Shorn: Chapter 14

“I don’t want you to do this,” Melda said that night. She’d put the kids to bed and hidden the candy. She and Shorn were sitting outside in the moonlight.

“I said I would.”

She turned toward him. “What about your quest? What about the hack’in dragh?”

“Perhaps this is part of it.”

She shook her head stubbornly. “I don’t believe that.”

Shorn had no answer to this, so he said nothing.

“It’s not fair,” she said. “You came here to leave the violence behind, yet here it is.”

“There is nowhere without violence.”

She hung her head. “I know that. I know I’m being foolish. But it angers me. You’re trying so hard…”

“Maybe it is not about avoiding violence. Maybe it is about not letting it become me.”

She raised her head. “Do you really think so?”

“Maybe. But this is my first hack’in dragh. I do not know what to expect.”

“It just seems wrong. Why can’t we live here peacefully? We’re not bothering anyone.”

Shorn did not answer. She knew the reason as well as he did.

“I want the children to be able to defend themselves.”

Shorn nodded. “They are doing well with the spears. Someday they will be quite skilled with them.”

“Someday is too far away. Bloodmane is here and now. Spears aren’t the answer. The children are too small to fight a full-grown man face to face.”

Shorn waited to see where she was going with this. He knew how much she feared for the children, especially since the attack.

“I thought about this a lot while coming back from town. I think bows are the answer.”

“Bows.”

“They don’t have to get close to use them. They can stay at a safe distance.”

“They could help with the hunting as well.”

“You like my idea then?”

“I have considered the same.”

“Can you make bows for them? Do you know how to use one?”

“I do know how to use a bow. But I do not know how to make one. Only certain woods will do. Nor can I make the bowstrings or the arrows.”

“We’ll get some from town. If you’re going to help them defend themselves, then surely they can spare some bows and arrows.”

“I agree. I will ask when I go into town tomorrow.” Shorn had agreed to return the following day and begin helping train the townspeople.

Melda was silent for some time. Shorn knew she was wrestling with something and stayed quiet.

“Should we leave?” she asked finally. “We could go north, far enough that Bloodmane will never trouble us.”

“We could flee Bloodmane, it is true. But there are others like him. We could find someone worse.”

She clenched her fists in frustration. “I know that. I know how hard it would be to start over. And I don’t want to start over. I just want to keep my children safe. That’s all I want.”

“We will keep them safe.”

“I want to believe you. It’s just… Do you think…do we have a chance against him?”

“We can defeat him. I have no doubt of this. But only by working together. A small, disciplined force can defeat a larger, disorganized force. Military history has many examples of this.”

“If we left, those people in town probably wouldn’t have a chance, would they?”

“Very little. They have no training. No organization. I do not believe they would last long.”

“So their only hope is you. And you’re trying to avoid violence.” She put her face in her hands. “It’s so wrong.”

“There is a difference now.”

“What is that?”

“I am not using violence to harm this time, but to protect. Do you see?”

She sighed. “I do.”

“My people are raiders. I have fought on the side of Bloodmane. Now I will fight for the children. And if that is not part of hack’in dragh, then so be it.”

 

Shorn got up early the next morning to leave for Sweetwater. He was heading out the door when Kit burst out of the room he shared with the other children. He was fully dressed and clutching his spear.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Melda asked him.

“I’m going with Shorn. He needs me.”

Melda shook her head. “Not today.”

Kit’s face fell. “Why not?”

“Shorn’s going to be very busy. He won’t have time for you.”

“That’s okay. I won’t get in the way.”

“The answer is still no.”

Abruptly, Kit just crumbled. He threw his spear down and began shouting and crying.

Melda realized right away there was more going on than simply a child not getting his way. She sat down on her chair and pulled him onto her lap.

“What is it?” she asked him. “What’s wrong?”

More tears flowed from the boy, mixed with words Shorn couldn’t make out. But Melda, with a mother’s instincts, understood.

“You’re afraid Shorn won’t come back, aren’t you?”

Kit nodded and wailed some more. “I have to go and make sure he does.”

Shorn knelt down next to the chair. “I will return.”

Kit looked at him, his little face stained with tears. “But what if you don’t?”

“I am Shorn. What can stop me?”

The other children were piling into the main room by then, rubbing sleepy eyes.

“Shorn’s leaving?” Lysa asked fearfully.

“Only for the day,” Melda said.

