We spent an extra two weeks living in Ravens Rest, as if nothing had changed, using the money earned from Goran's bounty and the occasional other jobs I took on here and there. Nigel's arm had finally healed, and on his fifteenth birthday, two weeks ago, we went to the best weapons store in town and paid for a custom sword to be made to Nigel's preferences and fighting style. Today was the day that the sword would be ready, and then we would leave and make our way to the Black Fort to find Robert.
The two of us went to the store and were led to an open courtyard out back, where the forge was located. The Smith, a large, burly, giant of a man, reserved Nigel's newly forged blade and handed it to him. The oil on the blade was still slick and reflective as he swung it in the air, and drops of liquid fell upon the dry dirt.
"Special northern forge techniques make the blade strong and long-lasting. Shan't chip nor dull."
The giant billowed out in a deep voice as he pointed towards some thick ropes that were hanging nearby. As Nigel was swinging his blade, cutting through the ropes with ease, I walked next to the smith.
"Did you say northern? Like how northern?"
"I was an apprentice to the great smith at Guds omfavn at the foot of the saints. The greatest smith in the world. His bloodline is said to have created the Godi family axe."
"Godi?"
"Yes, the Godi, the ruling family. You heard of them?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
Nigel turned back to us while he held the sword close to his face, carefully inspecting the sharp edge of the blade for any sign of damage.
"This is exquisite work, you must truly be the best smith in the south. This would put my own family sword to shame."
The large man bowed. "Thank you, hearing such praise from a noble is truly an honour."
Oh no, here we go. The last time someone called him a noble, he yelled at them. Is he going to do that again? He hates his family so much that even being called a noble is enough to set him off.
"You're very welcome." Nigel said with a nod and a smile, leaving me completely stunned. I thought he would have gotten angry again? What changed?
The two of us took Nigel's new sword, and I decided to buy a small knife that I could conceal easily, and we left, heading towards the main gate, out of town and towards the Black Fort. We had checked out of our room, taken our things and planned to set up camp in the woods near the fort in a hidden location.
Once we left the gates, the scene at the blacksmith's shop kept replaying in my mind. It might be rude to ask, but I just had to.
"Hey, Nigh. Is it alright that that guy called you a noble?"
"Hm? Yeah? Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well, it's just, last time at the border."
"Ah. Well, I've been thinking about that lately. I hate my family, I hate them so much, even being called a noble after abandoning that life pissed me off, but… That's still part of me, I guess? I'm done being a Fenring or a noble. Now I'm just me, and if I happen to walk, talk or act like a noble, then that's fine. Also, I thought it might be funny to besmirch the family name a bit as a final fuck you to dad." He chuckled halfway through his final few words, a smile on his face, which caused me to smile as well.
"I thought it was because he would floor you better than that guard guy did."
Nigel's laughter burst out louder as he lightly punched my arm. I was glad, whatever he was going through, it seems that he's over it, he seems… happier now.
The whole way towards the Black Fort, I noticed that Nigel kept his hand on the hilt of his blade, not out of fear or anticipation for an ambush but rather because he was simply excited to have it. A fact proven by his hand constantly moving over the engravings as if his hand was trying to remember every tiny detail of the sword's handle. I'm glad this somewhat late birthday gift is something he likes this much.
As we arrived at the crossroads that split into four. To the right slightly is Genumbra; going forward would lead us to Eastwatch. Though the road that split down to the left, the road that was clearly overgrown and seldom travelled, this was the road to the Black Fort.
We had brought our camping supplies, so we went straight towards the Black Fort, walking for several hours more before we moved off the side of the road and into the woods, looking for somewhere to make camp for the night so we could approach the Black Fort in the morning.
Sitting around a barely lit fire in the darkness of the night, we talked about what we might do to try to kill Robert. Our plan was painfully simple: do whatever it took to get him alone or with only one or two others, wait until we knew a way out and then do it quickly. Of course, I wasn't incredibly keen on killing him; it's not like he's a monster, right? But if I don't, it could lead to the needless death of thousands.
The next morning, we awoke with the rising sun and quickly made our way towards the fortress. On the front end, a large metal portcullis acts as a gate with a large clearing between the front and the treeline from which we were looking. Atop the outer wall, some guards patrolled, looking half asleep or talking casually amongst each other.
