The Last Heroes Before Judgement

Copyright © 2016 by Matt Wilk

All rights reserved.

This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

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except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or discussion.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious.

Any similarity to real persons and/or events are purely coincidental.

Please do not attempt to replicate the following events at home.

“I beg you sir? Powders, a copper…anything?”

“Shut your face beggar.”

“If the gods had any mercy, we wouldn’t be leaving Ulfbar like this.”

“Get out of the way. Make a hole down there.”

The road south into the mountain had melted enough to fill up with dead eyed beggars and the elderly. They walked the path south, deeper into the Apple Mountains, to the even less civilized kingdoms of the Slorrick province. The mountain men of Sareeni would have already barred the gates weeks ago, after the first instance of pox. The poor took with them only what they could carry- which smelled like mostly spices and raw fish. We had the only cart on the road but I had heard hundreds of people walking south to warmer weather. The last of them, barely escaping the cleansing fires which were sure to be punctual and merciless.

“Hey you, get off the road. Now- move it!”

The orchards had turned to rot before this winter and more famine always brought more plague. However, this year, the gods did not stop at just the flu. Fair or not, half the city was about to be razed in order to prevent the few spots of pox from becoming many. I should have been grateful for my safe ride across town, but, it was not by choice. I would have preferred walking backwards to being cuffed. At least Mother Moon watched over me in her full glory. It was the single brightest thing I had seen in more than three months. By then, my instinct was to hide in the shadow, ducking under the left seat from the rays originating in the northwest.

“Caught you peaking, ya sneaky little Swillian.”

Warden Tonney, the Lord and owner of Ulfbar’s iron mine. With half of it sold to the city government for criminal housing, he owned half of any find while the taxes paid for our food. He had been in power for longer than I had lived and had long bested any trick I might play- like pretending to be asleep. He was sitting in the front seat in the bed of the cart waiving his finger. In my defense, I was technically the eleventh youngest boy in town, and therefor knew no better.

“Alright sweetness, how’s about you climb out from under there and we have a talk.”

“Yes sir. How may I be of service to you on this fine evening?”

I rolled out from under the side seat but only rose to my knees to keep my bare arms hidden from the wind. The guards in the driver’s seat snorted at our banter, and yet, their weak messenger’s ponies were so tiny I snorted right back at them. The grey old warden was not amused. He may have been fat, but he was tall, and running the prison had made him strong. He lumbered over me from the front seat and propped up his heavy walking stick to appear more threatening.

“You can have that one but no more speaking out of turn. Let’s do this quick and easy, then you go with other recruits. I hear they will even have eggs after the journey.”

“Aha, so I have been sold to the Commandoes. Now, I know who to thank for my early release.”

“Matthius, ooh-”

The guards up front snorted again and shook their heads. Warden Tonney had to breathe deeply to remain calm and he balled up his fist for a threat. Balding grey skins always hate interruptions.

“Listen boy, I know you left a stash. I want to know how much ore you hid from my scales and where I can find-” he exaggerated a deep inhale through only his nose, “a reason not to crush your skull and just give back to the Lantos their finder’s fee.”

“Perhaps if my hands were free of these freezing cold shackles, I might just remember.”

He remained seated and curled his finger- beckoning me to his side. I crawled over beside him and found his foot wrapped and his ankle too swollen to fit any boot. He had to hold the stick with a tight grip to keep his balance, but, with his right hand seized the back of my neck, and pointed me east to the great balancing scales set in the night sky. Though they had clearly fallen over long ago, the people still held the belief that balance could be restored. Most of the people walking by kept their eyes away. Some of the older men nodded in approval of the scale worshipping as the cart passed.

“Ya see laddie, the scales don’t lie. They just don’t.”

He took in another exaggerated breath and squeezed down on my neck. When I leaned forward, clenching and cringing, I saw the key ring around his belt.

“You know why Nickolas gets his own tunnel?”

“Why’s that boss?”

“Because he can produce”

“Ah yes, good point sir.”

“We threw you in there hoping he would make some use of you, or maybe even kill you his self. For some reason, knowing full well it was your people that burned him up and took his eye, he decided to let you live. Worst of all, production drops to a single daily pound from each of ya’s. One pound!”

He did not wait for me to lie again. Instead, he quickly slammed my forehead into the seat and pulled me back straight.

“You shorted my count by at least forty pounds. Where is it?”

When he slammed my head down again I was ready. Somehow, I grabbed the keys off his belt without giving myself away.

“You know what your problem is boy? You’ve got no loyalty. You can’t measure up to what you done, nor what I’ll do to your friends. Sure, you know how to read and you can see all the pretty colors, but no army wants a lad with no loyalty.”

“Wait, wait, I remember now.”

“Don’t you lie, I’ll be checking myself soon as we get back.”

He stared at my neck- contemplating whether or not to choke me- so I told him what he wanted to hear while I still had enough air with which to speak.

