In His Footsteps

In His Footsteps

 

“How exactly does one go about joining a war?” Martyn asked from his seat in front of the fire.

After watching the spectacular show put on by Hollowdell’s spire we had returned inside and sat down in front of the fireplace. After an hour or so Lucy and Gina went off to bed and Marcus lit a fire to keep us warm.

It was just like those two times I had properly talked with Godfrey in front of his fireplace.

“We join the army I suppose” I replied.

“And how exactly do we do that, Danny?” Martyn raised an eyebrow at me.

“Heading to one of the barracks is your best bet” said Marcus. “I’ll take you to the closest one, I’m sure they’ll take anyone who can hold a sword”

Martyn started to scratch at the back of his head and I followed suit by rubbing at the stubble on my face. It was getting itchy. I really did need to cut my hair and shave.

“Well that’s a start” grumbled Martyn. “But what if, just like Sammy said, Symonds is just going to try and starve us out, we won’t see much fighting than, so what shall we do if that’s the case?”

“We’ll just have to get some of the men on our side and find a way to force Symonds to attack like Marcus said” I replied.

“And how do you plan to force him to do a thing like that?” Martyn asked.

“First of all, how do you plan to get the men on your side?” added Marcus before I had a chance to answer. “They are loyal to the Duke and the Duke alone”

“The answer to both of your questions is that right now I have no idea” I replied. “But when the time comes and if I have to I’m sure I’ll think of something, I always do”

That was a lie for two reasons. The first reason being that I didn’t always think of ideas when I had to, if I did than Piers and Katherine would still be alive and I wouldn’t be here about to plunge headfirst into a war. It was raining.

The second reason was that although I didn’t have an answer to Martyn’s question I did have a decent enough answer to Marcus’. As much as I hated my father he had given me the gift of nobility, that gave me power when it came to situations like this.

If I revealed myself as the son of the ‘Guardian’ to the Duke than there was a good chance that he would listen to any plans I could offer to win the war for him. Only problem being that I was yet to come up with a plan.

“Well that’s gone well hasn’t it now, Danny” Martyn said under his breath. “We’ll either starve to death or die of boredom while waiting for you to think of a plan”

“The barracks you’ll be going tomorrow is being sent out by the Duke to attempt another taking of some of the Farmland” said Samuel in a very simple tone.

“How’d you find a thing like that out?” Marcus asked.

“One of my friends signed up a while back” Samuel said, shrugging. “Word spreads pretty fast among young people”

Great, I was going to be fighting alongside kids who had no idea what they were doing. That would just be perfect. The rain was growing heavier.

“I thought you said the Duke had already tried to capture the farmlands back?” asked Martyn. “If it failed last time than why is he trying the same thing again?”

“Does it really matter, Manhunter?” I asked, before anyone had a chance to answer his question. “Maybe he thinks it will work out better this time or maybe he’s just given up, but we’re only soldiers, we fight and die, we don’t have to worry about all the crap that goes on at the top”

 He looked a little hurt and failed to continue fiddling with his precious pipe after I had spoken. The Manhunter was far too easily wounded by my words sometimes, he really was. Most people were actually.

“Well if you say so Danny” he mumbled in reply. “Well in any case I’m going to catch some sleep, I’ll see the lot of you tomorrow” he added, rising from the seat.

“That sounds like a good idea to me” said Marcus. “I’ll show you to the spare room first though, and Danny, you can sleep in the bed in Samuel’s room”

With that the two of them left the room leaving only myself and Samuel sitting in front of the fire. It wasn’t long before we went into his room though and lay down on our beds.

The room wasn’t particularly small and the simple fact that there were two beds seemed to suggest to me that Samuel had in fact shared the room with someone. A grandparent or uncle maybe who had either left or passed away.

Or more likely a brother since there was two of everything. Two cabinets, two desks and a chest at the end of each bed that bore matching although different engravings. Probably an older brother.

In any case whoever it was had obviously meant a lot to Samuel. He hadn’t looked happy as he had watched me climb into bed, I wasn’t sure if he was angry or sad, could have been a bit of both.

“Sam” I said after my mind had stopped running.

For a long time my voice was met only with the quiet of the room. He eventually responded though.

“Yes, Danny?”

“Who’s bed am I lying in right now?” I asked, slightly worried that I would upset the youth.

“My brother’s” he replied shortly. His voice was lacking much of a tone.

“What happened to him?”

“I don’t want to talk about it” he said with a hint of anger.

Samuel rolled over onto his opposite side and faced the wall, pulling the blankets over himself to create a physical barrier between us.

“I know what you mean” I replied, hushing my voice to barely a whisper.

“Let’s not do this” he added after a few seconds. “Goodnight, Danny”

 

 

It was a surprise that I hadn’t noticed the barracks on our way into town. It was an old and very imposing building, constructed of sturdy stone in a rectangular shape. Four square towers sat in each corner of the place and the parapets which lined them made the building resemble a wall in part.

My failure to notice it at the time could however be put down to how preoccupied I was with listening to Marcus and attempting to ignore the rainclouds that were settling in overhead. It was already raining, but very soon the rain was going to become a storm.

