Talon

Talon goes home but finds things have changed.

            Talon laced up his leather breeches and hung his sword belt over his left shoulder before heading downstairs.  The Wench was fairly quiet with only a few of the regulars hanging out as he signaled the minotaur behind the bar for a drink.  He glanced around as saw an empty chair at one of the gaming tables.  Snatching up his beer he went over to join the game.  He knew two of the players by sight if not by name, they were brothers big hulking brutes that worked for one of the mercenary companies that were common in the city.  The third was a slimy dark-haired man with a weaselly look about him.  He flipped a coin into the pile in the center of the table and the weasel faced man dealt him in.

            “Any news?”

            “Garret is putting together a unit, has a contract with one of the Gods to stamp out a village to the east of here.”  The bigger of the brothers answered while studying his card.

            Talon didn’t even look at his, watching the others at the table.  “Why does a God have a problem with some village?”

            “Rumor has it that a woman there turned him down and he wants to punish her.”  The other brother speaks up as he tosses a coin into the pile in the center of the table.

            Talon lifted the corner of his cards and smiles.  “That sounds like a little bit of an over kill for a bruised ego.”

            The weasel faced man gives him a dirty look as he adds his coin to the pot.  “Are you going to play or just gossip?”

            Talon flipped a coin into the pot.

The bigger of the brothers tosses his coin into the pot.  “I don’t know anything about bruised egos, but it is going to be a blood bath, not my kind of work.”

            The smaller of the brothers pulled three cards from his hand and tossed them in the discard pile.  He got three in return and Talon add two from his hand to the pile.  The bigger brother and the weasel faced man each took two also.  Talon barely glanced at his cards as he studied the other three.  The weasel faced man smirked as he fanned his cards.  The smaller of the brothers tossed a single coin in the pot.  Talon didn’t even look at his cards before tossing two into the pot.  The other brother looked at his cards and then at his small stack of coins before dropping them on the table.

            Weasel face throws three coins into the pot. “I’ll match you and raise you another.”

            The smaller brother dropped his cards on the table folding and that left Talon.

            “Let’s see how confident you really are.”  Talon dropped five coins into the pot.

            The weasel face man looked at his cards again then at the pot.  His eyes moved between the two several times before he finally dropped his cards on the table.

            Talon smiled.  “I guess this is mine.”

            Dropping his cards on the table he reached for the pot as the weasel faced man reached over to turn over his cards.  Talon grabbed the man’s thumb and twisted it forcing a scream of pain from him.

            “If you wanted to see my hand you should have paid for that privilege.”

            “Get your hands off me you heathen.”

            Talon smiled as he breaks the man’s thumb.  “Maybe next time you will remember that little rule God’s man.”

            The weasel faced man fell out of his chair as he clutched his hand to his chest.  “The Black Guard will hear about this.”

            “Tell Captain Hogue I said hi.”  Talon laughed and scrapped the coins into his purse.  “I hate to win and run, but I have places to go and people to kill.”

            The brothers nodded as he took his sword belt off the back of the chair and headed for the door.

 

            The stench of the nearby tanner and the fishery upwind was like a slap in the face as Talon left the cool perfumed air of The Wench behind.  He headed for the recruitment center buckling his sword on.  His left hand dropping to the hilt of his sword as he walked down the street.  This wasn’t the marble streets of the inner city, crime and death were common out side the white walls and more so in the Stench District then anyplace else.

            The recruitment center was nothing special, just another shoddy building that had seen better days.  All the mercenaries in the city checked in there and any jobs got posted there.  If you needed help on a job this is where you went to get that help.  It was run by three ex warriors that had some vague connection to the Gods, so they decided who got the best contracts.

            Garret stood out even in a room packed full of armed men.  He was head and shoulders above everybody else, rumors say his height is to giant blood in his family tree, but who knows.  Dark skinned he kept his head shaved bald.  The hilt to his sword could be seen over his right shoulder as he raised his hands to trying to get the room to quiet down.  The shouting continued for a few more seconds, before the crowd got the message.

            “Okay the contract is simple and pays damn well.  I don’t think we need a large force to deal with some villagers so I’m only going to be recruiting fifty men.  I’m looking for experienced men that aren’t worried about it getting bloody.  You fresh faced greenies take a hike.”

