Karlie has slowed the pace of her activity finally. She's picked up a bit of Aunt Carri's discipline in the time they worked together. I lay on my cot with my left leg elevated and properly bandaged now, the sword thrust I'd taken numb for the time being.
The good news, aside from the fact that Karlie says there should be no permanent damage done to my leg, is that we killed eleven bandits and the work to rebuild Lucey's farm has already started.
I'd made mistakes last night. I misjudged my timing on an attack and taken the wound that has me laid up as I write this journal. Most importantly, I'd left Miss Lucey and her friend Ema unguarded. Lucey had insisted on coming with us. The bandits had killed her whole family, after all, and she wanted to be there when we visited justice of a sort on them.
When Ahmrun and I entered the Pony to gather Miss Lucey for our expedition, we found her in company with her friend, a woman named Ema. Lucey insisted that her friend accompany us, reasoning that Ema would serve as her 'eyes' to report on what was happening and at the same time, she could help to guide Lucey and thusly free Ahmrun and I for our work. With some misgivings, Ahmrun and I acceeded to this request.
While we discussed this, we perforce made reference, though vague, to the nature of our intended work that night and as sure as apples fall from trees, roused interest in the form of the man playing his lute at the bar. I saw the unease in Ahmrun, though anyone who did not know him would have thought nothing of his demeanor. Rounding up the two girls, Ahmrun chivvied them out the door of the Pony as I lagged, surveying the patrons once more before exiting as well.
Finding the three waiting, I spoke to Ahmrun in the melange of Haradric I had been learning from the warden Taphreille, asking that he lead the girls to the Scholar's Stairs while I watched our backtrail. As they set off, I spun and moved rapidly for the shadows to find a hidden spot from which to watch. I had not gotten far when a mere chance glimpse, the slightest movement caught my attention by the haystack Barliman keeps for the stabled horses of his patrons.
I spun, poised for action and there, barely visible in the shadows, was the lute player himself. A man of Harad, by all appearances, so I addressed him in that language. Long story short, he expressed concern for the girls and their safety, implying that what he had heard of our conversation within the Pony had reminded him that there were many in Bree who would take advantage of the unwary such as the two lasses so he had followed, worried that such was our intent.
I well knew Ahmrun would be, shall we say 'displeased' by my decision, but I felt we had no choice. Either I left the man, Ioachin's body stuffed under the haystack for the watch or some poor stablehand to find, or I brought him with us. With the admonition that if he followed us, he either helped us or became a target understood, Ioachin opted for the former.
Ioachin had made his way out of the Pony and ensconced himself near enough to where we stood while Ahmrun and I discussed the meet at the Scholar's Stairs without either of us noticing. That in itself, despite Ioachin's humble description of himself, assured me that the man had formidable skills. I had only noticed him by pure chance.
After a tense discussion in the quiet of the Archives at the Scholar's Stairs, with me becoming more amused than I ought to have by Ahmrun and Ioachin's squaring off like two tom-cats sharing an alley, it was reluctantly decided that he would accompany us as well.
Our trip to Lucey's farm passed without incident, Ema proving the need for her presence by her careful attention and direction of blind Lucey. We moved as close as we dared with the two of them before finding a safe spot for them. We warned them to wait, watch and listen for our signal before emerging from their cover.
Ioachin, Ahmrun and I then studied the area carefully to make our plans. There were eight bandits in sight, gathered before a fire in the front of the farmhouse and all were well into their cups. They passed around several jugs of some hootch and were stupid enough to all be facing the fire, ruining their night vision. Nearby, on the other side of the stone fencing of the farm, their horses, eight in all, were tethered.
All three of us shared a look and Ioachin volunteered to release the horses and lead them away, a plan to distract the bandits and hopefully entice some of them to follow, thereby splitting their forces. Getting Ahmrun's attention, I made a gesture suggesting he and I encircle and approach the bandit's we hoped would remain by the fire and attack when Ioachin's gambit was discovered.
