Gleeson The Defender: Part 7

Mary finds Gleeson behind the barn next to the water pump. Gleeson picks up the bucket underneath the pump and dumps it over his head. The dirt and blood wash off of him in an instant.

“I could draw you a bath.” Mary walks up to him.

“Don’t have time for that. Once Jake and Erik are done talking, we’re leaving.” Gleeson pumps more water into the bucket. The pump squeaks each time Gleeson moves the handle.

“How long will you be gone for?”

“Don’t know. I don’t know how long I was walking before I got here. I don’t know how long it’s going to take for us to find the clearing where I found the road or if we even can find it.” Gleeson still pumps on the handle waiting for the water.

“Then we should get going.” Erik comes around the barn. He has a quiver of arrows strapped to his back and a bow in his hand.

“Did you get what you needed to find the battle?” The water spits out of the horse head spout. It flows into the bucket after a brief moment. Gleeson picks it back up and dumps it over himself one more time. He pushes the wet hair from his face and Erik gives him a quick nod.

He places the bucket back under the spout. “Then it’s time we leave.”

“I’m coming with you.” Jake comes around the corner. He’s holding a bow as well but he carries two quivers. The quivers of arrows are strapped to his waist band like a sword sheath. The bottoms are tied to his legs keep them from flopping around too much.

“You can’t.” Mary looks at Gleeson. “Can he?” Gleeson looks down at her and then to Jake.

“He’s a man and if he wants to go, I’m not going to stop him.” Mary shoots him a look. “Say your goodbyes, because we gotta go.”

“Mary, I can’t sit here and let others defend our family, I have to go.”

“I understand.” She walks over to him and wraps her arms around him. “I love you. Come back safe.”

“I will. If the orcs show, you stay hidden.”

“I will.” She kisses him passionately. She lets him go turning away. “You better bring him back to me.” She points at Gleeson.

“He’ll be fine. Let’s go.” Gleeson walks over to the barn and grabs his claymore. He cleaned his blades long before he cleaned himself. He carries the claymore with one hand over to the cart they had set up ready to go. He places it in the cart with it ready to pull if he needs to.

Gleeson commands no horses other than the one pulling the cart. He was on foot when he came through, so he needs to be on foot when he tries to find it. He needs to feel the earth beneath his feet, because the darkness blocked any vision he had.

Mary walks with them until the tree line just outside of town with Adeline in tow. Gleeson allows Jake to say goodbye one more time before they fade into the trees. The sky all but disappears under the trees.

Gleeson just assumed that it was the clouds causing him not to see the stars on that snowy night. Thinking back on that cold night causes a shiver to run through him. He looks at Jake and Erik to see if they saw him. If they did they weren’t showing any indication of it.

They walk for a while with Gleeson trying to remember where he came from. He goes as far as closing his eyes. It’s hard for Gleeson to pick up on anything. He can’t tell the difference between memories or the fever dreams.

“How much longer do you think?” Jake turns and walks backwards looking behind them.

“I don’t know.”

“Anything look familiar?” Erik looks over his shoulder. He spends most of his time in the woods, so he’s leading and tracking. He stops them every now and then to look around or walk into the trees off the road.

 “The only thing that I keep coming back to is that I remember almost walking back to where I came from.”

“The switch back.” Erik turns around. “Let’s go, I know where to go.” He jumps on the back of the horse. Gleeson and Jake jump in the cart. Erik gets them up to a trot, moving faster than what they could on foot.

“Where are we going?”

“There’s a switch back a few miles up the road. It makes you feel like you’re heading back the way you came, because it’s so long.” Erik turns back to watch where they’re going.

Gleeson closes his eyes, feeling the breeze on his face. “I thought it was just a dream.” He smiles.

They ride for only a little while when they come to the first curve in the switch back. Erik can feel the horse tense up as it starts up a steeper incline. He brings it to its walking pace. He hops off the horse and walks beside it holding onto the rains. Gleeson and Jake follow by jumping out of the cart.

“We should reach the top in no time at all.” Erik looks around making sure all is well. They walk up the road at a brisk pace. Gleeson is the only one panting.

