It's not about lethality; it's about honor; daggers are the weapon of an assassin because they lack honesty, and a sword is meant to be seen, not hidden;" A coward could use a sword just as a warrior could use a dagger, I have no guilt using one," and "a symbol of the truth of one's intentions"
James paid five coins each for two rooms at the inn by this time. Alex said his usual prayer of thanks as they sat down to eat. James waited for him, his stomach growling as he tapped his foot in annoyance.James asked as they began to eat, "How long does it take to say "thank you"?" "I not only give thanks for the food, but for the day being as fair as it was, for my victory over the bandits, for our encounter with Scarlett, for the good knights who showed us the way to this settlement, and for giving us the work needed to help our friend." "You really think some deity planned all that to happen before it happened?" James asked. "I not only give thanks for the day“Planned? No, yet advanced the situation wherein we were permitted to pursue the decisions for such occasions, yes.Which do you believe was it?Bad luck?"No, I think that this world is mathematically run by equations based on the people, animals, and terrain in it. The odds that we would meet someone in the forest, the odds that knights would be after her, and the odds that we would encounter bandits all went in our favor. There is a possibility that a madman could enter the inn right now and start yelling gibberish, or that one of the lovely village maidens will fall in love with me and we will marry.And new equations are created with each child born, tree planted, and decision made. "Interesting, but wouldn't there have to be a first equation for others to develop? You can't make a tapestry without the first piece of string; where did the first string come from?"“A good question, one I’m still trying to figure out, but I have no interest in thinking a great man in the sky who uses magic controls my destiny.” “We all control our destiny, but he simply tries to keep us on the best course for it, like a father guiding his child.” “I apologize, but there is no shame in being an orphan.” “No shame, just loneliness.”James was taken aback as he looked up, "What? How did you become aware of that?“Fair enough, The Nine Knights of Omega are the right arm of the King of Korryn and have been for generations,” "I have a deal, you tell me about the Knights of Omega and I’ll tell you where I got the doll," and "I’ve seen you hold it as you sleep." They complete any task that is given to them without fear. They are the myth that frightens criminals and the fear that keeps evil at bay.And were you one of these knights, too?Alex struggled to control his emotions as he said, "I was the leader of those knights," "You had your own army?"“No, the military was under the general's control; we were a small group that reported directly to the king; so what about the doll?”After taking a deep breath, James began, "It was when I was seven years old."James squeezed his way into the large house's cramped attic. He had just brought some trashed food that appeared to still be fresh to his current hideout. He could hear the excited conversations of the family below him as he ate. He peered through one of the small knotholes into the main room, where the wealthy merchant master of the house, his wife, and their two daughters were waiting for him.As he wished he could just once be embraced with such love, he felt a slight emotional pain. The father then started giving the young girls dolls he had gotten from his travels. While the mother sat with her husband to hear about his travels, each daughter took their presents and ran to their room to play.James heard them playing as he quietly crept above the girl's room.The older girl said, "This one will be Monica, the princess," "This boy will be William, a handsome prince," and "This one will be Charles, the grumpy King." "Her name will be... Tabitha," she added. "And this one will be..."As they acted out their little fantasy of a princess, a prince, and a king, the two girls chuckled. James pictured the scenes as he listened to them laugh and talk about a faraway land where the king forbade the prince from marrying his true love.As she galloped across the plains on a white stallion, he could see the lovely princess Monica. As the sun set behind the hills, her black hair was blowing in the wind. He cried because he wanted to feel the sun's warmth and shivered from the attic's cold, hoping that the family would soon light a fire so he could at least sit against the chimney's bricks as they warmed.The story went on until suppertime, when the girls put the dolls down and went back to their father. Despite his recent meal, James felt his hunger returning and could smell the food. The girls went back to their room after dinner to continue their story. Again, James rolled over on his back and continued his own fantasy of each character the girls mentioned.He did this every night while the girls played, and the father returned from another trip a month later. The daughters took his brand-new dolls and ran to their room to play with them. They didn't use their old dolls with the new ones, which surprised James. Instead, they