“Well I guess this is goodbye for now” said Marcus. “Try not to get yourselves killed will you”

“Don’t worry, we’ve both been at this for a long time” said Martyn. “You’ll be seeing us, both of us, again soon enough”

“Let’s get going already, Manhunter” I interrupted. “We don’t have all day”

I moved forward and stood at the entrance to the barracks, tapping my foot impatiently as while waiting for the two men to finish. People were always far too depressing with their goodbyes, it’s easier to just leave.

“Thankyou” Martyn said, shaking the other man’s hand.

“Same goes for you Martyn… and you too, Danny” Marcus added with a nod in my direction. “Without you two I’d most probably be dead”

I was starting to think it was a real shame that I hadn’t left the two of them down there in that mine. My life would at least have a little more peace, quiet and simplicity.

“If you live long enough than you can swing by anytime you want” Marcus said with a wave as he walked away.

“Will do!” was Martyn’s predictable reply before he strolled over to where I was waiting.

“Like I said, you’re always moody” Martyn grumbled whilst barging past me.

“Looks to me like you’re the one being moody” I replied before following the Manhunter inside.

The first thing I noticed upon entering was the sheer amount of training equipment that was around the place. Wooden weaponry, sticks with weights tied to the ends, bows and arrows, and targets all sat around the place.

On a normal day the soldiers who belonged to this barracks would probably be all around the place practicing, but today they were probably preparing to leave on their mission. It was a shame I wouldn’t get to test any of them before walking into battle beside them.

“They have nice grass” Martyn mumbled back to me while pointing out into the courtyard. Maybe he wasn’t mad at me anymore.

He was right though, for grass that had met with the boots of countless men during training exercises the courtyard looked rather nice. That was, apart from a patch or two of sandy ground and the occasional sight of dead grass.

The courtyard itself was big, and could probably contain more than fifty men and still leave them room to move about freely. Once again though, since today the soldiers were preparing to leave on their mission the area was empty.

“Hurry up, Danny” Martyn shot back. “We don’t have all day”

I nearly laughed, I really did. “Who’s moody now, Manhunter” I replied while following after the man.

The sound of one man talking loudly and sternly was starting to become very apparent as the distance between myself and one of the rooms shrunk. The man talking was probably the captain, sergeant, commander or whatever the leader of a barracks was called.

Martyn stepped into the room and I followed closely behind him, making sure not tot get left behind by the Manhunter.

The room was long and skinny, and soldiers armed to the teeth lined the walls. Each man wore light looking armour, mostly leather with some of the soldiers sporting chainmail, the odd piece of plate armour could be spotted here and there.

Quite unlike the bandits and raiders I had become so accustomed to fighting over time these men had proper weapons. Longswords, broad axes and large hammers sat on the soldier’s hips or on their back alongside metal shields.

“Has everyone…” the man at the front trailed off mid yell.

He was wearing far better looking armour than everyone else, not only did it look to be made of solid steel but it was also shiny and clean unlike the other men’s.

“Who the f**k are you two?” he called out, pointing at us with one armoured hand.

“We’re just two nobodies hoping to become your soldiers” Martyn called back.

Martyn was always very upfront like that, if you asked him something he always gave a very clear and simple answer. Whether it was through stupidity or just because he was like that I did not know, but in any case it usually worked to our advantage.

The armoured man rubbed at his eyes before walking down from his podium up the front and heading in our direction. He was probably the kind of man who commanded respect from his men and was feared by his enemies. But to me he was just another piece of s**t.

“Well at least you have swords” the man said as he approached, looking me up and down. “Do you know how to use them?”

“I make my living through hunting down criminals and executing the law” said Martyn. “And Danny here… well let’s just say he may have no idea when it comes to a lot of things, but when you put a sword in his hand and an enemy in front of him than he’s at home”

The armoured man was older than me, older than Martyn too although in battle experience was often more useful than youth. He had brown hair that was beginning to grey at the ends and a face full of stubble that framed his dark green eyes.

His age also showed through the lines on his face which had been carved by time and the stress of leading men into battle. He was still a piece of s**t to me though.

“You can tag along” he said with a smile. “Just don’t expect to get paid” he added as the smile fell away.

“My name is Lucius, but you will address me as sir, nothing more and nothing less” he said sternly.

“What are we doing today exactly, sir?” Martyn asked robotically.

“These two here are Damon and Eugene” Lucius said, nodding to two of the nearby soldiers. “They’re two of my best men, they’ll show you the ropes”

He marched away without another word or a glance back over his shoulder. I was pretty sure all soldiers were like that, they always walked and talked like they had a stick up their arse or something.

“Welcome to the army” the first of the two men Lucius had pointed out said, offering me his hand.

He was the taller of the two and definitely the least intimidating warrior I had ever seen. While the other man was bulky and slightly scarred, this man’s skin was smooth and unmarked.

“I’m Danny” I said, accepting the man’s grasp.

“I’m Eugene” he said shaking my hand firmly. “And this ugly b*****d here is Damon” he continued.

Damon grunted in a low and animalistic tone before looking at Martyn and offering his own hand.

