Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:23:16 +1200
From: artcart65@gmail.com
Subject: at days end chapter 3

				AT DAYS END


				 CHAPTER 3


				 BY ARTHUR



PLEASE SUPPORT THE NIFTY ARCHIVES WITH YOUR DONATIONS TO KEEP THIS SITE
FREE FOR ALL.



The boys worked hard until late in the day, after collecting the water,
Grega took an old axe from behind the door and began to chop up the larger
pieces of wood that Danil had found, Kros and little Davi worked away
inside until the cabin started to look half way decent and clean, the beds
were freshly made and the stone floor swept clean.

Kros sent little Davi outside to play while he set about cleaning their
weapons and making sure there was ample ammunition close by; next he set
the fire ready and then looked under the back bench to make sure the long
thick candles were also ready on their wooden bases for the coming night.

As the first chill of night began to make itself known to the boys, Kros
lit the fire and dropped the shutters after lighting the two thick candles,
he then got the last of the deer meat and began to set about making a thick
soup for their dinner, he had collected vegetables from the garden at the
side of the cabin, as he had no salt he used the reddish brown powder from
the small bag that had fixed the dogs, he was careful not too use too much
as the boys would not be used to it.

It had been a long day and all the boys were tired and ready for bed, all
they needed now was a full belly and they would sleep the clock around,
Kros soon had their wish fulfilled and was dishing out the thick soup into
four metal bowls, the boys sat two to a side at the table and started to
eat, Kros watched their faces as they tasted the strange powder for the
first time, he laughed as he watched the three boys run for the water
bucket.

"What the hell is that hot stuff?" Grega asked when he could speak without
tears.

"Don't know its name, it's a small fruit thing that grows on a bush in the
trees, looks a bit like a little boys fingers, when its green its not very
strong but when it gets red then it's like fire in your mouth, I got no
salt so used that."

"Next time use less, my belly feels like it's on fire but at the same time
it tastes strangely good."

"We got no salt till I go out to another town so you better get used to
it."

"Why don't you have salt here, I would have thought it would be the first
thing you would buy?"

"Why you think I was coming to your village but you boys changed all that
with upsetting the Priests and making things hard."

"Sorry, so where is the closest village for you to get salt?"

"Only one I can go too now is about three days fast run away, I'll rest up
here for a few days then go get some, you boys stay here till I get back."

"But that means I will have to do more than the five days I promised."
Danil said.

"Nope, I keep my word, today is your first day, we work things here for the
next four days and your contract is finished, I'll go for the salt later,
the days will count as part of our contract, if you want to stay then fine
but if you want to go, well it's up too you."

Danil looked at Kros and the sincerity on his young face told them all the
truth of the matter, he was a boy who kept his word, that was plainly
obvious now, the three brothers looked at Kros and smiled, it was a fair
deal and the teen would keep his end of the bargain, they all set about the
hot soup once again only this time they were ready for the very hot burst
of fire in their mouths, each had a very large metal cup of water close by
just in case.

Once their supper had been finished, Kros told Danil to wash up while the
others got ready for bed, nothing needed to be said as to where Danil would
be sleeping, Kros stripped naked as he was wont to do in this cabin and,
with a sigh he got into one of the large beds and watched as Danil did his
work, tonight Kros had no intention of playing boy games as they were all
too tired from the long day, tomorrow night would be another matter.

As Danil did his work, Kros watched Grega and little Davi strip and slide
under the thick animal pelts, he was not surprised to hear their breathing
settle into a steady rhythm as the hard day caught up to them, they were
well into their sleep before a naked Danil joined Kros in bed, Kros leaned
forward and wrapped his slender arms around Danil's warm body and fell
instantly to sleep with the boy in his arms, as he drifted off he had a
feeling of contentment, it was nice to have someone share his bed for a
change.

It was still dark and an early morning chill was in the air, Kros had woken
with the feeling of something hard and plump pushing against his warm
belly, lowering his hand he felt the heat of Danil fill his hand, Kros
almost broke out into a smile as he yawned and squeezed the plum piece of
meat, it stiffened a little more and Kros stroked it slowly, he was in one
of those moods and the time seemed right.

Spitting on his free hand, Kros buried his fingers in his rear to place a
little more moisture to go along with the natural sweat of being in a warm
bed, rolling over he placed the now hard plumpness close to his hole and
pushed backward, as the thick crown pierced his sphincter, Kros heard a low
growl from behind him and then felt two short jabs at his rear, in no time
at all, that thick plumpness was making its way inside him, he sighed with
pleasure as he felt the soft tickle of sparse pubic hair brush his butt,
from then on it was only a matter for nature to take its course as Danil
rolled him onto his stomach and settled down to his morning time work with
alacrity.