“But you’re coming back, right?”

Shorn nodded. “Yes.”

“Swear.”

“I swear.”

Lysa wiped at the few tears that ran down her cheeks. “I believe you.” She went to Kit and hugged him. “Don’t be sad. He’ll come back. He promised.”

After that, Pol wanted a promise as well. Ren didn’t know what was going on, but she wanted to be picked up and hugged.

“That’s enough,” Melda finally said. “He has to leave in order to come back. Sit down at the table. Your breakfast is almost ready.”

She walked outside with Shorn. “They’re still not over losing their father. They’re just afraid they’ll lose you too.”

Shorn didn’t know what to say to this. Nor was he sure he could say anything. His throat seemed very thick.

Shorn shouldered his spear and headed for town. There were clouds across the valley, promising rain by afternoon, but the weather was warm and the breeze light. He looked off to the southwest, thinking about Bloodmane’s camp. He needed to know how many men Bloodmane had. He needed to see his camp.

It didn’t take him long to make it to Sweetwater. He made much better time not pulling the wagon. The gate was open, and there didn’t seem to be anyone around. Shorn made a mental note to establish a watch. They couldn’t allow Bloodmane to just walk right in.

He was passing through the gate when someone he hadn’t noticed spoke up.

“You came back.” It was Otho. He was wearing the rusted helmet still. He got up, raised the visor and peered at Shorn. “Hal said you wouldn’t. Boy, was he wrong.” He grinned, showing a wide gap between his front teeth. He was very young, probably fifteen or so. “Can I be your aide? I’m tired of Hal. He’s mean to me.”

Shorn considered this. “Will you follow my orders without question?”

Otho drew himself up straight. “Yes, sir!” The visor clanged closed again.

“My first order is to close this gate, climb up on the wall and keep watch. Take the helmet off. You can’t see with it on.”

Reluctantly, Otho took off the helmet. “I don’t feel much like a soldier now,” he complained.

Shorn closed the gate and barred it.

“But what if someone needs to go out? Or come back in?”

“Then you open the gate. Unless it’s Bloodmane.”

Otho’s nostrils flared. “I’d never open the gate for him.”

“Now get up on the wall and keep watch.”

Dutifully, Otho climbed up. “What am I watching for?”

“Strangers. Dust clouds in the distance.”

“Dust clouds?”

“From horses. Or marching men.”

Otho nodded. “Oh. I see.”

Shorn walked into the town. People stared at him from windows and front gardens. None of them looked glad to see him. Shorn paid them little heed.

Jesup came walking up. “I heard you were here.”

“Did you have the meeting last night?” Jesup had said he’d call a town meeting so they could talk about Shorn training them to defend themselves.

Jesup scratched his chin. “We did.”

“And…?”

“About half of them think you’re the real threat. Some of them think Bloodmane will never return, and we don’t need to worry. Others think we should just give him what he wants, and he’ll leave us alone.” His tone said what he thought of that.

“How many will fight?”

“Probably two dozen.”

Shorn scowled. “That will not be enough to hold the walls.”

“That’s what I said. Fat lot of good it did. Idiots. Maybe some of the others will change their minds.”

Shorn was thinking. If they couldn’t hold the walls, what was their alternative? He turned around, surveying the area. There was a plaza of sorts right inside the gate. The market probably set up here on market days. From the plaza, there were only two streets leading to the rest of the town, and they were narrow. An idea started to form.

“We can do this,” Shorn told Jesup. “Where are the others?”

“They’re coming. I see Dale and Hal right now.”

The shopkeeper was heading their way, Hal walking with him. Hal was carrying his pitchfork.

“Good morning, Shorn,” Dale said. “Thank you for doing this.”

Shorn inclined his head.

“I told them we don’t need outside help,” Hal grumbled. “We can take care of ourselves. That’s why we have a captain of the guard.”

“Hal,” Dale said pleasantly. “Shut up, okay?”

Hal sputtered. “You can’t talk to the captain of the guard that way. It’s bad for morale.”

“So is being killed by Bloodmane’s men. What do you say to that?”

Hal swallowed. “Also bad for morale?”

Dale pointed at Shorn. “He knows what he’s doing. We don’t. You don’t. The best thing we can do is shut up and do what he tells us.”

Shorn decided he liked Dale.

Other men were showing up, drifting in by ones and twos. They lined up in a ragged line before Shorn.

