The Land of Opportunities: The Hedge Knight
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Chapter 2: Ranching & Rustling Part I
It was near the crack of dawn when Aegon was woken by the sound of someone hammering on the door. Groaning in malcontent, the young knight rolled on his side and tried to ignore the sound. The noise then persisted and a voice called out to Aegon. "Mr Hay-Gone! You awake in there?"
Aegon gave a loud grunt of annoyance as he slowly rose from the bed, rubbing his eyes clean of sleep with the back of his hand. Shuffling toward the door, Aegon opened the door to see Amos standing there with a firm look on his face.
"How did ya sleep, kid?" Amos asked.
Aegon waved a hand which made the older man grin and say, "That good, huh?" With a chuckle, Amos then said to Aegon, "Well, if you'd kindly make your way to the farmhouse, Mr MacFarlane would like to speak to you."
"Right," Aegon mumbled in reply, still very feeling tired as he slowly turned around to put on his boots and tie his sword to his waist. Once that was done, Aegon then stepped out of the small cabin and looked around.
"Looking for the farmhouse?" Amos asked him to which Aegon nodded in confirmation. The older bearded man then pointed to a large house that a picket fence around it and said, "That there's the farmhouse where Mr MacFarlane and Ms MacFarlane live. We'll show ya 'round the rest of the ranch later. I got work to do." With that, Amos then headed for another part of the farm.
Aegon then headed for the Farmhouse and as he did, he took in his surroundings; there were people of varying ethnicities from men who fitted the look of Andals, Dornishmen and even one or two who looked like Summer Islanders and the women were much the same. Most of them wore seemingly well-made sturdy clothes, finer than what most smallfolk could afford. A common piece of attire among the men was large broad brimmed hats made of stiff leather or some kind of cloth. Another fixture that nearly all the men had was at their hips was some kind of belt and sheathed on the right-hand side was some strange looking weapon.
Deciding to ask about that later, Aegon made his way to the farmhouse where he walked up the front steps and stood at the door. Knocking three times, Aegon waited until the door opened to reveal the lady of the house, Ms MacFarlane, clad in her fine yet practical clothing, looking ready for a day of work ahead of her. A small friendly smile was on Lady MacFarlane's lips as she said to Aegon, "Awake at last, I see. Well, don't stand on ceremony. C'mon in."
Aegon bowed his head respectfully as he walked inside and felt the air cool slightly, a small but noticeable change from the outside atmosphere. His eyes picked over the details of the interior of the house. The walls looked to be painted in hues of green with roses of some kind painted in gold. Lady MacFarlane then tapped Aegon on the shoulder and indicated what Aegon could only assume to be the parlour where seated on a couch was a taller older man wearing finely made attire with greying black hair and a large handlebar moustache. Aegon assumed this to be Lord MacFarlane.
"Daddy, this here's the new kid who showed up last night," Lad MacFarlane said to the man who looked up and a gave before looking at Aegon with a hard flat stare.
"So, you're the stray that wandered onto my property, is that it?" Lord MacFarlane said, his accent was a deep drawl.
"Indeed, I am, my lord," Aegon replied, keeping his tone polite, firm and respectful. "I mean no harm to you or your people," he then said.
Lord MacFarlane had an amused look in his dark eyes as he said, "I ain't no lord, kid, just Mr MacFarlane or sir to you."
"Ser? You are a knight?" Aegon enquired.
"Ain't no knight either," Mr MacFarlane said his tone full of mirth. "Although I would guess from the look of the pigsticker of yours, you might be a knight perchance?" he asked as he eyed Aegon's sword hanging by his side.
"Indeed, Mr MacFarlane sir," Aegon confirmed seeing no reason to deny it. "I had won a squire's tourney and was knighted for it," he then clarified.
Mr MacFarlane and his daughter glanced at each other before speaking. "Well, have a seat then, son and let's get to the bottom of this." Aegon took a seat opposite Mr MacFarlane as a serving girl with skin brown as a Dornishwoman's entered carrying a flat try with a teapot and some fine-looking cups.
"So, you claim to be a knight, is that right?" Lady MacFarlane asked as she poured everyone a cup of steaming fragrant tea. "America's never had knights of any kind before," she then pointed out.
"What land is this, if I may ask?" Aegon then said cautiously.
"Well, you're in the United States of America, in the state of New Austin, in the New Hennigan county," Mr MacFarlane told him. "Where do you come from? England? Europe?" he enquired as he took a cup of tea from his daughter.
"I come from Westeros, although I grew up in Essos," Aegon replied and he began his tale to Mr MacFarlane and his daughter. An hour later when the teapot had been emptied, Mr MacFarlane and his daughter sat there a little bemused at what they heard.
"If I didn't think you were being honest with me, I'd say you'd make a good dime novel man," Mr MacFarlane commented as he rubbed his chin with one hand.
"I have no reason to lie to you, Mr MacFarlane sir," Aegon said calmly. "All I wish to do is find my way back home and I think I would need to find that funny man who brought here," he added.