Kros could not stop the loud moan from escaping his lips as Danil worked
with gusto, the slap, slap of moist skin on skin filled the small cabin and
their moans soon had them completely oblivious to anything around them,
they failed to see Grega lift his head and frown as he covered little
Davi's ears with the thick animal skin and then turned back over and tried
to drift off once again, even though the sound of the two boys was hard to
put aside, his own hand went where any boys hand would go at a time like
this, it turned out to be a close run race between him and Danil as they
both groaned loudly at the same time, the last thing Grega heard was a
satisfied sigh from the two boys in the other bed before he once again
drifted off.

Kros awoke just as the sun sent a sliver of light through the large window
shutters at the front of the cabin, he could still feel the sticky residue
of his early morning jaunt with Danil, he smiled as he got out of the bed
and looked down at Danil who was still fast asleep, his thin mouth slightly
open but a more relaxed look on his young face, Kros scratched himself then
headed for the door, he need to wash away the nights fun and his butt felt
very full and ready to explode, Kros took off running towards the long drop
at the side of the cabin.

When he returned, Kros saw that the two older boys were just stretching and
opening their eyes, he walked naked over to his bed and looked down into
the sparkling eyes of Danil.

"You gonna get up now, we got to get that skin finished and we need some
food." Kros said to Danil.

Danil looked up at Kros and nodded his head as he lifted the soft skins
from his body, his slender figure slipped from the bed and Danil started to
look around for his few clothes, Kros turned his back and slipped on his
pair of small shorts as he heard Grega gently awaken Davi, he also noticed
the Grega had a slight frown on his face when he looked at Kros.

Kros shrugged his shoulders and got some flour out of a large bag under the
bench, next he sent Danil out to find some eggs from the few chickens that
were in a fenced off area a little distance from the cabin, as he mixed the
batter for pancakes, Kros looked at Grega watching him as he worked.

"You could get the fire going." Kros said.

Grega nodded his head and turned to make sure Davi was up and about, he
then told his little brother to come with him and help him with the fire,
the little boy smiled at being given the chance to be helpful to his big
brother, there was now only the three of them and he needed his two
brothers around him for safety, as yet Davi was not totally sure of Kros
although he did like the teen but as yet it was too early to tell if he was
going to be a good man towards Davi.

When the pancakes were all cooked, Kros took a solid piece of fat that hung
on a wire, from the side of the fire place, he then rubbed it in the pan
until there was a thin veneer covering the bottom of the pan, just then
Danil returned with five eggs, Kros broke the eggs into the pan and stirred
them around until he had something resembling a thick omelette, once it was
cooked he divided the pancakes and eggs into four tin plates and set them
on the table while the kettle over the fire heated water for coffee, the
beans he had ground by hand as the eggs cooked.

To the burgeoning smell of fresh coffee, the four boys sat and ate their
breakfast, the lack of salt was noticeable but nothing was said by any of
them, Kros knew he would have to go and get some, the village he would go
too was about three days fast walk or steady trot away but now, with the
horse he could do the whole trip in two days, he would leave soon after
breakfast and leave the three boys to settle in.

Kros found it amusing to watch the scrunched up face of Davi as the little
boy took his first taste of coffee as the four sat outside in the rising
and warming sun, he then told the others what he had in mind, they could
look around the valley and then decide if they wanted to stay with him for
a while or leave and make their own way in the new world, it took only a
minute for the boys to decide to stay for a while longer, Kros then told
them he would leave to get some salt but would be back in two days.

When the coffee was finished, Kros told Danil to clean up while he went to
get the horse, he would leave shortly, the boys were to close the large
gate behind him and wait until he knocked three times on it on his return
to be let back in, he told them not to open the gate for anyone unless they
heard his three knocks, they were safe behind the gate and also had the
extra weapons just in case.

As mid morning approached, Kros took the boys and showed them the hidden
root cellar, first he moved aside the heavy table and the bench in front of
it, next, by lifting one of the thin pieces of slate from the floor, he
revealed a dark hole with four wooden steps leading down, with a candle in
his hands, Kros led the way, what the boys saw surprised them, neatly
stacked on stone shelves were a multitude of different vegetables, some
looked a little old but Kros told them they were for seed, from the low
roof hung two legs of smoked pork and one rear haunch of smoked venison,
Kros took down one of the pork legs and pushed it into an old flour sack,
he would use it to trade for salt although he would take a few coins with
him as well, just in case the pork was not enough.

Returning to the upstairs, he told the boys what to do while he was away,
he would be back as soon as he could but, in the mean time he wanted them
to go around the valley so they were familiar with it all, they would soon
find the garden, the smoke house and they already knew where the few
chickens were kept, Kros pointed to some wire snares hanging on the wall
and told Grega to set them, they could have some fresh meat as there were
plenty of rabbits and wild turkeys around the valley.

Kros stopped as he got through the gate to make sure they closed it tightly
behind him, leading the horse he made it outside once again and led the
horse down the narrow trail, at the base he mounted and turned southward,
there was no way he was going in the direction of the previous trip out.

