Sellsword Ch. 02

I clenched my grip on the stick, poking the fire as I listened to Serass feeling more and more hatred for Karis.

"The next few times until I fled when Koras's followers showed up, he came to visit under the same excuse; mentoring me for a great future ahead of me in court, and preparing me for visiting court in Kirkston when Council was in session. Every time other than one occasion, he raped me in the barn, the exception was near the nearby river to my homestead. He seemed to tire, and bore of me in those final few visits; as if the fun of raping me the first time, taking my virginity was gone now, and I was not worth even visiting anymore. I think, he was going to make me disappear had Koras's followers not come after me."

I listened, as I put the stick aside and stared at seeing tears in her eyes; she was genuine, the way she spoke and how she spoke told me she had indeed suffered what she had recounted to me.

"Serass, I promise you he'll be dead soon and suffering at Rylar's hands in the next world." I said simply, trying to comfort her.

She nodded, and quietly wiped away her tears trying to hide her face from me as we slowly drifted off to sleep. Seeing as the pass was dangerous, being pummelled by heavy snow and winds, no one was likely to come into the cavern and find us this evening.

I fell asleep, and awoke a few hours later, the sun was coming up and Serass was awake staring out of the mouth of the cavern at the lighter snow, and winds with her knees pulled up to her chest in silence.

"You're awake before me." I said as an observation.

She nodded simply.

"I don't sleep much now, so much out there scares me and I'm afraid of closing my eyes for too long."

I had to agree with her somewhat, but the truth was being afraid of sleeping and closing your eyes don't make the monsters go away, they come when you're awake as well.

"We can reach Kirkston in just under two days, it's going to be a long trek but we'll be there soon enough. You must be hungry?" I asked her, leaning over to my napsack and looking for some dried fruits, and stale bread I had with me when she handed it to me.

"Sorry, I was just really hungry; I didn't want to wake you." She said.

I nodded, and saw she had barely eaten any of it and I took a slide of dried apple and bit into it.

"That's fine, Serass." I said eating a slice of dried pear, and bit into a piece of stale bread before wrapping it up again, and shoving it into my bag again.

"Once Karis is dead, the city will toll it's bells to signal an attack. That's why you need to stay outside, I don't want the guards capturing you, and taking you unknowingly to Karis's wife." I said aloud so she could hear me as she stood near the mouth of the cavern.

"Once he's dead, his men will look for me; they know what he has been doing and will assume I was involved in his murder." Serass explained.

"Then we'll run, I'm guessing they'll figure our once they find him who was capable of killing him. I must have found you, heard the truth and come back to kill him."

Serass said nothing, and continued to stare out into the cold sky. I stood up, and gathered our things, the fire was out so no need to put it out. Once I had everything put away, and bagged I stood with her at the cavern mouth and we left together climbing down the pass away from the unnatural weather changes in the mountains back to normal ground again.

The rest of the journey was more eventful, as Serass talked to me about her upbringing, her parents and asked me questions about the Northern Clans I hailed from. We rested in a nearby forest, less than day away from Kirkston, and camped inside. I planned for us to arrive at Kirkston at sundown, when it night so I could enter the city and kill Karis, giving us enough time to escape when they'd find his body the next morning.

By dawn the next day, we were packed and ready to continue onto Kirkston. We soon arrived on the outskirts of the city, in a nearby wood that overlooked the entire city. It was dark, and night was on us. The traders were gone, and there were only a skeleton crew manning the gates, the two guards looked more bored than on guard.

Both wielded spears, and had short-swords on their belts. I turned to Serass who was watching them as I was, in silence.

"You stay here, do not move from here Serass and I'll meet you back here once it's done. If the city bells toll, before I return then hide. They'll be scouring the nearby areas for me, or anyone who seems suspicious. If they find you they'll take you back to the city Council building, and I won't be able to get you out. They'll have the entire city locked down." I told her, hoping she did as I told her to.

She swallowed hard, but nodded in agreement as I turned away. I was leaving everything with Serass minus my gold of course, but only carried my weapons and left everything else with her.

