Chương 117: By the Stream

"We'll be here, brother," Brawl said as I walked away.

"Watching the matches." I nodded, then set off back across the jousting grounds, walking back toward the castle. Most of the crowd had gathered to watch the opening of the tournament, and the streets were slightly less busy than before, making the grounds far easier to navigate through. I made my way back to the castle, dodging wagons and other traffic.

A trio of riders in Hinlaw's yellows rode past, and I jumped out of the way, not wanting to draw any attention to myself or make any unfortunate enemies too quickly. But it was my break day, and I could afford to take a little bit of time on the way back. I found a cat and fed it the scraps from my skewer, then lingered around to pet it a little longer. I helped a young squire carry a stack of shields up to the training field, then watched a few thegns who weren't in the tournament practice.

Both were druids with transformation abilities, but since they weren't ideal jousters, they were probably just tagging along with their families for numbers and to project strength. After a few seconds of watching them tussle, I kept moving. The closer I got to the castle, the quieter it was. In the distance, crowds cheered as thegns smashed each other with lances. If I did my math right, there were thirty-two matches to get through right now, and only a few were taking place today.

It would be a while until the next tier of the bracket began and Lord Ceonwin rode again. My bigger concern was how much this was distracting from the front lines. How many thegns had been called away from important combat duties for this? And now, we weren't able to deploy Lord Ceonwin to the front if we needed. Certainly, he'd still be able to keep an eye on things and command the defenses, but the sooner this tournament ended, the better. As I approached the castle gate, I passed by a ditch.

A cobblestone bridge ran over a tiny stream, and in the distance, voices bickered. At first, my instinct was to keep walking. People arguing wasn't my problem. Then I heard a thud, a splash, and someone laughing. I scowled, stopping halfway across the bridge, and leaned on the railing. In the distance, maybe a hundred paces away, a group of squires about my age sat on the stream's edge, throwing pebbles into the water and pushing around a cloaked worker who was just trying to fill buckets of water.

As soon as the worker took a step up, trying to get out of the stream's ditch, the squires pushed him, and his feet slipped on the grass and compacted reeds. He fell back down, cloak stained with mud. I shook my head. It really wasn't my problem, and people were mean all the time. Minding my own business? Well… it could get me killed if I didn't mind my own business. Maybe not here, but if it became a habit— No, I shot those thoughts down. What was I thinking? I remembered my first labyrinth run.

Insisting to Shave and my first squad that there were people out there who needed our help. It had to stay a habit. I wasn't just about to abandon people who needed help, even if it seemed par for the course for this age of this world. I was trying to be better, wasn't I? Sighing, I turned, then walked along the edge of the stream until I reached the squires.

"What's the meaning of this?" I demanded.

"Let him pass." The squires looked at me and laughed.

"A Dupe," said one of them, a guy my age with a hooked nose and a crooked brow.

"Mind your own business, soldier. That's a good boy, back away, and leave the squires to their business."

"Mindless drone," another grumbled. I only took one step back, but it was to settle into a ready stance. I waited to see if the squires would listen to me. The worker tried again, silently and doggedly trying to haul his water buckets up to the shore. As soon as he was halfway up, the squire with the hooked nose gave the worker's thin shoulders a push, and he slipped back down to the riverbed with a splash.

"This is senseless," I snapped.

"What are you doing?"

"Who are you to order us?" a different squire demanded.

"We're men of the thegns. You're just another sameface."

"That may be, but I'm a sapper in training, and you lot aren't thegns yet." I crossed my arms.

"Judging by how you behave, I hope you never become them. You couldn't hold a candle to Sir Aldhelm or Sir Sidal." The squire with the crooked nose marched toward me, arms down, then said, " I am one of Lord Hinlaw's ninety-nine squires, assigned to his firstborn, Sir Hinfic."

"And I'm an apprentice sapper, favoured by Lord Ceonwin. A sergeant. You want to see how that ends?"

"You're Sergeant Levi?" a squire, slightly younger than the others, asked.

"Ah, so you've heard of me," I said.

"Now, let the man pass in peace, and we don't have to let this go any farther." Hinfic's squire narrowed his eyes, then flicked a pebble at the worker. After a few seconds of glancing at me, then at the castle, he lowered his arms and said, "Fine." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I stepped halfway down the shore, moving to the frail worker, and said, "Let me take one of those." Without replying, the man held out a bucket to me.

A hand slipped out of the cloak, pale, with smooth skin and a spattering of freckles. That wasn't a worker's hand. Not nearly enough calluses. I just took the bucket and didn't say anything, though I leaned down slightly, trying to see past the cloak's cowl. I couldn't without making it too obvious, so I figured I'd wait a little while. Holding my bucket of water, I stepped up the stream slope without any trouble, then waited for the worker to follow me. The squires glared, but they made no move to intercept.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Where's this water needed?" Without a word, the worker set off, boots squelching and cloak dripping. I followed, carrying half the load. We wound away from the castle, retracing my route along the thoroughfare slightly, until we arrived at a side branch. Passing through a narrow valley of tents, we approached a convoy of wagons. The wagons sat in a circle around the smouldering, daytime remains of a firepit. A man in a red coat tended to it, poking it with a stick, but he ignored us, and we ignored him.

