By the Sword: Rough Draft | Part 18

The five of them burst into the hidden room, a cacophony of complaining voices and confused limbs. John was once again the subject of David’s ire as the latter blamed the former for a misplaced elbow, but in the dim light, it was hard to say whose elbow was whose.

The Nameless Hero quickly scanned his newfound surroundings. The chamber was lit by a couple of candles sitting upon a desk. Behind the desk sat a sour faced soldier, his hair white and thinning. There was a large, dark mass upon the floor. This, upon their entrance, groaned, and turning over, revealed itself to be the preacher from earlier. He rolled up onto his hip and rubbed his eyes.

“David, report!” the man behind the desk shouted.

Separating himself from the others, the bastard leapt toward the desk. Standing stiffly before his captain, he said, “I found Hank; goaded him into a fight. Knocked him down good, but they pulled me away before I could finish. He won’t be getting up for a while, though.”

“He won’t be getting up,” Anderson said. “I got news before you came. They brought him home, but he was dead by then. You did good.”

“No!” Mary blurted out. “Davy, thou shalt not kill.”

“This is war,” Anderson answered her. “Even your preacher here understands that.”

The robed figure on the floor answered, “I fight not against flesh and blood.”

“No, but your preaching is great propaganda against our enemies,” Anderson went on. “And you wouldn’t be fighting flesh or principalities or anything else if it wasn’t for us.”

“I thank you,” the Monk went on. “I wouldn’t have escaped my pursuers without your people and wouldn’t have escaped the noose were it not for your young swordsman there, but my life and death is not in your hands. To paraphrase the righteous youths, ‘The God I serve is able to deliver.'”

Anderson’s eye fell upon the Nameless Hero. “So this is the man?” he asked.

Andrea’s voice came from the shadows, “He’s the one.”

“You should see him!” David blurted.

“David!” Anderson shouted, and David grew quiet.