Without saying another word to her, I made my way to the gates wearing a robe over me and of course my hood hiding my face, I slowly approached the gate and the two guards on sentry duty.

They slowly noticed me approaching, and turned to face me holding their spears.

"Sorry sir, we're not accepting new visitors into the city tonight. There's an Inn further down the road behind you, and in the morning you'll be allowed back inside." One of the two guards said to me, putting out his hand to stop me.

I never gave the guard a chance to put his hand on me, and pulled from inside my robe my dagger but held the butt of it out, to strike the guard hard on his face. He fell back, spitting blood and falling to the floor. I gave him one last kick to the face, knocking him out cold.

His fellow guard tried to turn his spear on me, but I turned to face him and grabbed hold of his spear, and punched him with the full weight of my fist, knocking him out. He dropped to the floor next to the other unconscious guard, and I stepped over them into the city through the ajar gates.

The city was deserted, only the brothels and Inns were still open for business since they were open twenty four hours a day and always looking for business.

With my hood up, I walked past them in silence heading towards the Council building in the centre of the city. There were only two guards on sentry duty at the front of the building, but there were open windows along the sides, and I knew I could climb inside without having to knock out these two guards.

The Council building also housed it's members, in lavish chambers and apartments in the upper-floors. One of the low windows was open, probably left open by one of the handmaidens or staff. I climbed carefully up, holding onto the stonework as I made my way to the window. It was only a floor up, so if I fell I would be hurt but not killed from the fall.

No one down below, not even the two guards on the main doors noticed me or any sounds that would lead them to me as I hoisted myself through the open window. It was dark, other than a low-burning candle on a table, since it was late it made sense the Council members had retired to their plush apartments.

I stayed low, moving around the empty room that looked to be a preparation area, where extra sheets, beddings and such were stored for the apartments. I soon found the door out of the store room, and entered a corridor with a carpet under my feet but the brick walls of a castle surrounded me as a I moved along it in the dark.

There was no sounds, no one nearby as I mounted a staircase up to the next floor above me with my dagger gripped tightly in my hand, and my other hand on the pommel of my short-sword in preparation for what was ahead of me.

The next floor was just as deserted, but for how long I didn't know; there were fresh candles replaced along it's walls, illuminating the corridor more than the one downstairs.

Freshly replaced candles meant people were around, or at the very least nearby. I was wary, as I moved along the corridors of the second floor and saw some of the apartments of the other Council members. Their names were stencilled on polished wood signs, on their big Oak doors. I'm guessing these were the apartments for the other portly, older man who sat next to Karis and the other woman when I was brought before the Council.

I came to the end of the last corridor on this floor, and still hadn't found the Torod apartments yet but found another dimly lit staircase. It made sense Karis and Taraa would have their apartments on the top floor of the building; due to their power and position on the council.

I climbed the steps wearily, and found the final corridors of the upper floor as dimly lit as the first floor was, and as I moved along it I saw much more plush surroundings. Rich carpets, statues and priceless artwork adorned the walls of just the corridor. A large Oak door, with a brass handle stood before me with the name Torod stencilled onto a polish wooden slab on the door.

I pressed my ear to the wooden door, and heard nothing inside; no movements or the sounds of more than two people inside. I slowly turned the handle of the door, and pushed it open carefully. The doors were unlocked, if staff or handmaidens were requested to change bed linens or serve the council members food or drink.

To say Karis and his wife led a life of perverted power or wealth, would have been an understatement. The priceless art out in the corridor didn't match up to what adorned the walls of the large apartment, from portraits to preserved antiques they were here. The apartment was the size of this entire floor, with adjoining rooms and a large bathroom. A fire crackled to my side, in the fire place and illuminated the room slightly. There was no movement, and as I closed the door behind me I stood up fully and slowly crossed into the centre of the apartment.

I discarded my robe, throwing it aside near the door as I would not need it to kill Karis. Crossing the apartment's main room, I heard giggling and laughing from a nearby bedroom. It must have been the room Karis and Taraa shared together. I moved over to the door as stealthily as I could, watching how hard I stepped on the ground. I listened once more, and there was laughter from inside.

