Kings, Geezers and Bloody War (Chapter 8)

Hello my beautiful Steemits, oh how I love it when you throw your adoration at me, the rotten fruit, the rocks, the grenades, it makes me feel so blessed! But I do digress, so here is ->

Chapter 8

It had been a quiet three day journey for Ruff and Motyl to the town of Portswade. Both were weary but they move through the streets of the large town, keeping their ears open for word of Gregori's arrival or where he stayed.

Ruff stops for a moment, grabs an apple for each and points for them to sit. “Eat, we will need our strength but keep your ears and eyes open.” He tosses her an apple.

“How will we know our target, this Gregori?” hushes Motyl between bites of apple.

Ruff looks at her with incredulous eyes, then sighs. “Look around woman, what do you see?”.

She scans the street, the ally ways, the stalls and the people before she answers. “I see mostly local Dolaski a few Swadalia traders and there are five Mitsrajim riders over by the horse stalls.”

“Yea, but not one Remussen, Right.”

Motyl nods with a little confusion, then a light turns on in her thoughts and a smile edges on her lips. “For a Remussen held town, shouldn't there be Remussen Guards?”

Ruff leans close and gives her a knowing look. “Yep, Where could all those guards be, certainly not walking around town showing the might of The Remus Republic.” He looks around some and nods towards the people. “The people haven't noticed yet because the local militia are still showing a presence but those Mitsrajim riders are Ferengi Screamers. A skilled, quick kill body guard, a favourite toy of Remussen Councillors.”

She raises and eyebrow in concern. “They are putting their horses in the stables, so-”

“So that means they only just arrived. That's good but now we need to find where?”

Motyl is unaware of the question, her teeth half way through a chunk of apple, Ruff stares hard at her for an answer. She looks away and tries to think under pressure. Much she had learnt on the three days to Portswade. How to kill silently, how to lie, how to plan an assassination, Ruff even was helping her with her fear of Masters and Slavers but now she needed to get the information of how to find a target without giving herself away.

Ruff's way of teaching was that first she was put in the deep to see if she could figure it out, end up bruised and battered, then Ruff showed her the right way. But that was fighting, this was information. And the wrong suggestions in the wrong ear could mean a horrid death.

Motyl bites her lip, thinking, looking for clues. 'The Ferengi screamers maybe? No! They are just riders, their duty is done now, they just want drink and women. The Dolaski Militia? Hell no girl! The wrong word and they would cut your throat quicker than spitting at you, thinking you are a spy for another kingdom, duh! Think. The towns folk, yes, but how? Damn you Ruff, wish you would give me a hint instead of looking at me like some pathetic child.'

“Times up.” announces Ruff as he stands, “So any ideas woman?”. She can only muster a blank look, her mind still grasping for a thought. Ruff snorts disapproval at her silence and down cast eyes. “Just as I thought.” Ruff marches out into the street and for a moment looks around. He then walks around a little more looking with purpose around corners and down streets.

Motyl tags along wondering what Ruff is up to, “What are you doing?” she coarsely whispers. Ruff holds up a finger for silence and continues his looking. Within a few moments a local woman walks up to them and asks in her Dolaski dialect, “What bothers you friend?”

Ruff returns in fluent Dolaski, “Do you see!”

“What?” chimes both Motyl and the woman.

Ruff gets a little feverish in his words “The guards, the guards!”

“What about the guards?!” Starts the woman as she looks around too. Then her eyes widen and she looks to Ruff and Motyl, “Oi, where are they? There be none around!”. She franticly waves another woman over and asks her the same question. Again the woman notices and exclamation sounds from her too. Soon several locals huddled around rumouring and gossiping about the sudden disappearance of the Remussan Guards.

The crowd gets the attention of some of the local Dolaski militia and they approach. “What be going on here, move on and clear the street ya dregs.”

“Look around you baffon, they are gone!” interjects the first woman, the crowd also points and voices her same words.

“Who ya be talking about Betty, who be gone?” grunts a portly lump of a man who must be a leader of this towns militia.

“Morgan Mothball, need I be cleaning your eyes off. The bloody Remussens cunts are gone, we be free!” she pokes him hard in the chest.

“Don't be darft woman! They be all over at Tribune Jargs Mansion, protecting some councillors, now fuck off and never let me hear that talk again or I be removing ya teeth, woman.” He pushes the woman away, getting a good handful of her breasts and giving a toothless smirk. The woman is taken by the grope and shoves him back with her body. “Don't ye be touching what you wouldn't take Morgan or I be-” The militia man strikes her hard across the face with a baton, spraying her teeth and blood across other towns folk.

