A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Beam saw Greeves wince as he continued to look at the ground. Beam recalled Greeves' declaration to take down the powerful – he wondered if that particular ambition was smouldering even more strongly within him now.

After a moment's pause, the captain spoke again.

"You may consume your food yourself, I will dine on rations with my men," the captain said. He then turned to address the rest of the villagers. "The village of Solgrim is now under my express command, as decreed by Lord Blackwell himself," the captain unfurled a scroll of his claims and held it up for all in the village to see.

Though he could not make out the words, Beam could see the blue stamp that had been painted on the bottom of it.

"For the duration of my stay, Solgrim village is now Solgrim garrison – a military property. And as a military property, it will be ruled by military law. You are all now servants of the army. From now, until our mission is complete, when called upon, you will perform your duty," the captain declared as he spoke to all of them.

Beam could feel a shudder through the crowd at his implications. He imagined that most of the villagers dreaded the idea of being sent off to combat.

"Though I do not have any intention of sending untrained men into combat," Lombard said, immediately assuaging those worries. "But there are other uses for you. You who have not introduced yourself, you are a smith, no?"

"Yes, Captain, I am a smith," the local smith said as he bowed his head respectfully towards the knight.

Lombard nodded to himself. "You will tend to equipment as necessary. The men will look after their own for the most part, but where steel must be reforged you will be called upon to serve. Whilst you are not entitled to coin for this service, you will nonetheless be awarded a sum. I expect no complaints."

"Yes, Captain Lombad," the smith said respectfully. It seemed that he was so stiff from nerves that he dared not say anything else.

"You, merchant," Lombard said, nodding towards Greeves. This time Beam was sure that it was distaste he saw in Lombard's eyes. Apparently the knight did not have a fondness for merchants – though he had treated the smith amiably enough. "I received word from Ferdinand that you have prepared additional supplies for my men, is that correct?"

"It is," Greeves said, keeping his head lowered.

"Good. Whilst normally I would have you whipped for attempting to profit from military business, this time I will buy what you have proffered up – for half the price. In return, the merchants of this village may sell to my men," Lombard said.

He made it sound as though he was doing Greeves a favour, but Beam was pretty sure that the captain was just ripping him off. Knowing Greeves as he did, Beam was quite sure he couldn't care less whether the other merchants in the village were able to sell to the soldiers or not.

"…Yes, Captain Lombard," Greeves said through gritted teeth. Perhaps sensing his employer's dissatisfaction, Judas moved a step closer to him, as though to reinforce his presence and remind Lombard that he was there.

Judas – though he still stood behind Greeves, with the merchant between him and the captain – towered over the Lombard with his massive frame. That wasn't because the captain was particularly small, he was still taller than Beam, but more a testament to how giant Judas truly was.

The captain raised a contemptuous eyebrow as he stared back at Judas. He pointedly glared at his feet, as though criticising the half step that Judas had taken forward.

"Apologies, Captain Lombard, my dog merely slipped," Greeves said, jabbing Judas back with an elbow and a furious look on his face.

"A dog unable to keep its footing is a dog that will die in the hunt," Lombard observed. With his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, the threat behind his words was more than obvious. He intensified his aura for just a moment, causing both Judas and Greeves to buckle at the knee – the merchant more severely than his guard.

Beam reached out a hand to grab the top of Greeves robes and heave him back to his feet before the merchant toppled over.

Only when he looked back to his left did he see that the Captain was staring at him. Not the look of contempt that he had shot Greeves, or the look of casual disregard that he had sent the way of Judas, but something closer to surprise, of interest. He turned to look at Greeves again, a clear question on his face.

"My other guard," Greeves explained.

"Hm…" Was all Lombard said as he continued to stare at Beam with his piercing gaze. Beam, for his part, merely stared back, unaware that such a thing in the city would have him sliced in two.

"You. Elder," Lombard said at last, turning his attention back towards the old man. "My men will make camp to the east of here. You are to control your population – ensure that nothing strays through. Anything not recognized to be an ally will be killed on sight."

The Elder bobbed his head in agreement. "I see the wisdom in such precautions, Captain," the Elder said. "Fear not – I will ensure that no one strays that far east."

Lombard didn't respond, as though the Elder wasn't worthy of any further words. He glanced around, taking a long hard look at the crowd. They cowered beneath his weighty gaze. "That will be all," he said at last. "Stay alert – you may be called upon soon."

With that, he marched back to his horse, leaving the steaming food that had been prepared for his arrival, and the gifts that Greeves had also prepared, as though both things meant nothing to him. And from the stern way the man carried himself, Beam imagined they truly did mean nothing to him at all, despite the great lengths that had been put into preparing them.