I thought about this; what if Taraa was aware of everything Karis had done but did nothing to stop him? Was she just as culpable as he was? Would I have to kill her too, for Serass's justice to be complete?

I took hold of the bronze handle of the door, and twisted it slowly and pushed the wood door open and the laughter inside became louder as I slowly entered the dimly lit bedroom. There was a big master bed against the wall of the room, and a man and a woman were rolling under it's sheets together. There was no need to sneak up and kill them both, this was for them to be aware of why they were being killed, for their crimes. I slammed the door shut behind me hard enough that the occupants of said bed sat up, and looked at me.

It was Karis indeed in the bed, but it was another woman and not Taraa sharing it with him. She was as young as Serass was, with raven black hair and obviously Karis's new chosen victim since she wasn't laughing, it had been Karis. She was stone faced, with tears running down her face and Karis looked at me.

"You." Was all he managed to say.

"Leave lass, if you're here against your will this is your chance to leave. If he's paid you I advise you to leave and take your pay, because you do not want to see any of this."

She shivered at my words, and looking at Karis she slid from the sheets onto her feet on the cold floor naked as the day the Gods made her.

"Get back in this fucking bed, whore. I paid for you." Karis said snarling, spitting the words out at the girl.

She looked between me and him, wondering who to listen to and do as she was told by.

I showed her my dagger, and looked at her hard.

"There's a reason you do not want to be here, lass. He's not going to be coming after you, I promise you that. He won't be leaving this room alive to come after you." I told her stepping forwards slowly, step by step across the plush red carpet under my feet.

She looked at a small brown leather pouch on the nearby night stand, next to the bed and she looked at me.

"Take what you want, you've earned it lass." I said.

She nodded, and looking at Karis who looked close to exploding in rage or having a heart-attack watched her take the entire pouch of coins that jingled as she picked it up, and gathered her clothes from the floor and fled the room.

Before she left the room, as she stood near me she looked at me briefly.

"I'll tell no one."

I nodded, in silent thanks as she left the room and me and Karis alone together.

Karis now tried to take control of the situation, and sat up with his fat, portly stomach hanging out over the bed sheets over him.

"So did you find the Serass girl, is she here in the city with you? I'll forget about you sending off the girl, we can always get another." He said trying to laugh off the entire situation, but never taking his hollow eyes from my dagger that glinted in the candle-light.

Slowly I approached the bed, in silence holding my tool of death in my hand.

"Did you do your job, sellsword? I am not paying for failure!" He shouted at me, his pathetic attempt at trying to threaten me or frighten me failed.

"How long, have you been doing it?"

He looked at me, with a perplexed look of incomprehension and surprise etched on his fat, sweaty face.

"Doing what?"

I passed the dagger from one hand to the other, and Karis never missed it following it tentatively.

"Raping young girls, after you discover they're grown women; the moment they've turned eighteen, you sick fuck." I growled back at him, and my answer and tone made him wince from me behind the bed sheets.

He tried to sit up more, to look as regal and powerful as he usually did in his office of power.

"Whatever that little whore, Serass has told you it's a lie!"

I laughed, and leaned against the large posters at the corner of the bed frame that held up the roof over the master bed.

I looked at him, fixing him with a cold, heartless stare.

"She was still a child, in the eyes of Rylar. She may have been a woman in the eyes of King, and Law but she was a child of Rylar and you took advantage of your position with her."

Karis was silent, sweating so heavily I thought he'd build a lake in the bed.

"She's telling you a pack of lies, sellsword! Now stop this nonsense, and put away your blade and maybe you'll not end up in chains for this outrageous behaviour!"

I knew enough tell-tale signs a person shows of lying, from the sweating profusely, to the stammering of words, to the longing stare at the nearby doors or windows in the pursuit of escape that is ever on their minds. Karis was showing these exact same signs, and he was lying through his filthy teeth to my face.

I looked around the room, still no sign of Taraa. Was she even aware of her husband's sick deeds? If not was she aware he was in their marital bed with a working-girl, soiling her name and reputation with his twisted urges.

