Hellokotu - Thank you so much for the kind words. I had a crappy Friday and chapter 5 really made me feel better. :) Here's hoping your weeks at work are better.


Accipere quam facere praestat injuriam

Translation: It is better to suffer an injustice than to do an injustice

Tony stood outside the Slutty Spoon, located dead center on Imo Incolis' main street.

Such a charming name for a charming tavern. whispered the dragon.

I'm sure, Dragon, that you meant to use a different word in place of charming.

The dragon chuckled. You know me so well, Anthony. What are you waiting for? Let's mingle.

Tony pulled his neck kerchief over his mouth and his hat low on his head. He kept his special garbage clothes in the stable, so that the stink wouldn't bother any one in the inn. They were excrement -colored and stained liberally.

The faint sound of bawdy music could be heard from the tavern. Tony walked to the door, then rapidly stepped aside as a patron came running out and vomited onto the street.

Can it get any more charming? murmured the dragon with disgust.

Tony smiled and walked in.

It was a typical social establishment with short tables and chairs, a bar, an evenly mixed crowd of men and women and a fireplace in one corner where a minstrel was singing. Except it was dark, dingy and dirty. Or at least very dark and dingy, so it seemed dirty.

The smell of ale and mold hung thickly on the air. The crowd was enthusiastically and drunkenly singing along with the minstrel, who Tony realized, was accompanied by a ramshackle band, playing behind him.

He casually stepped up to the bar and motioned at the barkeeper. He fit right in with this crowd, thanks to his stinky and stained clothing. The barkeep slid a huge tankard of ale towards him and Tony sipped it gingerly, making sure to liberally spill a lot of the liquid on himself, so he smelled drunk but did not actually get drunk.

He picked up the tankard and wandered over to the minstrel's part of the room, sitting down at a table nearby. The crooner was singing a rather violent and abusive song about someone or something. Its lyrics went something like this, according to Tony:

Joy to the world

When those horsemen lie dead

We'll barbecue their ugly heads

What happens to their bodies

We will flush them down the potty

And round and round they go

"Another rousing song about those damn horsemen... we love to hate them!" a jocular voice said behind Tony.

Tony turned to see who had spoken. He silently stared at the veritable giant of a man sitting behind him with a thick mustache and straw colored stringy hair. What caught Tony's eye was his sleeveless vest that looked like a Royal Guard of Patait's uniform with its sleeves pulled off.

Tony raised his glass in salute to the giant's words and the giant grinned frighteningly at him. "What say you, garbage man? Come now, tell us what do you think of those bloody fools on horses? Do not fear, there are no kings men amongst us." He laughed bitterly. "At least not any more."

A man with an bandaged head, raised his hand and said, "Me first. I had a street cart and peddled me pies outside the Temple. For years, all the Temple's worshippers would come to my stall to eat before and after service. One of those fat sarding priests repeatedly tried to shoo me off but he never could. I do not know what problem he had with me presence. When the horsemen came, the priest said something to them and the next day, two horsemen burnt me precious cart in front of me. Then they dropped me from a bridge. I had to spend two weeks in the hospital and spent all me savings and lost me cart."

A tavern maid who had come to refill tankards and collect empty ones, leaned on the table. Tony turned his face resolutely away from the bountiful display of her chest. She sighed deeply and said, "One night, in a fit of carousing, those fiends rode over an old man who was trying to cross this street to go home... My father."

Another and yet another worker chimed in, each with their own tale of wrong done by the Chonsario and Tony began to get angry. Then the giant raised his hand and the crowd at the table quietened.

"I am a humble, foolish smithy. Me brother, Lionel, was a good man." The crowd began to murmur in agreement. They knew this Lionel.

"He was a Royal Palace guard for 5 years, serving our Duke. We was always so proud that our Lionel had come up in the world." The crowd's murmuring began to grow louder.

"When the horsemen came to the Palace, Lionel was suspicious of their motives but being a dutiful soldier, he did not do anything. He kept his head down and a civil tongue. One day when his... his wife, sweet sweet Laurel, came to the Palace to give him his lunch, a group of horsemen insulted her. Lionel reacted to that, got into a brawl and was placed in the stockade for bad behavior."