put the old dolls in a corner and ignored them as they set up a new story.James grew enraged. He nearly yelled, but held his composure. He ignored the girls, who used their new toys to create new characters. The poor dolls in the room's corner, so carelessly discarded for the new models, were all he could see through a knothole. To show them how much he cared, he wanted to pick them up.He wanted to know how their story would turn out, whether Monica would wed William or whether the King would get his way.The girls fell asleep in their beds as the night progressed, and the family was unaware of the discarded toys. James began crying, he would give nearly anything for such gifts and presently they lay to be everlastingly disregarded.He prayed that the girls would pick them up the following day and take them with them, but he soon fell asleep weeping.He became enraged the following day when the girls refused to play with the abandoned toys or, at the very least, give them to someone less fortunate. He left the attic out of control as the family slept that night. He stepped around the roads until he could step no more.He had the epiphany at that precise instant, as he begged for calm by gazing up at the moon. He knew that theft was bad, but since the girls didn't even care about the dolls, why wouldn't he just take them? He would be more kind to them than they had been. He turned to face the house, which at this point was only illuminated by the moonlight. James stood up and made his way toward the front door. It was unsurprisingly locked. He thought the chimney might be his best option when he considered other means of entry.He ascended the roof and peered down into the approaching gloom. He shimmied down until he was standing on the warm soot after slowly getting in. He slithered out and gradually made light strides towards the young ladies' room.He took off his shoes because he was aware that the soot would leave a trail on them. He sneaked up to the girls' door in his bare feet on the icy floor. When he opened it, he saw the dolls in the corner. As the girls slept on either side of him, he moved toward them. He tucked each one into his belt with care after carefully picking them up. After that, he made a U-turn and turned to go, unlatching the front door before leaving into the night.James said, "And that's all there is, that was my first theft." Alex nodded, "So why keep them now?" and added, "I know it was wrong, but I couldn't bear them going to waste."They are important to me because they helped me feel less alone. And their story is still going on, but the true lovers will marry; it only makes sense that they should. "Have you ever considered writing their story?""Like a scribe?" I ask."Yes, a scribe," "I have little to no writing education," and "I will teach you, then you may write their story" were responses.James agreed, though he was unable to express his gratitude in words.After that, he saw something off about Alex's back. He got up and walked around the main room of the inn until he came up behind a sneaky character examining an object away from other people's eyes. James waited behind him as he sat down. Until the secretive man stood up to leave, Alex was unsure of what his friend was doing. James then reached into the man's pocket to retrieve the item.James shook his head as he returned to Alex's table and the man left without James noticing. What?” James replied, "You stole from him," "I'm only returning what is yours," holding up the medallion that had been missing all day, "or did you know that man?" when he was asked, "You stole from him."“Trust me, one vagabond can spot another easily, there was no honesty in that man,” “Well thank you, I thought it was lost,” “Nothing is lost that cannot be found, you only need to look,” “Wise words, I’m surprised you know them,” James smirked at him before rising to end the day. Alex continued to sit for a short time before doing the same. He thought he could see movement in the tree outside his window as he made his bed and put away his belongings. After lighting the candle, he looked out and saw a person now trying to hide in the trees. He recognized Scarlett and smiled. He called to her from the window that he had opened.Scarlett leapt from the tree and silently grasped the window, "There is no need to hide Scarlett, we have no need for secrecy." She sat on the single chair while Alex sat on the bed after Alex pulled her in.The moon and the brilliant stars that shone through the window were the only sources of light.“Well, you’re here now, may I ask why you’re following James and I?” "I didn't want to bother you,""Your fool is of no consequence; I only follow you," "That fool is my friend, and his name is James;" I would anticipate the use of his name, "Either way, you're the one I follow," and "And for what cause?"Alex stood to gather his belongings and said, "I would wish to join you in your journeys, should you not want me I’ll be on my way." "I would be honored, but only if you apologize to James and disband the use of the word fool, he is much smarter than he lets on, we will leave tomorrow so be ready by then, you may take my bed." "No, a lowly peasant such as myself has no place in the bed r
