As the weeks passed by, the cadets continued their training in armed combat, marching off to

different locations to keep up their fitness, and of course they spent a lot of time being yelled at by

the Sergeant to improve their discipline. Lothar by this time had developed a fair grasp of the Runic

script thanks to Nico’s tutoring. This teaching also gave Nico the incentive to do some writing of his

own. He wrote a letter to his grandfather Belorn back home, and for a small fee, had it delivered by

a legionnaire who was heading to Gerium.

One day the Captain addressed the company, “Right you lot, we have new orders for you today”

boomed Ostardas’ voice. “This company will be on guard duty. You will be on duty here in the city

of Coranan from the hour of midnight to the 8^th hour of the morning. Each squad will be given an

area of the city where you are to maintain law and order and ensure the safety of the citizens. In the

event of trouble, use these whistles to call for reinforcements”, and as he made his way towards the

men, he carried with him several tin whistles. He approached the first squad handing over a whistle

to one of the men, then the second and then the third squad.

When he reached Nico’s squad with one whistle left, Nico and Lothar snapped to attention, their two

squadmates Sylud and Grunth managing a passable attempt at proper military discipline.

“Legionnaire Barkus step forward” ordered the Captain, and without hesitation Lothar approached

him. “I am making you Acting Senior Legionnaire and you will be responsible for your squad” “Yes

sir!” Lothar replied. “Your sector of the city to maintain law and order is as follows…” as Lothar

listened, the Captain gave a description of the area to be patrolled by the squad. “Sir, do we get to

wear Red Cloaks?” asked Lothar. “What do you think this is? your birthday?” yelled Ostardas.

“Right you lot get some rest, you’ll need it for tonight. Sergeant, dismiss them!” “Sir, yes sir”

replied Sergeant Gelak. “You heard the Commander, get out of here and to your barracks you bunch

of goatherds!” he yelled. “MOVE!”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Merciful Peoni, that Sergeant sounds as tough as an old leather boot!” said one of the men.

“Hah, indeed, Gelak was a tough old bastard, but he meant well,” replied the old man.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

That night the company was awoken and they prepared for their patrol. The night was calm and still

as they marched across the drawbridge and through the Quilon gate where the squads separated, each

heading for their own areas of responsibility. Nico’s squad crossed Kotros Square to Rafter’s gate

where they relieved their counterparts from the previous watch.

“Hey Sylud, you are the most familiar with Coranan out of all of us aren’t you?” asked Nico. “Well

considering you three are all fresh from the farms, I’d have to say yes to that” replied Sylud with a

superior look on his face. “Well then Sylud” said Lothar, “It might be a good idea if you lead the

patrol around and take point then?” And with that, the squad headed off through the streets of

Coranan.

Apart from the odd late reveller, the streets were dark and silent. Sylud led the patrol from Kotros

Square west along Hobyn street through the Dorti gate and onto Tarpamen street, one of the main

roads in the city. Tarpamen street led them back towards the centre of the city until they reached

Elatus avenue, the main road through Coranan. Following Elatus avenue eventually brought them

back to Kotros square.

“And here we are, back where we began, wasn’t that fun? It took us less than an hour to walk right

around our patrol area” said Sylud. “Well, right then, lets go for an ale eh?” said Sylud gesturing

to the others while he began to head towards an Inn he knew nearby. In fact the idea of a quick ale

or three sounded pretty good to Nico as well. “Ahem, no” said Lothar. “We are here to do a job, so

we will carry on” he said. The squad had only patrolled the outer area; there were many other streets

that lead off the main streets and of course dozens of alleyways and side streets to investigate. Sylud

was none too impressed but headed off again this time taking other routes in the City.

