My mind was wandering as our latest sortie was drawing to a close. Aside from a few small pockets of resistance, the defenders of this small town were fleeing.
Mostly mercenaries and militia
, I thought. We had been blessed with fairly good weather, too. It was mild and there were no signs of rain, good conditions for troops clad in armor.
I kicked my heels to urge my steed forward, ordering my personal guard to follow. We continued ahead at a trot, surveying the scene as we proceeded down the main road towards the town square. The familiar sound of our horses' footfalls upon the stone road focused my mind upon the task at hand. A rider in yellow plate armor, bearing a large kite shield with a lion crest, came into view and approached to deliver his report.
The rider removed his helm and spoke calmly. "The town is ours, my Lord."
"Good work, Commander," I replied. "How many casualties?"
"We've some wounded, which we managed to pull from the front lines. My sergeants are still accounting for all of our troops." The Commander looked at me proudly; he had hardly broken a sweat today.
"Dismissed, Commander. Return to your duties."
The Commander brought a fist across his chest in salute, and turned his horse to return to his soldiers. I looked to my right, where my Lead Advisor was sitting on her horse at my flank. "I certainly hope this will be worth it, Serinn," I asserted.
Serinn stared intently at me, a piercing stare with bright green eyes that I had seen many times before. "I have the utmost confidence in our informants, my Lord." She did, at that. Her demeanor always spoke volumes. She kept fussing with her skullcap, though—she was certainly not a battle maiden. The cap covered up her shoulder-length auburn hair, but was necessary, even as remote from the battle as she was.
All it takes is an errant arrow…
I thought.
"Let's see then for ourselves," I replied. I dismounted, and with a hand signal, motioned Serinn and a few of my guards to come with me. I adjusted my armor to allow for quick, smooth movement should the need arise. I had made many enemies in this land.
We approached the town square, secured by a ring of my troops. I addressed my battalion leaders, taking their individual reports of the battle. It was largely the usual: unskilled opponents, little or no command structure, low enemy morale. Losses were unusually low, however. Things had gone quite well today. One of the battalion captains responsible for initial surveys of the population after the battle stood with a sergeant in rust-colored light plate armor, a squad leader.
The sergeant saluted and reported: "I've found something, my Lord." He turned to a soldier behind him, ordering, "Show him."
I heard the rustling of chain mail as the soldier approached with a frail-looking young woman in tow. The soldier, whom I recognized as one of my new women recruits, saluted.
The woman brought to my attention looked around nervously, as if she felt there were a thousand eyes on her. The young soldier spoke softly to the woman, reassuring her. After all, any who wished came with us and were granted asylum behind our walls. Their safety was assured. The nervous woman was still hesitant, but eventually she agreed and nodded at the soldier. She pulled down her shirt slowly to reveal a brand on her right breast. It was of a black crown.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place. The Black Crown was a remnant of the old dynasty. The name came from a sort of cruel joke that referred to both their claim to the crown and their rather brutal tactics. The last remaining real player in the region, they were less interested in power as much as they were in filling their coffers and taking whomever they chose for their sick pleasures. I rested my hand on the ruby-handled dagger at my left, idly fingering the smooth gem at its base while I pondered this turn of events.
After a few moments in thought, I bowed my head in respect to the young woman. "What is your name, my lady?"
Taken aback at the honorific way in which I spoke to her, she stammered a response. "M, my name is, uh, Dara, my Lord."
"Dara. I thank you greatly for your help here. You shall be rewarded, and protected if you choose. I understand how difficult it was for you to help us today. My sincere thanks to you."
Dara's lips turned upward in a hint of a smile and she curtsied. I suspected it was the first time that she had smiled in a while. I saluted the young soldier who had brought her forward.
"Take care of our guest," I requested.
The soldier saluted in reply, and led the young woman off. "So it was the Black Crown we fought today, then," the Sergeant noted. "There may yet be some agents remaining in the town, Sir."
I shook my head. "No, these were likely just mercenaries. The Crown rarely commits its forces; they just sit around taking in their fill of food, drink, and women. Before long they will be too fat and dull to fight." The Sergeant laughed at this remark.
"But you may be correct, Sergeant," I pointed out, and turned to address the Captain. "Have we searched the whole town yet?"
"No, my Lord. The Commander has directed searches, but the East and South roads have yet to be covered."
The East Road
, I thought. Thinking back on the battle, my forces had pressed from the north and fanned out swiftly. I had sent horsemen around to the East to out-flank retreating forces, but they met with little resistance. Something was amiss.
"Very well then. Sergeant? We shall proceed east."
The Sergeant bowed his head and saluted, and walked off to carry out his orders. I dismissed the Captain, allowing him to return to his duties, and motioned for my guard to bring our horses. "You were right, Serinn," I admitted.
She nodded. "Yes, my Lord. The city was ripe for the taking."
"It was at that. Let us proceed." We mounted our horses and began our patrol down the East Road.
-----~~~-----
The search had been fairly uneventful. There was no further resistance, and questioning the townsfolk had yielded some answers. The men, it would seem, were keeping the women in bondage. They were not allowed out of the house, and were essentially kept around for chores and sexual favors. Some of the women had contributed to that household's particular trade, but they got very little, if anything, in return. This is the way things had been in this country for quite some time.
Not all of the women had been subjected to these conditions, but fear of retaliation from those in power here and abroad had kept most of the women confined to their residences. Serinn kept mental notes as we progressed; she has proven herself to be quite effective at setting up governance and law where there was none. She is also especially charismatic—a good amount of our recruitment can be attributed to her persuasive words.
We began to approach the end of the housing row; the road led to farmland just a few hundred paces beyond. A swift breeze began to howl down the pathway between the houses, causing signs and shutters to creak and moan down the otherwise quiet street. The Sergeant fidgeted a bit as he kept his vigilant watch of the houses along our patrol.
"I don't like this, Sir," he said to me quietly.