He was about to start when another person hurried up. It was a woman dressed in trousers and carrying a bow. A quiver was strapped to her back.

“What are you doing here, Moll?” one of the men asked. “This ain’t no place for a woman.”

“The hell it isn’t.”

“This is a job for men.” The speaker was a swarthy man with the calloused hands of a farmer.

“You think Bloodmane is going to spare the women after he’s done tearing through you fools? I don’t.”

“But it’s not safe.”

“Nowhere in this whole town is safe while he’s around, Linc. I aim to put an arrow in his eye and end this thing.”

“We’ll be lucky if you don’t put an arrow in one of us.”

“I can shoot an arrow better than you can, Linc, and you know it. I’ve been hunting squirrels since I could walk.”

“Ain’t squirrels we’re hunting.”

“That just makes them easier to hit.” She looked at Shorn. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Shorn decided he liked her too.

“Moll has the right idea.” The men looked at him, puzzled. Shorn continued, “Your swords will do you no good. Not against an enemy on horseback.”

Moll gave them all a smug look.

“You need a weapon that doesn’t force you to get too close.” All of the men were armed, mostly with old swords or axes. “That means arrows for distance and spears up close. How many of you can use a bow?”

About half of them raised their hands.

“A spear?”

Two raised their hands.

“Those are the weapons we will train with.” He looked at Jesup. “We need spearheads and arrowheads. Lots of them.”

The blacksmith nodded. “Not a problem. I already have quite a few.”

“There needs to be a watch set at all times.” Shorn pointed at a low hill somewhat south of town. “Someone should be up there night and day.”

They all turned to look where he was pointing. “Whoever it is should have a horse so they can get back here fast,” Dale said.

Shorn sent those who had bows at home to go get them. Jesup said he had some staves that he could affix spearheads to and left to take care of that. Moll got the job of setting up targets so the archers could begin practicing.

While that was being taken care of, Shorn climbed up on the wall and took a look around. He noted some spots nearby where archers could hide and rake Bloodmane’s forces from the rear, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to split his forces like that.

He looked at the plaza again. With a couple of wagons and some crates, it would be possible to block off the streets that led into town. They could trap Bloodmane’s force here, maybe.

By midday, everyone who had volunteered to help defend the town was back at the plaza, all equipped with either a bow or a spear. Shorn noted that two men who’d been there that morning hadn’t returned, thinning their ranks even further.

Shorn set the archers to practicing. Then he lined up those with spears and began drilling them. He taught them how to set their feet. How to thrust without losing their balance. How to parry, withdraw. He taught them the importance of staying in formation.

“By yourself, with an armed horseman bearing down on you, you don’t have much chance,” he told them. “But if you stay together in a tight block and hold your ground, you can defeat even a determined charge.”

He ran them through the drills over and over again. Some of them began complaining.

“My arms hurt,” Hal said. “I can’t do this anymore. Why do we have to keep doing the same thing over and over?”

“You have to practice until it becomes habit, so that when the fighting starts, you still do the right thing.”

He said some variation of the same thing over and over, trying to get through to them. Some, like Jesup and Dale, stuck to it, realizing the importance of what Shorn was trying to teach. But most began to slack off. Some slipped away under the guise of going for water. Otho just laid on the ground, claiming he was too tired to stand even for another moment.

Finally, Shorn called a halt. There were only four of them by then. One of them was Moll. She mocked Linc when he left because he said his shoulder hurt. The other three were Jesup, Dale and Fergus, a quiet man who Shorn thought had probably served in the army before since he seemed to know what he was doing.

“Kind of a small army we got here,” Moll said cheerfully. “At least we don’t have to worry about tripping over each other.”

Dale scratched his head. “I’m sorry, Shorn. I’m a little ashamed of my town, to be honest. You’d think people would take this a little more seriously.”

“Will you still come back tomorrow?” Jesup asked.

“So long as one of you wants my help, I will return.”

“I’ll be here,” Dale said. “I like this town. I’m not letting that animal run me off.”

“We will defeat him, never fear,” Shorn said.

“The way you say that almost makes me believe,” Jesup said. “I think we’ve got no chance, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight. I’ll get started on the arrow and spearheads tonight.”

Shorn was starting to leave when suddenly Hal came running. “Look!” he shouted, pointing to the west. “Tidvale is on fire!”

They all saw it then. A plume of black smoke on the horizon.