Spoils of War: Part IV

"Do as he says, van Urforth." Blackthorn set the money on the cart seat and motioned to the merchant to place the purple purse beside it.

Then the two men stepped several paces away from the cart. Madoc and Brynn went over to check their booty, still keeping an eye of the rescue party. Predictably, Brynn ignored the money and went straight for the food in the back of the cart, rummaging about like a child in one of the food baskets.. "Hey1 Where's my blood sausages?"

Madoc meanwhile attended to business, He picked up the purple bag, untied the strings and looked inside for a moment before glancing across at Adalberrina. "Interesting to see how highly he values your life, lady."

Blackthorn grinned at the two brothers. "We didn't have any. Just as you have no crossbowman."

"There is!" Madoc could see no other option but to continue his bluff. "You just can't see him out there in the dark."

"I see quite well in the dark; I'm half-elven. And there is no crossbowman out there, in or out of the shadows."

With his bluff called, Madoc knew he and Brynn were in big trouble. He looked at his brother warningly and then yanked at the horse, trying to turn the cart around so they could head outside. But the space was small and Madoc was not used to dealing with stubborn horses. He swore softly as he heard Blackthorn give a shrill whistle and call for guards. "Leave the cart, Brynn!"

The warehouse doors burst open as guards ran in. Behind them in the doorway was a crowd of hungry looking onlookers.

Brynn grabbed one of the food baskets off the cart and Madoc grabbed hold of the other side as they started past the women for the deep shadows at the rear of the warehouse. There was a door already unlocked in case things went wrong and they needed to make a quick exit. But as they neared Adalberrina and the others, one woman stuck out a foot to trip Brynn while the other smashed a glass vial on the warehouse floor. White smoke filled the air as Brynn stumbled and then fell.

Madoc realized things were going rapidly downhill and heading for an unhappy conclusion if he didn't think of something fast. The food basket hit the floor as Brynn lost his grip on his side, and that gave Madoc an idea. He hauled Brynn up to his feet, then opened the basket and grabbing the two hams inside, threw them on the floor away from the smoke. "Food! Free Food!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Madoc hadn't seen the armed woman draw her sword so the blow to his head was a rude surprise. If he hadn't turned his head back as he steadied Brynn he might have been knocked out. It still hurt like hell and now it was Brynn who had to yank him out of range of that sword. But Madoc's gamble had worked; the onlookers were pouring through the door, grabbing food off the cart and pushing past the guards towards the hams rolling about the floor.

"The doors, Brynn! Head for the doors!"

Brynn nodded, angling them away towards the far side of the crowd and the cart. With the leg of lamb and a loaf of bread tucked under his arm, they looked like any of the others now rushing back outside with food. "Here, Madoc, hold this." He pushed a bottle of wine into his brother's hand.

Then they were out in the street and just two more townsfolk being moved clear of the warehouse by the guards.

***********

"That's a nasty looking bruise, Madoc? Bet that smarts."

Madoc groaned as he looked at his brother. They'd managed to make it to the old burned out O'Donnell docks where they'd taken shelter in an old shed. Neither of the brothers had spoken for nearly an hour as they waited to see if anyone had followed them but it seemed they'd made good their escape after all. Madoc held out a hand. "Aye, it stings, but won't for long, Hand me that wine, will you?"

Brynn nodded and handed the bottle across. "Well, at least we got some of the food."

"We got more than that." Madoc reached under his tunic and pulled out the heavy coinpurse he'd tucked in his belt. It made a satisfyingly metallic sound as it hit the wooden floor. "You really don't think I would leave that behind, did you? " He grinned as Brynn's expression, then took a swig of the wine.

"We did it! A hundred gold pieces! We're rich, Madoc! We can go home and pay Da back for the barn! We could buy our own farm!"

Madoc wasn't overly thrilled at the idea of being a farmer but Brynn didn't need to know that yet. And there was something to be said for getting clear of Camelot for a time until things quieted down around here. "Alright, we can go home."

Brynn barely restrained himself from a shout that would have brought unwanted attention to a supposedly deserted shed. "And the lady's brooch? We aren't really going to give it back to her, are we?"

Madoc thoughtfully took a second slow swig of wine before answering. "No, I think we'll leave the pouch at the spot we agreed upon with Mistress Adalberrina. We need to find someone to write a note to her, though, as soon as it's safe for us to leave here."

Brynn nodded. "Madoc?"

"Yes, Brynn?"

"Can we eat the lamb now?"

***********

It was several days before Adalberrina van Urforth was recovered enough to visit the small church near the Merchants' Quarter and give thanks for her recent deliverance. She brought a small bouquet of flowers with her and if her guards had bothered to watch they might have marveled at how meticulously she arranged them in front of a small statue of the Virgin Mary. But they were more concerned with guarding her from another kidnapper so their attention was elsewhere, and after a half hour their mistress was ready to return to the safety of her room.

It was several more hours before Adalberrina was able to send her maid off on an errand and have enough time alone to look at the pouch she'd retrieved at the church. She'd wondered about the folded parchment she'd felt inside the bag when she'd first picked it up. Now she reached inside to draw it out and set the bag aside while she unfolded it and read. Apparently Madoc had found a scribe for hire someplace and dictated a message that would seem innocent enough if discovered by anyone else but herself.

Mistress van Urforth,

My thanks for your assistance in my recent acquisition. During your recent ordeal, I remarked upon the value your husband must place upon your life. I hope that after you read this you too will see what proof I have of that statement and will find a way to express your appreciation to him.

M

Adalberrina thought back to Madoc's words the other night and then reached for the purple cloth bag. She shook the rest of the contents out into her other hand.

There was no brooch. Instead, there was a stone of about the same size and weight.

Anger overwhelmed her. Perhaps Madoc was lying and he had switched the brooch for a rock, but Adalberrina doubted the Welshman would have bothered to go through this charade. He'd simply disappear without a word if he'd stolen it himself. No, this was indeed Dietrich's work. She didn't know what it was about this brooch that her husband would so stubbornly keep it from her, but she was now determined to find out.
.
And then as Madoc had so blithely phrased it, she would find a way to express her appreciation to dear Dietrich.