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Archer’s name was Remi, but everyone kept calling him ‘the new guy’. Ferrel told him that it will take some time to determine whether they should even bother remembering his name – he added one of his crooked smiles at the end of that sentence, but his eyes remained ice cold. Remi had already noticed that the bandit loved when people were afraid of him. When Ferrel’s companion recruited Remi and other men for the job, promising them huge prize, he always spoke about his master in whispers, constantly looking over his shoulder, describing terrifying tales of tortured women and butchered newborns. While most of these stories probably weren’t true, it took one look into that man’s eyes to make you believe he was capable of all that and even worse.

After they left the road, they moved through the woods for a few hours, changing directions and leaving fake tracks. Remi didn’t know who was the kid they ambushed, but they apparently expected someone very skilled to go after them. They seemed to know what they were doing, so he just followed them around, keeping his mouth shut in (probably justified) fear that they would change their mind about not killing him if he said something stupid. He did notice that even though they advertised a lot of money for every member of the ambush team, they took just a few small pouches with a few coins in them, their main target was the mysterious document. It made Remi wonder whether this was Ferrel’s plan from start – to use the new recruits as a cannon-fodder, getting rid of them when they stopped being useful. For some reason they decided Remi still could be useful and he was determined to do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

There was a lot of smaller hills in the area and Remi was soon out of breath. When they suddenly stopped, he was glad for a break, leaning against the closest tree. That’s why he didn’t notice at first that the others have surrounded him, Ferrel standing right in front of Remi, giving him an indecipherable look. [b]“So, here we are,”[/b] he said quietly. Shivers run down Remi’s spine. But why would they bring him here just to kill him now? “[b]Here is the thing. I have big plans and need more people. But I can’t stand idiots and the world seems to be filled with them lately. Lucky for you, you don’t seem like an idiot. I might be wrong, of course,”[/b] he scratched his head and looked at Marve and Isri, who shrugged. [b]“But you are a quiet man and I can appreciate that, so I will give you a chance. But you should know,”[/b] he stepped closer, his face now only inches away from Remi’s, [b]“that if you even think about betraying me, well you’ll beg me to kill you fast,”[/b] he hissed.

Remi gulped and nodded. He looked into Ferrel’s eyes and had no doubt he was telling the truth. But it wasn’t like he had a choice. These guys apparently had no problem with leaving a pile of corpses behind and he certainly didn’t want his to be added to it. There was also the fact that they knew how to make money and get away with it. Overall, he would definitely be better off on their side. [color=D50000][b]“I’m with you, boss,”[/b][/color] he said because it seemed like he was expected to provide some reaction.

Ferrel watched him for a few more moments which felt like an eternity and then grinned. [b]“Great, then let’s show you your new home!”[/b] He put one arm around Remi’s shoulders and led him towards the top of the hill. Remi felt someone slap his butt lightly and turned his head to see Isri who was giggling quietly.

The small valley looked almost beautiful, hidden safely away between the hills covered with dense forest. Most of the trees inside were chopped down and there were now several small fields with various crops. There was a simple house at the opposite side of the valley, and a few fences that held some chicken. The group crossed a narrow stream jumping over rocks and headed towards the house.

The moment they got closer the door opened and a huge figure appeared, running towards them. Remi almost reached for the bow, but seeing the others relaxed and unalerted made him stop. The gargantuan man jumped to Ferrel, lifting him in a tight hug, yelling [b]“bru’dah!”[/b]. Remi tried very hard not to stare at the fearsome bandit, who was not only hugging the giant back, but also laughing honestly, the frightening look disappeared from his eyes.

Remi had no idea what was going on, but figured it probably will be some kind of test for him and he was determined not to fuck it up. He put on what he thought was a neutral face, waiting quietly for the giant to stop crushing Ferrel’s ribs. Finally Ferrel was on the ground again, the man now turned his attention to Marve and Isri. The bandit gave Remi one his soul-piercing looks, the cold threat back in his eyes as he studied his face. [b]“This is my brother,”[/b] he said eventually, evidently satisfied with what he saw. [b]“We call him Bo.”[/b]

The big man turned to them. [b]“BO!”[/b] he yelled and pointed to himself. [b]“Bru’dah fe’el,”[/b] he patted Ferrel on the back, nearly knocking him down.