Kros had to use his coins to buy a pair of old saddle bags to carry the
four large heavy blocks of salt, he had decided at the last moment to also
purchase some more of the sugar blocks, they were only half the size of the
salt blocks and cost him three silver coins, this had been one of the most
expensive shopping trips he had ever taken but he thought it would be fun
for the boys to have the extra, Kros began his return trip with a lighter
heart, for some reason he felt happy to be going back to see the three boys
once again.

Kros had travelled throughout the night so that he would be back to the
valley before midday, as he came up over the last major hill top before
home, he saw a large group of what looked like Priests, there had to be
nearly twenty of them and they looked to be searching for something, Kros
took no chances and jumped off the horse before he was seen.

With a few sharp tugs on the reins, Kros managed to get the horse to lie
down just under the hill top, he then went to his belly and squirmed his
way up until he could see the large group on the flats below him, two or
three Priests he didn't worry about but, twenty of them was another story,
as he watched them he could see they were definitely trying to track
something or someone, Kros stayed still as he watched, this did not feel
good.

Kros watched from his hiding place what were they after, surely they would
not have tried to follow his small group all this way, he looked again at
the long straight line of riders, the appearance of four dogs further out
from the line of Priests told him another story, perhaps they had not given
up on catching him and the boys, true he had killed a number of them but
there was always more of them so why would they bother with a small group
of boys, Kros was now very puzzled, he continued to watch the long line,
they were spread across the flat with about ten yards between each rider,
the dogs far out in front had their noses to the ground as they all worked
their way towards the cliff face where Kros's narrow track went up, he was
cut off and could only wait it out and see what they would do.

Kros went over his weapons, his .22 had eleven shots, his shot gun had two
and his little hideaway had two so he was out gunned, he couldn't hope to
take on such a large well armed force, each rider carried a large rifle and
around their waists hung a pistol, these Priests were armed for bear, or
boy, Kros could only shake his head and hope they did not find the hidden
entrance to the valley although he knew that the narrow trail up to the
entrance was solid stone and would show no prints, there was little he
could do now but wait it out and hope they all lost the trail and moved on,
Kros settled down to wait.

Kros continued to watch and wait, as the long line of black clothed Priests
moved down the valley getting ever closer to the start of the small trail
that led up to the mouth of his cave, Kros moved with them but hidden
behind the low rolling ridge, keeping himself and his horse well down from
the sky line.

As the time moved on towards nightfall, Kros moved up closer to the line of
dark dots until he could make out individual riders, they were all the
usual Priests except for the two dog handlers, and then he caught sight of
the three men at the centre of the line and his blood ran cold, there was
little that Kros was ever afraid of but, what he now saw could almost turn
him to stone for, at the centre of the long spread out line of Priests rode
three members of the Knights of the Rose Croix or, as they were called by
the common people, the Butchers of the Bloody Cross.

These so called Knights of the Red Cross were the Priests that carried out
the torture and killing of the Inquisition, once in their hands your days
were numbered and the number was very short, these Priests were renowned
for their vicious nature, even if you were to confess to some vague sin or
other, they would still kill you in the name of repentance as a means of
washing away your sins.

They were distinguishable from other Priests by their distinctive dress,
unlike the others they did not wear the long flowing black robes but,
instead wore black trousers and shirt with a solid white collar, along with
this they wore black combat boots and a type of green jerkin that had the
solid red cross on the front and back, they never travelled alone and there
were always at least three of them together, they were also very heavily
armed.

Kros shuddered again as he watched the three at the centre, those three
figures he had to avoid at all cost, in the back of his mind he also
wondered why they would send these three after him and the boys, it seemed
a little like over-kill for four small boys, however Kros had no intention
of falling into their hands, he did not have a death wish.

Kros watched as the line at last came to the base of the trail leading up
to his hideaway, it was now late in the afternoon and it looked as though
the large group had had enough for the day, at the bottom of the trail was
a large overhang of stone, he watched as the three Knights stopped their
horses under the overhang and the others of the large hunting party began
to settle around them.

It took no time at all and the beginnings of the small camp was taking
shape, at the centre were the first signs of a large fire being built, the
three Knights had the favoured place under the overhang and seemed to
settle down and let the other Priests do all the work, the two dog handlers
were on the outside of the central circle of Priests, they were not of the
order and so were relegated to the outside.

Kros now had a problem, with the dogs so close to the trail he would not be
able to get there in the dark without disturbing them and letting the whole
camp know he was there, as the sun sank lower, Kros put on his thinking
cap, there had to be a way to get passed them and into the safety of the
small hidden valley.

It took a few minutes before a small smile broke out on Kros's lips, he now
had a plan, with this in mind, Kros crawled back down the rise and jumped
onto the horse, turning to the far off woods, he set the horse to walk
softly and, when far enough from the new camp not to be heard, he put the
horse into a fast canter, it would take only fifteen minutes to reach the
woods, he only hoped he would get lucky and find what he wanted quickly, he
wanted to be ready to mount the pass before the next sunrise.