“Well boss, first you cross the bars.”

“Of course, we are inside the tunnel. Where do we go next?”

“The first left, the first left, and then the first left again boss. That’s it- you’re there.”

“Very good Matthius, you have made the right choice. But, just in case you set a trap, we’ll send Harold in first. He’s always trying to leave the Priesthood and join the Guard- he can go sniffing for trip lines.”

“Wait- wait, I just remembered boss. I moved the whole load to a different cavern.”

The other guards liked the idea of Harold falling in through a false floor so they burst into a full cackle when I changed my mind. Warden Tonney slammed my head into the seat again and I jammed the spring and pike key into its hole. The first cuff came unlocked. The Warden dropped his patient facade and started yelling.

“You steal from the mine and it is the people who will suffer. Lie to me again and it will be your boy Nickolas going hungry.”

“First right, second right, and laying right on the floor covered in dust. Now get your hands off of me.”

“And that’s all of it? How much ore is just rusting on the floor?”

“It’s all there so just leave Nick alone and let me go.”

“I said, tell me how much!”

“Well, last we heard the city was being burned for plague. We saved enough to keep from being left behind.”

“Oh there’s no plague yet, but you were planning an escape already, weren’t you? I ought to wring your sneaky little Swillian neck. And exactly how much did you reckon it would cost for the pair of ya’s? How much?”

“I stopped counting… after one hundred.”

“A whole hundred!”

He slammed my head down on the seat and held me there. Using my neck for leverage to stand, he began yelling at any of the passersby that dared to look. He could have used his stick for balance, but, he was busy swinging it down at all the innocent people it might reach.

“What are you looking at? And you? Take that- you nosy slummer.”

I slid the pike into the other cuff’s keyhole but it was loose. The spring was frozen and shaking it around did not help. The metallic scraping was so unmistakable that both guards turned to find the source of the sound. Warden Tonney reached down and snatched the key out of my hand.

“What’s this? The spring froze on you did it?”

He backhanded me across the bed of the cart with such force he nearly fell out of the cart.

“Clear the road! Get us to the square and turn around. He’s coming back with us. A whole hundred pound is more than enough to pay back the UNF and keep him for good.” “Onward.”

“Clear the lane. Hey-ya!”

The guards cheered him on while the little ponies leaned into a gallop. Warden Tonney was slamming his stick to make his point and nearly fell again with the sudden speed increase. I had never wanted to leave Ulfbar before that moment. The Warden turned to find me shaking my head with tears in my eyes. I could not look up at him so I yelled down at the cart’s bed.

“I’m staying on the surface. You will not starve me- not one more day- in that sunless hell. A pox on you!”

When they cackled, I spit at them. The wind threw it back at me and the Warden fell into his seat, clutching his ribs from laughing so hard. I was so angry that I could not choose between snatching his stick and swinging the one free cuff down on his bad foot, so, I did both simultaneously. He howled and fell flat. I stomped on his back to keep him down. The stick swung around in a slow arc from the heavy weight but the impact it had on the guard’s head left the driver’s seat with only one man.

“Whoa! Clarence? Boss!”

“Gimme.”

Warden Tonney grabbed the stick and flipped himself over. Aided by the wind, I flew into the back wall with enough force to bend the hinges that held it in place. The guard pulled his reins hard to the left and the cart slid sideways as we circled the market stage. I rolled out of the cart just as Tonney swung his stick down. He missed my head with his attack but the momentum of the cart launched me out into the air. I flew long enough to gasp and cover my face, then landed on the frozen pavement. A light dusting of snow had just started falling and I slid across the ground screaming until I was suddenly stopped. With the ringing in my ears, I thought I must have hit my head on a giant set of bells. The impact spun everything within sight and I could not blink it away. The cart disappeared on its way back for poor Clarence, and even Mother Moon faded to black. The darkness consumed my eyes as the ringing grew in pitch and volume, then my senses refused to respond any further, and my head slumped down onto the frozen ground.

“Oh Sara, who is that? Looks like a prisoner broke out. Don’t touch him. Sara!”

The woman’s warm hand pulled back my hair and my eyes struggled to bring her into focus. She withdrew and looked down at the blood she had gotten on her hand.

“Sara, he’s covered in spots. He’s a Swillian. Leave him for the guard.”

“He’s just a boy, Jessie. And he’s a hurt one at that.”

“Let’s go, we’re running out of time. We have to leave the city.”

“Excuse me, ladies. Could you help me to my feet before you go?”

“C’mon Jessie, give me a hand.”

I did not recognize the nice ladies and I could not remember how I fell. Jessie did not like having to touch me but helped Sara with getting me to my feet. The world was still tainted by the blood red shadow from my own eyes. I tried to wipe it away, but it was coming from within.