James stood sweating under the hot sun. Alex stood across from him with a wooden sword in his hand. James charged with his two wooden knives and Alex easily blocked one with his sword and grabbed James ’s other hand twisting until he released his weapon. He pushed James away and waited for him to pick up the practice weapon once more.“Your attacks are obvious, you need to use grace, not brutality,” Alex said.James crept towards him holding his weapons up. He thrust and was knocked away, James then spun with the hit and almost struck Alex ’s side, but failed as Alex caught his arm before the blow.“Close, you used the momentum of my parry against me, very instinctive,”“Maybe you’re right, I should use a sword,”“Well, before you make the switch let’s try something else.” Alex dropped his sword and put up his arms in a fighting stance. James did the same. Alex swung at him and he ducked then retaliated with a flurry of strikes to his friend’s abdominal region before leapi
“You are a thief, aren’t you?” Alex asked,“Well not any... oh... you mean?”“Yes,”“What?” asked Scarlett,“Nothing wench, just leave it to me,”“James --” Alex tried,“No, let’s see what the fool can do,” Scarlett gave him a smile.Once Alex was free James began to look at the door. “No handles on this side or keyholes... but it’s a simple latch mechanism.” He pulled out one of his daggers which had been hidden in his pant-leg. He slid it through the crack and lifted the latch. “Still think the all-seen sword is the only weapon worth holding?” James slowly opened the door and peeked about. No one was in sight which gave him an eerie feeling. “I guess they all feel safe enough to leave us unguarded,” he said,“Be careful anyway,” said Scarlett.The three exited the building and disappeared into the shadows. Once they were a safe distance from the village James crouched in the dirt and began to draw.“Alright, so if this is the village we need to set up here, here, and here,” he
“That’s very clever,” said Alex as they stepped on the fresh made path, “I should learn how to construct one,”“Why?” asked James from under his hood, “If we’ve not horses to pull it?”“Because we could share the design with other kingdoms,” said Scarlett, “Typical you’d only think to use it yourself,”“And you like walking in the deep snow?”“No, I loathe it, but you should know by now we do not act for ourselves,”“I do know it, but sometimes I wonder why not make life a little easier,”“Because challenge invites growth,” said Alex , “While luxury invites stagnancy,”“I’m not asking for a castle, just a horse, maybe one for each of us,”“When I first met you how far could you run before being winded?” Alex asked,“I don’t know, a fair distance I guess,”“And how far can you run now?”James thought about it. It had been six months since that fateful day of their meeting. He realized he could run three times farther and faster now than before and was much stronger.“I see your poi
“It can’t be true...” she cried, “I don’t want to be alone,”“You’re not alone, we can help you find a new home,” said James ,“I don’t want a new home! I want my daddy!”She ran away through the snow. Alex stayed behind staring at the moon while James followed her. She ran towards the city, but tripped and fell into a snow-bank. She laid there screaming until James picked her up to rock her.She only hugged him and cried as he carried her home. When they arrived she was asleep. Scarlett met him outside the hut. “What happened?”“We informed her of the truth, she didn’t take her father’s death very well,”“How would you expect her to take it?”“I know, but hopefully we can find her a new family,”“I guess we’ll worry about it in the morning,” said Alex now appearing around a corner, “We could all use a little sleep.”The troupe entered the hut and did their best to find places to sleep. James put Isabelle on her bed and he covered her before retreating to the floor. All three dri
“This place looks promising.” James said,“What about Isabelle?” Scarlett asked, “This is no place for a child,”“Take her to the beach,” James said, “I’ll bet she’s never seen the ocean.”Isabelle’s face lit up as she tugged on Scarlett’s cloak. “Can we? Please!?” Scarlett smiled. “Of course, let’s go for a swim.” The two ladies left for the bay. Guards soon arrived to break up the scuffle and after the fight was over James and Alex entered. Broken tables and chairs were strewn everywhere. Broken glass from the many smashed bottles littered the wet floor. As the patrons filed out with bruised bones and faces Alex approached the distraught tavern-master.“Animals!” he shouted, “Every last one of ’em!”“Would you like some help?” Alex asked,“What help? Don’t you see my tavern!? It’s smashed to pieces,”“Well sir,” said James , “My companion and I are skilled woodworkers, we can fix up your tables and chairs in no time,”“And what would you ask in return?”“Food, water and three
