Brigands

It's just the intro of a novella of mine, something that I'm going to publish complete for true when I get copyrights. Probably it needs revisions.


Brigands

The carriage proceded slowly through the Coast Path that was along the Young Woods.
The young official was observing the gaunt coach conductor to cross those worrysome lands like he was strolling over the safe streets of Dimna Dimaggio. Arran Khjm became a soldier when his own father had an escaped with an adventurer from Sulayamiynah, carring along many of the richnesses the family possessed. That defensive duty of his wasn't something he was very fond of, yet he tried his best to satisfy the standards required by the job.
Never he would have thought that such a kind of trip would change his perception over everything so radically and radiantly, shaking his principles so much.
Still, when he accepted to overwatch Lady Tany Deet'var and her governess Dimna Dimaggio at the mansion of the Deet'var family in Tartus, Arran Khjm felt the change into him.
He accepted the mission enthusiastically, for he knew that if plotted rightly, he could easily turn that spoiled, whimsical and pert woman in a tool for his scopes. She never considered him a valid one, so he would have taken his chances, for he was left ignored.
Initially, he told her about lots of vandalism and ransacking by ferocius brigands he used to hunt, affrighting her to let her believe that he was the most fit to overwait her.
Sly and sage he had been, when he chose the four valiant sentinels that procteted the lavish colleen along him: all of them were older and stronger than him, but much uglier and scarred. They had fine hearts, but to the noble eyes of the Lady, they had chances not.
He even convinced his old friend Furetchen and his band of bare brigands to fake an assault to the carriage the Lady.
All of it was glorious: the would be bandis popped out behind a knoll, all of them yelling savagely, axes and hatcets in hands.
Lady Tany was completely terrorized by such sight, but just few seconds passed when Arran started arrowed against the flock of bandits, purposely missing them. They started to escape – "Retreat, retreat we do!" - yelled Furetchen the excellent cabotin, and so his posse did. Arran started following them with his own horse, ordering his men to wait for him.
He followed them up the distant curve.
Arrived at the distant curve, he waited with them and shared a laugh, then, after five minutes or so, he started to rode back, victorious. Since then, Lady Tany allowed him to sit aside her into the carriage, lusting for his military stories and courageous enterprises he saved the lifes of many with. The very travel he plotted the complotment for became much more interesting, at least up the time the arrived to Antakya.
When they arrived at the very town they were directed to, the toll sentinels, so fop-bling, forced them to subdue for a routine check.
It lasted two hours that routine check and all of it was done under an autumnal downpour that wet poor Arran completely.
When he presented himself back to Lady Tany, inside the best tavern of the town, he found her chatting with a very hateful earl-life person that was well equipped.
Arran's moustaches were completely damp and he really felt unfit when her Lady glimpsed at him with that subtle smirk of her.
What'd been worse was the approaching of that young noble-like man, which promptedly saluted him with ipocrite deference.
"Good evening, commander. I'm very glad that your deeds with the guards, here, are shot.
Let me present myself: I'm Lord Gaitzu Wallace, from Ishlaye, actually resident in Tartus. Since I'm aiming to back in Tartus, Lady Tany has been so kind that allowed me to traver along her and from this day on I'll be under your vigilance either.
I really hope to be some kind of a hindrance to you not"
He said such twisted sentences and bowed before him after doffing his pakol.
Arran found in the gestures of that man something touroughly teasing.
"Just avoid troubles, sir. It's said there are plenty of brigands along some paths, recently.
My duty is to assist Lady Tany in her traver and every other deed is secondary.
I won't permit myself to risk putting Lady Tany in danger because of some contort dides of yours"
"Worry yourself not, commander, for I won't desert Lady Tany's carriage".
The gallant tone of Lord Gaitsu to the hears of Arran was unsustainable and he had to strain to avoid grabbing his own dagger he would pierce that man with.
"Don't dare fate too much, lord Gaitzu"
"Thank you for your piece of advice, but I adore daring fate, it's what I thrive more to keep myself alive. Now would you excuse me: it's su unproper to ditch Lady Tany alone"
He turned to Lady Tany and promptly bowed to her smile. Done with the bowing, he continued talking to her about many arguments, purposely misknowing the dewy official from whom he was snowred from before he moved away in is own room to change himself.
An hour later the Official went back to the common hall all dried up.
Lady Tany retired in her room, the young noble-like man left and to Arran was left only the chimera of a beer.
He remained there listening the chatting of nearby mercenaries and their worring about misdeeds of grafters lead by the Ferguson neverthless, a criminal full of flair that just pilfered skilfully and never killed anybody.
The following morning everybody left the town very soon but for the eager official the travel became somewhat of an hassle.
That unbearable gentleman rode alongside the carriage of Lady Tany and he could perform anything not to impede it.
Days passed by and Lord Gaitzu never felt the pressure; always affable and corteous to everybody from every social class and an untiring darer to the purity of Lady Tany.
In the evening he used to enarrate romantical stories or sing celebre poems before the eet-bed. All of them were so eimbrodered to the hearing of Arran. Soon, that situation became inconceivably stiff. He knew he had to rid himself of that hindrance named Gaitzu.
If only he could somehow contact old skilled Furetchen…
That damned idea was taking shape inside Arran, whose pledge of honor and faithfulness to honesty was slowly wreking.
At the furcation of Liqlaiaat all of the remaining scruples that Arran possessed were dismantled.
That maggot was inside the carriage that time, Liqlaiaat, betelling to a very attentive Lady Tany about the library of Liqlaiaat.
During wartime everything is allowed, concocted Arran, exasperated and ready to do.
The following day he announced that he would have been exploring near the Oriental Woods to prevent any ravaging attacks from the bandits that were said to lurk around there.
Lady Tany wasn't convinced about such misfortune and lord Gaitzu shook his had worried. He was right to be worried.
That very evening they found the rests of a coffle recently assaulted and ransacked.
They could have been merchants from the Ambling Company of Shining Souls (a puny commercial company from Tartus).
Nobody survived the ransacking.
Lady Tany leaped from the opening of her carriage the very moment they were crossing near the liches.
She fainted and her governess tried to air her so she could wake up.
In the center of the group of corpse, obviously assaulted while they were sleeping, there was a javelin with a dark tissue tied around his pike bedded into the soil.
That dark flag-like tissue, when shook by the wind, was as spectral as an infernal crow flipper.
Lord Gaitzu observed that coal coloured tissue longly with an earthly feature, completely silent, smiling not and somehow boggled.
"Are you in awe, Lord Gaitzu? You think that that black rag is the signature of the famous Ferguson, the one that was supposed to ever kill not?"
The young official laughed at the man back, convinced that he was scarily impressed by that incident.
Furthermore, because of the incident, everybody would have thanked for the exploration the young sentinel did the day before.
"I should say that I'm disgusted, commander.
Still, Ferguson neither assaults caravans neither sign his crimes"
"He has become an aggressive ransacker, then. A criminal is always a criminal and can change his methods in a repentine way"
"Anything is possible in this world, commander. Anything..."
Next morning, before dawn, Arran rode his horse and aimed to the black spot that was far away. That spot was the Occidental Woods.
He arrived there the moment the first blooms of the sun spread around.
He entered the wood and, after an hour, a deep voice made him shiver.
"High you put your hands, soldier!"
He slowely turned back and the massive figure belonged to a bandit that was pointing a crossbow at him. Arran smiled and told him something that convinced him to cooperate.

