Empire of Ashes

Chapter XXVIII - Law and Order

Despite the immediate risk of his intestines being slipped on the floor, Temris left his sword in its sheath. He faced the Brakin warlord with empty palms and a grim sort of smile on his lips. I tried to pry Anlai's fingers from my belt without success. As it wasn't a good time to draw a weapon on him, I let it slide for the moment. Revenge could wait until later, when I could cut his girth strap or slip a snake into his sleeping skin or something similarly cruel.

Yarrow hefted his sword. "Draw, if you please. I'd rather not kill you when you're unarmed."

"That seems all the more reason to leave my sword where it is," Temris laughed. "Now is not the time or the place. Issue the challenge and be content with that. Unless, of course, you want to fight a melee as well as me."

The Brakin spat on the ground. "Very well. I challenge you, Temris Ragnyrsbane, for leadership of all the warbands."

"And I gladly accept, Yarrow Deathdawn. Tomorrow at noon in the Pass, where the whole damn army can watch."

I raised my eyebrows slightly at the name. Anlai scowled, but he did answer the silent question in a whisper, "He's well known for a massacre at the Sihon capital. A lot of people died that day, and not of all of them deserved it."

The crowd refrained from dispersing, at least until Yarrow stormed away with his Iyrak, leaving the Brakin prisoners sprawled on the ground. Anlai finally released me to collect one of them. I sauntered up to Temris as he stared after Yarrow.

"That worked out surprisingly well," he said.

"Are you kidding me, Ragnyr?" Fendur hissed. "You're going to have to kill him."

No doubt at all that Temris would win. I admired his faith and wished that I shared it. No one became a warlord without considerable skill in combat. And no matter how many times Temris had done this before, it would only take a single slip to get himself killed.

"And what a loss that will be," Temris finished dryly. "Now the Brakins won't have any choice but to follow me. They don't have any cause for grievance when it is Yarrow who has issued the challenge."

Samira nodded. "Tem's right. We won't lose the Brakins as allies, and we get rid of a nuisance."

"Exactly," he smiled. "Fall in, everyone. Our next stop will be the crucia."

The five prisoners managed to walk all the way to the crucia without starting another fight. To be fair, Temris kept them divided by warband and a hand on his sword hilt, but the lack of violence was still impressive when the amount of swearwords being muttered was taken into account.

"Ragnyr, can't you just let this one go?" one man pleaded. He was going the wrong way about it, acting as if mercy was a right, not a privilege.

"Nope," Temris said. "There are consequences for attacking your comrades."

He spat into the mud. "Brakins are not and never will be anything except my enemies."

"You'll change your mind about that in a little while, I should think."

We rounded a corner, and through the tents, I could see a wooden structure which closely resembled a gallow. Three occupants were already tied in place, their wrists bound to a wooden beam above their heads. Once we reached the platform, all the snivelling stopped. Our prisoners were stripped to the waist and fastened beside the others with leather straps, then drenched in water.

"Why?" I asked.

Colloe set down the bucket he was holding and smiled grimly. "Salt water. Just to be sure they don't wriggle free. In a few hours, the leather bindings will start to constrict."