“Of course I wish I had knights,” Kaide said, his voice deathly quiet. “Of course I wish for weapons, armor, and horses. I wish Lord Hemman was dead, and I could piss on his corpse while the whole world watched. But that don’t matter none. I’d trade every single one of those wishes to have Lisbeth in my arms one more night. You got a problem with how I lead, then you go right ahead and leave.”
In the following silence, Sandra’s soft voice carried the power of a thunderclap.
“None of you are here because of my brother. You’re here because of Sebastian, because of what he did. I haven’t forgotten. Have you, Barry? Have you forgotten the smiling face of your little Mary?”
Barry stepped back, as if ashamed.
“I’m sorry, Kaide. You too, Sandra. I do miss my girl, but I got boys and a wife at Stonahm. They been waiting three years for me to come home. What we done all this time? We’ve hurt Sebastian, cost him some coin, but we’re no closer to taking back our home. We’re no closer to victory. This ain’t a war we can win. It’s not even a war. We’re a fly buzzing?round the ears of a horse, just biting.”
Barry left for his room. Jerico watched him go, while the rest of the men looked the other away. Kaide muttered a curse under his breath. Conversation took awhile to restart, but when it did, it was on a hundred other things than the failed ambush that night. The smell of cooking meat wafted over them, and Jerico felt his own stomach growl.
“What is it you’re cooking?” Jerico asked Adam, who was turning the spit.
“Leftover knight,” Adam said, grinning.
“Enough,” Kaide said. “I’m tired of that damn joke. It was never funny.”
The bandit leader stood and left. When it seemed no one would follow, Jerico looked to Sandra.
“Go,” she said. “I know him. He’ll want to talk, but only to someone he trusts will listen.”
Jerico stood and limped after.
“I prefer to be alone with my thoughts,” Kaide said as Jerico approached. He leaned against a heavy pine outside the ring of their homes, his back to the fire.
“We paladins are known for being intrusive.”
“That you are.”
No humor in his voice, just barbs. Jerico shrugged it off.
“You wanted my help once. You still do?”
Kaide glanced at him with red-veined eyes.
“Do I? Of course. But you heard the men. What does it matter? We’re just flies.”
Jerico crossed his arms and leaned against another pine, relieved to remove some weight from his knee. He watched Kaide for a while, saying nothing. He always considered himself a good judge of character. Many times he’d encountered outlaws, and they had a vibe about them that Kaide lacked. None of the rest seemed quite right with it, either. This wasn’t a ploy for coin. This wasn’t a man taking something because he could, or because he thumbed his nose at authority. Something more was at stake. Ashvale… What had happened at Ashvale?
“I want to help you,” Jerico said. “But I have to believe I’m doing the right thing. Tell me why you do this. Tell me the reason you fight. Who were you before this started?”
“Who was I?” Kaide laughed, and he looked to the darkening sky. “I was Kaide Goldflint, son and heir to a fortune, a fortune stolen away from me by Lord Sebastian Hemman. Will that suffice?”
Jerico shook his head.
“No, it won’t. What happened there? Three years ago, Barry said. Help me understand.”
Kaide rubbed his eyes with his fingers.
“Sebastian controlled much of the North, but he’d never laid claim to the rough lands nestled against the Elethan mountains. A few of us, my father in particular, spent years scouting the land, setting up exploratory mines, searching for veins. When we found them, we kept it secret, and acted fast. My father set up a guild, uniting several towns together. Sebastian was furious, but our lands were our own, and our mining guild spent enough bribes in Mordeina to keep the king from siding against us. We endured heavy taxes, taxes you couldn’t imagine, but we still had our land, our homes, and our wealth.
“Three years ago, that ended. That coward didn’t even send in his knights, for he feared King Baedan’s punishment. So instead, he rounded up thousands of homeless and poor in Mordeina and gave them deeds to our land. He convinced them they were legit, told them of our wealth, and sent them on their way. You can’t imagine the bloodshed that followed. We tried to make peace with the first few, giving them jobs or minor parcels of land. But they kept coming. They’d spent all they had believing Sebastian’s lie. Left with nothing, they would rather die…”
Kaide sighed.
“And die they did. Still, it wasn’t enough. So come winter, Sebastian finally sent in his knights. They didn’t kill a soul, only came for more ‘taxes’. Every bit of food, they took. They slaughtered our animals. They burned our storehouses. The winter was harsh, and he came after the first snow. By the time we could get a messenger to Mordeina, the King had already been convinced by Sebastian that bandits were running amok because our lands were lawless, ungoverned. We received no aid. And without food, and no game to hunt…”
Jerico put a hand on Kaide’s shoulder as the man closed his eyes and looked away to hide his tears.
“We starved. My mother and father, they were too old… I lost a brother. My wife. Every one of these men here, they lost children, family, or friends. And what we had to do to survive… am I cursed man, Jerico? Am I doomed in death for what I did, to survive, to keep my sister and little girl fed?”
“The stories,” Jerico said, his voice almost a whisper.
“Kaide the cannibal,” the bandit leader said, laughing darkly. “Come spring, we were too weak to fight back. More crowds filled the roads north, carrying deeds, and this time Sebastian came with the King’s authority to enforce them. Every last man, woman, and child of Ashvale was sent south, to make a living elsewhere.”
“You founded Stonahm,” Jerico said, piecing it together.
“I don’t want Sebastian to know where we live,” Kaide said, nodding. “I don’t want him to strike those we love. That’s why they’re so far away. We have all said goodbye to our wives and families, seeing them only when it is safe. This we endure to make Sebastian pay. It may seem we have no chance, but I have one last secret, one I cannot tell even you. Not yet. Some of the men don’t even know. But if we can stir up enough anger, kill enough knights, I know we can retake our home…”
Jerico closed his eyes and thought over the words. With Ashhur’s gift, he could sense anytime a man lied, and he’d not once felt that betrayal. Every word was truth. They’d been systematically assaulted, starved, and removed from their lawful home. If there was ever a rightful cause, it was Kaide’s.
“What do you mean, retake your home?” Jerico asked, suddenly realizing the true meaning of the words.
“Those people currently in Ashvale are thieves and robbers,” Kaide insisted. “I’ve watched the roads, and we’ve intercepted every shipment of food possible. Same for the gold they send south to Lord Sebastian. One day we’ll have enough strength, enough people, to march north and take our lands back.”
Jerico shook his head.
“I’ll help you, train your men and lead them into battle, but only against Sebastian’s knights. I won’t help you murder the people who took your homes. They thought they were the lawful owners, Kaide. The law told them they were right, and both lords and kings agreed.”
“You’d have me forgive them?”
“I’d have you let it go. You’re an honorable man. You’ve already sworn your life to vengeance. Must you yearn to repeat the bloodshed done against you?”
Kaide shook his head.
“You can’t understand. You weren’t there, watching helplessly as your loved ones withered and starved. You don’t fall asleep to red dreams filled with such hatred even Karak would be put to shame. But I’ll accept your help, and gratefully. Tomorrow morning, begin the training. I have a few weapons we stole from the knights, but truth be told, I haven’t given most out yet for fear no one knows how to use them. With you, I can make sure they don’t put the pointy end in themselves. We’re in the right on this, Jerico. Outlaw or not, Sebastian needs to suffer.”