Arthur stood silent, slowly taking a few steps back. Oliver had finished inspecting the bodies, he then went out, probably to get another guard to help him carry the mutilated corpses out of the tavern. Then Xander stood up, he was tired of all this nonsense. He went up to Arthur, who was slowly backing away, Xander slapped him with his right-hand, right on his cheek. The slap was loud and hard, as if thunder had just struck. Xander's slap moved Arthur's whole body, and he dropped to the floor. The slap hurt Arthur more than he thought, it was as if his face had just been pounded by a battering ram. Poor Arthur tried catching his breath while on the floor. 71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7k0uyb4fFv
Oliver returned with another guard. He saw what had just happened but wouldn't dare say a word, they lifted the bodies one by one and carried them outside, dumping the corpses into a wooden wagon, stationed just outside the tavern doors. The crowd had been dispersed forcefully by the three guards.
"You're protecting a criminal! I'll have you know, that's punishable by death!" Xander's jaw tightened, "I'll just have to ask that girl of yours," Xander smiled, trying to conceal his anger.
"No- I'll tell you," Arthur had no choice, Maria was the only thing in this world he truly cared for. Xander knew his weakness was the girl. Arthur could not lie any more, "There really were four brigands, harassing my girl," he said, still trying to catch his breath from that thunderous slap he had taken. "But the one in the cloak saved us from all four of them."
"Was he the one who killed those three?" Xander asked directly.
"Well-"
"Did he?" Xander's patience was running low.
"Yes but-" Arthur tried explaining, but it was too late.
"What happened to the fourth?" Llyn, still smiling, stared at the man on the floor as he asked the question.
"He let him go."
"What did the killer look like?" Llyn was asking the important questions.
Arthur sighed, he had no choice but to answer. "I couldn't see his face properly but… he had black hair." Arthur was smart, he had seen the cloaked man's face but acted though his cloak hid a lot of his face. He tried telling the most common thing about the man, so it would be hard to find him.
Llyn nodded, "What else?" Llyn was smarter.
"He had a red eye," Arthur was forced to say this.
"He had red eyes?" Xander butted in, genuinely curious.
"Yes… One red, one grey." Arthur admitted.
"What about his-" Llyn wanted to ask more questions on the description of the man. But Xander's rage had already reached a boiling point.
Xander was now shaking his head from left to right. He looked at the floor, his left hand was crunched up, forming a deadly fist, "This boy comes into MY town!" his voice, getting louder. "Kills those three without a proper trial! Who does he think he is?!" he asks as if the red eyed killer was right in front of him.
"No, he saved us, he didn't attack first," Arthur, tried convincing the hot headed captain as he got back up from the floor. "Those men were threatening to harm my girl and burn this tavern-"
"He doesn't respect the law!" Xander cuts Arthur off. "Therefore, I shall not respect him. By the authority given to me by my king, I, Xander Griffith, protector of not just Flemdale, but of this whole continent, hereby sentence the red eyed killer to death! Any guard who finds him, is ordered to strike him down on sight! Go tell that to this whole town!" Xander was delusional, he was a mere town captain, not the protector of the whole region of Kalrevon, he directed this command at Llyn.
"Sir, as you wish, but…" Llyn needed to choose his words wisely if he wanted to persuade Xander. "If we alert all the guards, word will spread like wildfire. We… Also received reports yesterday, that the king is staying in Castle Marlite with his family. That's only a few hours ride north from here. If he were to know about this incident… It would certainly cause panic. Perhaps we should keep this between ourselves? At least until we find the man. Then we can deal with him quietly."
Xander took Llyn's opinion in mind, "Yes… Yes, you're right. We need to do this quietly." he agreed. Xander then started to walk out the tavern, but was stopped by Arthur.
"My money, for the food you ate." a hint of animosity could be heard. Xander had wasted a lot of food, he had only taken one bite off the bread.
Xander's mouth opened up in surprise by what he had just heard, "You tried to hide a killer. You're lucky I've spared your pathetic life, old man." he said, eyes wide, staring right into Arthur's soul. "That's payment enough." he scoffed as he left the tavern.
Llyn fell back a little, then took out his coin purse and opened it.
"Not from you." Arthur's head pointed to the closing doors where Xander once was.
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Llyn just smiled, he then put three bronze coins on the counter and left, with Oliver walking besides him. The three guards who were stationed in front of the entrance stood up, a bit loosely, and saluted the captain.
Llyn, Xander and Oliver were now outside the tavern entrance, "Oliver! What did you find while inspecting these bodies?" Xander asked, looking at the brown wooden wagon still stationed outside the tavern.
Oliver looked around his surroundings, making sure no pedestrians were looking or eavesdropping, "Sir," he said, forcing his voice to be steady, he pulled the black sheet out from above the corpses which sat in the wagon, "The first body died due to a sword wound in the stomach, he bled fast and died instantly. The second's arm had been broken first, then a sword was struck in his skull. The third…" he paused, "No weapon did this," he said slowly pointing at the broken ribs with a gaping hole. "If I had to guess…" he gulped, "The killer did this with his fists." Oliver's skill at reading corpses was truly impressive, even Llyn was surprised at his skill as he nodded his head in approval.
The three guards guarding the tavern door just looked at each other. They would not dare say a word without Xander's permission.
Xander rolled his eyes, "I once killed someone with my bare fists too," he said proudly, as if brutality was a competition to him. Oliver's, thin eyebrows, tightened by what he had just heard from his captain, but he quickly suppressed his emotion, so Xander could not sense it, "Enough time-wasting! We must find this fiend at once."
"What about the fourth who ran?" Oliver reminded Xander.
"Our main priority is this killer!" Xander yelled, a bit annoyed.
"And… the gates?" Oliver questioned again, trying to make himself useful. Arthur was eavesdropping from behind the tavern door now, placing his right ear to the wooden door.
"Flemdale is the only way through for most people… If we keep the gates closed, by morning, the whole town will know something's wrong. Merchants will be stuck and caravans delayed. That kind of noise will reach the Castle fast. It's just too risky." Llyn was absolutely right.
"Oliver! Open the gates, but tell all the guards stationed there to be alert! Any man who has red eyes, black hair and could possibly be wearing a black cloak, who attempts to leave Flemdale is to be stopped and should be reported back to me immediately!" Xander shouted in frustration.
“One last thing—” Oliver began, but the words snagged in his throat.
“Say it, Oliver.” Xander said, his voice softening just enough to sound patient.
“Arthur said the cloaked man saved him…” Oliver lifted his chin, trying to look braver than he felt. “So… if that’s true—”
Xander’s expression hardened.
“So what? We’re GUARDS.” he said sharply. “Do we simply let a killer wander these lands because a frightened innkeeper sang his praises? What if Arthur is lying? What if the three men were harmless? What if they were just drunken fools?”
Oliver hesitated. “Yes sir.”
Xander leaned closer, lowering his voice.
“If we find him and he surrenders…” He glanced at Llyn, then rolled his eyes slightly. “We’ll give him a trial.”
His gaze returned to Oliver, cold and certain.
“But if he fights us… we kill him.”
Oliver nodded then immediately did as he was told earlier. He swung onto his brown horse, which had been leashed beside the tavern door, as the stable to it's right was full in capacity. The horse was small but sturdy, well suited for his size, he kicked it into motion, then rode straight for the southern gate, which was the closest gate to the tavern. The wind tugged his orange curled up hair, as he rapidly made his horse run faster.
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