KOK Chapter 6 - Deep Patrol

 

Chapter 6 – Deep Patrol

William didn’t mind the deep patrols. Actually he mostly enjoyed them. He was quite at home in the woods far away from town. He was an avid hunter and loved the quiet found only in the deep woods. This was a rare patrol because William’s Captain was on patrol with them this rotation. As a Captain in the Local Defense, there were many responsibilities. There are four Captains in the Local Defense and one Reserve Captain. Each one had roughly a hundred men to their charge. The patrols were scheduled such that one was always out with the deep patrols. Most folk had forgotten this particular Captain’s real name. They referred to him as Cap’ Tale. They did this because he was gifted at the telling of stories and loved to do so. It didn’t much matter if they were true or imaginary and half the time folk weren’t sure which category the story they were hearing fell into if not both. He was a good man and a good defender. Even though he was most known for his tales, he was an adept leader of men. His men greatly respected him even if they didn’t use his given name.

As William came into camp for the evening Cap’ Tale was at the fire living up to his namesake. William refilled his drinking bladder with water from the stream and came near the fire to listen. There were about five men all mesmerized by the current edition. William listened closely to see if this was one he had heard before. It was. Actually he knew this one well. It was a fanciful flight about a bear the size of ten men. Depending on the audience, it was either Cap’ Tale by himself, or lately William as his alpha on the trail of this behemoth. There was some measure of truth to this tale, but not even William was sure how much anymore. William was always amused when he got to the part where the beast looked his superior straight in the eye and seemed to be intimidated by the Captain’s icy returning stare. Tale was so good at telling it, though that his audiences seemed to believe every word regardless how ridiculous.

As William took his seat, he was pulled into the act, “How far was it we fell down that cliff Leftenant? Was it as high as the Great Hall roof, do you think?

William tried to keep a straight face and replied immediately, “Sir, with all the fur flying it was so hard to tell, but I thought we fell half the morning.” Most times this outlandish response would have incited raucous laughter, but William’s friend and superior just kept rolling with it.

“Ah yes, the fur was a-flying gentlemen! The Leftenant and I both thought we were gone for sure! We fell forever it seemed…” Eventually he recounted for the men how the two of them against all odds and with reduced weaponry felled the bear with their field knives. It was quite a ride and the audience erupted in applause as the captain took a bow. William just smiled.

“How is it tonight my friend?” Tale asked as he took a seat beside William. William had always liked him, but since he was promoted they had become quite close. Cap Tale demanded respect and obedience from his junior officers, (and got it) but also believed in befriending them closely.

“Well sir, well.” William said in an easy tone. “I saw some nice tracks we may pursue on the morrow. Perhaps you should go out with us. Watch Commander George indicated this was a big one and judging by the tracks he is right. It might be best to have more than one bow I can count on.”

“Capital idea Leftenant! I have not seen any big game in some time. On another note, we should discuss setting up some ambushes to test your men while on patrol. It is good to keep them on their toes. There have been a number of thieves spotted in recent patrols even though there have been no encounters.” Tale said.

“I was thinking just the same thing and brought some items to make disguises for us sir.” William, perhaps even more than the other men, adored and respected the Captain and did his best to emulate his methods. It pleased him that he had reached the same conclusion here.

“Well done Leftenant, well done! We shall put together the plan while on the trail of yet another behemoth on the morrow! In the mean time I shall go entertain the men who drew post watch before I retire for the evening. Rest well son, for tomorrow we hunt!” In many ways William regarded Cap’ Tale as a father so this praise made William’s easy mood even better. He finished drinking his water and went to his bunk roll and slept deep and well in the cool woods.

~

While the rest of the men kept to their patrolling duties, Cap’ Tale and William went on the hunt for a large bear whose tracks William had found the day before. They were on the last week of their patrol and this would be a nice prize to return with. A bear of this size would well supply a gathering with good meat. The two had of course discussed official business and planned on setting some traps for training purposes later on. They felt they were getting close and were getting excited when they heard a howling cry that they could not identify.