Motyl attempts to step in but Ruff grabs her by the arm and drags her away. “Don't! We have a target and now a place. Lets get going while everyone is distracted.” She looks back and cringes at the sigh of the woman, now being held up and stripped of her dress, militia whip her as the crowed fight to free her.

As they move down the street, more people and militia pass, heading to the commotion at the other end. Ruff continues to drag Motyl along, never looking back. Motyl feeling guilty that they are the ones who caused a woman to be whipped and maybe executed for inciting a riot. At the other end of the street a small squad of Remussan guards round a corner and quick march their way past Ruff and Motyl towards the riot. “Good, now we know which street to look for this Mansion.”, she looks up at Ruff, questions framing her lips and soon Ruff stops for a time.

“I know we being assassins, this is our job, but, could we not get other innocent people killed!”

Ruff frowns at her with a small growl and a slap across the back of her head. “Look, if this is making you squeamish then let me know now. We are not the heroes here, we are the shit that dose the bidding of rich evil bastards. So either shut the fuck up or let me slit your throat now and let me get my job done.” Motyl bits her lip and nods her submission to him.

The hurt in her eyes makes Ruff grunt with distain. 'Damn you child, its the truth. We are the villains, we are the tools of evil.'. Against his better judgement Ruff reached around her, which startles Motyl. “Sorry, but that is harsh reality. We need to focus on our job and unfortunately the innocent are going to get hurt. Now lets get to this mansion, snuff out this Gregori and then we will go and have an ale and good beds for the night.” Motyl's face brightens with a smile and she answers with a tear in her eye.

“I'm sorry too Ruff. I forget that the world is evil, but I sometimes wish for a hero to step forth and claim it.”

Ruff chuckles and givers her a jovial shove. “Not on my watch woman, I eat heroes for breakfast. Now lets get going.” Both stroll up the street and around the corner where the guards came from. It is several blocks before they spy a large building surrounded by many of the Remussan guards. Ruff guides Motyl into an ally across from the building and watch.

“Ruff, how do we get in?” breaths Motyl

Ruff rolls his eyes “Woman, have you not learnt a thing from me yet? We do not go in, they come out.”

She looks at him in puzzlement. “But Ruff, there is at least fifty guards outside.”

Ruff glances over his shoulder with a disappointed smirk on his lips. “Only fifty, shit, I could cut through that with my eyes shut.” he looks back at her and takes a more serious tone. “Yes there is fifty outside, but there will be a hundred and fifty inside. We are assassins, not an army. Even if we somehow managed to get in, we would run into a guard in every single room. Too cramped, too dangerous. Out here on the other hand, we have the streets, alleys and roofs to launch an easy kill.”

Motyl nods with understanding. “So we never attack inside a building, right.”

“Not when the odds are stacked against us we don't. But there are times and there are ways, just not today.” Ruff smiles and watches the guards movements and points at the building. “So, when they come out we need to be close to kill yet far enough not to arouse the guards to our intentions. So, your next lesson is, to think of a strategy.”

Motyl interjects. “Damn it Ruff, can't you just tell me and let me watch you do it instead of me having to think all the time!”

Ruff feels his face heat up with anger, but he knows that barking at her would do her no good, plus it would give their position away. “Bitch, that is the point. We must think, because if we don't, we die. It is simple, we are strategist not soldiers. They on the other hand..” he points to the Remussan guards. “.. They are soldiers, not strategist. They follow orders and fight in groups with a leader to give orders. Throw an army at them and they will react exactly like a soldier is expected to do. Just like our contacts men did, remember!”

“Yes I remember, as soon as we were attacked, they were around the contact very quickly, shields in a wall, nothing got through.”

“That's right. So you have to not look like an army, nor a threat.” Ruff can see the wheels of thought turn in Motyl’s eyes as she thinks of a strategy. He too is thinking, planing his attack. It is a game he plays in his head every day. To see how many strategies or plans he could think of by a certain time. By now ten ways of killing the target had already been, executed and gone in his mind and he was now on his eleventh. He looked down at her and knew that she just struggled to come up with one.

Motyl’s eyes become bright with a thought that needs a single answer and she looks to Ruff, “What do Remussen guards like?”. Ruff gives a chuckle to the question as if the answer should be obvious.

“What dose any soldier like, good ale, a good bed and a good whore to screw.”. A wicked smile spreads across her face, then she looks around. In moments she spots some woman's clothing hanging on a line and grabs it. Ruff is amused at what plan Motyl has going in her head but dose not want to stop her train of thought and instead watches.