Remi nodded and smiled at Bo. [color=D50000][b]“Nice to meet you.”[/b][/color]

Bo’s brows furrowed as he thought for a moment before his face brightened again. [b]“Eet u,”[/b] he grabbed Remi’s hand, shaking it vigorously.

[b]“All right, that’s enough, big man, he needs his hands to fight,”[/b] Ferrel slightly pushed Bo away. [b]“Go help Isri unpack.”[/b] When the giant hopped away excitedly, Ferrel turned back to Remi. [b]“So, what do you think?”[/b]

Remi gulped, this was what he was afraid of. What was he supposed to answer? He had no idea what this man wanted to hear, so he went with something neutral. [color=D50000][b]“Didn’t know you had a brother.”[/b][/color]

Ferrel smirked. “[b]I knew you weren’t an idiot. He’s been like this since he was born. Beat up some kids once when he saw them torture a kitten. Killed two guards who came to stop him. We have lived here since that.”[/b]

The house was not big enough for all of them and it was a warm night, so the bandits camped outside, each in their own small tent. Remi was exhausted so he went to sleep right after dinner, a big bowl of vegetable stew. He woke up suddenly, feeling his blanket move and reached for a dagger he kept under the pillow, but was too slow. He froze on a feeling of cold sharp steel pressed against his throat. Another hand pulled his sheet away completely and started to untie the strings on his pants.[color=D50000][b] “Umm..,”[/b][/color] he started, but shut up as he felt the knife pushed harder.

[b]“Sssh,”[/b] someone hissed on top of him and giggled. That crazy woman. Remi honestly didn’t know if she wasn’t even scarier than Ferrel himself. With him one could at least guess what he does next. But this woman was absolutely unpredictable. And deadly.

She pulled his pants down and grabbed his penis. Remi didn’t think that under these circumstances it was even possible to get it up, but it became hard almost immediately as she touched him. Without removing the blade from his neck, she moved and lowered herself on him with a satisfied moan. Remi bit his lip, knowing that Ferrel was in the next tent and having no idea what would he think about this. But as she started moving faster and faster, he couldn’t hold back a few groans, surprised that he was even able to enjoy it. She on the other hand didn’t bother keeping quiet, her inarticulate moans must have been heard all over the valley. Remi closed his eyes and prayed that Ferrel was a heavy sleeper and that he doesn’t barge into the tent threatening to cut Remi’s dick off for fucking with his girl.

His prayers went unheard. [b]“For fuck’s sake, Isri, either stop fucking the new guy or at least shut your bloody mouth before I stuff something into it!”[/b] Ferrel yelled from the next tent.

Isri just laughed. [b]“You are welcome to join in, boss.”[/b]

Remi’s eyes widened in horror. Fortunately, Ferrel just mumbled some profanities but didn’t get up. It felt almost like forever before she finished, finally pulling the knife away from his neck, leaning closer to him to lick a few drops of blood that were running on his skin. She left without saying anything, just sending him an air kiss. He heard some quiet growling and complains from Marve’s tent as she crawled into it, but no more sex-related sounds, so she was probably just looking for a place to sleep. Remi just lied there, his penis still painfully hard, and tried to remember if he had ever heard of a weirder group of people.

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The sound of fighting resonated through the entire city. Olmea muttered a curse, re-checking that the windows were shut tight and covered by thick blinds. The door was locked and barricaded by a large wardrobe. She kept them opened for as long as she could, because her husband was still outside, but when the angry mob marched through their street, shouting and yelling profanities about the king and the royal family, she knew that she couldn’t wait any longer. At first she was worried about him, but as the afternoon turned into night, fear was replaced by anger. He was going to get in trouble, she was sure of it. As if it hadn’t been enough she had to be worried sick for her son, who was definitely out on a night like this, her dumbass husband had to go play on a rebellion with his drunk friends from the inn.