“That’s not bear.” Cap’ Tale said quietly to William. They both looked around waiting for another. They weren’t even sure if a single creature could have made that noise or if it was a chorus. William had been feeling as if he were being watched since before he left town, but the sensation was much sharper and intense now. They heard the signaling whistle from the patrols. They had all ceased movement and were waiting. The whistle signal they sent out was a method of knowing where their comrades were without calling out vocally. William signaled for the Captain and himself. Their detail was all in whistle range, but well spread out.

All the defenders were crouched motionless, barely breathing. They looked about; they strained their ears and sniffed the air to get any sign of impending danger. Truth was the last couple patrols had reported hearing such a noise, but could never find the source. In the stillness it seemed as if the woods themselves were listening with them, aiding them. Out of the silence the cry came again. It was a growling howl. It was definitely more than one voice. William detected maybe three ‘somethings’ joining in a dissonant, chilling chord. It was closer to William and Cap’ Tale than any of the others. They quickly met eyes and were in motion in an instant. The two moved swiftly and silent through a small ravine and scaled an incline to look over its crest. When they dropped to a prone position and crawled to the edge they saw the source of the cries. Explaining what they saw…that’s a different story.

The bear had been slaughtered and drug back to a rough camp site, but at first it seemed by odd creatures. There were three beings seemingly standing upright, but covered in fur with an odd assortment of tusks or horns jutting out from their heads and shoulders. It took a moment for either of them to realize these were men, or at least mostly. They moved and sounded more like beasts of some sort, but they were men. They had tools and swords. They were covered in roughly cut animal hides and had incorporated bones and horns and perhaps teeth in their coverings. Even their heads had a covering made of bone and hide. When they caught a glimpse of these wild men they saw their faces were painted. Their skins appeared dark and some of them disfigured some how. They were pierced in different places with pieces of bone protruding from their jaws, nose, even one of their brows. Even now they barely looked like men. Then it struck William how large these wild men were. Judging from the bear carcass they stood over cutting and ripping it, they were much larger than the men of Kidron. Father’s description came back to mind. Grandfather must’ve seen the runts if they were only a head taller…

“Are these the creatures of your father’s description William?” Cap’ Tale spoke softly but never took his eyes off the sight below.

“I would have to say yes.” William replied. “I had hoped he was wrong, sir. They are the Woods Watchers” William had taken Tale aside at the beginning of the patrol and shared with him his father’s warning. His superior had taken it seriously which pleased William because he wasn’t sure if anyone would believe the story. Just then something caught the attention of the three watchers. They all looked to one side of their encampment. There, at the base of a tree was an apparent prisoner. A young woman was bound tightly with ropes and had fallen over. She was struggling to right herself which proved difficult with no free arms. The three grunted and spoke in some foreign tongue with a harsh tone at her. Whatever was said seemed to amuse them as they chuckled and returned to their kill.

“Sound the whistle and gather the men here Leftenant. I am going to try and come around to free the lass without their knowing. I may need you and the team to come down in force and noise if I cannot slip in undetected. Make no mistake William, I do not desire for either of us to find out the deadly capabilities of these…creatures, but will not allow her to suffer at their hands if I can prevent it.” Tale was focused and already on the move before William could sound the whistle code to gather the men. He wanted to protest the plan, but knew it was pointless. He would never speak against the Captain in front of the men, but in private was at liberty voice his opinion understanding that he must submit at the end of the discussion.

While being much older than William, Tale was in excellent condition and was able to move quickly without making a sound around the camp and come up behind the woman while the men began to arrive at William’s location. The three below had not been distracted yet. William allowed the men to have a peak and quickly told them the situation. The men were as ready as they could be and certainly purposed to protect the Captain and this mysterious young woman.