As they wandered through the streets of Coranan a group of people dressed in dark hooded cloaks

appeared heading towards the squad with a peasant held by two of the hooded figures. “GUARDS,

GUARDS, HELP ME!!” screamed the man. Suddenly one of the hooded figures pulled out a club

and whacked the peasant over the head. “HALT!” shouted Lothar, “Let that man go or I’ll arrest you

for assault!” “This is of no concern to you legionnaire, be off and patrol somewhere else” said one

of the figures stopping to confront Lothar whilst the other two began dragging the unconscious

peasant away.

“Lothar?” whispered Sylud in a nervous tone, “You don’t want to be messing around with these

kind, I think they are Morgathian Priests. Lets just do what he says and move on.” Nico and Grunth

both stood their ground ready to act should Lothar give the word. As the Priest stood eye to eye with

Lothar, he removed his hood revealing a demonic mask.

“I ordered you to HALT!” repeated Lothar “Or you will be arrested!!” “You do not have authority

over me and my brothers, this is of no concern to you” uttered the priest. “What has that man

done?” asked Lothar. “He is guilty of heresy, but this does not concern you legionnaire” replied the

priest. “This man is of no concern to you, you have no business here” as the priest began to gesture.

“Move along, move along!” murmured Lothar allowing the priests to walk away, though the

expression on Lothar’s face was ice cold with fury. Nico simply eyed the priests as they carried on

their way, ignoring the four of them.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Man those priests sound nasty and suspicious” said one of the men.

“Oh indeed boy, indeed” grinned the old man, “Though Lothar did not want to give up that night!”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hours went by as the squad travelled along the dark and empty streets of the city, from time to time,

they ran into people making their way through the dark streets and the odd drunk or two making

their way home. At one point they discovered a couple of prostitutes brawling in the street over

which one had the right to work on a nearby corner. Lothar merely ignored their pleas and paid

them off with a couple of pennies. The patrol did run into a group of men carrying a large object,

but once they saw the legionnaires they dropped their cargo and ran off into the dark alleys. The

squad recovered the stolen bolt of cloth which they left in the care of a patrol at one of the nearby

gatehouses, but by morning it had “gone missing”.

In the later hours of the morning the alarm was raised by the blowing of a whistle. The squad

reacted quickly and heading west towards the alarm they intercepted a group of fleeing street thugs

and gave chase after the four young suspects. Two of them turned off the main street and headed at

a run down an alleyway. “Sylud, you two carry on, Nico and I will apprehend these two” ordered

Lothar, as he led Nico down the alleyway in hot pursuit. Though Nico was fit, he could not catch up

with his suspect and was losing his patience. The thug suddenly veered toward another alleyway.

Unable to keep up with him, Nico resorted to throwing his spear but to no avail, his intended target

disappearing into the blackness between the tenements.

Upon rejoining the squad, Nico saw the corpses of the other two thugs. Grunth had skewered one of

them as if he were a chicken on a spit, the other was hit by Lothar who claimed he was trying to

injure the thug by hitting him in the leg. Though Lothar had succeeded in only winging his target,

the fugitive had died from shock and loss of blood. Moments later another squad turned up at the

scene.

“What the hell happened here?” one of the Legionnaires asked looking at the ghastly injuries

suffered by the now dead street thugs. “We heard your whistles and heading this way ran into your

criminals and gave chase” replied Lothar, “But as you can see, they did not surrender and were

therefore…captured”. “Captured?” asked the Legionnaire. “You’ve killed them, not captured

them?” “Now, now, lets not get too carried away here” Lothar replied. “I did apprehend my

criminal by wounding him, however due to the severity of the wound he died moments later” “Well

what about that one?” asked another legionnaire. “He’s got a bloody big hole right through his

chest! were you trying to aim for his arm? Sheeeesh!” “I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Grunth about

that one” said Lothar. With that all four of the other squad merely looked at each other and said