            Talon watched a few people in new equipment hang their heads as they headed for the door.  He smiled, he had come to the city a bloodied warrior and never had to really prove himself. His eyes wandered the crowd that remained seeing a few greenies that did not take the hint. They were the ones that he would have to watch out for, they would do anything to make a name for themselves.

            “Hey Garret, what is the name of this village that is supposed to be sacked?”

            “Talon are you looking to sign up?”
            “Possible.  Want some more information before I agree to anything.”

            “It is a s**t stain on the a*s end of the world, nothing more.  It is so small it doesn’t have a name or appear on a map.”

            “Damn that is small, but there are dozens of villages like that how you know which one?”
            “I was thinking of just starting with one and wiping them all out, but it isn’t going to be that fun.  It is two days to the east right here.”  Garret slammed his dagger into a map hanging on the wall.

            “I’m kind of flush right now, but the game tables are calling.  It is going to take you at least a week to pick out your fifty so I’ll be back.”

            Garret nodded and called out to another in the crowd as Talon headed for the door.  Once outside he didn’t turn back towards The Wench but towards the gate.  He bought what little he would need on the road as he made his way to the stable.  The stable man demanded twice what the horse was worth, but Talon didn’t take the time to haggle.

 

            It had taken every once of self-control he had for Talon not to react when he realized it was the very village he had been born in that Garret was going to sack.  He swung up on the horse and kicked it into a gallop as he thought about the fact that it had been such a long time since he had run away from there.  He had not been one of those kids that ran away dreaming of being a great hero, he ran to escape an abusive father.

            His mother had died when he was young leaving just him and his father. His father a woodsman had tried to teach Talon his trade, but he had begun drinking and the drink made him a cruel man. Talon took as much as he could, but finally had enough and left in the dead of the night.

            It did not take him long to learn that no matter how cruel his father was there were others in the world worse. He had stumbled into the camp of a group of highway men. These outlaws had kept him alive to use a bait to lure their victims into their traps. The leader also had other uses for him and at fourteen he was neither big or strong enough to stop the nightly rapes.

            In time he had grow big and strong enough to kill the leader, but the others wouldn’t accept him so he moved on. He had grown hard in the years he spent with the highway men and still thought about the village, but he knew he could never go back. In time he made his way to Karkarmach and found a new home. He quickly fit in because the city was a cruel and brutal place and he had learned to be both.

            He rode through the night and arrived at the village in the early afternoon of the following day. As he rode up the path that lead to the village’s center he could feel the eyes of the villagers on him. He stopped his horse in the center of the village and swung down as his eyes looked over the village. He tried to pull the memories of this place up, but he had buried them deep over the years.

            The villagers slowly began to come out of their houses and moving towards him. He wanted to drop a hand to the hilt of his blade, but he saw that many that were coming carried bows with arrows already notched.

            “Talon!”

            He turned towards the shout and had a woman slam into him wrapping her arms around him.

            “I thought it was you, but it has been so long.”

            He pushed the woman back and looked her her. She had blond hair, but mixed in with it was strands that had an almost coppery color to them. She was beautiful with a small nose and a cupid bow mouth, but her most striking feature was her eyes, one green and one blue.

            “Jasmine!” Talon shouted as he pulled her back into a hug.

            She struggle free after a moment. “What happened to you?”

            “I had to get away from my father.” He shook his head and looked around. “It doesn’t matter Jasmine. You all have to leave.”

            “We aren’t leave Talon. We know that someone is coming, but we will not leave our homes.”

            The crowd echoed her statement.

            “The men that are coming are not farmers or villagers armed with some bows, they are bloodied warriors who will cut you all down.”

            An old man pushed his way through the crowd to glare at Talon. “You going to run away again boy or will you stand with us?”

            Talon stepped back his face twisting into a mask of rage as his hand fell onto the hilt of his blade. “Why should I stand with you father, the man that abused me and drove me away?”

            “Go ahead I can see it in your eyes boy you want to pull that sword and cut me down, do it.”

            As Talon began to pull his sword Jasmine stepped between them. “Have you truly changed so much you would kill your own father?”

            Talon slammed his sword back into its sheath. “You all can’t win, these men coming will kill you all. Your only chance is to run.”

            “We have decided Talon, we are not going to run. Now will you help us?”

