The Tin Soldier Falls Down

The overall plan was to prepare for seven days then have Rowen’s calvary force intercept the slave caravan somewhere isolated and liberate the slaves.

In the meantime, the Grental Tribe and the inhabitants of Cam Village will be packing up then going to move out, mostly on foot, and meet with Rowen and his troops at a predetermined place. A certain box canyon that would be easy to defend.

Rowen spent the week of preparation creating infantry soldiers, weapons, and other necessities. They job was to escort and protect the noncombatants.

With Xyarra’s guidance, he armed them with the British infantry rifles from the Zulu Wars and bayonets. However, the rifles were chambered for the 45/70 ammo that the rest of his weapons were chambered for. Since time was of the essence, he was only able to create one Gatling Gun. But he did make four simple canons, Napoleon field guns.

He had to augment a few of his infantry men to be gun crews but the force multiplier the cannon would bring was worth it.

Another change was to leave ten of his cavalry troops behind to be scouts and to provide communications.

Eliarra’s part in all of this was to stay with the tribe and villagers as his representative and in overall command.

Rowen made peace with Arkeer the War Chief over some strong mead and placed the operational command of the soldiers and warriors with him.

On the fifth day, Rowen and Xyarra were sitting across from each other at the table holding each other’s hands. They sat there quietly; eyes closed apparently doing nothing. But if one were to look on the magical level, a great deal of magical energy was flowing between them.

It was about midafternoon when something started to shimmer into being on the table between them. It was a silver box with four different gems on all four corners of the open side of the box.

Rowen looked at the box between them. He was drenched with sweat from the exertion but he had to test it, make sure it worked. He leaned over and touched one of the gems, a sapphire. He focused a small amount of mana into the gem and the box was suddenly filled with boxes of 45/70 ammunition.

He proclaimed loudly, “We did it!” then passed out.

He woke up that evening and found himself lying in bed with Kit sitting on the bed next to him. She smiled and asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Good, Eliarra made some bear stew. It’s quite tasty.”

He reached up and caressed one of her ears and said, “Well, I’m always open to new experiences.”

After dinner, Rowen met with all the leadership for a nightly run down of progress, planning and contingencies.

He looked around the room and said, “Alright, are there any questions?”

Mayor Tamera raised her hand and asked, “When do we execute the prisoners?”

Rowen thought about it and then said, “First light. Jade, and some of my soldiers will act as executioners. They will know how to do it painlessly.”

Everyone nodded.

He then turned to Domonique, who had been acting as Rowen’s Aid decamp over the last couple of days and said, “I’ve decided that I’m going to leave you here. You’re to assist Lady Eliarra with anything she needs as well as seeing to her defense.”

“As you wish my lord!” bowing her head.

The next morning, everyone currently within the village that were able to, stood in the open area outside of the village meeting building, waiting for the execution of the six prisoners.

The trial was quick since on the day the incident happened, everyone was brought in to testify while it was still fresh in everyone’s mind.

Domonique had the most damning testimony. She testified of war crimes committed by certain prisoners during the siege and sack of Stiarra Nor. These crimes being rape, torture, and murder of demi humans and other, noncombatants.

Rupert was condemned because of his callous disregard of rules of war and common decency. He allowed the troops under his command to commit the unthinkable and unforgivable atrocities.

Rupert spent the whole trial condemning and damning everyone who was in the village. At one point he had looked at Rowen and said, “You, you are the devil, and you are going to bring all these people to hell!”

Rupert was finally gagged because of his disruption of the proceedings. It was at the point of childish sounding in the end anyway.

Now, in the cold morning air, the people he would have damned stood waiting to watch him go on his way to his own damnation.

The six were shackled and walked out of the makeshift jail cell in the coal cellar of the meeting building. There were six structures built by Jade’s direction on the front porch of the building. The structures were more or less a kind of stocks that shackled the condemned in a kneeling position with a basket for their heads to land in. The stocks were positioned far enough apart to allow for Jade and the designated troopers to stand in between and be ready to execute.

While the condemned were being brought out, the village’s priestess to Dawn, an elven woman, was praying over them. As the condemned were stood up in front of their individual stocks, she asked them individually, “Do you repent your sins and ask for absolution?”

