The Wanderer, page 28
part #1 of The Nogud Legacy Series
My wooden sword was design to make that a quick and painless process. Well, painless for me. He might suffer a great deal of pain, but it would be very quick. He wouldn’t suffer long. I hated this. Why should he die? He could walk away. He could move on and go to another village. Why did he have to force me to end his life? Wasn’t his life worth more than a need for revenge? And revenge for what? I had stopping him from sealing and he had been let go outside the village. What was he getting revenge for? I hadn’t even spoken to the man.
I wished that I could handle this another way. But I couldn’t. Viola and Raven and Lark depended on me and loved me and for that reason alone I had to protect myself. And that meant letting the thief force me to kill him. He was choosing to die and there wasn’t anything that I could do about it. The outcome was as certain as if I had killed him already.
Perhaps he was a skilled knife-fighter. He wasn’t a skilled hand-to-hand fighter, but maybe he was good with his knife. Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t going to use a knife. It wasn’t that my weapon was inherently better, it was that I wasn’t going to be fighting using the tactics that he was prepared for. My tactics didn’t rely on his tactics, and no matter how unfamiliar with them I was, the outcome wouldn’t change. He would most likely be dead before he knew that the fight had started.
So, I sat and shaped my wooden stick, smoothing it and shaping it into the thing that it needed to be. It was funny in a way. As I shaped the wood, I knew that it was the wood that would win the fight, not me. It might be difficult for others to understand, but when the moment came, the wooden sword would leap from where it was to its target, and the target would be destroyed. It would happen without me thinking about it. I would stand holding a stick and at the proper moment, the stick would strike. I wouldn’t even be nervous as I faced the man. I would stand peacefully and when the moment came, my stick would do what was necessary as if it acted on its own.
I shaped the handle. I shaped the blade. I refined the curve. I tested the length and made adjustments. I rounded and shaped the tip. It was the last three inches of the blade that would do the work; the rest of the shaping was mostly aesthetic. The handle was critical, and so was the last three inches of the other end, but everything in between was simply about getting the proper balance and weight.
I was at the point where I could have stopped and I would have a perfectly functional bokken, but I kept going, shaping and smoothing. When the shape was refined and finished, I used the back edge of the knife as a scraper to smooth, burnish, and polish the wood. I didn’t want to finish. I didn’t want to kill this man. I spent at least three hours shaping my weapon, trying to postpone the inevitable.
When the sword was as ready as it could get, unless I kept going just to add decorations, I stood up and walked to a place where I had room to move around. I practiced my basic moves. I practiced my advanced moves. I fought invisible opponents as skilled as I was. I practiced slowly and gracefully, and then I practiced fast and hard. I paid no attention to anything but my body and my breathing and my sword. When I was done, I stood and looked at the river. I stood still and watched the water flow by in front of me, and I watched the pending fight play out in my mind. Over and over, I watched the man threaten and bluster and say his piece. Over and over, I watched as he turned toward me to threaten me with his knife, taking a classic knife-fighting stance. Over and over, I watched him fall in a heap, never to move again. And when I was done with that, I turned and walked back toward the house.
When I looked up, I saw Raven, Lark, Viola, Yuki, Amanda, and Tanya watching me. I did my best to smile and said, “I’m ready.”
Viola exclaimed, “Oh, Joshua, I’m so afraid for you!”
I smiled again and said, “I’m alive, but the thief is already dead; he just doesn’t know it yet. Listen, I think that you should all come with me. Yuki, your house can stay here if you want to, of course, but it might be best for all of you to see what’s going to happen. It isn’t going to be fun, but seeing it yourself might be for the best.”
Yuki said, “Of course! We’ll all go with you. If you insisted that you go alone, we would disobey you anyway.”
I said, “It won’t be fun. It will be tragic. If we weren’t family, I would spare you the experience and memory of what’s going to happen. But if I go alone, I’ll have to carry the memory by myself and none of you will be able to help me with the pain of what I’m going to have to do. I think that if you come with me, it will make it easier on me. I will live with the memory of what I have to do today, and you will live with the memory that I had to do it.”
The girls looked at me, not knowing what to say.
Finally, Yuki said, “Joshua, my son, yesterday I said that my only chore was to stand beside you and protect you. I don’t know what will happen, but I know that I have to be with you. What do you need?”
I said, “All I need is the stick in my hand. I’m ready to go.”
We started walking. The seven of us. We would pick up Paul and Susan at the shop on our way to the square. I was assuming that the thief would be back today. If he wasn’t, I’d come to the village every day until the matter was settled.
As we walked, I said, “Girls, I need you to understand what’s happening. Yesterday, I stopped a thief. They tell me that he’s going to seek revenge. He will insist that I kill him. I’ll give him the chance to live, but I know that he’s going to insist. It will be a senseless death. I regret it already. If he threatened one of you, it would be easy. I would end his life in an instant. If any man threatens you, he is asking me to kill him and I’ll gladly accommodate him. But this man threatens me, not you. Of course, because of my love for you, I’ll kill him rather than let him kill your husband. If I let him kill me, you’d be without the man that you love. Because I love you, I won’t let him to take me away from you. If he threatened Lark, I would protect her for her sake, for Yuki’s sake, and for my sake. If he threatens me, I will protect me for your sake. I won’t let him kill your husband. But it grieves me. Maybe if I didn’t know the outcome I could think that he had a chance and I’d be happy for my victory when it comes. But I know the outcome. He’s going to die.”
