Bookworld Online: Marsh Man

Bokuboy

“I... I never thought...” Greta started to say.

“I'm sorry that you had to see this.” I said and knelt to search through the dead mage's possessions. I had only burned off his clothes and hair, so anything not flammable in his pockets should have survived. There were a few gold and silver coins, which I pocketed, and a ring on his middle finger. I slipped it off the charred hand and felt Greta's hand on my shoulder.

“Do you have to loot them?” Greta asked, her voice sad.

“No.” I said and cast Sense Magic. The ring glowed slightly for barely an instant. “I'm gathering their remaining possessions as evidence.”

Greta caught her breath. “D-David, you... you can't really...”

“I didn't see any constables in this area, so we'll have to go over to the next to find someone.” I said and checked the man next to the dead mage. He was unconscious because the pain was too much for him. I slid my knife across his throat and let him bleed out. He didn't have anything on him, not even identification, so I went over to the three men at the back of the room.

“N-no... please...” The man in the middle whispered and trembled. He didn't even try to crawl away.

“We can't afford for you to get your friends to come after us, since you know who we are.” I said and quicker than he could blink, sliced his throat. He didn't even gurgle. I did this to the other two men while telling them it was easier to get rid of them than to deal with the consequences of keeping them alive. I wasn't surprised when one nodded, since they were going to do the same to us.

I checked their surviving possessions and found a low quality dagger, more silver coins that were probably payment from the mage, and charred pieces of paper. I cast Sense Magic again and nothing showed up, so I stood and looked at Greta as I took out a vial of cleaning solution and put a few drops on my hands to magically remove the dirt and grime from touching the bodies.

“David, we... are you sure that...” Greta stopped talking as I assumed the escort role. She took my offered arm and we walked out of the abandoned building. I only dispelled the barrier and lock on the door we approached and left the rest, also as proof, and climbed into the waiting carriage.

“Drive over four streets until you see a constable, please.” I said to the driver and he nodded.

“This is going to cause so much trouble.” Greta whispered.

“I know.” I said and she gave me a sad look. “Not for us, though.”

“What? Why? Didn't we just...”

“Who conspires to kill a woman using five men and one of them was even a mage?” I asked and her eyes widened. “Gary would say that's overkill. I didn't understand what he meant by the term until now.”

Greta shook slightly, so I put my arm over her shoulders and hugged her close. She started to cry, which was perfect, because the carriage stopped and the door opened.

“You were looking for me?” A man in a constable uniform asked.

_______________

Montage mode engaged. Skipping recap. Accelerating time. Done. Resuming story.

_______________

Things seemed to pass by like smoke as I recounted the story, the constable's shock and request to see the scene, then his shock again at the truth. We were ordered to stay and then he was gone for half an hour before he was back with six more constables, two of them women, and a mage. Thankfully, it wasn't a guild mage and he worked exclusively for the constables.

The investigation lasted well into the night and I held Greta the entire time as the two women constables reassured her that the bad men wouldn't get her or do unspeakable things to her. I showed them the ring, the dagger, and the money as well as refusing to hand it over, in case it miraculously disappeared. They understood, since it was the Mages Guild, and having the ring protected was of the upmost importance. They also wrote out the description and details for it.

The two women constables came with us in the carriage back to the academy and helped me get Greta settled in her apartment in the teacher's building. After that, I took off the borrowed robes and put my jacket back on, then I was led out to the carriage and we left the academy.

I was brought to the constable station and interrogated for several hours by three different constables, including one of the women, while the mage that had checked the crime scene gazed at me intensely. I said exactly what happened, since there was no point in lying about anything. After repeating myself a dozen times, my story never wavering or details changing, they reluctantly decided that I wouldn't be charged with five counts of murder.

“Why not?” I asked and they looked surprised. “I did kill them.”

The female constable gave me an incredulous look. “Do you want to be charged for their murders?”

“No, since it was self defense and a preventative measure. I didn't want them or their friends coming after us.” I said. “The last time that happened, I was tried and convicted, sentenced to death, and conscripted into the army.”

The woman, the two male constables, and the mage stared at me.