“I’ve spent too long in bed, I no longer have my stamina.” Each word escapes him with a pant. He laughs at his own flaws.

“This trip should help with that.” Jake laughs along with him. The switchback comes faster than they expected. They slow their pace allowing Gleeson’s senses to pick up where he came from.

“Nothing is coming to me.” Gleeson looks around. Everything feels the same to him. Gleeson comes to a halt quickly. He closes his eyes, sniffing at the air.

“What is it?” Erik smells the air as well.

“The scent is familiar. It’s like the smell of roasting meat.” Gleeson smiles. “It was here the night I came off the mountain.”

“To the trees, move.” Erik runs past them to the horse. Gleeson looks over at Jake. Jake shrugs his shoulders looking at Erik. “Get your weapons and move.” Erik unhooks the horse, slapping it hind quarters sending it off on its own.

He draws an arrow, readying it on the string of his bow. He stealthily moves to the trees. Gleeson grabs his claymore from the cart and follows him. “What are you doing?” Gleeson hides behind a tree next to Erik.

“Trolls.” Erik hisses not taking his eyes off the road.

“Why do trolls smell like roasting meat?”

“Roasted meat. They’re mountain trolls. They are the only trolls that cook their food.”

“Should we be here when they come? They may be trolls but you’d think the cart would even raise their suspicions.” Jake points to the road.

“We can’t abandon the cart. It’s the only way to get the weapons back.”

“Did you forget that Erik let the horse go?”

“Damn it.” Gleeson runs out to the cart. He grabs both shafts of the cart and lifts. Gleeson turns to the trees and runs, pulling the cart behind him. “Let’s go.” Gleeson runs into the tree line and doesn’t stop.

They come to a large rock formation. Gleeson pulls the cart behind it so he can catch his breath. Erik leans out with his arrow still ready. “I can’t believe this.”

“What?”

“The orcs, they’re with the trolls.”

“What to do you mean they’re with the orcs.”

“What I mean is that the orcs have them chained. They’re prisoners.”

“It’s time we move.” Gleeson grabs one shaft this time. “Jake, I could use your help.” Jake grabs the other and they carefully make their way away from the rock formation. Erik stays behind them, keeping an eye out behind them.

They trudge along for what seems an eternity until they reach the battle ground. Gleeson falls to his knees. “My brothers, I’ve come back.” They’ve been picked down to their bones.

Scavengers have been feeding on them all winter long. Gleeson stands up and walks around the battle field. Flashes of the fight unfold around him. They were caught off guard and never had a fighting chance.

He was only able to take a few hits before he fell. He walks over to where he thought he had fallen. He looks around the area, trying to find the claymore his father gave him. It’s nowhere to be seen.

“They took it.”

“They took what?”

“My father’s sword.”

“Well, let’s get it back.” Erik walks by him grabbing some armor off a corpse. Gleeson looks at him with disgust. “It’s what we came for isn’t it?”

“It is.” Gleeson closes his eyes trying to remember his friend’s faces. “Let’s do this so we can get back.”

It’s dusk when they finish loading the last of the weapons. For the most part the orcs took the majority of the weapons before they left. Only a few were left behind, mainly spears. Armor is more valuable to them at this point anyway. The blacksmith in town has been working on crafting weapons since they started training.

“We stay the night here.” Erik walks into the trees.

“I need to get back to my family.”

“The orcs have enslaved trolls with them. We may not make it back in the dark. I’m surprised I did.”

Erik comes back from the trees carrying an armful of wood. “You should of thought about that before you came.”

Gleeson The Defender Part 6

The training schedule is intense. After the shops close for the day, everyone is required to train. Shops are only open part of the day anymore and everyone helps with feeding and hunting now.

The feeding is building strength in those that don’t have any. The hunting is creating marksmen of all levels. The nights are quiet. Gleeson sends his best riders out as scouts. They’re always in groups of two.

Erik is his lead scout. He is under strict orders, never to be seen and never to engage the enemy. The scouts are the town’s only defense at this time. If the scouts are to be seen the element of surprise is no longer theirs.