Tale moved intentionally slow the closer he got. His eyes were on the three who appeared to be nearing the end of their feast. They were larger than they had appeared from above he thought. The woman was still on her side and as such caught sight of him. She froze with a look of shear panic in her eyes. Tale moved closer and whispered to her. “Ma’am, I am here to help you, but I need you to not move.” She nodded nervously in reply. He instructed her to move quickly if the three were aroused and told here where to run to meet up with the defenders. He slowly cut the ropes that held her. She whimpered as the tight ropes were suddenly loosed. Tale was pulling her behind him to begin their retreat when one of the three happened to look over at them. “Run!” Tale did not yell, but got his point across and she took off like a shot. One of the three grunted something at other two who took off after their escaping prisoner while he headed for her liberator.

Tale whispered a prayer as his blade sprung to action. William quickly ordered the men to intercept the woman’s path and save her from her two assailants. The largest of the three was now approaching the Captain. William thought he’d better stay in case. The watcher’s sword was short and broad. William estimated it to be as wide as his thigh and probably able to sever such as well. In a moment William saw his mentor locked in mortal combat with the watcher and not dispatching him quickly. William was making his way down to the fight when he heard the other two howling again. He hoped that wasn’t bad news for his team, but seeing the way this one fought it would be believable.

Just as William reached the bottom of the hill time seemed to slow. His mentor had lost his weapon and was knocked to the ground. As he caught his fall on his hands, instinctually he spun to face upward. Unfortunately it was just in time to see the blow that would prove fatal. The creature was too fast and too strong. This would be the end of Cap’ Tale.

Unbeknownst to William, the two who were after the young woman heard a howling from some other of their kindred and broke pursuit. The team saw them suddenly change direction and disappear into the wood. Five had taken the newly freed prisoner to their base camp. Five had returned to the hilltop just in time to see their leader fall. William unsheathed his blade and ran toward the watcher. His foe heard him coming before and was well aware how much time he had to spin about and attack.

William was the best swordsman in Kidron. There was no disputing this. William had never struggled so in a sword fight. This creature’s strength was amazing. With every clash of blades, William’s bones jarred from the force of the blows. He had never seen speed like this. William who was always ahead of his opponents and waiting was just barely in time to save his life. Of course, William was not comparing things in this moment. That would come later. Right now he could only think that this vile thing had dispatched his Captain, a just man. He realized shortly that he was getting nowhere but in trouble.

In a brief pause of action, William lept backward. For a split second his eyes closed. The defenders quickly descending the hill saw William raise his sword and heard him shout, “For My King!” They all thought he was referring in some way to Cap’ Tale, but he wasn’t. The next thing they saw would become the subject of legend in later years. William rushed in again but with speed and fluidity of motion they had never seen. It was difficult to keep up. The creature accelerated his movements to match, but William continued spinning, jumping, thrusting, ducking and the advantage seemed to be shifting. The technique William was using was much more advanced than anything they had been taught in their training the defenders thought.

As he moved, almost quicker than his men could track, William began to get inside the watcher’s defenses. Suddenly small wounds began appearing on the creature’s body. His animal hides were now smeared with blood. William was not immune as he did receive some close scrapes that brought a red spray as well, but not in comparison to those he was delivering. Now it was clear William was in command of this battle and the defenders stood in awe having never seen such a display. In a moment more the broad blade of the watcher was loosed from the creature’s grasp and went flying. Then all at once William spun out of the path of the creature’s lunge and thrust his blade into the back of the watcher. As William retrieved his blade the creature turned around breathing laboriously. The two met eyes and all that William saw was living hate and contempt. He could not understand the cursing he got as the creature spat, but he was certain if words were venom he too would perish. The watcher fell back lifeless. William returned his sword to its sheath.

William ran to his fallen friend. He pulled Cap’ Tale in his lap as his friend and mentor slowly breathed his last breaths. He whispered to William, “For Kidron, and for my King…”

~