Remnant of Power

Chapter Forty

Timod

An arrow hit the soldier's hauberk. It bounced against the chain mail, and he brushed it off angrily, looking behind him. As he turned, another bolt slammed into his neck. With a shocked expression, he stopped, and fell.

Timod collapsed on the ground.

A big hand reached down and pulled him up. "Is that really you, Timod Guthry?" Timod looked up and saw Godric, the butcher.

"Have you got any sausages, Godric," he breathed, "I'm bloody starving."

***

He was home. He could hardly believe it. He'd thought that he'd never get back and that the soldiers in the compound would kill him once he'd dug enough soil up. Now it was up to him. He'd been given a chance. One chance to get his revenge on the evil bastard who nearly killed him, and at the same time a chance to move up the ladder. He'd better not blow it. Walking along the main street to where his mill still stood proudly alongside the river he lifted his hands to knock the door. It was opened by a short, fair, plump woman. She looked at him, dropped the bag she was carrying and burst into loud sobs. Timod reached for her and folded her into a tight embrace.

A small boy and girl appeared in the doorway, crying "Daddy, daddy!" and Timod bent down to sweep them into his arms. They went inside.

Very early next morning Timod returned to the forge and collected a sword and two long knives. His wife was watching at the door as he returned to the house.

"What're you doing, Timod, you've only just come back to us," said his wife, Janice, clinging on to his arm as he walked into the hallway.

"Come inside, Janice. There's something I need to explain. I didn't tell you everything last night." He took his wife's hand and led her to a carved wooden settle in the parlour, speaking quietly so that their maidservant would not hear him. In as few words as possible, he sketched out his plan to raise an army, instructing her to take the children to stay with her grandparents.

"You'll all be safe in the Fort, Janice. Whatever your grandfather thinks about the King, he's too old to want any part in fighting."

"Perhaps it would have been better if you hadn't returned, Timod. You should've gone straight to fight the King. If you don't come back now, our hearts will have been broken twice." Lifting her hand, she dabbed away the tears that started to leak onto her cheeks, but even seeing her distress wasn't enough to stop the excitement bubbling in Timod's stomach.

"There's another reason I want to do this, Janice. I've been Sherriff here for ten years, and I know you're proud of me. But your grandfather is a Thane, and I want more. This lad, this son of King Tarlius, has publicly appointed me to lead this army. Think what that would mean for us if we win. If he gets to be King, and I've led the army."

She studied him for a while, then shook her head. "I would rather have you as Sherriff, Timod Guthry, than not have you at all. May our God have mercy on us."

But Timod put on his new boots with the embroidered shafts, a present from the Thane, and left the house to walk to Godric's home with a spring in his step. The butcher and his three sturdy sons set off immediately to check there were no more soldiers around the town. Once they returned, Timod and Farmer Ulby headed off to the main square. Opening up the town hall, Timod draped his chain of office over his shoulders and lifted the heavy brass hand bell from the ceremonial cupboard.

Outside the Town Hall he cleared his throat and began to call, "Hear ye, men of Winterbridge, Sherriff Timod calls you to listen." He repeated this several times, parading around the square, then paused and began again. After ten minutes, the town square was full and Godric and his sons continued to keep watch.

Timod spoke as the townsfolk stood in silence.

"There are men missing today from among us who should be here. Some we won't see again, for they've been wickedly taken from us, and we mourn them with heavy hearts. Yet some are not here today and we have the chance to save them and bring them back. You know that I was taken by the King's soldiers for being marked as a troublemaker. The soldiers could come back any day now and take me again; they could take your sons and your husbands, your fathers." At this point the townsfolk looked around worriedly, and some started to move away from the square.

"By some chance, I was lucky, the prison I was in was raided by friends, and I and nearly two hundred men were set free." There were women in the crowd weeping and many folk started to talk. Timod waited for the noise to die down.

"But we were the lucky ones. Some weren't so lucky. What's happened to our country? We never used to live in fear of our lives, of our children's lives. What about next time the soldiers come, and the time after that, and the time after that? Will they take all of our menfolk?" Here he stopped and cleared his throat, tilting his head back to scan the square.

An old man shouted to him, "What can we do, Sherriff Timod? If soldiers came along now, you'd be straight back in prison, or probably have your head chopped off. A bunch of rebels can't do anything. He's the King and he's got a great army of soldiers. That's it now for us, we'll all be thralls soon." There was much murmuring and nodding to this.

Timod thrust his shoulders back and his chest out before he spoke again. "I'll tell you what we can do. We can march against the King with an army of our own. Each one of nearly two hundred men has returned to our towns to give the same message. Across Arvad an army is being raised up. The Ithrim of Nithandoran Forest are rising against the King, and the Dryads of the north. They've got a great arsenal of weapons which we can use. The time is now. We must strike now. In a few days, the King will marry the daughter of the King of Tarhasta. After that, they'll be confirmed allies and Tarhasta will have to aid Ulric in any battles. If we strike before they wed, we won't have to contend with more soldiers from Tarhasta."

"The man who rescued me is the son of King Tarlius. He was smuggled out of the castle as an infant, as courtiers found out that Ulric had murdered his parents. He's a fair and just man and he'll be our rightful King."

"Men of Winterbridge, march with us to fight for your lives, and those of your children. We meet at Mirnford crossroads at dawn tomorrow."