It was only minutes before dark when Kros got his chance, his shot was sure
and the small deer dropped in its tracks, having the horse lay down so he
could throw the carcass over its back, Kros was soon remounted and making
his way back towards the camp site, he still had work to do and it was
almost completely dark with only the first quarter of the moon for light,
although with his exceptional eye sight he would have little trouble.

An hour later, and with the aid of the brightening moon, Kros had the small
deer skinned and its hide cut into large four pieces, making a slice
between the leg bone and the rear tendon, he fed his old rope through and
tied a tight knot, he would drag the carcass with ease from the back of the
horse, with the four pieces of hide he folded them in half then used them
to make a rough boot for the horse four legs, after tying them tightly and
checking to make sure the horse was comfortable, Kros crawled back up to
the top of the rise and looked down at the now established camp.

The four dogs were on the very outside of the circle, their owners sitting
around a small fire of their own, the larger group of Priests sat around
another larger fire, the three Knights sitting under the overhang with
their backs to the mountainside, they would be blind to the darkness
outside the fire light, Kros smiled as he watched them all getting ready to
settle down for the night.

Returning to the horse, Kros took up the rope and rode the horse at a quick
walking pace along the bottom of the ridge until he was a good two hundred
yards north of the camp, using the horse to pull the carcass up to the top
of the ridge, he then freed the rope and rolled the bloody carcass down
onto the flats below, soon the evening breeze would start up and the dogs
would soon get the scent of fresh meat, Kros descended quickly and headed
southward at a fast walk, leading the horse by its reins.

Well south of the camp, Kros listened with all his might, he wanted to
catch the sound of the dogs when they smelt the fresh meat waiting for
them, it took only until Kros felt the faint brush of the evening breeze on
his cheeks for the dogs to get the scent, the pull of the bloody meat was
too much for the dogs and, with snarls and barks, they refused to listen to
their owners and started for the carcass away in the dark.

The disturbance of the dogs had the camp in an uproar for a little while
but, once the handlers saw that they were only after a fresh kill, they
left them to it, they saw no reason to tell the Priests what it was that
had got the dogs all noisy, it also never occurred to the handlers where
the kill came from, they left the dogs to eat after cutting off a little of
the deer meat for themselves, why waste good meat on dogs.

Kros stayed hidden while the camp settled down once again, the Priests
ignoring the dog handlers, they were to far below the station of the
Priests to bother with, Kros waited until the midnight, when all of the
camp was well and truly asleep, the Priests had such confidence in their
position in society that they posted no guards in the camp.

With the soundless movement of a feral animal, Kros led his booted horse
towards the narrow trail that led back to his valley, at the base of the
trail he once again spread the reddish coarse powder behind the horse and
himself as they made their way upward in total silence, the hide boots
making the horses hooves as silent as the grave.

An hour later and Kros was pulling on the thick rope the opened the brush
gateway, as he bent down and pulled until the gate was wide enough for the
horse to fit through, he stood up and looked into the dark black hole of a
gun barrel, it was with a sigh of relief when he heard Grega's soft voice
in the darkness.

"Where have you been, we got worried when you didn't show up at midday like
you said, I've been waiting out here all afternoon."

"There's no time for talk now, take the horse into the valley while a close
the gate, I'll be right behind you, go now."

Grega took the reins of the horse and led it silently away towards the
depths of the cave while Kros closed up the large bush that covered the
entrance, once closed he took the end of the rope and tied it tightly to an
outcrop of rock before turning to enter the cave and follow Grega and the
horse back to the valley.

Kros caught up with Grega at the heavy gate, once they were all through,
the two boys worked at the handle until the gate was tightly closed, Kros
then pointed out two thick logs lying on the ground at each end of the
closed gate.

"Take that one and jam it into the wall, then push the other end up against
the end of the gate, it will act as a lock."

"Why all this work?" Grega asked.

"We have visitors and not the kind that are friendly, if I have to guess I
would say by tomorrow midday they will be knocking on this door and we
don't have much time to get ready."

"Who are they, are they more Rogues?"

"Worse than Rogues, Priests, not ordinary Priests but those Butchers of the
Bloody Cross, you know they won't give up easy."

"Knights of the Rose Croix, what are they doing here, why would they be
after us?"

"I suppose at least two dead Priests would be enough excuse, now let's get
back to the cabin, we have a lot to do and we won't be getting much sleep
tonight."

The two boys ran through the dark with the horse trotting behind them
silently, still with his now worn boots on, once at the cabin, Kros woke
Danil and little Davi, they were not happy about having their sleep
disturbed but Kros did not have time to be nice about it, even though Davi
got a small tear in his eye and Grega had to settle him down with soft
words and a pat on the back.

Kros gave the saddle bags with the salt and sugar blocks in it; he also
handed over his own back pack as he took up the reins of the horse.