It’s been a fortnight since the town meeting. The training has been going great for a bunch of settlers. “We’re still not ready.” Gleeson confides in Mary.

“I know we’re not.” She grabs his hand, squeezing it softly. They look out the window of her house onto the street. Jake is leading the muscle building exercise.

“Why do you do that?” Gleeson turns to her.

“Do what?”

“Play with my emotions like that. You’re constantly touching me, caressing me.”

“I’m sorry, I-”

“It’s gotta stop or I’m likely to rip all your clothes off and make you mine.” Mary blushes a little. “Is that what you want?”

“No. I love my husband and my daughter. I will do anything to protect them.”

“Then stop. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

“I just thought men like you wanted.” She stops, not really knowing what she thinks anymore. Gleeson looks out the window and sees his scouts riding up fast. He runs out the door into the street with Mary following him.

He meets Erik close to the training exercise. “The orcs, they’re here.”

“How many?”

“Six, at least, maybe more. Should we ambush them?”

“No, we’re not ready. Maybe if we had another couple of weeks. How far out are they?” Gleeson looks into the direction Erik came from.

“Not far, they’ll be here soon.”

“We submit.” Mary steps in. “It’s our only choice.”

“She’s right.” Jake walks up as well.

“I’ll be there with the food at the general store.” Mary looks around at the men in the circle. None of them interject.

“I’ll be with you as well.” A soft old voice comes from behind them.

“Father, you can’t.”

“How can I be a leader if I let my daughter sit there alone?”

“He’s right.” Gleeson walks away. “You three, gather the supplies for the orcs. Everyone else!” He yells for the town to hear. “Stay inside, no matter what happens!”

“I’ll be there, watching you.” Jake grabs Mary’s hands into his.

“You need to stay with Adeline.” Mary looks into his eyes. She tries a smile but it doesn’t fit. She looks over to Gleeson. “He’ll make sure we’re all safe.”

            “Fine.” Jake lets go of her hands. He walks over to Gleeson. “You let anything happen to them, I’ll-”

“You’ll what? Kill me?” Gleeson smiles at Jake. “You don’t need to worry about them, just take care of your daughter and all will be fine.” Gleeson shoulders past him. Gleeson walks to the general store across the street from Jake and Mary’s house.

The supplies are being loaded into a small wagon that can be connected to a horse and rider without great difficulty.  Bags of grain fill up most of the cart. Grain is the easiest for the little town to come up with. Other vegetables are loaded up as well and a sparse amount of meat is on top.

Gleeson spins his arm upright in the air with his index finger extended, signifying to wrap things up and for people to clear the streets. He walks away, but before he can get too far, Mary reaches out and grabs his hand. He turns back to face her.

“You keep them safe, you hear me?” A tear rolls down her cheek. Gleeson nods and she lets go of his hand. He walks up the steps to the porch and turns back around. Mary and Lord Gregory are right down the street.

“Sprinting distance.” Gleeson adjusts his belt that holds his two custom daggers. They’re longer than most daggers but still smaller than a short sword. He opens the door, leaving it cracked behind him. He grabs his claymore from the corner behind the door and straps it to his back. It’s held on by a half scabbard, leaving most of the blade exposed at the bottom. The blacksmith spent an immense amount of time crafting him a new sword and daggers.

The claymore has a secondary hilt that extends beyond the hand guard flaring out at the end where the blade actually begins. This is in the half scabbard itself, the pommel is right above his head. The blade reaches almost to the floor, even at its angle.

 Gleeson positions himself at the window, able to see Mary and Lord Gregory standing behind the cart. “Great job, Mary.”

“What?” Jake walks up next to him, staring out the window.

“She positioned them behind the cart and close to the door in case the orcs decide to attack. A great defensive move.” Gleeson sees Mary cough into a small rag. “She seems calm. That’s good.”

 “What can I do?”

“Take your daughter up into the loft.” Gleeson glares at him. Even though Jake is a large man, Gleeson still towers over him. Gleeson looks back out at Mary behind the cart, trying to conceal her rag from her father.