In moments Motyl has stripped off her leather armour save her hood and stands before Ruff, naked. He looks her over as she starts to put on the dress, enjoying every bit of her femininity till all that is left is her hood to be replaced by a bonnet. It is at this point that she turns shyly towards Ruff and then back again. Grabs the hem of the dress and throws it over her head. Ruff feels himself becoming angry and confused at why Motyl is so obsessed at keeping this supposed defect on her head hidden. 'You strip naked in front of me without batting an eye, yet your blush and hide away when it comes to this stupid scare or lump or what ever the hell it is on your head. Fuck you woman, I should slap you stupid and rip that fucking hood off.'

She drops the skirt away and the bonnet is fixed upon her head as she turns to face him, her face turns pale, “What is wrong?”, Ruff realises the look he must have on his face and tries to hide it behind a smile. At that moment there is a commotion coming from the mansion and both turn to observe.

Four guards exit from the building with two men and a woman between them. Guards outside shuffle quickly to stand at the ready and a carriage rounds the corner to stop below the stairs. The man in a toga with breastplate addresses the second man. “Councillor Gregori, I am blessed to have you stay at my humble abode, may your meeting go well and we see you back safely this eve”. The second, Gregori, a fat gouged man, scoffs at the words and his return is blunt and brutal. “A pig sty is more pleasant than this shit of a place you call a house, your household hospitality thus far, makes a Feudal slut house more welcoming, and, if I return, it will only be that I wish not to sleep on the ground tonight, though you beds fair little better.”

Ruff nods confirmation of who their target is. “Well, show me what you got kid.” With that Motyl shoves her bow and arrows into Ruff's chest and pulls him by the hand out into the street. “What the fuck!? Wait!”.

“No Papa!” yells Motyl “I will not marry Dogny Spiteye!”

Ruff cues in to her charade and plays his part. “You stupid girl, he will be a good hunter for you.”

“A hunter? A Hunter! He could not hit the side of this mansion at two paces, let alone a deer at two hundred.” Guards reach for swords, ready shields and start to create a shield wall.

'Shit girl, I hope what ever plan you have, it's not going to get us killed before we get anywhere near Gregori. Not a good way to die.'. “What you doing child, your going to get us cut down!”

“Stand away!” yells one of the Remussen guards as the rest complete the shield. Gregori, Tribune Jarg and his wife watch with some trepidation at Motyl’s and Ruff's approach.

She throws Ruff's hand down and starts yelling again. “I will not marry some stupid, snot nosed, doe eyed Dolaski boy, I want a man father, a real man and I come here to show you what one looks like!”

Some guards give a small rye smile at her words, others snicker and wink at their comrades. Motyl marches up to the shield wall and points with vigour at one of the men. “This, father, is a man. This is what I need, not a boy.” The soldier in question straightens himself and looks prideful that she has chosen him as an example of a man. The other guards relax their wall and start to jib the man, till a booming voice comes behind the men.

“That's no man.” The leader of the guards struts out from the wall and stands with his arms crossed. “Them still be boys, child.” He towers over Motyl, like an Ogre over a small rabbit.

“I be no child but a woman of 13 summers, more enough for your fill, and more.” The guards burst out laughing and the leader laughs with them, a cheesy grin fills his face.

Inside Ruff laughs, not with them but at them. 'Good, very good, you have the stupid fools guard down but now, how have you planned to get us closer to the target?', “Come girl! No daughter of mine will be betrothed to a Remussen dog!”
Ruff attempts to take Motyl's hand only to have it rebuffed by the Leader.

“Now hang on there Papa, let us show your daughter what a true man is. Now go or we will make you eat your words against us.” The big man stands between Ruff and her, grabbing Ruffs tunic then pushing him away with force. Ruff gains his footing and rushes the man only to be knock back. All laugh at him, including Motyl. Ruff stands and bellows at her.

“Damn you whore. Not grace my vision nor your mother's for it will break her heart for me to tell her that you are dead to us!”. Motyl looks hurt for a moment, then she burst out with a laugh.

“The give my love to mother, now go home with your tail between your legs, father!” The guards laugh with her and the leader starts to grope her. Ruff turns and storms away, a smile he tries to hide. He turns a corner and flicks and eye around from the shadows, nocks an arrow and waits her next move.

Motyl is in the hands of the leader guard and the other guards brake their wall and also start to have their way with her. Ruff watches, a little of his fire starts to kindle as they become rougher with her. A movement from the stairs catches his eyes as the Councillor Gregori makes his way down the stairs. At first it appears that Gregori is disinterested in the goings of Motyl. He mounts the carriage and for some moments watches.