"Get that stuff inside, I'm going to take the horse as far back up the
valley and tie him up so they don't find him, we may need him before this
is all over, Danil, take Davi and go to where the chickens are, there has
to be a lot more eggs hidden in the straw that Davi didn't find, get them
all and bring them back, leave the gate open so the chickens can get out,
we don't want them caught by those Priests and eaten, Grega, open the root
cellar and start putting everything that moves down into it, except for
extra ammunition, some basic food stuff and the two thickest bed pelts,
I'll be back before you have finished."

Kros led the horse away into the dark, he had the perfect place to hide it
from the eyes of the Priests and it would have ample water and grass to
keep it happy, once well up the valley and close beside the feeder stream,
Kros tied the new rope to the halter and let the horse go about its
business while he turned back to the cabin and took off at a fast trot, he
had a lot to do before they would be ready.

As Danil and Davi re-appeared with the eggs they had found hidden in the
straw, Kros made it back to the cabin, once inside he took the large bowl
from the bench and poured a large quantity of flour into it, adding to that
he put some lard and then, using a rough stone, he scraped some salt off
one of the blocks into it as well then added water and began mixing it all
with his hands.

Grega was cleaning the weapons and selecting extra ammunition from the
large stock on the shelf, Kros set Danil to fill a small pot with water and
putting all the eggs into it and placing it on a hook over the now renewed
fire, when Kros was finished with the large dish of dough, he tipped it out
onto the bench and cut it in two then in two again so he had four equal
lumps, he then set about kneading the dough until he had four round lumps
sitting on the bench.

Kros went to the shelf under the bench and pulled out two cast iron cooking
pots with flat lids, he place one lump of dough in each one and placed them
into the hot coals of the fire, using a small spade he heaped hot coals
over the top to help with the cooking, next he went into the cellar and got
the smoked leg of pork and set about cutting off lots of thick slices.

An hour later and the eggs were all boiled hard, the two cooking pots were
scraped clean of the coals on top and opened top reveal two hot loaves of
course bread, Kros tipped them out and replaced them with the other two
lumps of fresh dough and set them to cook in the same manner, the smell of
fresh bread filled the small cabin as the boys worked on, they now had only
hours before sunrise and Kros wanted to be out of the cabin before it was
too high in the sky.

As they waited for the last of the bread to cook, the four boys sighed as
the gave a last check to everything they would need, in an old flour sack
were the boiled eggs, the two loaves of bread and the many thick slices of
smoked pork, all the weapons were lined up with extra boxes of ammunition
stacked beside them, Kros looked around the cabin, everything that could be
saved and moved was now down in the cellar, Kros told Grega to replace the
slate and pull the table back over it, if the Priests broke in they would
find nothing to take, it was time to sort out the weapons.

"Grega, you take the big pistol and the rifle you got from the Rogue, how
many bullets have you got for it?"

"There were five in it and the Rogue had ten more in his pocket, there was
also one box on the shelf that looks as though it will fit."

"Danil, you take my .22 you should be able to fire it, take five boxes of
bullets and my belt, I'll take the shot gun and the lever rifle, its a bit
big for me but I can lay in on a rock to fire it, now Grega, you can take
the sack of food and the two rolled pelts, Danil you can take my pack with
the extra bullets and cooking pan, I'll carry the three water skins and the
last two bread."

Kros stopped as he heard a faint sniffle from Davi.

"What's the matter Davi?" Kros asked the snuffling boy.

"You don't want me, it's not fair, just cause I'm little you don't want
me."

The three older boys looked at each other in bafflement, what was the
little boy going on about, Grega asked Davi what he was meaning.

"You all've got things to do and I don't have nothing, you don't want me
cause I'm young and too little."

The three older boys could still not see what Davi meant until suddenly a
light went on in Danil's head.

"He thinks we don't want him because he has nothing to carry and no
weapons, all he wants to do is be a part of our group, isn't that right
Davi?"

Davi looked at his older brother and an almost embarrassed small smile
broke out on his face.

"Yep, just cause I'm small and not old like you, you think I can't do
things, I want to help too."

The three boys laughed at the innocence of the smaller boy, it was Kros
that came to the rescue.

"I was saving your part till last Davi, I can't carry all of the water and
the last bread alone, you will have to carry one of the water skins, its
very heavy and we need a real strong boy to carry it, also, how many years
have you got now?"

"Eight."

"Well you are really lucky, eight is the exact right age to have your first
gun, now I'm going to give you one of mine, it's very special to me so you
have to really look after it and not lose it, ok?"

Davi nodded his head and his smile got wider as Kros took out the small
hideaway from his pocket, he removed the two bullets and then sat down so
he could explain it all to Davi, he went through the lessons of not
pointing it at Kros or his brothers, even in play, next he showed him how
the two bullets went in and how to cock the small hammer, he had Davi blank
fire it a number of times until the little boy looked comfortable doing it,
next he gave Davi four bullets and told him to put them in his pocket, he
was not to put them in the gun unless he had to use it on some bad men,
Davi took in everything with a very serious look on his young face until he
carefully placed the small gun in one pocket and the four stubby bullets in
the other, the smile on his tired face almost lit up the room as he saw the
proud look on his brothers faces.

