The Journeymen

Something's Happening Here

As the squad moved southward toward Thompson's village, Chuck eventually gave up his position at the front of the squad. Chuck let a man named Sam Thornhill, a smaller statured man with short, salt and pepper hair, deeply tan skin, and brilliant blue eyes take the point position. Sam had a wife, a son, and three daughters back at the village and was probably the best hunter in the squad after the Journeymen and the not quite apprentice Journeyman.

It was early fall and their shadows grew longer as the afternoon went on. The scrubby trees along the road were a mixture of mostly green and brown as the trees were beginning the process of shedding their leaves and going dormant for the winter. As is common in the region that was formerly Texas, it was a warm eighty degrees. Any layers of clothing that could be shed were placed at the tops of packs in case they needed to be accessed quickly.

As Sam led the squad down the road, keeping his attention focused on their surroundings, Jack, Chuck, and Thompson discussed the young woman's future as an apprentice.

Jack removed his boonie hat and wiped sweat from his brow, "Now one kind of magic I wish I could learn is portable air conditioning. I've lived around here my entire life and I will always complain about how warm our fall weather is."

Chuck laughed, "You're just spoiled because you still have air conditioning in your house. The rest of us non-hippies have to get by with open windows and drinking lots of your ice cold well water."

Jack had a hand pump on his well that he allowed the entire village to have access to, something that has made him and his family very popular in their village of around fifty families.

"I wish my village had a house like yours Jack. We mostly get by on collecting water from the creek and catching whatever rainwater we can. And forget about air conditioning. Is it true that you guys still do weekly movie nights?" Thompson asked eagerly, as if she suddenly remembered that she would be staying in the nearly forgotten modern conditions of Jack's inn.

"We do, fortunately everybody has all of their TVs and movies just sitting around so we have quite the collection of movies and a 72 inch TV set up in the main room. We normally do a special movie night every time Chuck and I come back into town from a mission so you'll get to experience movie night right away. I'm thinking Indiana Jones, what do you think Chuck?"

Chuck rolled his eyes, "You always pick Indiana Jones, don't you ever get tired of those movies?"

One corner of Jack's mouth stretched up in a half smile, "Nope!"

As they walked Jack's keen nose picked up a scent on the air. Chuck must have smelled it too because his smile left his face and he began scanning the horizon.

"Smoke. A lot of smoke," Jack said in a hushed tone.

Jack saw Chuck looking south down the road. A column of black smoke was rising in the distance.

At that moment, Sam saw the smoke and shouted to the rest of the squad, "Smoke! On the horizon! It's coming from the village!"

Jack could tell that Sam was trying to stay calm but he had left his family behind, with only half of the watchmen to defend the village. There were only around twenty-five families in the village and the watch only had around fifteen fighters. Meyer had brought the best along when he sought out the Journeymen's assistance in dealing with what turned out to be the goblin raiding party.

The two Journeymen shared a discrete concerned look. Thompson's face showed a growing sense of panic. Although she had no family, Jack knew the village was her home. She stayed in a small house alone aside from the occasional traveler who would rent a bed from her in her father's old room.

He knew, though, that she had several close friends, mostly the family members of her comrades in the militia. Her closest friend was Sam Thornhill's oldest daughter, Ella. Jack shouted out, "Everybody let's go! Double time!"

The surviving members of the squad quickened their pace to a slow run, attempting to save some energy in case they had to fight when they reached their destination. The village was only two miles away. As the squad got closer to the village, the scent of smoke grew stronger. There was also evidence of what occurred, starting a half mile out.

The villagers had a watch post along the road which was usually manned by two guards. Because almost half of the fifteen fighter watch was gone, there had only been enough watchmen remaining to keep one man on guard at the watch post. His decapitated corpse lay slumped over the dirt berm that served as a fortification. His back was filled with at least half a dozen ugly black goblin arrows and his head was noticeably missing from the area. Jack also noted that there was one arrow that appeared to be a modern arrow with a smooth gray shaft and orange colored plastic fletching.

The squad quickened their pace for the last half mile, hearing no gunshots or sounds of fighting. Whatever battle had been fought was obviously over. Now the men and one woman ran to discover what happened at the village, not to stop something that had already played out.

As they drew closer, the village could be seen. There was a wooden fence around the village that had clearly been smashed through and burned in several places. The meager gate had been broken open. On a broken spear just outside the shattered gates was the impaled head of the fallen watch post guard. The weary squad ran past the fallen man's head and into the still smoldering village.