Tribune Jarg's wife makes a move towards the men but Jarg stops her. She says something to him but she is rewarded with a backhand across the face and is shoved back inside the house. Jarg now walks down his steps to Motyl and is about to take his fill when Gregori speaks.

“I believe the girl..” he stops and then gives her a slight nod “..correction, the woman, said she needed a real man.” The guards stop and immediately stand to attention before Gregori. “I see nothing but ale dregs, unhand her!” The guards swiftly step away from Motyl, she is puzzled as to the sudden disinterest in her, save Jarg who steps ever closer, a snear gracing his face.

“Woman, come up here, I shall comfort you as a true man can, not paw you like some mongrel on heat.” Gregori holds out a hand and with trepidation takes it. Four of the guards mount the carriage with them and soon it departs. Motyl smiles in a sad mocking way to the rest of the guards and then sits down in the carriage.

'Ok, she has him eating out of her hand, now she just needs to kill him and escape.' Ruff dashes along the back ally parallel to the carriage. It is going slow and Ruff can only assume that Gregori is in no rush to depart from Motyl's womanly charms.

Ruff makes it to the next ally ahead of the carriage and nocks the bow, ready to take down the four guards. As it nears Ruff exposes himself and lets lose four arrows in quick succession. As soon as the first two guards fall, Motyl reaches for her dagger and brings it to Gregori's throat. The Man squeals like a child and feebly tries to stop her from opening him. A third guard dies by Ruffs arrows but the fourth is quick to raise his shield and the arrow bounces off. The guard then twists to face Motyl and Ruff rushes to nock another arrow, in seconds the guard swings to connect with her only to slice air, Ruffs arrow leaves his bow but flies shy of the guard’s cheek as Motyl elbows him in the gut. Ruff nocks another arrow but dashes back into the ally ways to regain ground on the carriage.

Motyl is now fully engaged with the guard leaving Gregori to whimper in the corner of the carriage. She lunges at the guard but reflects the blow and bashes Motyl back with his shield, it becomes evident to the guard that his shield is awkward in this type of close quarter fighting and throws it away, leaving him his sword. She recovers in time to dodge the man’s blade as it come slicing down on the seat. She kicks at his shin, knocking him off balance and he falls onto the driver, causing the carriage to swerve uncontrollably.

Motyl tries to take this opportunity to attack Gregori but as she hunches over him to strike, she is grabbed by her hair and reefed back causing her knife to bury deep into the carriage floor, Gregori yelps and tries to squeeze his large frame into a small ball.

The guard lifts her by the throat and drives her down into the second seat. Motyl is winded and can only gasp for air as he quickens his blade for a stab to her heart. Desperate, and know it to be dirty fighting, Motyl grabs the guard’s crutch, he hesitates and gives a rye smile, as if half expecting her to do the dirty deed. She squeezes the man’s balls and his eye bulge large and wide, he works his mouth in a mute scream as the pain is obviously too great for him to handle.

Both the Driver and Gregori react to the audible squishing crack of the guards balls in Motyl’s hands, both quiver and give quick prayers to their Gods for the man’s anguish. The guard, too weak to resist releases her and stand upright, still in anguished pain.

In a moment of fear driven valour Gregori snaps up Motyl’s knife from the floor and pierces her shoulder, making her jerk downwards, ripping away what was left of the guard’s sperm sacks. He is in motionless shock for a brief moment then his chest bursts red, as an arrow skewers his heart. He falls sideways off the carriage into a wall of an ally Ruff was standing in.

Ruff makes hast to once again keep up with the carriage but now it makes for the town limits and towards two militia guards. Both are baulked by the commotion of the charging carriage and instinctively stand aside as to not be ran over. They notice all is not right an as one attempts to run for backup Ruff nocks and loosens an arrow to his throat. The second guard readies for a fight but he too falls to a blade to his heart. Ruff recovers the blade as he sprints pass hoping to catch the wayward carriage.

Motyl gains her strength and rights herself to once more attack Gregori, in his haste Gregori throws the knife at her, only to send it sailing out of the carriage and into a bush. “Oh my Gods” quips Gregori. “Nooo!” is all Motyl snaps in a final attempt to catch it as it passed her by. She turns back to him unsure what to do and only then noticing that Ruff and town fall far behind her.

Gregori, seeing Motyl unarmed and confused, rushes up from his huddle and starts to choke and rape Motyl. She is flattened to the floor and starts to quiver with fear, Gregori’s huge fat face upon her, spittle dripping off his lips. “You little whore! I am going to fuck you as you die. How dare you try to kill me, I will have your father and mother skinned alive and feed to the dogs!”