The three boys heard the loud crow of the rooster from far back in the
trees as the first faint blush of the rising sun coloured the sky, using
the last flour sack, Kros put the two still hot loaves of bread inside
along with the pot for boiling water for their coffee.

Walking outside the cabin all of the boys were loaded up, Kros set about
locking the cabin up as best he could then turned to Grega.

"See at the far end of the valley where the trees go up in a point, just
below the top of the trees is another small cave, it's about twenty feet up
the side of the wall and has a rope ladder leading up to it, we have to get
up there then pull the ladder up, they won't find us there and even if they
do we can defend it for ages, we better start moving, those Butchers won't
want to wait for long to find us."

The boys set off fast for the base of the high cliffs at the bottom of the
valley, about half way there they suddenly heard the quietness of the
valley disturbed by loud thumping coming from the direction of the gate,
their pace quickened, Kros had told them that the gate could not be taken
down easily and that with the metal skin on the outside it could not be
burnt down so they should be fairly safe, moving to the cave was just
insurance.

The boys were almost at the top of the tree line when they heard it, the
loud booming sound echoed through the valley and shook the ground, none of
them had the faintest idea of what had caused it but, it did make them push
hard for the last few yards to the bottom of the cliff where they could now
easily see the rope ladder hanging over a ledge, now it was time for the
hard job of getting everything up there to safety.

Kros told Davi to put the water skin on the ground as he would have to go
up with Grega to help pull everything up on the rope, the little boy looked
as though he was relieved to get rid of the dead weight but he smiled at
being told he was to help his big brother, he was the first up the rope
ladder and climbed it as though he had been doing it all his short life,
Grega was close behind with the new rope from Kros's pack, once at the top
he lowered the rope and the hard work of getting everything up began, from
behind them down the valley, they could just barely hear the sound of
horses hooves as the Priests came through the shattered gateway, the boys
moved faster until finally, Kros and Danil took their turn climbing the
ladder and then pulling it up after themselves.

Down below the Priests had made it to the cabin, it was noticeable that
there was now only one dog with them, once again Kros's powder had done its
work, the dog was a large brown one with long legs and a shaggy skin, it
had long floppy jowls and even longer floppy ears, its nose was close to
the ground as the large group stopped outside the now empty cabin.

>From his kneeling position high up on the ledge outside the cave, Kros
could just see through the tree tops to the cabin, he watched as the three
Butchers got off their horses and strode arrogantly towards the door of the
cabin, they did not even try to open the door but instead started to kick
at it with their heavy boots, it took a little while but they eventually
had the door crashing to the ground and they stormed into the small cabin
with a gun in their hands.

Kros kept low as he watched what was going on, it was then he saw something
that made his blood cool instantly, from this height he could plainly see
their own foot prints in the new morning dew, if the Priests took the time
to look around they were going to know where the boys were or in which
direction they had gone, Kros sighed, it was now all in the hands of some
deity or other, he was only assured by the fact that once they entered the
woods their trail would be hard to find, only the single dog could now
track them and he had no red powder left to get rid of that one.

Kros left his perch and went into the cave to see that the boys were
getting everything settled, if they were traced up here they could be in
for a long wait, he was now thankful that he had spent so much time
carrying up the fire wood over the last two years, they had a large stack
at the back of the cave, there was also a small underground spring that fed
into the cave although it only yielded enough water each day to fill one
skin.

The back of the cave had a narrow fissure leading upwards and the faintest
sliver of blue sky could be seen at the far end if it, this would carry the
smoke of the fire out of the cave and so not smoke them out when they
wanted to cook or get warm.

Grega had laid out the two thick pelts for their beds and was watching
Danil get a fire ready, little Davi was sitting alertly at the entrance of
the cave with the little gun in his hand with two bullets ready in the
other, Kros smiled at the small boy as he sat on guard, the serious look on
Davi's face told him that no one was going to get past if he had anything
to do about it, Kros patted Davi on the head as he walked into the cave, he
really needed some rest, it had been a long and sleepless two days, he
asked Grega to set a guard so each of them could get some sleep while they
waited for the Priests to leave, they could not be reached up here but they
could take no chances with Blood Knights around.

Kros was awakened by a gentle nudge on his shoulder by Grega, as was his
habit, Kros was instantly alert and looked up at the eyes of Grega for some
indication of what was needed, Grega twisted his head in the direction of
the cave mouth, Kros then became aware of a warmth against his back,
looking behind him he saw the small curled up body of Davi lightly snoring
as he snuggled up to Kros for warmth, Kros smiled and carefully got up
without waking the smaller tired boy.