Lark said, “And our husband will live and the village will be safe and many people will be blessed.”
I said, “Yes, and it is his choice, not mine. I can’t choose to die, because I have to be here for you, and he has to die because he insists on trying to steal me from you.”
Yuki said, “Joshua, if I could, I’d do it for you. I really would.”
I smiled and said, “I know. Let me see if I can lighten my mood. Girls, what kind of a welcome will I receive tonight when we prepare for dinner?”
Raven said, “I think that you will be confined to our apartment and we will all show you how much we love you for protecting our husband with everything we have. Your wish will be law tonight, well, as it is every night, but tonight especially!”
I said, “That sounds very nice. OK. That cheers me up. Let’s go take care of this little thing so that we can get home again.”
Just then, Paul and Susan came hurrying toward us from the village.
Paul said, “Joshua, he’s here. He’s in the square, threatening everyone who comes near him. He says that if you don’t appear that he’ll kill someone every few minutes until you do.”
I smiled finally and said very cheerfully, “Good! That’s what I needed to hear! Let’s hurry!” and I started to jog toward the village square.
This is what I needed. This was going to be easy. I wasn’t sorry to do what needed to be done now. Now, I wasn’t the one being threatened. Now it was my friends. Now he would die quickly. Perhaps more quickly than I had planned.
It took less than two minutes to reach the square moving as quickly as I did. As we approached the square, people turned to look at who was coming.
The thief stood in the center of a large group of the villagers, all of them giving him plenty of room. There was a circle, maybe sixty feet in diameter, with the thief turning this way and that, waving a large dagger.
The crowd parted for me and I slowed to a brisk walk. I held my bokken in my right hand, and rested it against my shoulder casually. I didn’t even slow down as I walked straight at the man.
When he recognized me, he took a fighting stance and began to shout threats. I don’t know what he said, because I didn’t pay any attention. I walked quickly toward him and he took a few steps backward in surprise as I continued straight at him. When I was about ten feet away, he suddenly shouted and charged me. As he started his move, I stopped. A second later, he was within a few feet of me…and then my wooden blade shot forward from my shoulder, the last few inches striking him full in the center of his forehead.
The thief was stunned and his eyes began to roll back in his head, but I didn’t wait to see what he would do next. I stepped to my right and forward so that I was behind him and to his left side. My bokken was now in both of my hands and it came down on the back of the right side of his head with all the force that my practiced muscles could bring to my lethal strike.
The man’s head caved in some and he fell dead, face down in the dirt. By some instinct, I flicked my blade as if to cast off any blood that clung to it and put it at rest in my left hand.
I hung my head for an instant and said softly, “I’m sorry that he insisted on dying. I’m glad that I was able to save all of you from harm at his hands.”
The crowd was silent.
Charles, the Justice for the village stepped forward and cautiously approached the body.
Kneeling down, he checked for a pulse and announced, “The man is dead.”
Everyone stayed stunned for another minute or two, but eventually, quiet murmuring began.
One said, “It’s just like yesterday. The wizard barely touched him and now he lays dead.”
Another said, “The man rushed him and he was clearly done for, but I saw him disappear and them reappear behind the man.”
Another said, “I think that the man was dead before he was struck. Did you see his eyes?”
The talking started to increase and became louder as people tried to figure out what they’d seen.
I moved to the center of the circle, next to Charles, and held up my hand for quiet.
I said, “My friends, I hope that you still consider me a friend after what I’ve done. My friends, this was not sorcery, I assure you. It was only skill. And it was necessary to protect my family and all of you.”
Someone said, “But you killed him with a wand. And we are very grateful.”
I smiled and said, “It’s a sword, not a wand. There’s no magic except for long hours of practice. The thief was practiced with a knife; I was more practiced with my wooden sword. I did it quickly so that we could all be safe and sleep well tonight. It’s always difficult to see a man die, and more difficult to be the one to make it happen, but this man insisted that I end his life for him. He didn’t want to live any longer. If he had wanted to live, he would have left yesterday and he wouldn’t have come back here today to threaten our village. The only explanation is that he was tired of living.”
I turned to Charles and asked, “Charles, what’s the requirement now? Is there a trial or an investigation?”
Charles said, “No. We all saw it yesterday and today. The man is a thief. It’s customary for you to make your requests and for us to consider them.”
I said, “Friends, I have no need to profit from you in anything, just as I said yesterday. My requests, I hope are simple. First, search the body and return what the man has stolen to whoever he has stolen it from.”
Charles bent down and began to search the thief’s belongings and found a few bags and other items that had been pilfered from various shops around town. The valuables were returned to their owners.