We slipped between two wagons, then arrived at a trough and poured the water in. Two horses, tied up to a post nearby, trotted over and began drinking. I shrugged, glanced at the cloaked worker, then said, "Well, stay safe out there. Sorry about those squires. I'll talk to the wall-watch and see if we can't get them to make sure no one's throwing their weight around like that, because I'm sure it's not allowed. Last I checked, squires aren't thegns—just average citizens—and they don't have any extra rights."

Besides, going by what Anchor said, thegns didn't just have the privilege to abuse random workers. I took a few steps away before, the worker said, "Wait." I stopped in my tracks.

"Oh." That wasn't a man's voice.

"Let it be known," I said, "that I didn't know you were a lady before helping you. I was just—""Your help is appreciated, Sergeant Levi," the woman said. She pulled down her hood, then said, "I'm Alis."

"Alis, hm?" I turned back to face her. She had ruddy brown hair, though a bandana hid most of it. As well, a bandage wrapped around her head, covering over her left eye, and covering more of her hair. I nodded, then said, "Nice to meet you, Alis. Though really, I should be heading off right about now."

"Is it urgent?" She tilted her head, then, with her one eye, squinted to keep the sun out. She didn't look like someone who'd seen much sun. Her skin was pale—probably unhealthily so—and a spattering of freckles crossed her cheeks.

"Is that why you're not watching the joust with the others?"

"Not particularly." I crossed my arms.

"Are you alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?" She shook her head, then bunched up the ends of her cloak and twisted, wringing out the water.

"No. But can I repay you with anything? My father always says to repay kindness with kindness. Have you eaten lunch?"

"A little," I replied.

"But really, think nothing of it. I just carried a bucket."

"And now your boots are drenched. You helped me, so I'll repay you. I don't like owing debts."

"Alright, I'll dry them by the fire," I said.

"Then I have to be going. I promise, you don't owe me any kind of debt. I just came by because I… well, I couldn't just let the squires treat someone like that." I walked back to the circle of wagons. Most of them had covers on them, and spars hung off the side. I had no idea what guild they belonged to, if any, but I spotted a pair of young women in one, practicing handstands or back bridges. Leotards hung off the spars, drying in the sun, and a few hoops hung off the back of a different wagon.

A wandering circus, was that it? As I sat down on a log beside the fire and pulled off my boot, I asked, "What're you guys?" Alis followed behind me.

"Do you promise? No debts?"

"No debts," I confirmed.

"Who are you?"

"I'm just a helper, mister. A fresh hand for the convoy."

"A little old to be a new apprentice," I said. If I had to guess, she was nineteen or twenty.

"And I thought squires were supposed to start younger."

"Girls can't be squires, anyway," she said, shaking her head. She sat down on the log opposite to me and kept wringing out her cloak. Below, she wore a worn and frayed dress, like it'd been fashioned out of a burlap sack.

"What's this convoy?"

"Byrnwold's Performance Company."

"So you are a wandering circus?"

"I have no idea what you're saying," Alis replied.

"But I've heard whispers of a Sergeant Levi, making waves in these lands. They say you're a soulstealer. Is that correct?"

"Apologies if my words aren't making sense," I replied.

"Just doing my best with what I've got." She snorted, then said, "Are all the stories about you true?"

"I haven't heard many stories about myself," I said.

"So I can't say." I put my hands down on the log. After a moment, Alis tossed me a chunk of bread. It was dry and tough, but it was better than nothing, and I bit into it. Mouth half full, I said, "Thanks."

"It's rude to talk with food in your mouth." I raised my eyebrows. In a deadpan voice, I said, "Whoops." Alis giggled, then shook her head.

"You just joined, then? The performance company?"

"They're entertainers. I came along to learn from them, to get away from home, to see some things. You know, before everything falls apart."

"Yeah. I get that." I nodded.

"Something tells me you've come to the right place. It's not often you see a joust, is it?"

"Not often at all. Stay quiet, though. Most of the others are sleeping. The performances are at night."

"Should you be resting?"

"I'm…just a helper, like I said. I'm here to keep the horses fed and the costumes cleaned. At least, for the first few years, as they teach me some tricks. It's been two years…" I shook my head.

"I hope they pay you well."

"Well enough." After I finished my breadroll, I stood up, shook out my boots, then put them back on.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Alis. But really, I should be going." She hung her head.

"I'll be around, though. I'm sure this won't be the last time. And don't let the squires push you around too much, alright?"

"Alright." She gave a soft smile.

"Well, see you around."