"But those damn horsemen," the giant clenched his fist and broke his mug of ale, "they murdered me brother in his cell at night. And the next day," he covered his eyes with his large hand, the crowd hushed.

"The next day, he came to me brother's home and raped his wife and burnt down his home. Couldn't they have left her alone?" He ended with an anguished plea, slamming his fist violently on the table. Tony looked around as the crowd had started to swear and raise their fists violently.

The barkeeper came forward and raised his hands to quieten the crowd, who obeyed him. He was a wizened old man with a mane of snowy white hair and clear gray eyes. He began to speak in a quavery voice, "It is no secret that we despise the horsemen and they despise us. But have some caution. Do not speak ill of them or confront them at all. Do not get in their way in any manner possible."

Someone at the back began to boo and hiss at him. Most of the crowd joined in but the giant remained silent. The barkeeper wiped his hands on his stained apron and huffed. "You can boo me all you want. You and I both know that our only supporter has turned against us. There is no one to protest on our behalf or fight for us."

Tony could not keep quiet any longer. He burst out, "What do you mean, the only supporter has turned against you? Who is it and what made him turn away from your people?"

Tony's heart began to beat with nervousness as the entire crowd in the tavern was now looking at him with great curiosity. The giant pushed Tony to his feet and said in his booming voice, "Stand up, smelly man! Let us have a look at you."

The barkeeper narrowed his eyes at Tony suspiciously. "Who are you, garbage man? I have never seen the likes of you before, in my humble tavern. Be you a spy for those damn horsemen?" The crowd roared with anger at that. "Or are you a spy for those toady priests?" Once again the crowd roared.

Tony shouted to be heard above the crowd. "Hold on! Before you start a witch hunt, let me explain. I am new to Patait but I lived here as a boy. I come here from Lorinthia." The barkeeper was astounded. "Lorinthia is so far away. What business do you have here in Patait?"

Tony took his hat off his head and pulled down his neck kerchief. He said earnestly, "Roughly two months ago, a large garrison of horsemen came riding down the mountains and towards my peaceful village. They took over my village and abused us with violence. We were saved by ..." he faltered here, not knowing how much to reveal... "we managed to get rid of them with some help. I heard that there were similar soldiers in Patait and came to take a look."

The barkeeper asked, "Well, are these horsemen the same as were in Lorinthia?"

"Before that", the giant interrupted, looking at Tony sternly, "Why are you really here? I refuse to accept that it is out of simple curiosity."

Tony sighed and decided to tell a near truth. "I am an emissary for the Iron Knight. I take it you have heard of him."

The crowd gasped. The giant held up a hand and they hushed. The giant asked with wonder, "I thought the Iron Knight was just a myth. We had some visitors from Carinthia and they told us of a knight with a blue flame in his chest, who saved their Kingdom from a witch with his companions. Be you one of his companions?"

Tony smiled as he said "Yes I am Hereald of the village." Then he continued, "the Iron Knight helped the village defeat these horsemen or Chonsario as they are also known. He is curious to know if the men in Patait are the same."

"Well" asked the barkeep again. "Are they?"

Tony sighed. "It is difficult to tell. All the horsemen who were taken prisoner in the village, died mysteriously after one night. We suspected poison. They have a leader but I have not seen him here in Patait. If he is here, then these horsemen are the same as the ones who attacked the village."

The crowd started to murmur again and the barkeeper said with confusion, "We have never seen a clear leader amongst them. They seem to know what to do on their own. They are always together in formation and do not salute anyone."

The tavern waitress chimed in, "They aren't scared of the priests either. It is true," she said as the murmuring grew louder, "I've seen them act smart-like with the priests, who just mutter and back away."

The giant asked Tony, "What does their leader look like?"

"Tall, lean, thick mustache, broad shoulders, complete black soldier's uniform with a very unique and handsome pelisse, in black with gold trim and he..."

"He has yellow eyes that gleam in the dark ..."