“You... why would they...” The woman whispered.

“The villagers wanted to get rid of me.” I said with a shrug. “I assumed the Mages Guild would do the same thing.”

“You assumed that and you still came with us and cooperated?” The woman asked and I nodded. She was quiet for several moments before she spoke. “Lord Drake, you are either crazy or the bravest man I've ever met.”

“I grew up in Drake's Marsh and fought to survive every day.”

The woman's concerned look changed to amusement. “A bit of both, then.” She said and her eyes drifted down my body, even though I was sitting down behind the desk.

“I'm betrothed.” I cautioned her and she laughed.

“You nobles and your customs.” She said and looked at the mage. “Anything else?”

The man shook his head. “He's been completely truthful all night and hasn't left out details, intentional or otherwise, or tried to deceive us in any way.”

“I'm glad.” She said. “Now that it's morning, I think I need a nice little breakfast to keep me going.”

“I'll go start on filing the paperwork.” The male constable said as he gathered up the sheets and sheets of transcript and pat the female constable on the shoulder as he stood. “Grab us something on your way back, will you?”

“Sure thing.” She said and stood up to show the man and the mage out of the room, then she did this odd stretching move and it pushed her chest against her own shirt to strain it. Her chest was quite large, surprisingly. “Lord Drake, would you care to join me for an early breakfast before I take you back to the academy?”

“Anything's better than prison.” I said and she laughed.

“Why did you have to be betrothed?” She asked and handed me my suit coat as she put her own on.

“It was the quickest way to get me out of the army.” I said and slipped the coat on.

“You gave up your freedom to get out of a situation where you had no freedom?” She asked, surprised.

“I have lots of freedom.” I said and followed her out of the little room. “Even if I hadn't been required to attend the academy, I would still only have a few rules that I would have to live by.”

She gave me an incredulous look as we walked through the station. “You make it sound like you always had that.”

“I did.” I said and she looked surprised. “I can explain while we eat.”

“I'm not sure I'm looking forward to hearing it.” She said and that made me smile, because I was sure she wouldn't be if she knew.

We left the building and went down the street a short ways to go into a small business.

“Constable Wilson!” A young man said, happily. “Good morning!”

“I wish it was.” She said back. “I've been up all night investigating.”

“Oh, no.” The young man said, his face sad. “I hope it wasn't too hard on you.”

Constable Wilson gave him a weak smile. “Two breakfast specials to eat in and two to go when we leave, please.”

The young man nodded. “That'll be 8 silver coins.”

I plucked the money from my pocket and gave it to him before the constable could.

“Lord Drake, you didn't have to do that.” Constable Wilson said.

“You're right. I should buy breakfast for the whole station after all the work you did last night.” I said and the young man behind the counter looked both shocked and happy. I took out a gold coin and handed it to him. “Send over whatever that'll buy and keep the eight silver I already gave you for yourself.”

“Yessir!” The young man said with a grin.

Constable Wilson chuckled and led me over to a small table. “Let me guess. You're a new noble and don't accept that it's against the normal social rules that nobles aren't really supposed to be nice to commoners?”

We took off our suit coats and sat down.

“Technically, I only have the full Lord title. I don't know if that alone elevates my social status from less than a commoner or not.” I admitted.

“Wait, what do you mean that you're less than a commoner?” Constable Wilson asked.

“I'm an ex-convict and ex-conscript. There's no actual word for how much lower than a commoner I am.”

Constable Wilson stared at me and looked like she didn't know what to say.

“Here's your breakfast!” The young man said and delivered two heaping plates of food. “Enjoy!”

I nodded to him and when he left, I looked at the still stunned constable and started to eat as I told her about how I lived in the marsh under the Hag and her simple rules. Constable Wilson started to eat automatically as she listened to my story and I was a little surprised when she didn't choke or spit out her food when I described some of the torture I suffered.

The meal stretched on as we paced our eating to my story progress. By the time I was done explaining the rules I lived by, we had finished eating. She dabbed her mouth with a napkin and gave me a look that seemed to speak volumes. I wasn't sure what she was trying to say, however.