So it began. Ioachin slipped off, his movements slow and silent in the dark of the night. Ahmrun and I shared another look, acknowledging the fact that indeed, Ioachin's actions betrayed his claim of humble and unskilled value. With him well on his way, Ahmrun and I set off on our courses, making our silent and steady approaches.
In place at last, Ahmrun and I waited while Ioachin carefully untethered the horses and gathered them, the bandits still obvilious to his activity until he began leading them away along the fence as casually as a farmhand taking his charges to pasture. Finally, the most alert of the bandits, standing with his back to me, noticed them and called out in inquiry. Ioachin made some sort of reply, the distance making it vague and unclear as he continued to lead the eight mounts away. With much cursing and some poorly aimed kicks, the bandit got his gang into action.
This was the moment Ahmrun and I were waiting for. I moved in quickly, seeing a speeding shadow on the far side of the group that was Ahmrun on his approach. The peaceful little party of the bandits suddenly turned into a fire-lit nightmare of chaos and blood as we struck. At least half of the group stayed in pursuit of the horses and those who didn't, couldn't as Ahmrun and I were spinning and slashing our way in pursuit.
I vaguely remember using one bandit who had stumbled and fallen in my path and avoided my attack by his own drunken clumsiness, as a springboard. I set my foot on his back as he sprawled and launched through the air, coming down on yet another enemy with both daggers plunging into his back. I caught a glimpse of Ahmrun finishing the oaf who had provided me with a platform before I yanked my weapons free and continued.
With Ahmrun following, delivering mayhem and death in his trail, I could see that Ioachin had turned when we attacked and was taking on four of the remaining bandits on his own. I sped my steps in order to reach him before he was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. One bandit, behind the others had set himself, legs wide for balance as he shifted his weight, sword poised as he watched for an opening to strike at Ioachin. I was moving fast and I tried a manuever I had used before with success. Without slackening my speed I went into a running slide, aiming to use my momentum to pass under the bandit, dagger poised for a vicious strike up into his groin.
In the dark, I could not see as well as I might have otherwise and so missed the half buried rock in my path, hitting it with one foot and throwing me off balance. Instead of slipping beneath the bandit as was my intent, I slammed into his leg and ended up in a tangle directly under him. For all the alcohol induced fog visible in his eyes as he looked down at me, he was faster than I credited and with a roar of victory from him, I felt the red hot bite of his steel as he stabbed down into the calf of my left leg.
There was a thud then, the familiar sound of steel hitting a body and the roaring bandit was gone in the dark, Ahmrun's shadow still in motion as he and Ioachin continued fighting. I could see that my wound was not spurting blood and there was no time for any further evaluation as the sounds of the fighting died away and a voice rose in the distance behind us.
From somewhere, another three bandits had appeared up the slope behind us where the bandit's campfire was burning. A large, masked man garbed in black stood there with Lucey in his custody and two other bandits flanking him. Ema was nowhere in sight.
Ioachin had disappeared and Ahmrun was slowly stalking his way back up toward the bandits with Lucey held captive. Without rising from where I lay, I began crawling toward the other side of the fence and along the base of it, using my good leg and my arms to propel myself as I moved to get closer on the flank of the confrontation.
Ahmrun was negotiating with the bandit for Lucey's release and the bandit was having none of it, demanding his immediate surrender and defying Ahmrun's offer to replace her with himself as hostage or offering to fight the bandit man to man, winner take all. I placed no hope in that and as I expected, the bandit thought he held all the cards and was in no mood to negotiate.
Lucey was not passive during this, struggling and pleading for her own release and for the man not to hurt Ahmrun. Meanwhile, with no idea where Ioachin was and Ahmrun facing three alert bandits on his own, I stopped on the other side of the stone fence and reached up, biting my lower lip so hard from the pain in my leg that it's a wonder I didn't cut it with my own teeth. Gripping the top of the fence, I pulled myself up, hoping the moon wouldn't slip out from behind the clouds and give me away as I swung my good leg over the top and sat astraddle the fence.
I eased my throwing knife from it's sheath on the back of my bracer and took aim at one of the two bandits on Ahmrun's left as the pair of them spread out and began moving to encircle Ahmrun where he stood, a triangle made complete by the leader who clutched one hand over Lucey's mouth now to stop her protestations as his men moved to kill Ahmrun.