He gropes his and her clothing to give his manhood access between her legs. Whisper feels the helplessness and almost gives in, anger fuels her ‘You stupid child, what were you thinking, your just a slave, a stupid slave. Let him rape you, it is what masters do’ she lets Gregori make his way into her as he strangles the life from her. ‘But Ruff is your Master, Ruff is teaching to to be an assassin, to be a killer, a killer!’ “No! no, I’m not going to let you rape and kill me you fucking pig!”

Motyl closes her thighs upon his and squeezes tight, she locks one of his arms in hers and curls it against the bone. Gregori starts to scream and heave in pain but he can not brake loose of her. He takes his free hand and starts to pound his fat fist into her face “Let me go you bitch! Aagh, Aaaagh, AAAGH!” Motyl crushes his hipbone and thighs, cracking, crunching under her strength, she tightens her curled arm and instantly his arm snaps in three places. His free hand tries to get hold for a choke but Motyl bits down on his fingers, severing two of them at the second knuckle, then spits them back into his face.
She finally rolls them both over in the cramp carriage floor and drives her thumbs into his eye sockets, instantly popping the eyeballs out and breaking through the bone.

The driver, scared beyond his wits, lashes at the horses to go harder, faster, in a futile attempt to escape the animalistic screams coming from right behind him. Motyl is filled with surprise, disgust and joy as Gregori’s skull starts to peal open like a peach fruit, exposing his gooey grey brains to the outside air, his screams reaching new haunting tones of pain. His body flops and flails about in its last spasms of death before his shrills hits their crescendo and abruptly stops. His body limp with rag-doll death.

Motyl, shocked at her own strength turns quickly to heave her stomach over the side of the carriage. “Stop the carriage!” she pants, the carriage still drives forward, “Stop the carriage I said!” still the earth rushes past as a second wave of vomit set forth from her mouth. Once finished Motyl spins around and grabs the Driver around the throat and pulls it aside to cause pain but not to kill him, “I said, stop, the, fucking, carriage!”. The driver finally complies and brings it to a stop. “Now, turn this thing around and head back to my friend.” The driver nods franticly and in gibberishes get the cart around and trots back.

The carriage rolls to a stop beside Ruff, standing where Motyl’s knife had fell, it's driver, pale white as Motyl holds him by the scruff of the neck. Ruff jumps into the seat beside the man and hands Motyl her knife, “I don’t know why I bother giving you a blade, your always throwing it away.” she takes it gingerly “That was Gregori’s poor aim not mine.” Ruff gives a disapproving grunt to Motyl letting her knife fall into the hands of another. “Well how the fuck did you...” Ruff turns to see how she had managed to off Gregori and the shocking sight had caught him. “...hells bells!” is all he managed. It was not the sight that had caught him, he had seen many a man die in such grotesque ways but it was who had done it, that made his stomach turn sour. He turns to the Driver who scarcely gives him a glance, the stare of a man who has seen and heard things that will haunt him till his dying days.

Ruff eases the reins our of the shaking driver’s hands and starts driving the carriage to a safe location, while asking questions. “We need information and I know you can give it to me.” The man looks aside at Ruff and nods, sweat of fear pouring out of him. “Where is Gregori's family and also any of his mistresses?”. At first man is speechless and Motyl clears her throat a bit making the man jump. Soon he spills what he knows.

“They are not here save his daughter Ulani, the Tribune's wife!”

Ruff rolls his eyes and screams under his breath “Fuck! Great!”

Motyl leans in close to the ask another question. “Then where are his wife and mistresses?” the man almost jumps out of his skin before stammering his response.

“His wife and two mistress’ summers at Mon Jeffta, with Councillor Bezata's family. That is all I know, please, please let me live!”

Ruff looks at Motyl then around to Gregori's body. He raises an eye brow at the messy corps. She too looks at the body and gives a shrug “..that's what happens when I have no knife.” Both the driver and Ruff give each other a look before Ruff gives him an option.

“I'll let you live, if you fuck off with the body and keep your butt ugly mouth shut, or..”

The man gulps and repeats after Ruff “..or..!”

“.. Or I'll hand you over to her, and let her have her way with you.” and nods to Gregori’s body.

The man stares at her and she gives a sweet, innocent childlike smile. Which to Ruff looks as evil as a fluffy rabbit being held over a stew pot, but some how it was evil enough, that the man lets his bladder gush and Ruffs boots soak in quivering, steaming piss.