“Martyn” the Manhunter said, shaking the soldier’s hand.

The soldiers were starting to move out of the long hallway and down towards an exit that lead to the streets. I followed behind Eugene and Damon at Martyn’s side, looking out at the countless citizens to see if I could spot Samuel or Marcus.

“You two don’t seem like you’re from around here” said Eugene over his shoulder. “So what brought you to our fair jewel of a city to join our perilous war?”

“It was Danny’s idea really” Martyn replied. “And I can’t blame him really, if I was half as good a swordsman as him I’d want to test my limits, although I’m not entirely sure that I war is the best way to do that”

The people lining the streets all looked very… sad I think it was, maybe not many men came back from these attempts to take back the farmlands. I still couldn’t spot Samuel though, I had hoped he would be waiting to watch me go.

“So you came here only to partake in our war?” said Damon with a tone of astonishment to his voice.

“That is more or less correct” Martyn murmured. “It was one of those things you had to be there for, when Danny explained it… it sounded beautiful somehow”

“I think I know what you mean” Eugene added. “Before Symonds, the Duke’s son, rebelled against his father I used to hear him talk sometimes, he had a way with words that could make even the most brutal acts seem gentle and peaceful”

“Is that how he was able to get so many of Hollowdell’s people to side with him?” I asked, joining the conversation.

“That and his skill in combat” Damon replied. “People find it easier to form under a leader who’s one of the greatest swordsmen to ever live”

There was still no sign of Samuel or Marcus in the crowd by this point. I had however seen many women from the crowd beginning to cry and grasp at the armour of men who walked past, probably their husbands or brothers.

None of the men seemed to notice or care though, simply continuing to walk through the hands of their women. It was probably just easier to keep walking without saying goodbye even if they weren’t coming back, I could respect that.

“I’ve been hearing from everyone how skilful Symonds is on the battlefield” said Martyn. “I’m certain that Danny here could show him a thing or two though” he added, clapping me over the back.

“Well Danny, you’re going to have to prove to us that you really are as good as Martyn thinks you are” said Eugene.

“Hopefully you get a chance to show us just how good you are today” added Damon. “We do so desperately need a warrior capable of facing Symonds, I don’t recall that he has ever been defeated”

“Even when sparring with our Captain Lucius” said Eugene. “And he wasn’t much more than a young boy than”

 Back when I had first tortured that man to find out exactly who Symonds was, the man had called him Captain Symonds.

We, and the soldiers continued to march down and into the lower sector of the city. I caught sight of Samuel and Marcus standing together, Samuel looked a little like he had been crying. It started to rain.

They waved and I nudged Martyn in the ribs, returning the wave alongside my Manhunter friend.

“Friends of yours?” asked Eugene solemnly.

“Well yes, but not exactly” replied Martyn. “Danny saved them from some raiders on our way here and we stayed the night with them, nice folks if you ask me”

Samuel was staring at me in the way he had done when we first met, I now realised though that the stare had nothing to do with what had happened in the mine. It was all about the bed.

“That’s enough about us though” I muttered under my breath. “How do you two know each other?”

“Well old Damon and I have know one another for about twelve years or so” said Eugene. “Isn’t that right?”

“And if I recall correctly that was also the day old Lucius was made into captain of our barracks” said Damon. “We had both only signed up recently”

“And Damon by just being Damon” interrupted Eugene. “Had managed to get himself into trouble with the new captain already, and men are always far harsher in their first few days of power”

“So naturally he had me polishing his boots” said Damon.

“And sharpening his sword” added Eugene.

“Yes, yes, and there was cleaning and shining his armour too” Damon finished, patting himself on the chest.

The women watching us leave were starting to disappear back into their homes and Samuel and Marcus had already fallen out of sight. It would not be long before we passed out of the city and I doubted the fact that I would ever see him again.

“But Lucius after making him do all that decided that he hadn’t done a good enough job to get off just yet!” exclaimed Eugene.

“So he set me to work on cleaning every single plate and every single knife and fork in the barracks” said Damon gloomily.

I noticed that many of the men around us had started to chuckle while listening to Damon and Eugene talk. Likely remembering the events they were telling or recalling the last time they had told this story.

“Then I found the poor sod late at night, still up and cleaning all the dishes” said Eugene. “And being my natural good self I decided to help the poor fella out”

“If by helping me out you mean making everything worse for me than you sure did help a lot” said Damon turning to face me. “The bloody clumsy b*****d ended up slipping over and smashing half the plates in one go!”

Martyn and the other two men started to laugh heartily, and so I joined in for courtesy’s sake. I didn’t actually find it that funny.

“Took us… three years I think it was, just to work that debt off and make it up to the captain” said Eugene. “I still don’t think he’s ever let it go”

“Oh believe me!” Lucius shouted back over his men, his voice was like an arrow aimed straight at Eugene’s chest. “You will truly make up for that one day lads!”

Everyone erupted into roaring laughter at Lucius’ comment and a few of the soldiers patted Eugene on the back and rubbed his head.

Being a soldier was the kind of thing I could get used to if it wasn’t for the rain.