He kept pushing forward listening to Isabelle’s screams. Something grabbed the back of his shirt keeping him from swimming farther. He looked back to see James trying to hold him. “Don’t be a fool, we can’t catch him!” James shouted, spewing the seawater from his mouth.“We have to! I will not leave her!”“And I won’t let you die in vain! She’s gone Alex , there’s nothing we could have done!”Alex watched the boat disappear and felt the overwhelming dread enter him. James pulled himself and his friend along the rope he’d tied to the ship until they were at the side. James pulled himself up followed by Alex .James went to the helm and steered the ship east towards the shore. He locked the wheel and went to sit with his companion who laid on the deck in agony over the loss. “There was nothing to do, he would have killed her,”“And we condemn her to a fate worse than death? To be some pirate’s slave?”James wasn’t sure what to say, he too was feeling the loss of Isabelle weigh on
“It seems something spooked them,” said the priest as he climbed down from the wagon, “I thank you for your help,”“You’re welcome,”“What is your name sir?”“I am Alex of the Tolbert family,”“Tolbert ? I’m not familiar,”“We are of Korryn,”“Ah, I have never been to that kingdom, though its knights are boasted of in many places. Where are you headed?”“To Doranth,”“Ah, I as well, to deliver these tithes to the storehouses there,”“Alex ! Are you mad!” James shouted as he and Scarlett ran to meet him while carrying his belongings,“Are you alright!?” Scarlett asked,“I’m well,”“My how rude I am,” said the priest, “My name is Michael,”“James ,” said James , “And this is Scarlett.”“And what brings three travelers out this way?”“We are a simple group looking for work in exchange for food and shelter,”“Ah, you should have plenty of work in Doranth. The church is always looking for volunteers,”“Then perhaps we shall see you there,” Alex said while he again strapped his shield t
Feeling his back pockets, Alex told him, “Well come with me, we drops down to Bank of Montreal. I needs a bit of air, and a smoke maybe.”The door to Jimi Jak's opened, sound blowing out to the street for a moment or two and then gone, muffled inside. Alex lit his cigarette while he and Staunch went down the steps, which were now soaked in beer, streaks of blood, and littered with smoked down cigarettes butts from a successful, savage night. The Bank of Montreal only across the road from the bar, they crossed over once cars whizzed past.Nobody was inside the bank's ATM lobby. Alex passed Staunch the rest of his smoke before heading up towards the doors.“Not sure which one'll work,” Alex said thumbing through a handful of stolen debit and credit cards. “Might be a few minutes.”Alex went in to the bank machine and Staunch stood alone, drunk, in the dead of night. Occasionally, a car passed, a sound of laughter from the bar flew on the breeze, and a short time Staunch actual
Inside, the wood stove crackled nice and hot. The evening outside, even in summertime, cooled enough to put a chill in the bones. Brian and tom sat at a medium-sized kitchen table; they'd just finished off a good feed of minced moose burgers and deep-fried home fries. Don cooked a lot of things, but the boys loved their late night lunches – usually the same every time, burgers and fries or moose sausage and fries. As they relaxed in their chairs, Don brought them each a glass of ginger-ale, and a good portion of liquor for himself. The boys drank their pop and Don got his kit: one cigarette rolled, and a joint, as well.“Gimme a smoke,” Brian said, hand out.“Yeah, right,” laughed Don. “I ain't that nice, boy.”Brian laughed and Don lit his smoke.“That was wicked grub, Don,” Tommy told him. “Thanks again. Was friggin' starved.”“Today's been a long one,” said Brian.Between puffs of smoke, Don asked, “What'd you two shits get up to all day?”The boys looked nervous at one another, sl
The majority of the poor girl's murder only came back to him by way of time. Once months went by, the nauseating days of his freedom stretching on, and on, he pieced together several images from the night he first made death; him, the craftsman, making death by hand. Her throat bulged under a tight grip of his clenching fists. She tried to grab him, poke at his eyes, but the force of his hands clamping into her skin and taking the breath out of her heaving lungs kept him safe from any real damage, save a couple scratches. He did not actually orgasm; all the same, his penis shot up erect and stiff like a great monolith against her and he pressed it to her, putting the entire weight of his body down on hers, crushing the clutching bits of life from her flailing, pathetic existence still trying to hold to this world.From the start, he made a fine and thorough killer, an efficient machine created for the sole purpose of killing. Her body would never be found; it still sits buried, rotted
He lived on a decent cul-de-sac in Grand Falls, down near the river. Out back of the house sat a spacious garage separate by a large concrete pad, itself leading up into the long driveway. In the garage he had a nice spot for all his woodworking equipment: table saw, bench, racks of drills, hammers, handsaws, wrenches, and plenty of storage space for fresh wood and the like. At the back of the garage stood a door, behind the door, a room, and in that room were secrets. Locked away with only him and the stale air of the garage's workshop, those secrets grew, multiplied like mould in the dark, and he had a place where his wife would not disturb him; she left him to his business, and without her knowledge his rotten secrets, only coming out when he wanted her there. The man even installed a state-of-the-art security system for the entire property, including the garage, which came with intercoms; often, he would simply call his wife on the intercom to let her know it was fine to bring him
