A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"Now, disperse with this crowd," Lombard demanded, his voice hardening into his usual commanding tone. "You two," he said, gesturing towards Beam and Judas. "You will follow us back to camp and begin your work immediately. And you, merchant, you continue to do as I've asked of you – and send no more whores to my camp until this problem has been dealt with."

As soon as they were away from the village, the mood about the group of travelling men began to change.

By the time they reached the tents, Lombard was radiating a distinct hostility, despite not having said a word. The soldiers looked at them strangely as they marched through the camp, but none of them said a word.

"Angrith, fetch Tolsey," Captain Lombard ordered as they stood outside his tent.

Angrith saluted stiffly. "Sir!" And then he moved off to do as he was told.

Lombard did not even look at Beam as they waited for the man he'd named Tolsey to arrive. Beam noted that he kept his hand towards the hilt of his sword, and merely glared with narrowed eyes about the encampment.

Soon enough, after a few moments of awkward waiting, a man that Beam could only assume was Tolsey hurried over to them, a distinctly nervous look on his face, and a sheen of sweat on his forehead, matting his long blonde hair against his skin.

Despite his magnificent beard, he had a youthful face, and Beam doubted that he was past his thirties.

"Vice-Captain Tolsey," Lombard said.

"Sir!" Tolsey saluted.

"Angrith, take the rest of the men and relieve those on the defensive line. Bring the giant with you, find out how useful he'll be," Lombard ordered.

"You want him on the line, sir?" Angrith asked.

"On the line," Lombard agreed. "If he's up to it, he'll survive, if not, then he had no use to us anyway. Dismissed."

Judas shot Beam a worried glance as the soldiers tried to lead him away. Since his name hadn't been mentioned, Beam wasn't sure if he should go with them or not. As soon as he made a step to join them though, Lombard answered that question for him.

"You stay here, boy," Lombard said icily, a hostility in his voice that was not present in the square.

Beam just shrugged, and waved Judas away. "Take care not to die straight away," he told him.

"Can't you say something less fuckin' ominous..?" Judas muttered back, but from the look on his face, he was clearly nervous. There was a reason he didn't engage in much monster hunting, after all – because such things were terrifying.

Tolsey looked surprised as only he was left to remain behind with Beam and the Captain. "Sir..?" He asked, clearly too nervous to pose a proper question.

"Inside," Lombard said. "We will speak there."

There was a distinct edge to the man's tone, one that brooked no argument. Hesitantly, Tolsey ducked through the flap of the giant tent, sparing a cautious look at his Captain as he went, to make sure he was doing the right thing. For a Vice-Captain, Beam certainly thought he was a nervous man.

"You next," Lombard said to Beam, urging him inside. His gaze was far more dangerous than the one he'd had in the village square. Beam had to wonder what had happened on the short walk over that had changed his mood so drastically.

After a brief look behind him, and after dismissing the guards at the entrance to his tent, Lombard followed in after them and closed the tent flap behind him with a sigh.

For a Captain's quarters, Beam certainly thought the tent was rather sparsely decorated. In that rather sizeable space, there was merely a single large table – on which sat a map, and various wooden pieces – and then a low bed in the corner, complete with rough-looking wool blankets.

As Beam was glancing around nervously, he felt something cold levelled against the side of his neck. He glanced down to see steel.

Tolsey noticed it. "Captain..?" He asked in alarm.

"Draw your sword Tolsey. Assume the position I am in. If the boy makes any strange moves, kill him without hesitation," Lombard said.

With a good deal of nervousness, Tolsey drew the sword at his hip, and levelled it at the other side of Beam's neck. Only then did Lombard remove his own, though he did not sheath it.

He moved to draw himself a chair away from the table. He sat it in the centre of the room, and with his blade upon his lap, he sat, his gaze one of undisguised hostility.

"Heh…" Beam murmured, a shiver going down his back. "So you were lying in the square, were you?"

"Silence," Lombard ordered. "You will speak when spoken to, or you will die."

"Captain… What's going on?" Tolsey asked.

The Captain sighed, apparently reluctant to explain, but he did so anyway. "Ten minutes ago, I stumbled on this boy embroiled in conflict with three of our men, sergeant Angrith amongst them. As they fought, a hundred angry villagers raged beside them, on the verge of open rebellion."

"Gods!" Tolsey mumbled, already understanding the significance of such an event, without it having to be explained to him.

"Indeed," Lombard said. "A rather troubling scenario. I wonder, to what end do you move against me, boy?"

"I don't believe I've ever openly moved against you," Beam said.

"No? Then why have you been sending men to sniff around my camp, mm? To what end do you gather information? Why were you set on unifying the villagers? It was a clumsy attempt, but with a clear goal of incitement," Lombard said.

"Maybe you'd know if you stepped outside your camp for a second. Maybe if you took a glance at what your soldiers were up to in your absence, you'd understand," Beam spat back, Lombard's hostility giving rise to his own anger.

Lombard looked unamused. He stood up. "When he speaks with such disrespect, Tolsey, press your sword against his neck, like this," he said coldly, pushing the steel against Beam's throat just enough to draw blood.