Lucey was terrified, whether from the threats to Ahmrun, his leering promises of what he had in mind for her, Ema's fate, or all of the above, there was no way to tell. She reacted by sinking her teeth into the leader's hand covering her mouth, biting for all she was worth! He roared in pain and his followers dashed at Ahmrun. Squeezing my legs to the fence to stay steady, I let fly with my throwing knife at my target with a silent prayer to my ancestors for it's flight. They must have been listening as it flew straight and true, hitting the bandit in the chest and sinking deep. The bandit managed a step or two more, his body moving purely without control before he crashed to the ground. There was a flurry of action to my right, up near the other bandit, Ioachin making his move and yet another as Ahmrun charged the leader who dropped Lucey as he tried to ready himself for the attack.
I could not see what was happening, Ahmrun with his back to me facing the leader and Ioachin off to the side engaged with the other man. Lucey was screaming as she lay on the ground between them, buffeted by their shifting stances. We all though, could hear the sudden crashing of bushes and the pounding of something huge, accompanied by a frightening roar as a huge form barrelled out of the treeline from back near where we had left Lucey and Ema when we arrived.
I leaned over where I still sat atop the fence, groping at my boot top to withdraw one of my other throwing knives, though my heart sank as the newest actor to the drama appeared. As high at the shoulder as Ahmrun was standing, a bear had joined the stage. Whether the noise had angered it, the scent of blood had attracted it or what, it made no difference. There would be all sorts of pain now and my heart sank as I sat atop the wall, wounded and unable to reach Ahmrun, Lucey and Ioachin's side before the bear make a snack of one or all of them.
What followed next confused me. There was shouting, a scuffle as Ahmrun moved into action, movement on Ioachin's part and in the midst of it, the prone form of Lucey as the bear stood over her and reared up, towering over them all. The bandit leader fell and I fully expected Ahmrun or Ioachin would be next as the bear continued roaring, mixed with Lucey's screaming for it all to 'go away'.
That's exactly what happened, too. The bear, snorting and huffing with anger, simply dropped to all fours and went away, shuffling it's way back into the bushes where it had emerged from. My teeth clacked together as my mouth finally closed, my jaw had dropped from astonishment. Shaking themselves from their own shock, Ioachin and Ahmrun moved to check Lucey and myself until I reminded them that Ema was still unaccounted for.
I cut off the leg of my trousers below where I'd been wounded and used my belt to hold a makeshift bandage in place while Lucey was tended to and Ema found, unconcious from a blow to the head back where she and Lucey had been waiting during the fighting. We gathered ourselves, Ahmrun helping Lucey and Ema riding before me on my saddle with me holding her as we made our trip back to the safety of Bree and Karlie's care.
I laid on my cot, my pen grasped idly as I frown at nothing in particular while my thoughts raced and theories swirled in my head, occassionally glancing in curiousity at Lucey where she rested from her own ordeal in a nearby cot. My thoughts turn as well to the man, Ioachin, who had revealed much and yet was still a mystery. I can't say for sure, but I think I saw a hint of grudging respect in both his and Ahmrum's eyes for one another as we journeyed back to Bree.
It will be interesting to see what develops there. Ahmrun is distrustful of his own countrymen for good reason and Ioachin is still largely an unknown to us both. Yet, he is a skilled fighter and we would have likely perished without him there. As Aunt Carrie would say, 'Men are fickle and flighty without proper training.', so I guess that's another chore I have ahead of me.
My pen was snatched out of my hand then and I looked up to protest, only to find Karlie glowering at me and her finger pointed at my face. "Rest now.' she orders me with no uncertainty in her voice or expression. 'You've lost a lot of blood and I will tie you down and drug you into insensibility if I must.' I submit, knowing she's not bluffing and lay my head back down, eyes closed as I pretended to rest. My thoughts were still a-whirl and would be for some time. So much to take in and set in order, I decided that a bit of quiet time here under Karlie's care would provide me with the chance to do that.