Back over under the Canopy and its branchy cover, Tommy and Brian stopped in an inlet of trees and alder bush. They were scared. Still, the boys were beyond determined to be done with the whole situation. Only trouble was neither of them, with all their heart, wanted to relinquish their hold on the money, those pieces of jewelry, all of that. Even as all the trouble of the world might perilously be wavering only inches above their heads, like one of those cartoons were an anvil hangs on a thread about the coyote's head, all Brian or Tom managed to see were the endless possibilities the contents of that bag could provide them; the images of a future path different than their own dominated them, overthrew those young and impressionable minds.“We could just toss the duffel bag in the woods someplace,” Brian remarked; half sure of himself, half kidding himself.The look gave his friend spoke enough on its own.“This is fucked up.”“We can't just get rid of it – not now,” Tom told him.“Y
Then, Staunch saw the wide birch shooting up near the lake's edge. His heart pumped in short bursts, rapid, and then short, slow again; a combination of nervous fear and the traces of meth still beating around in his brain. Alex stepped ahead of Staunch, who straddled behind wanting to stay but needing to follow. The hole sat only feet away now, closer with each and every stumble. Any minute now they would be right upon it. Stopped for a breath, frozen even in the pulsing rays of daylight, Staunch collected his emotions, his swollen and frayed nerves like wounded and exposed electrical wires, and he caught up to Alex . The two men stepped in around the birch alongside one another, with its hollowed middle, and Alex knelt, no words, at the edge of a roughly bore hole in the muggy earth; a hole where once they deposited all their stolen goods, a hole now empty, void.“Why'd you push me in the fuckin' trees like that?”“I just told ya,” Brian said, “there were people comin' and I di
The car parked a few lengths away from them. Two men got out of the driver and passenger sides; they looked normal mostly. One man – tall, tattooed and fairly muscular, the type who spends his free time lifting weights and self-obsessing over the tone of their muscles, bronzed and starved to death – went to the trunk, as the other – smaller, not much, than the other, and with the look of still being in high school due to his teenage way of dressing, but donning a cane in one hand, limping considerably and aching from an obvious back injury – looked to be moving slowly towards Alex and Staunch. They both walked towards the waiting Firebird.Staunch and Alex each got out and greeted the men.The smaller one extended a hand. “You Alex ?” He shook Alex 's hand. Turning to Staunch he asked, “And that must make you – what's it – Stench?”Alex cackled a dry couching laugh. “It's Staunch, actually.”“Shit, sorry.”Staunch looked calm, but underneath a volcano boiled, bubbled fierce in
Brian understood. He knew now, and along really, what Tommy felt wasn't a mental illness, a real delusion making him paranoid and insane; they both felt it, in different ways. It was the yearning for a new and different life instead of the shit existence they'd both experience up until now. While Brian and Tommy tried to create their own identities and shape the future of their lives, no matter how savagely they fought to do so, they were and always would be inhibited by the families which gave them life, shackled to a dirty destiny. Their parents each were destructive and heartless people; more concerned with their own lives and failed expectations and schemes than bothering to worry about the tiny, lonely humans they created from thin air, leaving them to grow into ungardened plants with no discernible paths ahead of them aside from anguish, despair, torment, and days on this wretched earth long and hard as the road to Hell.This gauntlet of living is what truly made Tommy lie and c
Brian decided it best to save his breath for the walk out from the station, especially considering Tommy planned to dig in three different places all around the area. He kept seeing more money, enough to dive into like Scrooge McDuck, and the thought made everything else fade away.But Brian's conscience, the well of his soul, wouldn't let him rest comfortably. He knew letting Tommy's delusion go on was risky; for days on days now, near a week, Tom has talked of nothing aside from the treasure, pirates, and all the like, and it slowly consumed his sanity, each day that passed. He kept on letting Tom pursue the dream of a legend that most likely was not true, in the slightest, and his spying conscience eyed him, judging, and made him feel as if his entire body were slowly being torn into quarters, drawn by horses, his every fibre wrenched in pain. Yet nothing stopped Brian. He certainly made no real efforts to curb Tommy's lust for treasure hunting.He went on watching Tom, who took hi