The sun was high the next day when Justin knocked on Wyatt’s door. There was no answer and no response when he called Wyatt’s name, so Justin sat down against the wall to wait. After about ten minutes an old man came shuffling down the alley and passed Justin without even a sideways glance. He was unshaven and dressed in rags. His feet were bare and dirty. Justin expected him to go to the end of the alley and sit down like himself, and was surprised to see the old man enter the door on which he’d just knocked. Was he going to try to rob the place? If so, he might be disappointed at the lack of valuables in Wyatt’s home. Justin wondered if he should do something about it. But the old man hadn’t looked at all suspicious as he had come or when he’d gone in the door. Perhaps Wyatt knew him and expected him, allowed him to enter on his own. He hoped that this wasn’t the caliber of rebel he could expect. He was still turning things over in his mind when he heard quick footsteps and turned to see Wyatt approaching.
“Justin, I am glad to see you. Have you been waiting long? Let us go in and talk.”
Wyatt said all of this as he moved, and was holding the door open for Justin to walk through, before he finished speaking leaving him no time to ask about the old man. So Justin went in and immediately looked around to find him. Again, as on his first visit, the dim lighting of the room caused his eyes to need to adjust. Wyatt came in right behind him, and as before went across the room and opened the slit in the ceiling, which provided the light for the room in the daytime. By that time Justin had located the old man sitting in the far corner of the room regarding them both with something just short of disdain.
Turning Wyatt saw him too. “Good, you’re here, father. This is Justin, the one I told you about. Justin this is my father, Gresham, by name.”
Justin was momentarily taken aback. Wyatt was poor, but strong, clean and well spoken. This old man seemed just the opposite. But he recovered himself and responded, “Honored, sir.”
The old man lifted his head almost imperceptibly acknowledging that he’d heard, but said nothing to either of them. Undaunted, Wyatt continued. Filling two cups with water and setting them on the table, he motioned for Justin to sit down. “So, Justin, how did you fare with the cattlemen? Were you able to turn any of them from their complacency?”
“I regret to say, no. After trying, I am convinced that we can expect no help from them at all.”
“Yes, that is as I expected,” said Wyatt, apparently unaffected by the report.
“Well, we may do better with the townsmen, or perhaps the crop farmers east of the town.”
“I think you can expect even less of them than the cattlemen, and of the town, we may be able to come up with one or two.” Wyatt spoke as if this was of no consequence at all.
“How then, do you think, we can prevail against Roth and his men, Wyatt?” Justin had counted on Wyatt to put him in contact with some in the town with which to start. Furthermore he had hoped that it would build from there. Suddenly he was tired of this conflict and of his own. Then to be met with Wyatt’s seeming unconcern had deflated Justin, and it had been audible in his tone when he asked the question.
Wyatt’s father chose that moment to break his silence. Justin had been so preoccupied for a few seconds that he had actually forgotten that the old man was there, and was therefore momentarily surprised when he shifted forward on his chair and spoke. His voice further shocked Justin for it was soft, gentle and imploring, completely out of keeping with his appearance. “Wyatt, why fight? Hear me, you are young. You have a future. Go find a place where you can have a good life. You do not have to stay here.”
“This is my home, father! Why should I leave it? Why should I leave… Ah, fie!”
“I know, Wyatt, I know. But don’t leave her. Take her with you. Her father would permit it. He knows you can provide for her. You are twice the smith as Morell. Everyone knows it. You would both be fine. You would find a good place. Why waste your life fighting Roth?”
Wyatt did not respond. When Justin looked back at him his face was contorted with a mixture of longing and resentment. His father sighed, stood, crossed the room and placed his hand on his shoulder for a moment, then left, shuffling quietly, just as Justin had seen him in the street before.
Wyatt was silent for another few seconds and when he spoke his voice was thick. “My father gives what he considers to be wise council. You and I do not agree. That is all. Why should I or anyone else have to go away from home, friends, or family to find peace or a prosperous life? And if I leave here, what of others who stay? What do they have to hope for?”
“Yes, Wyatt, we agree that Roth should be brought down. But how do we do it, only we two?” Justin was aware of how their places had changed since the last time they met, but he was still feeling tired and did not care. He was unused to having to stand so alone. He was used to the combined numbers and will of his clan. He was becoming weary of his own solitary dilemma and of Wyatt’s. He was ready for someone else to tell him what to do.
“There are tunnels,” said Wyatt. He couldn’t have said anything else that would have gotten Justin’s attention any faster. It was so unexpected and seemingly irrelevant. Justin simply looked at him as if he was perhaps insane and waited. “Tunnels,” repeated Wyatt, “under the manor and the surrounding grounds, with several outlets. I discovered them by accident one time when I was poaching in his orchards. They explain why he and his devils can come and go, and spy so easily without warning. I believe that is also why they almost always carry torches even in the daytime, for light when they go below ground.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I have often thought if I could get Roth alone, without his men, perhaps I could take him. If you could help me, teach me some of what you know of combat, and I could somehow lure him into one of the tunnels alone… well… I could take care of him and escape. I don’t think his followers would last long without him. And I think the people would more easily rise against them without Roth at the head. You have probably even heard among the cattlemen how some even think to allow Roth to rule us is right. But with him out of the way, I think we might have a chance to establish a new rule, more fair to all.”