"Well, I ain't never heard of anyone named Francis Sinclair, but then I ain't ever heard of the place you come from either," Ms MacFarlane said as she stood to her feet. "Since you might be here a while, how about I show ya 'round the ranch?" she offered. "Know how to ride a horse?" she asked Aegon.
"Been riding as soon as I was old enough to," Aegon replied with a smile.
"Well, c'mon then, Ser Aegon," Ms MacFarlane said as she left the room to head outside. Nodding his head in gratitude to Mr MacFarlane, Aegon stood to his feet and followed after Ms MacFarlane.
Outside the farmhouse, Ms MacFarlane stood near the fence where a pair of horses stood hitched to the fence. One was a simple chestnut mare and the other was a roan. Ms MacFarlane then said to Aegon, "You can take Jessie. She's a little on the anxious side, but she's a sweet thing." She indicated the chestnut with a thumb.
Aegon slowly approached the chestnut so as not to spook it. The mare snorted a little, nodding its head a little, but after a moment the chestnut calmed and allowed Aegon to approach. Reaching out with one hand, Aegon gently rubbed the mare's nose earning a pleased sound from the horse. Rubbing the mare's neck gently, Aegon then mounted the horse, swinging himself up into the saddle.
"Well, well. Didn't think you lift yourself into a saddle," Ms MacFarlane commented in amusement as she mounted her own horse, looking she had born into the saddle. Taking the reins in her hands, the young woman looked at Aegon and asked him, "All set?"
"Awaiting you, my lady," Aegon said to her.
"I ain't no lady, despite my governess's best efforts to turn me into one," Ms MacFarlane corrected him. "C'mon, I'll show you around," she said as she turned her horse and with a gentle kicked of the stirrups, she urged her horse into a trot. With a gentle flick of the reins, Aegon followed after his hostess.
"Now, we have the farmhouse as you can see, where my daddy, myself and a couple of others live," Ms MacFarlane said to Aegon. "And just over here we have the workers' quarters where the workers live, as well as a general store," she explained.
"General store?" Aegon repeated.
"Place where you purchase and even sell goods. It ain't no Parisian high fashion, but we have the essentials covered," Ms MacFarlane told him. Leading Aegon over to a large fenced ring with some sheds she said, "And here we have the stables where we keep our horses."
"What about that building over there?" Aegon asked he pointed to a moderately large building at the far end of the ranch.
"That's the train station. Every hour or so, the steam train from Armadillo to Blackwater come through here, dropping off cargo and passengers," Ms MacFarlane explained. "Makes a bit of a ruckus, particularly at night when everyone's trying to sleep," she added.
"What is a steam train? Is it a carriage of sorts?" Aegon enquired.
"Something like that." Ms MacFarlane looked at Aegon and said, "Guess they don't have trains where you're from, huh?"
"Not that I know of," Aegon admitted. "Anything else around here that I need to know of?" he asked.
"Yep. We got the pastures where we herd cattle and livestock, plus a vegetable garden and a chicken coop. I'll show ya."
After showing Aegon all of her father's property, Ms MacFarlane and the young knight rode back to the farmhouse and dismounted. "And here we are, back at the farmhouse." Ms MacFarlane looked at Aegon and asked him, "So, any questions? Anything else you need to know?"
"Not right this minute," Aegon replied. "This seems like a very well-run farm," he complimented with a smile.
"We try, but things are tough lately," Ms MacFarlane said with a grim look in her eyes.
"How so? Are you having troubles?" Aegon asked.
"You could say that," Ms MacFarlane said before she sighed. "Between running this farm, we've got Del Lobos running amok, not to mention this outbreak of Cholera that's ravaging New Austin. And on top of that, my father's debts are mounting up and the bank is breathing down our necks, waiting for the chance to pounce on us like a cougar!"
"I'm sorry to hear that, Lady MacFarlane," Aegon said sincerely.
"Call me Bonnie, ya fool. Just Bonnie," Ms MacFarlane told him. "Ah, but you don't need to hear all this whining about my troubles. You've got yer own to worry about," she said.
"Even so, but since you and your father have given me shelter, I'd be remiss to not repay your kindness by helping you," Aegon replied.
"Well, that's mighty kind of you," Bonnie said with an appreciative smile on her face. She stared at Aegon for a moment before saying, "Maybe you could help out around here? A few folks would appreciate if they had someone helping them."
"I'll do just that, Lady MacFarlane," Aegon said with a smile as he dismounted Jessie. Bonnie watched him for a moment before dismounting her own horse and headed into the farmhouse.
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Aegon wandered betwixt the buildings, looking for something to do when he spotted Amos and a few other farmhands, loading a wagon with hay bales. Walking over, Aegon greeted them and asked, "Do you need any assistance?"
Amos's moustache twitched a little before he replied, "Sure. We could use another pair of hands. Help us load the wagon with this hay and we can take it out to the fields for the livestock."
Aegon quickly began to help lift and load the hay bales into the wagon. After nearly an hour of loading the wagon, Aegon's arms burned with exertion and his hair was mopped with sweat.
"C'mon, climb up and we'll take the hay out to pasture," Amos said to the young knight from the driver's seat of the wagon. Aegon climbed up to sit beside the man. With a sharp shout and a flick of the reins, Amos urged the workhorses into a steady canter and with a groaning creak of aged but still sturdy wood, the wagon was pulled by the horses.