“Ohhh…Grunth’s unit! we should have guessed…”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Grunth is very ruthless isn’t he?” asked another one of the young men. “Well true son, however all

this killing did not appeal to Lothar. He was beginning to wonder if Grunth was just bloodthirsty”

said the old man after clearing his throat with a hearty swallow of his ale. “Oh, that reminds me…”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Then there were two mercenaries, very merry and drunk with a young lass between them, she

seemed to be enjoying their company. But an hour or so later the squad ran into the same two men

duelling it out with their broadswords. Nico and Grunth took positions behind each of the men as

Lothar moved in to stop the skirmish. Sylud’s attention was towards the young lass, who was sitting

by herself on the side of street. As Sylud approached he could see that the young lass had been

struck in the face. He quickly turned his attention to the two brawling mercenaries with an enraged

look upon his face, but the two men carried on, with no concern for the legionnaires around them.

“Stop at once or you will be restrained!” shouted Lothar, but the men simply ignored him as they

went toe to toe with each other. Grunth however did not wait for anything more from Lothar and

lunged at the man in front of him with his spear. The mercenary screamed in pain and fell to the

ground in agony, the other noticing Grunth for the first time raised his sword to attack. At that

moment Lothar put himself in between the two of them as Nico grabbed the mercenary from behind.

“You are under arrest for disturbing the peace!” said Lothar as he disarmed both men. “Which one

of you bastards hit that woman?” screamed Sylud. “He did!” replied the mercenary in Nico’s grasp,

upon which Sylud spun around and kicked the injured man on the ground. “C’mon lads, lets take

these two to the guard house” said Lothar. “You go ahead, I’m going to help the little lady home”

Sylud replied. “I’ll come with you Sylud” offered Grunth. “No!” yelled Sylud. “I’m doing this on

my own” he said as he helped the young lass up and escorted her home.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“So, Sylud had a soft spot for the girl eh?” asked one of the men at the table. “Ha, ha, ha…”

chuckled the old man. “If Sylud wasn’t comforting women, he was selling them!”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As the sunrise appeared over the city walls, people started emerging from their homes, merchants

began opening their shops, stalls were being set up for the market, workers headed to the docks.

Nico and the others with tired eyes were making their way back to the gatehouse to end their shift.

Suddenly there was a loud scream and a panic among some people nearby. The four rushed forward

to see what the commotion was. Lying on the ground was a man in a pool of blood, some people too

scared to look were running off, others just stood around, stunned by what had just occurred. The

four inspected the man; he was dead, the obvious cause; a crossbow bolt sticking out of the back of

his head.

“Hmmm, a crossbow bolt” thought Sylud out loud. He reached down and pulled it from the man’s

skull with a sickening sound. Lothar was looking around for any signs of movement on the rooftops

of the nearby building and Nico was busy taking control of the gathering crowd. “Move along

citizens” Nico told the gawping onlookers. “Nothing here for you to see!” However a couple of men

who had been wandering by had recognised the dead man.

“Hey that’s Jarst! Oh Peoni, is he?…is he?…” uttered one of the shocked men. “Do you know this

man?” questioned Lothar. “Yes sir, I do. He works at the docks with us”, the man replied. “Oh

Halea, his wife will be devastated” “Well the bolt has no markings” said Sylud getting to his feet.

“Whoever the killer was, they are a real marksman, specially to get a headshot!” declared Grunth.

“There seems to be no clues to the identity of the killer” replied Lothar, “We are at a loss to know

the motive of the killer”

With that, Lothar questioned the dead man’s friends, “Did he have any enemies?” “Not that I know

of” replied the man. “Jarst was a good man, everyone respected him” “What work did he do?”