“Lord Drake...”

“David.” I corrected.

Constable Wilson smiled. “David, you've lived an... interesting life.”

“So far.” I said and stood. “How are we getting back to the academy?”

“We have horses.” Constable Wilson said and stood as well. I helped her put on her coat and put my own on, then we left the little business after making sure the meals were being sent over to the station as they were cooked.

I followed her back to the station and around the back to a small stable. “I've never ridden a horse before.”

“You're just a passenger, so that's okay.” Constable Wilson said and saddled up one of the horses, added the rest of the appropriate equipment for riding, and led the horse out to the street. “You mount like this.” She said and put a foot in the stirrup and pulled herself up onto the saddle as she swung her leg over it.

I waited for her to clear the stirrup and used it the same as her, then climbed on behind her. She had leaned forward for me to have enough room and balance to do the same motion and I sat on the saddle behind her. She let out a little noise and I recognized it as something a woman did when she was touched down below, so I looked over her shoulder to see that she had been pushed up against the knob-like wood protrusion from the saddle.

“My apologies.” I said and reached down to her hips and lifted her up slightly. She let out a little 'eep' sound and then sighed a bit as I rested her almost on my lap and held her tightly. It freed up a lot of room for her and she slipped her feet into the stirrups. She flicked the reins and the horse began to trot.

“Are you sure you're betrothal can't be circumvented?” Constable Wilson asked as we trotted through the streets and avoided the morning crowds.

“In what way?” I asked.

“I can feel most of you from practically sitting on your lap and I'd love to feel the rest.” She said without a trace of shame or embarrassment.

“Is it because I'm a lord?” I asked.

“No. Yes. It's a bunch of things.” Constable Wilson said. “Your calmness. Your ruthlessness. Your efficiency. Your eloquence.” She glanced at my face and back at the road. “I can't help but be turned on at how you handled those thugs and saved the woman you were escorting from a fate worse than death and also from her death.”

“Was it that surprising what I did?” I asked, trying to understand what she meant.

“You didn't cower and let them do what they wanted, you didn't hand her over to save yourself, and you didn't run or abandoned her.” Constable Wilson said, her voice had a bit of reverence in it.

“Who would do shameful things like that?” I asked.

“A lot more people than you think.” Constable Wilson said. “You're even more desirable to me now, since none of those options occurred to you.”

“They were just people and not really a challenge.” I said as we entered the main road to go back to the academy. “If one of them was a marsh dragon, however...”

Constable Wilson laughed. “A dragon? I would have peed my pants and dropped to the ground and waited to be eaten.”

I understood then why my actions seemed so impressive to her. She had no other frame of reference to compare it to. Her background didn't allow her to see anything like major battles or fights against large creatures.

It brought my thoughts to Helena and her actions when faced with a rampaging marsh dragon. She didn't cower, didn't give anyone over to it, and she didn't run. She had stood in defiance of it and that made all the difference to both the situation and to me.

I felt my heart beat a little faster and made a decision. “Can we stop at the Henrietta Longshore Estate first?”

Constable Wilson glanced at me and saw my determined face. “It's because of me, isn't it?”

“In a roundabout way, yes.” I said and she diverted the horse.

We rode across half of the city to where I wanted to go and the guards at the gate opened it when they saw her uniform. She slowed the horse down from the run she had it in and trotted up to the mansion. I hopped off before the horse came to a stop and walked over to the doors.

“My lord!” The two guards said and opened the doors.

“Where's Lady Henrietta?” I asked as I walked through them and saw the butler just inside the door.

“The parlour.” He said and pointed.

I walked over to the door, knocked, and went inside.

“DAVID!” Helena yelled in surprise.

“Please accept my apologies for interrupting.” I said to Lady Bassinger and a woman I didn't know. “I need to be with the woman I love right now.”

“D-David?” Helena said, almost as a question.

“You are an amazing woman and I am very lucky to have met you.” I said to her and helped her stand.

“D-David.” Helena whispered as she blushed.

“Excuse Lady Henrietta for the next hour. At least.” I said to the two surprised guests and led Helena from the room.