“She loves you, ya know?”

“I know.” Gleeson looks down at his knives. “It’s not really me she’s in love with. It’s what I can do for her that she loves.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The anger in Jake’s face turns it red.

“She may love me but she’s in love with you.” Gleeson stares back out the window. “She loves me because I can keep you and Adeline safe when she’s gone. She’ll do just about anything for that.”

“So you know about that then?” Jake looks out at Mary too.

“It’s not hard to figure out. How long has she had the cough?”

“For a while. Her brother had it and she took care of him before he died.”

“She wants to make sure you two are taken care of after she’s gone. That’s where I come into play. I can take out the orcs, making you safe.”

“I see. If that’s her wish, then so be it.”

“It’s not like that. I’m going to do it regardless of what she wants. I owe it to my brothers.”

“You were planning this the whole time, weren’t you?”

“I wasn’t expecting to stay here.” Gleeson moves closer to the window when Mary turns her head to her left. Gleeson follows her gaze to his right. “Take your daughter upstairs. Stay up there regardless of what happens.”

“I can’t stand by and-” Gleeson interrupts Jake with a dark glare.

“You saved me once. Let me repay you, by saving all of you.”

“Fine.” The weak sound comes from Jake. He grabs Adeline’s hand and takes her up the ladder.

The orcs appear in the window right in front of him. There are six of them in all. The largest orc rides at the front, in typical orc formation. The largest are always the leaders.  He steps off to the right so he can keep an eye on them.

They stop at the supply cart. Gleeson can hear muffled voices coming from the orcs and Lord Gregory. Mary seems nervous to him, she keeps playing with her apron.

The muffled voices are getting more audible for Gleeson. He shifts his weight allowing his knife belt to shift more comfortably on his hips.

“Grain!” The big orcs voice bellows. “You expect us to eat grain? We want meat! Not this pile of shit you call food!” Gleeson tightens his hand around the hilt of a knife.

“Human meat!” Another orc draws his blade. The orc jumps up onto the little cart. He stabs Lord Gregory in the belly. The orc pulls the blade out, laughing. Mary screams at the sight of her father’s blood.

Lord Gregory falls and Mary is there to catch him. “Kill them all!” Mary looks beyond the laughing orcs, directly at Gleeson in the window. She pulls a blade from under her apron. The orcs see the blade in her hand and laugh even louder.

“Fuck!” He’s out the door without hesitation. He jumps off the porch pulling out both knives. Gleeson sprints across the street with the blades pointing down. He lets out a battle cry before he lunges in the air.

The orc closest to him turns too late. He drives his knives deep into the base of the orc’s neck. One blade is towards the back and the other, the front.

With a shearing motion, the blades cut through the neck of the orc, taking the head off. Black blood flows from where the head used to be.  Gleeson lands on his feet as the orc falls to the ground.

The orc that killed Lord Gregory is next. The orc slashes at Gleeson with its sword. Gleeson ducks under the sword spinning on his heels. He slashes the belly of the orc with his right hand, releasing more black blood. He comes up with a flash and stabs the orc in the chest with his left. Gleeson sees the sword stabbing at him out of the corner of his eye.

He pulls the orc down, using the blade buried in its chest like a handle. The sword protrudes from the chest of the orc just above Gleeson’s hand. He pulls down hard on his orc shield, causing the sword to be pulled from his attacker’s hand. Gleeson lets go of the knife’s hilt dropping the orc to the ground.

He slashes at the orc’s neck that lost its sword. Gleeson connects with the soft tissue just under the chin. Blood comes pouring out of the slit Gleeson made with his knife. The orc reaches up, grabbing at his throat. He falls to the ground with blood seeping through his fingers.

In the same motion, Gleeson pinches the blade between his fingers on his left hand. He spins and releases the blade with a flick of his wrist. It flashes through the air finding the eye of another orc.  The orc drops without a sound. Gleeson spins around grabbing the hilt of his Claymore, pulling it down.

This causes the long blade to extend almost straight out from his shoulders. He ducks once again catching the belly of an orc. Without stopping he finishes his turn pulling his claymore from its scabbard. He drives it down in an arcing motion, severing both legs of the orc.