It was noon at most when the official came back to the carriage of Lady Tany. Lord Gaitzu was aslept under a tree, just few meters away.
"Everything is free to be stepped on, my Lady. Those brigands probably are satisfied still with the plunder of their previous ravagin'! Still, best to us is to quicken"
That day, Arran incited many times the carriage conductor to commit himself in his duty, for he was impatient during the crossing of that road.
When evening arrived, all of them bivvied a little farther than what Arran expected, still not that much to make him worried about the result of his plot.
That very evening, Lord Gaitzu staid away from the bivvy fire and preferred to stay alone, ready to prepare a cover for him under some willow rags.
Dinner eaten, Lady Tany approached Lord Gaitzu.
"Aren't you in need of a meal, Lord Gaitzu?"
"I don't feel like eating, yet, could I besitten near you, I will"
"It's fine to me too, Lord Gaitzu, for I have before my eyes the atrocious vision of that massacre we passed by, and a chanson of yours could help me ease that burden"
"I doubt I could sing a song that is sad not.
I can't forget that horror either. However, to please you, I'll give an effort"
"You do me so many gallantries..."
The young dame was interrupted by a coarse start of screaming. Guards afoot, with the arrow notched and the cords yanked.
"Brigands! Lady Tany, run for your carriage!"
That said her mature governess to her lady and both of them rushed toward the aformentioned carriage, whilts the entrained guards shot their arrows to the assailants.
The young commander jumped over his mount and ordered his puisne ones to shot an other round of arrows to make the assaulters step backward.
"Good my commander! You make them draw again!" - Lady Tany told him, full of enthusiasm.
"Stay put into your woody cocoon, my lady, whilst I force them by sword to draw back completely!"
Arran tried to compose himself, but he was obviously enjoying the show.
Lady Tany thought it was his warrior pride that made him smile while he was charging the rushers. She turned back and noticed that Lord Gaitzu was no more the place he was before.
She started to concoct about how that noble perchance was affable indeed yet wasn't capable to face the enemy. She noticed that the web that kept up the bags dissapeared and all of the goods were scattered around, over the soil.
The not so ample guarding group started following the assaulters that screamed savagely.
Then a scream of pain. A soldier broke from his mount. The escaping assaulters stopped: they fled anymore not, for they handled their own bows to shoot sharp arrows to the arriving guards. A blast of arrows killed two more guards. Their commander was stoned.
He finally startled and tried to flee himself, failing and becoming a prisoner of them in spite of resisting with his own sword to the bandits ruler, the one that was tall and muscly and blackly clothed.
At last, three brigands had fallen, while all of the guards, minus the commander and a simple soldier left heavily wounder, had been vanquished.
"Arran, that's some interesting plunder we get here"