The things they were saying… Shivers run down her back when she thought about it. How fucking stupid were they? The inquisition had been arresting people for much less and none of them were seen again, safe for the few who had been publicly executed. She walked nervously across the room, lit only by one candle, and climbed the stairs to check on the children. They were crawled up all in one bed, wide awake, but unusually quiet, scared of the noises from the outside. Olmea smiled at them, but couldn’t find any comforting words, leaning over to hug them instead.

Their street was quiet now, the protesters moved closer to the castle. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, Olmea almost jumped up at the sound. One of the children started sobbing. [color=D50000][b]“Just be quiet here,”[/b][/color] she whispered, [color=D50000][b]“I will go deal with it.”[/b][/color]

She went back downstairs to the room her husband used as a workshop. He was a shoemaker and there weren’t many tools there that could be used as a weapon, so she at least grabbed one small hammer and a long sharp knife. Someone knocked again and she moved closer to the front door, as quiet as she could.

Another desperate banging on the door. [b]“Mom! It’s me, let me in!”[/b]

She would recognize that voice anywhere. Quickly pushing the wardrobe aside, she unlocked the door and opened it just to let her son inside, shutting it behind him again. She hugged him desperately, glad that he was not harmed. Only after that had she noticed a horrible smell that was coming from him. [color=D50000][b]“Janril, what happened?”[/b][/color]

As he talked, she brought him some water to wash himself a little, but it didn’t help much with the terrible stench. A cold hand however gripped her heart when he reluctantly told her what had he done. She had always been against him joining the city watch, believing that they had the best chance of living in peace if they just keep their heads down, never mixing into anything political. But he was so excited about it and at the time it seemed like a safe job.

[b]“I can’t go back,”[/b] he whispered quietly, his eyes filled with tears that he had been trying to hide.

She nodded. None of them needed a reminder of what would happen to a deserter. And this was her son, her oldest boy. She would rather strangle all the guards in town and walked to the gallows herself rather than seeing him there. [color=D50000][b]“We will fix this,”[/b][/color] she smiled and stroked his hair. [color=D50000][b]“We can send you to my cousin in Yhore in secret, you will be safe there before all here is forgotten. We just need to wait a few days before the city calms down.”[/b][/color] Janril sobbed quietly and curled up next to her, putting his head on her lap.

The brief moment of peace was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. [b]“Open the door Olmea, it’s me!”[/b]

She growled some curses but got up to unlock the door. [color=D50000][b]“Shut up, you idiot,” [/b][/color]she greeted her husband and pulled him inside, frowning when she smelled the ale from his breath. [color=D50000][b]“Where were you Petyr? The kids are scared to death and you are somewhere out there getting arrested?!”[/b][/color]

He just waved his hand, ignoring her. [b]“What’s the smell?”[/b] he sniffed around before noticing Janril in the corner. [b]“Hmm. So you came crawling back now that your beloved monster is dead?”[/b]

Janril frowned at his father but didn’t say a word.

[color=D50000][b]“ENOUGH!”[/b][/color] Olmea yelled at him, pulling on his elbow forcing him to face her. [color=D50000][b]“I told you to shut the fuck up! I wouldn’t give a damn if it were just you who gets in trouble, hell I’d tie the noose myself, but you are putting our CHILDREN in danger as well,”[/b][/color] she yelled right into his face.

[b]“But you don’t understand! You saw the king getting shot! There is talk of a rebellion in the streets. Finally we can be free, we can get rid of the tyranny. The blood king is gone! We can go out and celebrate!”[/b]

All the fear and anger she had felt just came out and she slapped him as hard as she possibly could. He blinked at her, surprised, blood running from his broken lip. [color=D50000][b]“I haven’t seen anything.”[/b][/color] It was true that they were in the street watching the king and the princess return, but when someone yelled warning about assasin, chaos ensued. Still, Olmea was pretty sure she saw the king rode off on a horse. [color=D50000][b]“And even if that was the truth, what do you think will change?”[/b][/color] she hissed angrily. [color=D50000][b]“He has a son and a daughter. There is the Vanguard, the city watch. THE INQUISITION! You think they will just let people riot in the streets? By morning, half of those dumbfucks outside is going to be dead and the other half arrested waiting for execution.