With no obvious option, the two of us walked out of the treeline and towards the giant metal gate, waving casually towards the guards who spotted us after a few seconds and more congregated atop the wall as we approached.
Once we were within talking distance, one of the guards yelled out that we stop and state our names, as a few other guards pointed crossbows at us. In response, I simply pulled my hood back and pulled the scarf down, revealing my face.
The guards went quiet instantly; they all knew who I was. There was a tense silence in the air for a moment as the guards looked at each other, debating what to do. They lowered their crossbows, all but one.
One of them let fly a bolt towards me. It took less than half a second for the bolt to travel through the air and collide with Nigel's blade as he deflected the bolt, cutting it in half in the blink of an eye. The guards atop the wall stood stunned at the sight of Nigel drawing his blade and slicing a bolt in half right before it struck my head. They all turned to look at the one who had fired the bolt. In a swift motion, I raised my hand, slid my knife out of my pocket, and flung it toward him. The blade pierced his skull, and his body fell back, falling from the ramparts and hitting the ground on the other side of the portcullis.
The guards who were watching his lifeless body drop to the ground looked back at me.
"So, are you going to let us in to talk to Robert or what?"
A few of the guards scurried off, and a few seconds later, the gate began to open. Rather than go up like I expected, the gate slid into the thick walls, splitting in half like a sliding double door. Whatever mechanism opened the gate must be inside the walls themselves. As we walked past the gate, I noticed the walls were thick enough for two people; there must be more men inside the wall. Once inside, the gates started to close as guards flooded down the ramparts to surround us.
I pulled the knife from the body at my feet as the guards surrounded us completely, all with weapons drawn. Nigel spun around, looking at everyone as I grabbed my knife. "Is this how you lot welcome guests? Seems rather uncivilised.".
I placed the knife back into my pocket as the sea of men separated and gave way as Robert approached, waiving his hand for everyone to lower their weapons.
"There he is, seems every time I see you, you kill some of my men."
"Seems every time I see your men, some of them try to kill me."
Robert stood there for a moment with a scowl on his face before erupting with laughter.
"So what do I owe the pleasure? Surely you're here because of the end of the war? You need a way to get the fuck out of here, right?"
"Yeah, something like that. I'm looking to go north, but the borders are apparently still closed."
"Right, I heard they're only letting select people and groups through. You want my advice? Become a select person."
"I don't even know what the fuck that means."
"Well, if you want to stick around here with our lot, we're planning a takeover. We run this state and don't plan on giving that up. I've put a call out to all members of the Black Hand to get here. There are about forty of us, with almost a hundred more on the way. Want in?"
I looked towards Nigel. Was this the right path, I wondered. Was joining him for now, only to kill him later, really the best thing to do.
"We came to talk." Nigel suddenly spoke up. "Corvis tried to make a deal with us to secure our continued survival, but I don't think it'll work out that well. Of course, that was our best option so far, but you said something about becoming a selected person. You know more about how to cross the border than you're letting on, don't you?"
Robert smiled and marched closer, standing face to face with Nigel.
"You're a clever one, you the smarts? What happened to the tall, sexy woman?" He asked, turning his head towards me.
"She's waiting for us up north; she had a permit."
"And you didn't think to take that permit and have a forger make copies to grant you passage? Fucking amateurs."
I never once even considered the option; I didn't know such services existed. Hearing it said aloud so bluntly and simply made me feel like a fool.
"Only fuckers getting cross are those with new permits and pilgrims."
"Pilgrims?"
"Come to my office, I'll tell you about it all."
Robert took Nigel and me to his office. We ascended towards the highest floor of a tower and entered through a door to an office. It was just the three of us in the room as we sat across from each other. Robert explained that since the war was over, there would be a pilgrimage, a tradition that normally would happen once a decade, but since the border was closed, there was none. So one would be undertaken now, and they would be allowed through, but they would arrive around the same time as the army.
The whole time he talked, I kept glancing towards Nigel. The situation we were in right now seemed like the perfect time to attack, so why wasn't he? Is what he said about Corvis true? Was he actually sceptical about whether his plan would work? If we killed Robert here and now, surely we would avoid a civil war, right?
Once Robert was finished explaining everything about the pilgrims and about his plan to hold out here against the army to try and fight for independence as a revolutionary. Nigel nodded and smiled, thanking him for the help and the information and then swiftly drawing his sword and slicing Robert's throat, cleaving his head off as it tumbled to the ground.