Gleeson quickly grabs the secondary hilt with his right hand. He stabs the large leader in the gut using the claymore like a spear. He drives the leader back a few steps. The orc looks down at Gleeson who smiles back. With all of his might, Gleeson pulls up on the claymore’s secondary hilt, using the pommel as a pivot point. The blade glides through the orc, coming out at the right shoulder. Orc blood rains down on Gleeson as he splits the orc in two.

The large orc falls to its knees. Gleeson places a palm on its face and pushes it to the ground. He turns his attention back on the orc with no legs. He walks over to the orc that’s struggling to get its sword out. Gleeson stabs down with his claymore into the orcs chest. He twists the hilt, halting the struggling of the orc.

He lets go of the sword letting it wobble. He looks around the carnage, breathing heavy. Anger and hate present in his eyes. Black orc blood rolls off in beads down his hands. His shaggy brown hair is matted and clumped with black curdled blood.

Mary walks up to him cautiously, placing the blade back in her apron that’s now covered in her father’s blood. She grabs his gory hand in hers. He looks down at her, his cold blue eyes uncaring. She hugs him tightly, not caring of the orc blood. He looks down at her, wrapping his arms around her.

The townspeople come out of their houses a few at a time. They look at the massacre in their quiet little town. The blood of the orcs is all over the ground.  They see the two of them in the middle of the street. “They’re going to come back!” An old woman cries out.

“You said we weren’t ready. You said not to attack, you’ve doomed us.” She continues. Gleeson lets go of Mary.

“Go to your family.” He walks away from her. “You’re right, I did say that. I also said if they attacked, I’d deal with it.” He meets the crowd gathering in the street.

“What do we do now?” Erik meets him at the front.

“I need you to go talk to Jake. He said he tracked where I came from.”

“How’s that going to help?”

“If we can make it back to where my men were ambushed. We can get armor and weapons.” He looks back at the crowd.

“What do we need armor and weapons for?” The old woman cries out again.

“Why?” His anger flaring up again. He scans the crowd looking at all the scared faces. ““Because we now take the fight to them.”

Gleeson The Defender part 5

Over the next few weeks the snow melts away bit by bit until there’s nothing left except thick mud. Gleeson goes from shop to shop. An occasional warehouse but, in this small town, the warehouses are more like stockrooms.

He helps people that just need the extra hand. Most of them are older and their families moved away leaving them here to fend for themselves. Gleeson talks with everyone that he can, gathering as much information as he can about the orcs.

It’s easy to do. That’s all anyone has been talking about since the snow melted away. The snow is too deep to stage any kind of attack, but now that spring is here, it’s only a matter of time before the next attack happens.

“Maybe they moved on.” Someone said to him when he was helping them a few days prior.

“Maybe they did.” He couldn't help but smile at that.

Sometimes during his training sessions with Jake, he would have others come along. This allowed them to train against multiple foes at once. They used practice swords carved from nearby trees.

“Jake, it’s your turn.” Gleeson allows him into the center of the ring of men. Jake steps in and prepares himself. A large man known as Alan attacks first. Jake is able to adjust to the attack from his side, but is unable to block the next attack or the one after that. “Hold!” Gleeson interjects.

“What?”

“You were getting your ass kicked. I had to stop it. What would Mary say if you died because of a tree branch?” The men around them laugh. “You need to call a town meeting.” Gleeson says straight faced.

“Why?”

“Because, you are nowhere near ready to take on these orcs. I had seasoned veterans with me and they were slaughtered. You can’t even defend against attacks you know are coming.”

“So, what does a town meeting have to do with it?”

 “You’ll need to have a plan to submit. If y’all go out there now, everyone will be put to the sword and the town burned to the ground.”

“Our fearless leader wants to submit?” Alan looks at him with disgust.

“If you’re so eager to die, then so be it.” Gleeson pulls a knife from its sheath attached to his belt and throws it at his feet. Alan looks down at the knife. “Pick it up.”