Tomorrow we can go out to the main square, to watch your friends getting hanged. But tonight, you are going to sit on your ass AT HOME or I swear I’m gonna shove this knife into your heart and throw your body into the river, do you understand?”[/b][/color]

Petyr stood there speechless, considering her words. [b]“But… if we don’t unite, we will never…”[/b]

She slapped him again, right into the swollen red mark from the previous hit. [color=D50000][b]“The only thing you will be uniting with tonight will be my fist and that is if you don’t shut up right now. There will be no revolution, and even if there was, it would be just another people ruling over us and [i]nothing[/i] would change. So get your head out of your ass and stop with these fantasies. You have a family to provide for.”[/b][/color]

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She was never going to feel clean again. No matter how much she scrubbed her body, trying to wash everything away, she could still smell his stench from her hair, feel his hands on her skin, the sticky sperm running down her thighs. She wanted to cry, but all she could feel was shame and anger. Not on that man, but on herself for letting this happen. Her father wasn’t even dead for a day and she had already dishonored his memory. What would he think about her?

The washcloth landed in the bucket of now cold water as she threw it away with frustration. She had used part of the money to rent a tiny room in a tavern on the other side of the town where people didn’t recognize her. Even though the food they gave her must have been delicious, given how quickly other guests were gorging on it, but to her it tasted like mud. She sat there quietly, listening to the excited chatter of normal people, alone and desperate. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she ran to her room, locking the door and cowering in the corner wrapped in a blanket.

She needed a plan, knowing she had to figure out how she would live from now. She needed more money, a job, some more stable and cheaper place to live. “But why?” she mumbled to herself. She had already proved to herself that she would do anything to survive, but what was the point? Her father was dead, all future plans shattered to pieces, what was left to live for?

The laughter from the staircase interrupted her thoughts. The people were excited, rushing out into the street. Karina remembered that they talked about the king returning to the city, that they can’t miss a chance of seeing his entourage parade to the castle, maybe be even lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the king or princess Eleanor themselves. Anger rose within her. He probably doesn’t even know her father existed, let alone that he had been executed in his name. She jumped up, deciding she wanted to at least see this man who ruined her life. And maybe scream the truth into his face. They would kill her, sure, but maybe it would be worth to have that moment of satisfaction. Maybe other people would stop and think for a moment when they would hear the truth.

The streets were filled with people but Karina managed to sneak her way to the front of the crowd, tightly wrapped in a new cape she had bought to cover her face. There weren’t many city guards around, with this amount of people they must have been stretched thin along the route and Karina hoped it would stay that way. First glance on king’s convoy convinced her otherwise. While the princess rode close to the people, greeting them and handing out small coins, the king had several knights around him and Karina realized she would never get close to him before being dragged away and suffering the same fate as her poor father.

She watched the look on the king’s face, barely keeping a calm demeanor as fury raged inside her. He wouldn’t even look at the people most of the time, and when he did, it was with disgust. Her eyes hypnotized his back as he rode by, she desperately wished to watch him suffer and die. And for a moment, it might have seemed that her wishes shaped the reality as she heard someone yell warning about an assassin and watched a crossbow bolt fly right towards the monster’s heart. Excited scream died on her lips when one of the guards fell from his horse coughing out blood and the king sprinted off unharmed.

People started yelling and running in all directions. Karina barely dodged someone’s elbow and pushed her way out of the open. She leaned against the wall and over the heads of the crowd watched the king’s horse disappear at the street corner. People were freaking out, half of them convinced that the king was dead or injured, loudly debating about what was going to happen to the kingdom now.

Karina watched in surprise as some started to celebrate, yelling insults about the king and his family. It warmed her heart to see that she wasn’t alone after all, that there were other people whose lives were destroyed by the king’s rule. People started to tell stories similar to hers about close ones being taken away under pretended reasons, families shattered, loved ones tortured and executed.