Lothar asked. “He worked on the docks like us, though he did put a lot of time and effort into the

Brotherhood” “The Brotherhood?” all four members of the squad responded at once. “The

Brotherhood of Teamsters, he was a leading figure for all of us workers. Without Jarst, we will be

lost, he was one of our best spokesman” the man sadly said. “Sounds like a Guild to me, though I

have never heard of a Teamsters Guild” said Sylud. “Perhaps Sylud, but it seems someone or some

faction does not want this ‘Brotherhood’ around” said Lothar. “Well, we can’t just leave him here

lads” said Nico. “We should take his body back to his family for burial” “Indeed Nico” responded

Lothar. “You, citizen, do you know where he lived?” “Yes I do, I do sir” replied the dead man’s

friend. “Right then, pick up his body and show us the way” said Lothar.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After a short march the squad arrived at the house of the dead man and noticed that the door was

ajar. Nico and the others approached cautiously as they entered the abode. They found the room in

a mess; furniture overturned or smashed, blankets and clothes tossed around the floor. There was a

second room and as they entered they saw a body covered in blood lying on a bed. “Oh dear

Peoni!” cried one of the men, “it’s Jarst’s wife!” tears welling up in his eyes. “Get those two out of

here” yelled Lothar to his squadmates.

After ushering Jarst’s friends out, the four started looking around for anything that could give them a

clue to the identity of the murderers. The only thing that wasn’t disturbed in the cramped apartment

was the baby’s crib, with the infant miraculously still sound asleep. “Lets look under the bedding of

the crib” said Lothar and upon lifting the sleeping infant they found a small book under the bedding

wrapped in a leather covering. Thinking it best not to reveal the contents, Lothar placed the book

away in a carry bag. Searching the rest of the home revealed nothing more. As the squad began to

leave Sylud handed over the baby to the two men waiting outside, both of them still quite shaken by

the mornings events.

“Did they have family nearby that can care for the child?” asked Sylud. “Yes, I think so” replied one

of the men. “Then we will leave you two to arrange things from here on” replied Lothar. “We must

report this to our commander”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Well that was most unfortunate!” said one of the young men. “But what of the book old man?”

As the old man leaned back into the comfort of his seat. “Hmmm, yes, the book” he muttered…

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Making their way back to the main gate, they could see Red Guardmen ready to take over from their

duty of the last eight hours. The commander noticed the weary squad approaching, “Well what do

you have to report?” “Sir!” saluted Lothar, and as he began to describe the night’s events the officer

simply gestured his indifference and ordered them back to the barracks. As the squad sat in their

barracks resting and eating they began to discuss the book. As Nico and Lothar read through the

contents, it became apparent that it contained several references to the “Brotherhood”. It also

mentioned names of people involved with the fledgling Guild, even naming several Senators who

had pledged their support in exchange for “gifts” and other favours.

“This book will do us no good” whispered Sylud looking nervously round the barracks. “We must

get rid of it” “I’m not sure that’s what we should do” replied Lothar. “This book is useful

information!” “Really?” asked Sylud with raised eyebrows. “Then perhaps we can make some

money by selling it back then eh?” “I think not!” exclaimed Lothar. “I am not interested in

extortion!” “Well then lets burn it” said Grunth, “That way it will be of no use to anyone” “NO!”

cried out Nico. “If we destroy the book then this man’s work will be for nothing” “Well, too late for

that, cause he’s already dead!” grumbled Grunth. “I will not see this book destroyed!” said Nico. “I

have worked on the docks and I can see what this so called brotherhood can achieve all those

hardworking men down there. We should return it.” “To who, to where?” asked Sylud? “There are

contacts in the book, we can pass it on to someone mentioned” replied Lothar.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“So the book was a real issue for them, eh old man?” asked one of the young men at the table. “For

sure lad, it was” he replied. “Hey old man, it sounds like Nico had a quiet night on watch. Nothing

much eventuated for him?” asked another young man. “Now that you mention it, there was a bit of

bad luck for Nico that night” the old man replied. “When the squad were patrolling through one of

the darker narrower alleyways of Coranan, an occupant in one of the tenements above emptied out

their chamber pot” smiled the old man, “And the only thing that Nico could say was…Ohhh Shit!”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Next Story.

Written By: Kane Mokomoko (a.k.a Nico of Leyon)