Alan kicks the knife back over to Gleeson. He picks it up and puts it back in the sheath. “Call a town meeting.” Gleeson walks out of the barn.

That night, the town meeting is called. They all meet in the church at the edge of town. As Gleeson walks up to it, He sees the lone lantern hanging next to the doorway. The light that he saw the night he almost died.

He walks into the church behind Jake and Mary. Their daughter is in the middle holding both of their hands. They sit down in one of the pews towards the back. The townspeople fill in around them.

“Thank you all for being here.” Lord Gregory begins. “As you all know we haven’t had an attack in several months. More than likely because of the snow. However, the snow has melted away and spring is upon us. The attacks may continue again, we need to be prepared.”

“We need to fight.” A man calls from the front of the church. A few others grumble along with him. Gleeson makes a note of who it is. He hasn’t seen too much of him around town.

“He’s a hunter.” Jake leans over to Gleeson. He sees the look on his face. “He’s not in town much. Usually selling his kills to the butcher and they sell to us.”

“Why wasn’t he included in all of this before?”

“He can’t be trusted with secrets. If it comes to a fight, he’ll be there though.”

“We can’t fight them.” Lord Gregory calms everyone down.

“Why not?” The hunter stands up. “Why can’t we fight? We have plenty of men that are tired of all the stealing of our hard work, of our families.”

“How many of you know how to fight?” Gleeson stands up in the aisle.

“I can.”

“What’s your name or should I just call you hunter?”

“It’s Erik.”

“So Erik, you can fight. Who else can fight?” A few men stand up. Most of them he knows from training. He laughs, knowing they really can’t fight. “Great, so the eight of you against how many orcs?”

“There have never been more than ten here at one time.” Erik protests.

“Ten at one time. Are they all the same orcs too?”

“I don’t know.” He confesses.

“Well, I can tell you there is more than ten orcs. My men and I were attacked by well over fifty. I had over a hundred men and we were slaughtered.”

“You can train us.” One of his students calls out. He thinks it’s Alan but he’s not sure.

“You’re right I could train you.”

“Now hold-” Lord Gregory tries to interject but is shot down instantly by Gleeson’s fierce gaze.

“How many of you are willing to fight and die for your neighbor? Please stand up if you’re willing to do that.” Nobody stands up at first. He can hear a cough in the back of the church. “That’s what I-”

“I’ll fight.” Mary stands up.

“So will I.” Jake stands next to her. She coughs a couple of times into a rag and pulls her hand down quickly.

“Mary, you-”

“I will father.” She cuts of Lord Gregory. “Somebody has to or we’re all dead for sure.”

“I’ll fight as well.” Another man stands up. More stand up one by one until the entire church is standing.

“Is this what you want?” Gleeson looks around the room. He looks back at Lord Gregory and smiles. “It appears, my lord, that you’re the only one that wants to submit.”

“It appears to be that way.” He sits down on a chair. Mary runs up to her father.

“I’m sorry father, but I can no longer sit idly by and watch these monsters kill us.”

“I understand child. Are you ready to put Adeline’s life on the line when you fight?”

“Are you ready to put her life on the line when you don’t?” She retorts.

“You won’t stand a chance unless you follow everything that I say. Everyone reports to Jake or Mary and they report to me. If they tell you something that means it came from me. Do you understand?” Voices of agreement fill the church.

“What’s first?” Mary stands next to him. She reaches down and grabs his hand. Jake walks up the aisle and joins them, holding her other hand.

“I will create a training schedule. You will report when you are supposed to, if you are not training you will continue doing what you normally would do. Erik, I need you to be my eyes. If you see them coming you need to get here as fast as you can. We cannot attack them head on.”

“What do you suggest?” Lord Gregory stands up.

“At first, we need to submit. If they come sooner rather than later, we need to give them what they came for.”

“What if they want my children?” A woman asks from the back of the church.

“Let me worry about that.”

New Gleeson

My new installment of Gleeson the Defender will be out this Sunday. I know it's been a while but I've been having issues with my computer and finally have an alternative. Keep in mind you can catch up to all four parts, part five will be out this Sunday.