorry, Brie,” he whispered to her. He genuinely meant it. In his mind he saw the image of his parents broken and covered in blood, lifeless. He added. “I wish we lived in a better world.”

She was weeping, her tears dampening his shirt. She grabbed his hand. “Let go,” she whispered.

3

They walked along for what seemed like hours or at least a good portion of the afternoon. Auldric had good boots for the road. Brie only had slippers, typical for a servant in a house. If her feet hurt, she did not say anything.

They found a freshwater stream that ran out to the river. It was shallow enough to wade across. It gave them a chance to fill a canteen and drink some water. They needed a rest before continuing.

“If they are nobles, there will be a search party looking for us,” Auldric concluded as the sat on a large road and rested. They stared out at the river and it flowed to the south. “Your disappearance will not go unnoticed. They will put two and two together…”

“That’s why we had to wade across this stream,” Brie said. “In case they have hounds.”

“So, who are you? What’s your connection to those two animals?” He questioned her. He would not dignify them by referring to them as people. As far as he was concerned, noble or not, they were monsters.

“I’m a servant, for a wealthy family in these parts,” she replied. “You just killed one of their cousins. The other one was a stable hand. His servant.”

“Damn the Gods!” Auldric cursed. This could bring them a lot of trouble. The death of someone important will be investigated by the authorities.

“He’s a former member of the Red Dragon Army,” she added. “You’re lucky you caught him unaware. He would have killed you otherwise.”

“Fuck!” Auldric curse. Red Dragon Army? That means they were Getta loyalists. Now he felt pretty good about killing him, despite the trouble it might cause him later. The Red Dragon Army was disbanded. Xander had something new he was working on. A new more loyal army. “Fuck them then. I hate Getta loyalist. I should have stuck around and killed them both.”

She nodded in agreement. “I overhear some things, as a servant I mean. These men are forming their own orders now. New ones that are bent on revenge against the new Emperor.”

“That’s just fucking great,” Auldric stated. “Just what we need, people causing trouble for the Empire.”

“The Empire is fucked,” she replied. “I would have run from that place long ago, but the roads aren’t safe anymore.”

“I agreed,” he said. “Travelling alone is dangerous these days.”

“Take me away from here, away from these animals,” she pleaded with him.

“I will,” he promised. He meant it. The look in her eyes was enough to make him want to help her. “I will get you to safety, but you need new clothing.”

“I have nothing and never have,” she replied. “The only friend I had was another servant, but that man… She disappeared a few months back. I think they raped and killed her. Probabaly dumped her body in the river. They bought some slave to replace her. But these men… they take turns raping her every night. I didn’t care because it meant they would leave me alone. I don’t think she will last long now that I’m gone. I can’t ever go back there.”

“Those people are monsters,” Auldric replied. “I would never take you back there, you have my word.”

“My hero,” she said quietly and rested her hand on his arm.

“I’m no hero,” Auldric said. “I’m just a man with lots of flaws. Just like everyone else.”

“You have morals, and a line that you won’t cross. Am I right?” She questioned.

“I suppose I do,” he shrugged.

“That’s enough to make anyone a hero these days,” she commented.

“I’m heading south,” he stated. “To Seaside.”

She nodded. “I’ve never been that far south,” she said.

“There’s a city there,” he told her. “We can find a safe place to stay.”

“Why are you headed there?” She asked. “Family?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m a traveling performer.” He dug around his pack and found his flute and a harmonica.

“Like a bard?” She asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Can you play me something?” She enquired. She smiled at him. It was the first time she had smiled since he found her. She winced at the pain and rubbed her cheek.

Auldric played one of his favourite melodied on the flute. She looked very surprised.

“That was beautiful,” she said breathlessly. “Thank you.”

Her voice had this nice little lilt to it. She would probably be a good singer with a little training, Auldric thought.

“We need to continue,” Auldric told her. “I want to get as far as we can before the sun sets. But we need to stay off the main road.”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I know all the back roads around here.”

He grabbed his pack and the set off, disappearing into the underbrush.