Following Grega to the cave mouth, Kros followed the boys pointing finger,
Kros felt a deep frown come over his face as he saw the mass of Priests
evidently following their trail in the dew covered grass, behind the group
of Priests Kros could see thick smoke coming from the windows and door of
the cabin, the Priests had set fire to their home, deep in his belly, Kros
felt the stirring of anger build.

Kros turned to Grega with a thunderous look on his face, in a quiet and
deadly voice, Kros told Grega.

"Those black crows will pay for that, every last one of them including
those Blood Priests."

"What can we do now; it looks like they have found our trail?"

"We stay here, we have enough food and water too outlast them if we have
too, they can't get us up here without losing a lot of men, even then they
will have too much trouble getting up here, we stay and if we have to we
fight, knowing those Blood Priests, that's what we will have too do."

"How will they find us though, once in the woods there won't be any trail
like down on the open grass?"

"They still have one dog left, there is one way though but it's dangerous
and needs some good timing."

"What is it, we have to do something."

"Simple, I go down and kill the last dog."

"But if they see you then you're done and their rifles are better than your
little .22."

"Look at the sun; if I go quickly the sun will be in their eyes, they will
hear the shot but not be able to see me in the trees, the rising sun will
blind them for a few seconds, if I run like hell back here and you and
Danil have the rope ready to just pull me up as fast as you can, they won't
know where to go, for now the dog is the their best friend, without it they
will just have to stumble around and hope to get lucky."

"Can you get back fast enough; if they see you they will start shooting in
all directions?"

"I have to go now, there's not much time to get the sun right, I know every
inch of these woods, they won't see or hear me, drop the rope over the side
now while I get the small rifle, you can tell Danil what to do while I'm
gone but be ready to pull as hard as you can when I get back to the rope."

Grega just nodded and watched as Kros ran for the cave to get the small .22
rifle, he was back in seconds and before Grega could say one word was
sliding down the rope, seconds later he had disappeared into the trees,
Grega called softly for Danil and then explained to him what was happening,
the two boys took up a position at the rope and waited, their breaths
seemed to be held in their throats as they waited for Kros to return.

As Kros came to the edge of the woods, he almost smiled, he had come to the
exact place he wanted to be, he was about 45 degrees to the left of the dog
and his handler and slightly up hill as well as being down wind, the dog
was about one hundred yards ahead of the Priests and the handler was
another ten yards behind holding the long lead to stop the dog from running
off.

The dog had its noise to the ground following the fresh scent of the boys,
Kros settled beside a large tree that almost completely hid him from sight,
he lined up the dog at seventy five yards and waited as, with his other
eye, he watched the sun touch the top of the first line of Priests, they
were the three Knights, the rest of the Priests followed in threes so they
would be blocked from seeing where he shot came from.

Kros waited until the dog was fifty yards away and, just as the first
bright rays of the morning sun hit the eyes of the lead Priests, he fired,
Kros didn't wait too watch the effect of his shot, he knew it was good even
before it hit the dog, by that time he was already scuttling backwards and
rising to his feet to speed off to the waiting rope.

The three Knights of the Rose Croix heard the light shot but were
temporarily blinded by the sun rise, the dog handler could not take in what
had happened, his dog just stopped then gave a sort of shake of its head
then its long legs seemed to collapse under it, he then saw its head hit
the ground and the rest of the dogs body seemed to just fold into the
ground, it took the handler seconds to realise that the red stuff pumping
from his dogs head was in fact blood.

As the realisation that his dog had been shot finally penetrated his brain,
the handler stopped and fell to the ground beside the still body, he was
suddenly overcome with a deep remorse as he realised he had lost all four
of his dogs to these renegades, as the Priests rode up fast to where he was
holding the dead dogs head in his arms, all he could think of was getting
out of this place, he no longer had anything left to give this hunt, his
sorrow built as his hands became warm with the last of the hot blood and
the tears flowed unhindered, he ignored the Priests demands for the
position of the shooter.

The Priests tried to look around for the culprit but the sun had blinded
them so efficiently that none of them saw the muzzle flash or any
indication of smoke, they were now in all intents and purposes, completely
blind, where the boys had gone was surely into the trees but in there they
would be open targets for any sniper that the boys had, it was not going to
be an easy hunt from now on but they had a job to do for the Inquisition
and they would go on until they found the sinners or die trying.

Kros felt as though he was flying as Grega and Danil pulled strongly on the
rope and raised the light weight of Kros easily up to the ledge, once there
the three boys looked out through the tree tops, the confusion caused by
Kros was easily evident by the way the mounted Priests were milling around,
they could just make out the kneeling figure of the handler as he held the
dark shape of the dogs body, for some reason all three boys felt a sadness
for the dog, it had only been doing what it was trained for and did not ask
to be put in the place it had been in, the onus once again came down on the
Priests and the three boys were more determined than ever to see them pay.

Danil took over the guard as Grega and Kros went back into the cave, little
Davi was still curled up in one of the pelts softly snoring as though he
had not a worry in the world, Grega pushed Kros towards the pelt bed, the
boy had been asleep only an hour or so before being awakened and Grega
still felt strong enough to stay awake for a few hours yet.