The city guards made feeble attempts to disperse the forming crowd, but there weren’t nearly enough of them to have any real chance. Some of the more aggressive people started exchanging insults with the guards, trying to provoke a conflict. Part of the crowd moved towards the central square and Karina went with them, terrified but excited. She knew this could not end well, that the king would send the Vanguard to deal with any insurgence in the city, but it was so refreshing to feel free for once.

The crowd stopped in front of the House of Questions. The Inquisition headquarters was a massive two-store stone building overlooking the square. People went silent, just staring on the hated place, the tension growing. Karina didn’t see who threw the first stone, it seemed to have flown right from the middle of the crowd, followed by the sound of glass shattering. As if that was a signal, dozens of stones and other objects were thrown at the building.

[b]“Down with it!” “Break the door!” “MY SON! They took MY SON!”[/b]

The strongest men came forward and started to kick and push against the front door. A cart in the square was smashed to pieces, the sturdiest parts used as a battering ram. Few guards emerged from the side alleys, but were forced to retreat under a rain of stones. The door was thick and held for a long time before finally being burst open. The crowd poured inside the building, improvised weapons in most hands.

[color=D50000][b]“Kill the monsters!”[/b][/color] Karina’s voice joined with the others. Someone smashed a chair and she quickly grabbed a piece of wood. She felt so strong especially now with a weapon in her hand.

One of the doors opened and a confused elder man stood there confused, squinting at the crowd. [b]“Wh…,”[/b] he didn’t even have a chance to finish the word. Karina recognized him, it was the clerk that told her that her father had been executed and then had her thrown out into the street. Furious howl escaped her lips as she jumped on the man, knocking him down and hitting him over and over again with her improvised mace until his bloodied skull had a shape of crumpled paper ball and he stopped screaming.

The others have headed downstairs into the dungeons, she could hear the sounds of fighting from there. Her thirst for blood wasn’t sated yet, so she rushed to help them, only to find bodies of several young acolytes on the ground before the cells. [b]“Find the keys!”[/b] someone shouted. [b]“Get them out!”[/b]

Karina stared in horror on the people behind the bars, the empty looks in their faces making them all look like barely living corpses. She screamed out, lunging forward when one of those corpses turned his head towards her and she recognized him. [color=D50000][b]“DAD!”[/b][/color] She stuck her hands through the bars but then hesitated, afraid to touch him. 

His whole body was covered in cuts and burns, most of his fingers and one ear missing, a black burnt hole where his left eye once was, his limbs broken and twisted into strange angles. [b]“Rin…,”[/b] he whispered, what remained of his hand reaching for her. [b]“Did they…”[/b]

[color=D50000][b]“No, dad. Everything is fine, we are going to get you out. We will go home and you are gonna be just fine,” [/b][/color]she blabbered. [b][color=D50000]“What… who… who did this to you?”[/color][/b]

[b]“I… they… The woman asked me questions. I… didn’t know what to tell her…,”[/b] his voice was becoming weaker and weaker. [b]“But now… I can die in peace…”[/b]

[color=D50000][b]“NO! No, dad, it will be fine. Who has the damn keys?!”[/b][/color] she yelled into the hallway.

[b]“We never found it,”[/b] one man shook his head, staring at the scene with anger in his eyes.

[color=D50000][b]“B-but…,”[/b][/color] she started but a sharp scream from upstairs interrupted her. 

[b]“THE VANGUARD!”[/b] The people rushed to the stairs. Karina turned to her father and grabbed the bars, shaking them in a desperate attempt to open the cell.

[b]“Karina. Listen to me. You have to go… escape… survive. I can’t… protect you anymore. Go. Live. Please,”[/b] he whispered and turned away from her.

She screamed out and refused to move until a strong hand landed on her shoulder. [b]“He is right!”[/b] a man snapped at her. [b]“There is nothing you can do for him now. We need to go.”[/b]