Soon after, they reached the pasture fields. Aegon looked around not seeing much in the way of cattle. "Where are your cattle?" he asked Amos who was looking around as well.
"Yeah, they're supposed to be here along with Tom watching them," Amos remarked, his moustache twitching in confusion.
"Could they and Tom have wandered off?" Aegon asked.
"Maybe, but Tom wouldn't have let them wander off," Amos said before climbed down from the driver's seat and pulled out that strange little weapon from its sheath on his right hip. "Let's have a look around. See if we can pick up their trail," he suggested.
Aegon climbed down from his seat and keeping a hand to his sword, he began to look around. Nearing a tree, a sickly sweet smell hit Aegon's nose almost making him gag and he then spotted the fresh corpse of a man underneath the tree. "Amos! Ser! I've found something!" Aegon shouted and Amos came running over and saw the corpse.
"Aw, damn! Poor Tom!" the ranch hand exclaimed in dismay. Aegon knelt beside the corpse and gently turned the body over to see a large gash across the throat.
"His throat was cut from behind by a knife I'd say," Aegon noted. "And since the cattle are gone, could it be cattle thieves that did this?" he asked Amos.
Nodding grimly, Amos replied, "Yeah, and I think it was those Del Lobos who did this. Stealing cattle is right up their alley."
"Who are the Del Lobos?" Aegon asked.
"A gang of outlaws that are made up of Mexicans and Californios, war criminals and exiles the lot of them," Amos told him. "They've been running amok in New Austin; holding up wagons and stage coaches, holding people for ransom and just causing trouble!" he spat.
"Why don't the local guards deal with them?" Aegon asked in confusion feeling that the local guards must've been doing something about this problem.
"Well, ain't too many lawmen in these parts, and the only real effective lawman was Marshal Leigh Johnson, but he's out of state for the time being and knowing that, the Del Lobos have been running rampant around New Austin," Amos replied. "Sheriff Freeman of Tumbleweed is the next best thing we have to Marshal Johnson, but he's got his hands full trying to keep order in Tumbleweed," he then said.
"So, what do we do?" Aegon asked. "Do we try and get the cattle back? Or head back to the farm and get some more help?"
"We could try and find where they took our cattle, but we don't know how many there are," Amos stated. "We might wanna get some extra guns with us in case it turns out bad," he then said.
"Perhaps we could look for the thieves and locate them and one us then heads back to the farm and brings some help?" Aegon suggested.
"Good thinking!" Amos exclaimed with a nod of his head. "Let's see if we can find any tracks," he advised.
Looking around, Amos found some horse and cattle tracks. "Found a trail!" he called out. "From the looks of it, they were heading towards Mescalero," he said.
"Mescalero?" Aegon parroted letting the name roll off his tongue.
"An old Indian campground, supposedly abandoned," Amos explained. "Good spot to hide some cattle you've stolen," he then said with a nod of his head.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Aegon said in eagerness.
"Alright then, you take point," Amos said to the young knight who glanced at him and the farmhand clarified, "That means you take the lead."
Following the trail of horse and cattle hooves, Aegon and Amos soon came to Mescalero. Crouching low to avoid being seen, Aegon and Amos hid behind some rocks and saw that a herd of cattle in makeshift pens was in the large clearing. And standing guard were some swarthy skinned men armed with what Aegon could only liken to crossbows of some kind. Others were seated around small campfires, drinking from glass bottles of likely potent booze.
"Are those the cattle?" Aegon whispered to Amos who nodded grimly and whispered back, "Yep, those are our cattle, alright. And it looks like the Del Lobos are guarding 'em!"
"Well, should one of us head back to the farm while the other stays here to keep watch?" Aegon asked.
"Yeah, I'll head back to the ranch and bring some extra guns," Amos replied. "You stay here and watch those Del Lobos and make sure they don't spot you or leave!" he warned and he crept away before Aegon could protest or ask another question.
Keeping quiet, Aegon hid behind the outcropping of rocks, making sure to note movements of the patrols, what little there were anyway and wondering when Amos was going to come back with some extra help.
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TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! Second chapter of this is done and dusted! I hope you all enjoyed it and I apologise for the long wait, but other things took my attention.
Not much to say about this chapter, but I hope to work on it some more soon, as well as my Elder Scrolls/RDR crossover which I haven't touched since 2020, so I need to get onto that.
In other news, I'm working on a Super Smash Bros/Elder Scrolls Self-Insert crossover where the Self-Insert ends up in the Smash Bros universe as the Dragonborn/Dovahkiin from Elder Scrolls V Skyrim. With that said, I've set up a romance poll on my profile of some lovely lasses that SI-Dragonborn could end up with and so far, Samus Aran is in the top spot. The poll is not limited to just the ladies of the Smash Bros universe, there are a few other ladies from other franchises/fandoms such as Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat, DC Comics, Marvel Comics and Witcher, to name a few, so feel free to cast your vote or don't. Up to you at the end of the day.
And that's about all I have right this minute, so I'll leave this here and catch you all later.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.