            Talon shook his head. “No.” Turning he went to swing up into his saddle when he felt a hand on his arm.

            “You are right we don’t have a chance against them, but maybe with you we do.”

            Talon had held one dream in his heart over the years, one hope. He had thought someday he could return and marry Jasmine. If he rode away today that dream would die, but if he stayed. He saw it all, him saving the village and Jasmine being so thankful she agreed to marry him, they would have children and grow old together.

            “We have less then a week, we best start preparing,” Talon said as he turned around.

 

 

            The raiders came screaming war cries as the charged towards the village. These were bloodied warriors men and women that had proven themselves many times before. Their horses thundering forward as the villagers panicked and ran for their homes.

            As the raiders reached the edge of the village the ground fell away and four of them plunged into a trench lined with stacks. The others tried to stop their mad dash or turned their horse to the side. One fool hardy warrior spurred his mount forward and tried to jump it, but as he landed his horse’s front hooves struck the edge of the next pit and falling in dragging it’s rider along.

            Garrett leaped from his mount and stalked forward to stand on the edge of the trench. “Find me a way around this.”

            Those with him quickly dismounted and moved forward to test the ground.

            “Down.” came a cry from on o his men and Garrett did not even think about it, he dropped. Arrows flow from the woods on either side of the path catch four of the raiders who had not reacted quick enough. Three of the warriors jumped to their feet and charged into the woods even as Garrett yelled. “Stop.” Screams that quickly died came from the three that had disappeared into the woods.

            Garrett rose slowly his eyes sweeping the area. Across the trenches a man stepped from a house near the center of the town. As he approached other joined him, but Garrett’s eyes were focused on the man in the lead.

            “Talon what in the high heavens are you doing here?”

            Talon smirked as he stopped on the edge of the far trench. “This is my home Garrett. I came from this village and I couldn’t just let you destroy it.”

            “You think your little traps will stop us?” Garrett signaled his men to prepare to charge.

            “I know you Garrett. You have lost people already. One or two are acceptable, but twelve and not even one death on our side. Ride away now and live, continue and we will kill you all.” Talon raised his hand and seventy-four long bows were drawn back.

            Garrett looked scowled. “I took the money I have to see the contract completed.”

            “No you don’t. You have walked away before without completing the contract, do it again.”

            Garrett looked at the men across the trench from him. Villager and farmers, men not use to killing men, but they looked ready to do it. Talon was right he had walked away when things got too bloody even for him.

            “Gather the wounded and mount up, we are leaving.”

            A few of the men grumbled, but they obeyed.

            “You will regret this Talon.”

            “Maybe Garrett, but not today.”

 

 

            “They are gone.” He said as he stepped into Jasmine’s house. “I followed them to the creek and they kept going.”

            “We could never have beat them ourselves Talon, we owe you so much.”

            Talon stepped towards her. “I know how you can show me your gratitude.”

            “What?” Jasmine stumbled backwards.

            “That is my wife you are speaking to,” a man that had been sitting off to the side said as he stood up.

            Talon looked at the only woman he thought he would ever truly love then at her husband. He had risked everything to save her, to save this stinking village only to be told when the job is done that the woman he loved was married. He dropped his hand to the hilt of his blade as he turned towards the man.

            “You seem to be standing in the way of me being with the woman I love. I guess you have to die.”

            Drawing his sword and turning it into an upward slash left to right Talon cut the man across the chest. Talon heard a scream behind him, but he ignored it as he brought his sword around removing this man’s head from his shoulders. As the body fell he felt a hand grab his shoulder, and pulled away before spinning around cutting an arc in front of him. Jasmine’s eyes grow big and her mouth hung up in a silent scream as the blade cut into her. Talon stood there looking down at the two of them dead their arms stretched out, fingers almost touching like even death couldn’t separate them. With a scream he kicked the hands apart before he stormed out of the house. He could see many of the villagers coming to see what was happening so he quickly saddled his horse and rode away.

 

 

            The ride back to Karkarmach seem to take twice as long and when Talon finally headed for the Wench he was tired and dusty from the trail. He knew that Garrett would come for him, but he did not care. He was ready to face anything or anybody.

            Stepping through the door to the Wench a big farm boy bumped into him and fell down. Talon growled as he drew and took the boy’s head. That will serve as a warning to others he thought as he headed for his room.