Temple Sword

Chapter 196 Preparation
It had been most of the day since Zalan had left them alone on the hill, and the boys had lunched in the early afternoon, just as they had in the morning, eating what they had bought for Lubbock.

Then they peeked briefly over the horizon, and went back to weeding when they lost sight of the winemaker.Luckily they have enough water to withstand the summer heat and they can not only keep their bodies hydrated but also wipe their foreheads and necks with a clean damp cloth.

In the evening they sat down in the shade by the cabin overlooking the beautiful countryside, and they slept for a little while, but when they awoke the man had still not returned.

"He's probably in trouble," Corta said worriedly, "or he's lied to us."

"I don't think so," Sepke shook his head. "As you can see, he is more enthusiastic than us in planning the future here. He will come back, he will."

"But where can he delay for so long? It only takes an hour or two to go to the city, and it's already dusk now, he should be back long ago!"

In fact, Sepke was just as nervous as his brother, but he didn't show it.He thought they should unload their carts, check their supplies, and organize their few belongings in the cabin, at least it would make the time go faster.

Waxed canvas and other tent accessories were piled in one corner, and food and drink stored in kegs in another corner.In the middle, they unloaded other things rattling in the cart, but not much.

A shovel, an axe, some worn winter clothes, and a small burlap bag containing Lubbock's wooden bowls, cups, spoons, and cleavers.

Other than that, the rest are those so-called "goods", without Lubbock, they are really broken and useless old junk.

"Even the cunning and shrewd Lubbock failed to sell the junk," the brothers concluded, before dumping the rubbish in the third corner, ready to dispose of it all when the time came.

By the time they thought of prying the head off the shovel, the sun was low and glowing red and yellow.If Tiborg did attack them, the boys could at least use the handle of the shovel as a weapon.

"It's made of good quality wood," Sepke said. "If you take the head off, you can definitely use this thing as a weapon. It's not as good as a real stick, but I'm sure it'll be as good as it gets." The people it hits will definitely not feel good..."

"But what if Zalan doesn't come back?" Kerta asked again, "Then what shall we do?"

"Then let the two of us deal with the rascals," replied the other boy firmly, holding the handle of the shovel with white fingers. "Whoever we are, we were once children of the Knight of the Lily. Not knights, not even squires, but we're better at arms than the grape farmers."

"But, Sepke," said his brother mildly, "we were ready to leave here yesterday and continue on the road. If Zalan doesn't come back, can we really stop these people...?"

"We can," Sepke said, "yes, we did consider giving up, but when I saw this land, with my own eyes, this land of our own, I knew we couldn't give up so easily It, do you understand what I mean?"

Corta shook his head.

His brother continued with bright eyes: "Because we are Barto's, we should, like them, defend our homeland until our last breath.

For our master Antar, the bravest and strongest man, he gave his life for this kingdom, while mercenaries and robbers ravaged his homeland.

For our mistress, Lady Agnes, she fights valiantly on the estate walls, putting the men around her to shame.

For Eli he may not be alive because of those who broke into his home, we are also homeless refugees for the same reason, but God sees us and His Archangels are watching over us.

This land is the chance they gave us, and when we become gray-haired old men and tell our stories, no one will believe the twists and turns of our past!

We would be nothing but fools if we casually let this opportunity slip by!Look what an amazing place our journey has taken us!

This land feeds us, nourishes us, keeps us alive, and this log house protects us from wind, snow and rain.

You can call me an idiot, but it's a gift from God, and we can't give it away lightly.If anyone wants to take it from us, they can try.

As long as I can stand, as long as I have a drop of blood and breath, I will fight to the end, and you can choose to fight with me..."

Corta's eyes sparkled too, but not from the excitement at the thought of the battle, but from the tears that pooled in their sockets.

"Of course I'll fight with you," he said tremblingly. "Damn it, what else can I do? I can't let them beat you half to death while I'm not hurt at all..."

In this way, they began to prepare for a possible attack.The cottage was on the north side of the field, and the boys thought Tilberg and his men might be coming from the southwest or west, so they pulled the cart to the east of the estate, between two bushes.

This cart can be used as a cover, they can hide behind, and put an ax in the cart, in case they need it, they cut a few thick branches from the tree, remove the small paper strips and shoots, and use them as sticks .

They hid such sticks in many places. There were two in the woods behind the cart on the east side, two behind the cabin, two on the east wall, and two directly behind the door.

In the slowly falling twilight they began to find stones, and placed them all in the bushes, where these throwing weapons could prove decisive if anyone caught up with them in the course of the battle.

By the time the day was over and the twins were eating dinner, Zaran still hadn't returned, but neither of them had brought up the issue.If the so-called winemaker doesn't show up, they'll survive on their own, as they've always done.

After eating, Sepke stood up, picked up the axe, and walked behind the wooden house without saying a word.Corta also got up to catch up with him, and saw that the boy was arranging the weeds that had been pulled out before, carefully hiding the ax inside.

"What are you going to do with this ax?" Corta asked nervously.

"Nothing," Sepke replied, "but if the situation gets worse, they may attack us with something more dangerous than a stick, and then we will need to fight back..."

"God bless you, Sepke!" Corta exclaimed. "How did we not think of this before?"

"Is your knife on your belt?" his brother asked calmly. "Make sure you have it! Come on, let's practice first!"

In front of the house, they revisited fighting moves they hadn't practiced in years, all the while not even noticing that it was getting dark.

Sepke imitated the spear technique he had always hated so much with the shovel handle, though now he was thankful that Elay, Lord Antar, and Captain Varos had pushed him to stick with it.

Corta trained the branches as two-handed maces, and finally, they practiced some dagger fighting moves with knives, paying special attention to the use of parry and disarm moves.

The boys were already sweating when they glimpsed tiny dots of light moving back and forth in the distance.They all knew they were seeing the light of torches, and they were sure that the men with the torches were coming straight for them.

"Maybe Zaran brought someone back." Sepke's heart was pounding.

"Or Tiborg and his men." Corta's stomach twitched violently, and he almost vomited out his dinner.

Whoever it was that was coming towards them, the twins got up at once and rushed to their previously arranged hiding place, behind a cart lined with thick bushes on either side.From here they had a good view of their fields and were not too far from the cabin.

For a long time, they all quietly hid behind the bunker, waiting for the arrival of these people with a racing heart.After a long wait, there was finally a clamor in the silent night, and at least one of the visitors was on horseback.

Soon, staccato voices reached the boys' ears, followed by a full conversation.

"...we'll teach them a lesson, Mister Tilberg, and we won't hold them back just because they're children," a man promised. "When the sun rises again, your land will be yours again."

"Be careful not to burn the house down, you lunatics!" warned the landowner. "We need the bishop's deed."

"We know, Boss, don't be afraid!" said another voice. "No fire, no murder, we'll catch them and make them sign another estate agreement."

At the same time, the team holding the torches had already arrived in front of the hut, and did not notice the carts on the side.

The boys ventured to look to the other side of the cart, and saw Tyberg riding on a horse, surrounded by ten of his men, all serfs dressed in sackcloth, with sticks in one hand and torches in the other, Light up the whole team.

The twins were thinking the same thing: the light would make these people more likely to be hit by their stones.

"We know you're in there!" Tilberg shouted from the horse, turning to the empty cabin, "Get out if you don't want to get hurt! I promise you, I just want to have a good talk with you.

But if you don't listen to good words and come out obediently, we will beat you until you don't even know your mother, and then drive you out of my land! "

"Fuck your ass, you bastard!" Sepke yelled, standing up from behind the pushcart.

(End of this chapter)