Kros lay down in the pelt and was instantly asleep once again, the sudden
violent events of the morning were already forgotten, it was in the past
and something that had to be done for their own safety, Kros had no qualms
about his act, it was a necessity so it was over and done with.

When next he awoke, Kros could tell it was close to midday, Davi had
disappeared and he could see both Danil and Grega curled up in the other
pelt bed, Kros jumped to his feet after a good stretch and went in search
of the little guy, he found Davi lying at the very edge of the ledge with
his head showing just over the edge, in his hand he held the little gun
with the four bullets close by his side neatly lined up in a row, Kros
smiled at the sight of the little guy, he was taking his duty very
seriously.

Kros crawled up beside Davi and gave him a pat on the head.

"I bet you are the best guard we've got Davi, I think when we get rid of
those Blood Priests I should go and buy you a special gun of your own so
that I can have my lucky one back."

Davi twisted his head, his eyes were wide open and a smile went from ear to
ear as he took in the words of Kros.

"Really, my own gun, just for me?" he whispered to Kros.

"Really, the best guard should have his own gun and I know just where to
find one for you when this is all over."

Davi pulled back from the edge a little and then turned and hugged Kros as
best he could while lying down; Kros again patted him on the head then
said.

"You've really done a big guys job here this morning, now it's my turn so
you go and get some more rest, when one of the others gets up we will have
some food, ok?"

Davi nodded and then pushed himself well back from the edge before standing
up and going back into the cave, Kros took over the watch, from the sounds
coming from far below, it looked as though the Priests were searching all
through the woods, any chance of them being found up here in the cave was
practically nil now they no longer had the dog to lead them, the cave was
invisible from the ground and unless they made some small mistake, Kros and
the boys would be safe.

An hour later and Danil appeared silently by his side, Kros smiled at him
and scooted back until he could stand without being seen from below, it was
time to eat, with the narrow vent at the back of the cave they would not
send any smells or smoke down to the Priests so they could at least have a
nice hot meal, Kros re-stoked the fire into life and set the pan on to
heat, next, when the pan was good and hot and a small amount of lard had
been added, Kros put in four thick cuts of smoked pork.

While the pork was cooking, Kros took out four of the boiled eggs and then
set about putting water on too boil for coffee, slicing three thick pieces
off one of the loaves of rough bread, Kros set them close to the hot coals
to heat up and lightly toast, twenty minutes later and the food was ready,
Grega and Davi had woken at the sound and smell of food being cooked and
were ready as Kros put the cooked Pork on top of the toasted bread and
passed them out along with an egg each, as he waited for the water to boil
for coffee, Kros took the last bread and meat out for Danil as he sat on
guard.

When he returned to the cave, Kros saw the water was boiling and added the
coffee beans he had ground earlier, taking the pot off the fire he set it
aside to brew, occasionally tapping the pot to settle the grounds, as all
three of them finished the last of their meal, Kros poured the now ready
coffee, it would be good to have a hot drink and they had a long way to go
before they would be rid of the Priests.

For two days the boys watched the Priests search the valley, they stayed
well hidden as they watched, Kros was the one to notice that the Priests
always went back close to the burnt cabin to spend the night time hours,
their horses were staked out to feed about fifty yards from the camp.

The boys were well aware that the Priests knew they were in the valley
somewhere but, as yet, they had not found out where, the boys settled down
to make plans for their escape, hopefully on the next night when the
Priests should be not only tired from their hunting but also a little bored
with spending three days with no results.

On the third day, as they watched the Priests begin their search of the far
end of the valley, the boys put the last of their escape plan together,
Kros would use his skills to get to the horses, they already had one of
their own and now only needed two more although Davi insisted he wanted one
of his own, Grega finally got him to understand that the horses were to big
for him to control in the dark of night.

Danil would take Davi close to the destroyed gateway and wait for the other
two, Grega would crawl into the house and get what he could from the hidden
cellar then close it up again, he would meet the others at the gate if all
went well.

Both Grega and Kros had noticed that the Priests only mounted one guard at
night and that the late guard would often fall asleep in the early hours of
the morning, it was at this time they would make their bid for freedom.

As the sun sank on the third day, the boys checked their weapons and
secured what little they had left from their stores, Grega took all the
empty flour bags to refill while Danil carried the back pack with the extra
ammunition, Kros would only take his shot gun and knife, his job was to be
as silent as he could be and try to release all the horses while stealing
two more.

Everything went exactly as planned for a change, Grega secured a lot of the
food stuffs and managed to get to the gate before Kros appeared, he was
slowly and quietly leading all the horses at a slow silent walk, when the
morning came, the Priests would be on foot and the boys would be far away
and heading towards the second of the hidden valleys prepared by the man
Kros had killed two years before.


TBC.


artcart65@gmail.com