“I have heard what you speak of, even from Tory, Barker’s son with whom I lodge.”
“I know the family. They are good people, loyal to the King. But can it be right for us to live under such tyranny? Would His Majesty want this?”
“I don’t even pretend to understand the King or those loyal to Him, so let’s not debate that. Instead let’s discuss something I can relate to. How would you get Roth alone? And what weapon would you use against him?”
“To answer your first question, he rides out every second day of the week to consult with a wicked astronomer who is in his pay. I have observed him do this regularly. The star gazer lives just inside the southern forest. Roth takes the tunnel in that direction which has two openings. He emerges from the last, which opens in back of his stables. From there he gets his horse and rides into the woods. This is the only thing he ever does alone to my knowledge. I do not think the seer would meet with him if he had anyone with him. I have heard he is suspicious, even paranoid. I could lay in wait for Roth in the tunnel. My only concern is that he would call for help and I would be caught. But if there were a distraction further back in the tunnel, before the first opening, at the right moment, then that would be mistaken for anything that had been heard.”
“The one who causes this distraction would be taking a great risk as well, would he not?”
“He would undoubtedly suffer a beating, but they would not dare to kill him without first bringing him before Roth. A cry would need to be raised after Roth was disposed of, so that in the distraction this second person could escape and be forgotten. You would be easily forgotten, as you are not well known here to begin with. Of course, if the deed went undetected until I am out of the tunnel, this second person need not ever be discovered at all.”
“And for a weapon?”
Wyatt rose and crossed the room to where there was a stack of folded blankets and cloaks. Shifting the entire stack aside he took from underneath two long poles with blades on each of the four ends. They were not exactly alike but similar. “I made these,” Wyatt said. “They are similar to the reaping tools that I sometimes make for the herd farmers to cut hay with. But I have made them of hickory instead of ash. This makes them heavier, to give more force to the blow. The farmers need them lighter so that they can use them for long periods. And the blades are straighter and more in line with the longer shafts than those I make the farmers; more for striking down an enemy who stands before you than for cutting through grass at your feet. So it is a weapon disguised as a tool. You can see that I took much more trouble making this one. I worked on it for a long time. This other one I fashioned rather quickly after the very first time that we talked together. This end I did not make. It is only a modified reaping blade. It is not quite as well wrought as the other, but sound enough I am sure.”
Justin realized that Wyatt was not only hoping for, but counting on his help, and he wanted time to think before further committing himself, so he changed the topic for a moment. “What do you know about the gifts that your people have from the Great King? Do you think the mail vest might be of use for protection in a confrontation?”
“I know of the gifts. I know what they are. I think the farmers think about them more than we townsmen.”
“So do you think the vest could help?”
“I suppose the vest could offer some physical protection to the one who wore it. The arrows Roth uses are not extremely sharp or well made. The man who makes them for him doesn’t really pride himself on his work. In fact, he is a drunkard. So as I think about it, the vest might indeed offer a measure of protection. And a bruise or broken bone may heal better than an arrow wound.”
“You don’t believe in the vest’s power of invincibility, then?”
“Do you?”
“No,” Justin admitted, “but I think if we attempt this that I should take on Roth. I have more experience in combat. It only makes sense to do it that way, and I would not mind wearing any protective armor that I could obtain.”
“I would not feel right allowing you to take the greater risk, Justin. While his henchmen would not kill without asking, Roth would not hesitate to do so, even on a whim. As far as the vest goes, I suppose that it would work as armor. But if we ask to use it we would give away our secrecy, at the very least and perhaps still be denied. Of course, if we didn’t ask…”
“Could we get it without asking?”
“It is not guarded. None of the gifts are. What would be the need? They are of such a nature that they would not be of any great monetary value. Besides most of the people hold them in some degree of reverence or another.”
“How are they kept safe?”
“They are simply stored in a small building in an uncultivated field on the north side of the town where the large assemblies are held. No doubt you have been to the campfire meetings of the herd farmers. Several times a year there are similar meetings for everyone, the townspeople and the crop farmers too. Even Roth is welcome to attend, though of course he doesn’t. They are held there in that field. Some of the gifts are then brought out of the building. So as I say, the vest would be quite easy to obtain.”
“That is something we should consider then.” Without thinking too much about it Justin had entered into the conspiracy because it seemed hypothetical. Now as the conversation lulled for a moment, he realized with a jolt that it was not hypothetical, and that Wyatt considered him committed to the plan. But Wyatt’s focus had been contagious. Justin’s fatigue had fallen away as he had given his mind the freedom to puzzle over possible solutions to the problems at hand. He truly felt ten times better with something before him that needed his full attention and efforts. And that it was for the purpose of bringing down someone as cruel as Roth made it the more satisfying. Now it seemed that not only must the plan be carried out, but also that it was what Justin wanted and needed most to do. They continued to plan together for the rest of the day, arguing again and again about which part each should play. Wyatt always maintained that he should take the greater risk, but Justin contended that it only made sense for him to go up against Roth. And though he hated it, Wyatt could not dispute that Justin had the better chance of success. Justin seemed to win the argument each time it came up, but it wouldn’t be long before it had to be settled again. It was well after dark by the time that Justin returned to Tory’s home and to bed for the night.