“We could have left yesterday but someone wanted the pass to melt another day. Now the whole road will be littered with waste and frozen slummers. C’mon boy, you’ll earn your keep soon enough. Just wait until the starving ones turn to thieves- just you wait.”

They were leading me south with them when I regained my balance. Mother Moon turned the world back to a soft blue. Once the ground stopped spinning around, I remembered what had happened down that road, and I held my hand up to stop them.

“We’ve only got until midnight boy, there’s no time to head back for your teddy.”

“Thank you for the help ladies. Good luck on the road.”

“Oh, and where are you going then? We don’t have time for this.”

“Where are you going off to boy? The guards are lining up for the first patrol.”

“Sorry miss, I’ve got to get back to the home. It was the UNF what bailed me out.”

I skipped telling them the whole truth and spun my chained cuff around like a young lord would with a shiny chain of gold lace.

“See Jessie, that’s one of He-olt’s boys. Wait, take this.”

Sara was a stranger to me, and yet, she ripped a small corner piece off of her own dress. She wrapped it around my head, tying it under my throat tight enough to feel it when swallowing.

“Damn we could have used him on the road after all. C’mon with us boy, you can keep us safe and I can give you what a growing boy needs.”

Jessie winked at me and all I could think to do was laugh like an even younger boy. I sheepishly explained how my heart belonged to another girl, and how I had no sword with which to protect anyone. They wished me luck and scampered down the road, until the trees covered them from the moonlight. They stuck to the darkness, giggling about the silly boy.

My face was burning red when I turned to march through town. There was a new wall blocking off the north side of the city. The hurried project was ugly and uneven, but, it did its job well enough to stop me from sliding across the border. The lords in Ulfbar Proper separated themselves from the slummers that served them with the flat paved highway in times of peace. The last time they built a wall to keep us out was to prevent the spread of the plague. The last step in their protocol was to reduce the south side to ash. Warden Tonney claimed there would be no outbreak, however, with the constant threat of war, they were willing to burn out all the undesirables in order to prevent one. The living quarters spread tall and long away from the streets. Each home split into many more once inside and hundreds could live in them at once. But, the row-homes were so old and soggy that they sank in the middle, earning us the title ‘slummers’. I ran by several that sounded as though thieves were having one last run at things before leaving it all to be wasted. Only one lighting globe was left still burning. It lit up a sign of Reclamation, as well as evidence that the lords and the governors were already celebrating.

“Any man without embossed documents…tax of five gold on each additional member of the family… no access granted for slummers in Kowena province, eh? How many years have they debated about the wall? And now they’ve gone and actually built one.”

The city split its people down the middle into the kingdoms that bordered one another. The northerners stole the bay for themselves and simply warned the southerners that they would be left in Slorrick to their own devices. I had to back away just to see the rest.

Down low, with drawings that even a child could understand, were the instructions for mixing powdered foods. When the Lantos arrived over three hundred years ago, they were not the only refugees fleeing the Swillian Empire. They did manage to set themselves apart, though, by teaching the grey skins to read. The tiny half-men introduced the eastern kingdoms to history and math, and, in return, they wanted only for protection. It was their talent for scribing treaties that founded the Unified Nations of Freemen, and their genius did not stop there. Their powders for the poor program kept the peasantry filled with the mandatory minimum amount of nutrients to prevent a famine from naturally leading to a plague. Their laws still allowed for the lords to commit any crime they pleased, if only they were willing to pay the fine. True to their class, when the people were suffering, they added insult to injury. Someone whom had clearly never been forced to learn Lanteeni script had put a line through the word ‘Poor,’ so that the sign would then read, ‘Powders for the Plague.’ With no regard for the biting anger of the people who were losing everything, that sign too had been crossed out. Above it, perfectly painted with an official stencil, read the response- ‘Powders for the Peasantry.’ I could picture one of the many- spoiled rotten- Tremaine’s ordering the update while paying the fine to laughter and applause. Priest Second Class Sloan would have gladly accepted payment without a single word of dissent. I shook with such a rage that I decided to call out to my fellow peasants- still sacking the slums.

“You avenge us boys! When the guards come down on our streets, you burn the city for them, whilst they’re all trapped inside.”

“Yea! Burn ‘em right back!”

“Here, here.”

A few of the men agreed and some just stopped to listen. I tore at the sign but cut my hand on the nail holding it flat. So, then I swung the chain around, smashing the loose cuff into the oil filled lighting globe. The sign post turned blue and then amber too quickly to avoid. By my own hand I was covered in burning oil. I had to roll around in the dirty snow to put it out. I could not have been any more frustrated, but, I was too short on time to go off and break anything else. When I started trotting off again, I even crossed the empty highway to slam my fists on their wall. The damned thing nearly broke my hands without budging. The wall made me cry for many reasons besides the pain, but it kept me company as I ran through the streets of Ulfbar for the last time.