Tony turned as a young man with an eye patch and long rakish hair, stepped forward from the crowd.

"Have you seen this man in Patait?"

The man spoke in a raspy voice, "Seen him? I'm the one who ferried him over the Normanian sea. In me vessel, the Soshannah."

Now everyone regarded the new speaker with interest. Tony asked intently, "When did you do this?"

"A month ago. I remember this man because of a heated discussion about the fare of ferrying. When he first approached me in Carinthia, he asked for the fare but didn't mention any cargo. However on the day of his trip, he brought two large trunks filled with something. They were heavy. When I increased the price of the fare, he got angry and violent. We had a little fist fight until he agreed to pay the increase in amount as there was no other boat available at that time.:

"What time was this?"

"Midnight to the dot. Once on board, he never stepped out of his cabin during the day and he didn't let anyone in either. I only saw him again at night where he waited impatiently for us to dock. I was also shocked to see two of the Menolestes come to receive him, beaming with happiness. They took him and his trunks, away in a carriage."

The sailor shrugged. "A week after that, the horsemen came to Patait and I never saw the traveler again. He might still be in the city."

Tony asked the crowd. "Has anyone seen a man of this description in the Kingdom?"

They shook their heads negatively.

Then Tony asked, What about the Duke... Duke Rorsharch? Won't he help us?"

The barkeeper snorted and the giant said bitterly, "The Duke will not help us. He sits in his house all day. Windows drawn. The horsemen have the royal seal of approval because the Duke passed the command of the army to them."

"And what of the King?"

Someone from the crowd answered "The King is away looking to get married."

Angry murmurs and shouts followed this statement and Tony wondered, Well, I think I've got as much proof as I can about the Captain's presence. I need to see the horsemen once for myself to be certain. But from a distance. What about Rorsharch ? Time for him later.

The giant was looking at him with interest. "Say stranger, can you not ask the Iron Knight to help free us from these invaders?"

The crowd asked the same in mass and Tony said evenly, "The Iron Knight is trying to help..." as the crowd began to cheer, he hurriedly added, "But it is not as simple as you think. Where exactly is the problem? Is it the priests or the horsemen?"

The giant snorted. "The priests have always been powerful in Patait. Behind everything in this Kingdom, is their hand in the background. But what is frightening is that their magical powers seemed to have come alive this month. Their curses actually work."

"What do you mean, curses?"

One by one people started to speak up.

"They hexed me for not paying enough tribute."

"I was ill because I missed two days of Temple."

"My child fell down because I did not invite the priests to her naming ceremony."

Tony interrupted incredulously. "People, these are acts of fate, acts of nature, how can you connect them to the priests?"

The barkeeper said "Because they never used to work before. But ever since the horsemen came, the priests have become very open about their curses and hexes. They openly threaten us that the Goddess is on their side and that if we don't comply, we pay the price."

Someone from the crowd said, "They plan to implement a mandatory tribute for the Goddess ... what will we do then? We can barely afford to look after our families."

The sailor spoke up as well. "Even the weather has been acting very strange since the horsemen came. The tide is unusually high on most days and the temperature too hot. This is our summer but the temperature is much higher than last year and increases a little bit everyday."

"Especially around the time of the full moon." added the giant.

This is ... frightening. Has the Captain become so powerful that he can affect the weather and the tide? And these priests with their new found powers. Is this just superstition or fact?

The dragon hissed, tension evident in its tone. There is something strange at work here, Anthony. Something supernatural. We need to see what happens on the night of the full moon.

Tony looked around at the anxious faces in the tavern. I must reassure them.

"Friends, I will go back to the Iron Knight with your information. This helps a lot. We will help you soon. Stay out of the priests way as the barkeeper advised. Do not get hurt. Patait will be saved."

He looked at the window and saw that evening was rapidly turning into night. I must pick up Pepper! He walked towards the door when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.

It was the giant with a somber look on his face. "I must avenge my brother. If you have need of me, do let me know. I will do anything to finish off those horsemen."

Tony nodded solemnly and left.


Song credit - The Simpsons