That the brigands teamster said to taunt the commander while he observed two Emims forcing Lady Tany near the young pale commander that was well tighted cord.
"She is the dame you wanted for yourself only eh? with a robustNice catch with your glance, could Allah thunder me! No worries, anyway: you'll have her... later... So naive from you to think we would let such a copious plunder float away".
Lady Tany was earth coloured and one time she turned her head toward the bandit teamster, one time she turned her head to his personal guard commander.
Finally, she understood.
"You filthy traitor! You accorded yourself with these... these barbarians! And I thought you were.... you were a true shieldmay!"
"You scank, there, shut your mouth! No oafish talking here! No conceitedness here! Just silence!"
The bandits head approached the noble lady to perceive the quality of her body, but she promptly kicked him in his kneel. He smacked her face with a sounding slap.
"Sluttish whore..."
"Boss" – a puisne Enim of his group called him to attention – "There are some kind of curious carvings here, yet there's no trace of gold or preciouses..."
"You hound..." - the scroogy brigand forgot immediately about the punishment he was concocting to mar the lady even more and rushed toward the boxes that were put into the carriage.
"Where's MY gold!" - he roared – "What about this ludicrous Sulayamiynah carving? What are them for? To mock my intelligence? Right now, tell me about the damn gold and jewels, otherwise I'll fleece you with my own hands!"
? Ditemi dov’è o vi levo la pelle con le mie stesse mani!".
All of the Enims approached the two women, while their boss was heating a dirk of his.
"Hold them still! They'll reveal us what were after!"
With the free hand he grabbed the windbag near the fire and started drinking the wine as avid as you could.
"Tasty this is! Really what it's required to side a violent torture! You'll grasp very well what means to defy Ferguson!"
He tossed the windbag to the nearest brigand and then approached menaciously the noble lady.
Before he could strike, some laugh could be heard echoing in the air, and he stopped.
"You, there! Ferguson you consider yourself? Brigand please! Just a vulgar cutthroat!" - the voice came from under the willow – "You want your gold? Then come to fetch it!"
Lady Tany noticed that the yeards of that willow were more curved that time like they were protecting the figure calmly set against the snag.
"Who are you?" - that asked the brigand, still because of that familiar voice – "Go get him guys!"
"Lord Gaitzu! Escape! Away from here!" - that was what Lady Tany yelled in pain, but the young noble man moved not, staying comfortably put behind the willow.
Two Enim kept the women down while other too, near their boss, started to rush toward the willow, when suddently, the one that sap the wine felt dizzy and fainted. Their boss felt dizzy and fainted too, but before he crawled to the soil, he heard something like a whip chuck, and those puisne individuals of him immediately went down.
Lady Town decided that to faint herself was the best she could think about and so she did.
When she recovered, it was morning, all the brigands were tighted up skillfully and the ones that drunk the drugged wine still were loudly snoring. The old carriage-driver was pale because of scariness but, that not calculated into the bunch, all of him was alright.
Arran Khjm and the other sole survivor of the repentine assault were before lord Gaitzu, their eyes observing the soil.
"Command, yours was a very unproper behavior, so I tell you to go away with your complice. I surely won't follow your steps.
Just do not cross me again. It could be... unfit to you"
The voice of that noble man was edgy and staple, the voice of a true leader.
Arran and the minion, without looking at him, just went to their horses and rode southward.
"Do you think it's a good Idea to keep this prisoner here, Lord Gaitzu? They're menacing..."
It was the mastress that asked the man that question.
"We suffice, lady. Frankly, I just hope we can find some garrison troup of Elos this evening; they should sustain us with eagerness."