Five of the condemned nodded as they were asked. The last, Rupert, just looked at her and said, “I am at peace with my decisions. I will not have my soul tainted by accepting absolution from one of the tainted”

Rowen stood by watching as each prisoner was then made to kneel and then locked into their stocks. He then stepped forward and said, “By order of the people of the Free Village of Cam and to be witnessed by all here, you are all condemned to death by beheading. May the Creator have mercy on your souls.”

He then kneeled down near the tin soldier and held up his ring to his eyes and whispered, “I, Lord Rowen, High Lord Magedi to the House of Dawn and Grand Knight to the Order of the Blue Rose tell you this. I have been sent here by the Guardians themselves to weed out those like you who are the true tainted in this world. Know this and make peace with it before you stand in judgement before the Guardians themselves.”

Rupert looked at the ring with surprise then looked at Rowen and asked, “Truly?”

“What reason would I have to lie to you, a man that is about to face those of the truth itself?”

“Forgive me!”

Rowen stood up and stepped back and turned to Jade who had her mask up and said, “Executioners, if you would please.”

Jade nodded then stepped forward along with the five designated troopers with swords drawn then quick as can be and in unison they beheaded the condemned dispassionately and cleanly.

Rowen steeled himself in his mind because he realized that he had to accept that this is a world where execution was a common punishment. He also consoled himself because of Domonique’s testimony, eleven of the prisoners were spared from execution and considered innocent of any crime save following orders. They didn’t participate in any of the war crimes during the invasion of Stiarra Nor. All they did was fight as any soldier were expected to. Those eleven would be held as prisoners of war under the authority of Princess Danara of Elion since they had committed an act of war against the Kingdom of Tier.

In order to keep those POWs from causing disruption, Rowen created runic collars that would disable each of them by a word command if necessary. He then shared the word command with their wardens. They need not be present where the prisoners are in order to activate the collars.

After the execution, the preparations continued on. Rowen had one nagging concern, that being communications between the two bodies of his responsibilities.

With this in mind he created a captain golem for the infantry company, linked to him and Xyarra telepathically.

Later that day, Rowen also delt with another issue that bothered him greatly. He and Xyarra composed a restoration spell for the quadriplegic elf woman from his tribe. He knew that she would continue to be a burden on the others as long as she wasn’t able to move on her own. And again, his heart had gone out to her for he knew what she was going through to a degree.

Because of his fatigue from all the manipulation of mana over the last week, he was only able to compose a spell with enough power to restore the broken back. Not enough to fully restore her. He thought to himself, “Well, we’ll take what we can get.”

He went up to her shelter and asked permission to enter.

A voice devoid of life answered, “Yes.”

He pushed away the animal skin flap and entered. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the gloom inside the tent and he finally looked over to the bed area where she was laying.

She turned her eyes towards him and said, “Yes, my lord?”

“Your name is Aralia isn’t it?”

“Yes, my lord.” Her voice flat and lifeless.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Same as always. Have you come here to grant me my request my lord?”

Rowen looked at her feeling puzzled and asked, “What request is that?”

“Lord, I ask that you relieve me of being a burden on you. Allow me to be put to death and be at peace.”

“That will not be necessary. I will not allow you to get out of being a meaningful part of our people’s future.”

She narrowed her eyes and said, “How can I be a meaningful part of the future when I am unable to do anything for the tribe but hold it back!”

Rowan sat down on a mat near her bed and said, “I came here to give you hope instead of death. There has been enough death these days.”

“Hope?! How can you give me hope when all I have to look forward to is rotting in this body!”

“Before I answer you and give you restoration, let me tell you something about myself. You see, before the Guardians brought me to this world, I was paralyzed from the waist down for ten years. Now I am fully restored via divine magic. I offer you the same.”

She looked at him with surprise in her eyes and asked, “Is this the truth?”

“It is. I have no reason to lie to you. So, do you still want to die, or do you want to get up out of that death bed and become a useful part of our people again?”

After her spine was restored and she began feeling her body again she stated that she felt pain in all her atrophied muscles. Smiling through tears she said, “This pain is exquisite.”

“I suspect that it’s going to take you some time and a lot of exercise for you to get back to your old self but now it’ll be possible not just a dream.”

“How can I repay you my lord?!”

“By continuing to live and serve the tribe for the rest of your days.”