I went on, “Next, as I have said, it’s a hard thing to have to kill a man, I hope that none of you ever have the burden of doing so. If it isn’t too much to ask, if some of you men would deal with the remains, I’ll be very grateful. If not, I’ll find a way to do it.”
Charles said, “We can take care of it. The dead are taken away. We will pay for the disposal.”
I said, “If the man had anything that he didn’t steal, can it be used for the fees? He should pay for the inconvenience that he caused by his own choices if possible. If not, I will pay for it. There’s no reason for the village to be burdened.”
Charles said, “He had coins. There’s enough for the fees and more. The remainder is yours.”
I said, “Thank you, but no. I don’t want this thief’s money. I would ask that someone take his knife, if you have a blacksmith or someone who can do it, and grind the knife away to dust so that it is utterly destroyed and that the pieces of it be burned. My wish would be that we say that a thief visited our village and now he’s gone and he left nothing behind for us to remember him by.”
A man in the crowd said, “That’s a good way. And beware to other thieves who would come, lest they also have no one to remember them. But what can we do for you? You have been kind to us.”
Another said, “Yesterday we pledged to be your friends, but let us give you something.”
I said, “Friends, I’m glad that you still think of me that way. I don’t need anything in the way of material goods. I have a home with Paul and his household. I have three fine women. My business is profitable and I have plenty of resources. Any money that is left from this man, decide for yourselves how to use it to benefit all of us. If there’s a man who needs work in the village, let us hire him to make repairs or clean or beautify some part of the village. If there isn’t enough money for the entire project, tell me and I will finance the work.”
Charles said, “There are some projects that would be good to have done, and we do have a friend or two here who could use the work.”
I said, “Good. But now that I think about it, perhaps there is a favor that some of you can do for me.”
Someone said, “Name it.”
I said, “It might be too big a request, but perhaps not. I have some business that would require travel to other villages nearby, or possibly far away. If any of you plan to travel to another place, perhaps you could tell me before you go and we could make some arrangement to do some business for me. They are very simple matters and won’t take you out of your way or take up much of your time, but they would save me the need to travel myself. What do you say to that?”
Charles said, “Joshua, that is a very small thing. Any man here will be happy to conduct business for you in any place that we go. Am I right?”
Several people said, “Yes. It will be a pleasure for us.”
One said, “I leave tomorrow for the village two towns to the west. I will do what you want.”
Another said, “I am headed east in a few days and I will travel through four villages before I return. Tell me what you need.”
I smiled and said, “Good. You are very kind. I won’t take advantage of you. If any of you are planning to travel, if you would speak to me before you go, I’d be very grateful. I’m living at the farm of my father-in-law, Paul. If we are done, there is one more thing that I would like to do before I go home to rest from this excitement. I need to hire the jeweler, a woodworker, a stone carver, and a blacksmith for a project and I’d like to speak to all of you together. If you can stay for a moment, I’d like to tell you what I need. If you’re busy, I’ll find a time convenient for you.”
A few more things were said, and many people thanked me and shook my hand, but in a short time, people began to disburse. Charles arranged to have the body disposed of and everyone went back to their business.
Chapter 28 The Sign of Joshua
The men that I’d asked for stayed behind to see what project I needed. I sent the family away, but asked Viola to stay with me. Paul stayed as well. When we were alone, I took a breath and let it out in an attempt to relax a little bit.
I said, “Thank you all for staying for a moment. The project that I have in mind is simple and I will pay you what’s fair for the work. It involves my crest. I’m new to the village, but I do intend to establish a home here. Paul has me at his home for now, but eventually, I’ll have my own place. My project is simple, but perhaps unusual. Look at the crest that Viola wears. You can see what Grayson made for me. I need several items of the same design. First, Grayson, I would like to have a necklace for myself made in the same style as the collars that my women wear. We are one house. I will need several more for workers in my house; women who are not mates. I would like to have you make one for me, and at least five more to start with.”
Grayson said, “That will be easy. The crest isn’t difficult and necklace chains are in my stock.”
I said, “Thank you. I would like the crest for my necklace to be a bit larger than the ones for the women.”
Paul said, “I like that. Grayson, can you make one for me as well? With my crest?”
Grayson said, “Certainly. I think that I like this idea too. Joshua, my women were…well, they learned a lot from the talk last night. Um, and besides, we made a pact that we would listen to you, so if you don’t mind, if you say that you will wear your own crest, then I would like to have the benefit that you have in mind as well. My women and I will wear our family crest together. They will wear collars and I will wear the necklace, or perhaps a new man’s collar of some design. I’ll give it some thought. I like this idea.”
I said, “That will be fine with me. If it’s what you want to do. Now, you see, the crest is the sign of my house. And, it is the sign of doing business with me. Woodworker, first, thank you for the wood that you provided for my sword, but now I want a wooden crest carved as a sign for my door. The same design, but large enough for a door, and two more that can be attached to posts for the edge of my property when I have some.”
The man said, “That’s no problem. I can make them right away. Do you want them overlaid with gold and with a blue gem?”