I smiled, it wasn't a menacing smile but one that told him nothing he could say would sway my decision this night.

"You raped a young girl, one of many through the abuse of your office of power and now you're going to die for that injustice you committed against the girls."

I saw something unusual, the fear on his face was etched in stone, but he was regularly stealing glances to something other than doors and windows in the room. He was glancing at a cupboard in the corner of the room, that was about my height.

He saw that I had spotted him looking at it, and I moved over to it watching his face as I did for any clues.

"Stop, get away from there!"

Something was not right, in his voice, in his demeanour; everything was off and it was all about this cupboard in the room with us. I took hold of it's iron handle and yanked on it, tying to open it but it wouldn't budge and it was clear it was locked. Where was Karis hiding the key?

Then I remembered, since entering the room and sending the girl away; a glinting of metal around his neck; a key on a necklace made of string. I turned and marched over to him, as I approached he began to slunk onto the bed trying to hide from me as I leant over and tore the key from his neck.

"No! Stop this now! I'll call the guards!"

I was done listening, and shoving the matching iron key into the lock of the cupboard I twisted it around, and yanked open it's doors. What faced me inside, made my stomach crawl and churn.

There were unusual keepsakes, on the shelves of the cupboard ranging from wristbands made of flowers, to a pair of boots, and even what looked to be a patch of cut auburn hair, placed inside a glass box to preserve it.

What the hell was this collection? Were these keepsakes he took from his victims? He was sick, twisted and he even kept souvenirs of what he had done to his victims.

"WHERE ARE THEY!?" I shouted so loudly, that the room echoed with my voice.

Even I feared I shouted so loud the guards may have heard me, but I no longer cared. A rage was inside me, for Karis. That fear, that pure fear he had for me upon entering the room was now gone. He wore a grin of slyness, of knowledge, of knowing something I did not on his face. The game was up, and he was no longer playing the role of a frightened man, especially when in his mind he thought what he did was not wrong. To him, it would not have surprised me if he thought of it as his 'right' as a councilman to do these things to these girls, that King and Law would not punish him for these crimes.

"They were only whores! Peasant whores, barely worthy of my seed."

I turned to walk back towards the bed, where he sat watching me with ease.

"No one noticed them going missing, why would they? They were farm girls, women of no standing. They were shit on my fucking boot! To do as I wanted, they should have counted themselves lucky I even chose them for my pleasure."

"Where are they!" I shouted charging towards the bed and grabbing Karis by his short grey hair, that was slick with sweat and yanked his head back to expose his neck to my dagger.

He was breathing hard, and swallowing relentlessly as he looked up at the dagger seeing the death it was bringing.

He laughed, cackling with a maniacal laughter as if he was crazy.

"How do you think I paid for any of this wealth, for these luxuries! I sold the little bitches, as slaves from north to south, east to west. I sold the little bitches as sex slaves, and I made good coin from it. I sold them to Orkney raiders, to the Far Eastern lands and their slave masters. No one will find them, ever. They'll disappear, and never be seen ever again. You may have saved one, but there are dozens you'll never find sellsword! I'll leave this world, knowing where they are, but you'll die hating yourself for never saving them. That bitch Serass better enjoy her freedom, because the King's Peace will come for you, for murder. You'll both face the chopping board together, and I'll be happy with the knowledge you never found any of the others!"

He was laughing, manically again spitting as he laughed and looking up at me as if tempting me to kill him.

"You stupid fucking sellsword, you never think anything through do you! My wife never knew about any of this, but she'll come after you for justice never knowing the truth. I'll die remembering how good they felt, how helpless they were against me, knowing they're doing the very same thing right now for men just like me, helpless once again!"

He was trying to pull from my grip, laughing hysterically as if this was the final curtain of his miserable life and he knew it too.

"For Serass, I do this. In your names; Rylar and Forak. Forgive me for my actions, return me to your stone throne to sit alongside you both. To return to the stone." I said in a low whisper, as Karis tried to listen to what I was saying.