"Bu' you baint write it 'ow I speaks as ee?"
"If I wrote it like that no-one would understand it" the scribe quipped, and immediately regretted it
"Now Mr Fenwick that's not necessary, please, no, no , noooo, arghh, gurgles"
Fenwick released his grip around the scribes throat. He had best let him live. There weren't many scribes left around Cove and the bodies were getting hard to dispose of.
Borrowing ArmourThe Mustachioed StrangerI was wandering toward the gates of Cove when I spotted Obidah beckoning me from the plot of our proposed provisioners.
"We got a job on Fenny, don't know what yet but our man 'll be along soon"
We stood for a while, chatting about this and that and before long a stranger, who I was to come to know as Trevor, approached us and began making conversation.
Seems he wanted a little help with a "delivery" and was prepared to offer us a ship in return for our escort. Well this seemed too good to be true so we set off to inspect the vessel to make sure it was a sound ship.
Once at the end of the Quay and out of earshot of others Trevor revealed his true intentions. To "borrow" armour from the Covian army and sell it on the black market. Well this explained the generous "gift". As Obidah pointed out detection would mean leaving Cove quick smart but considering the prize it was worth the risk.
Trevor explained his plan; lure some unsuspecting guard from the barracks with free liquor, let them drink themselves into a stupor and then liberate them of their armour.
A Tragic AccidentAll we needed now was some wine, ale and spirits but we had no money to buy them so Trevor offered to escort a young lady, for her protection, in return for an honest days pay of course. No-one could have forseen the terrible accident that was to befall us. Walking behind the young woman we were ever vigilant with our weapons drawn and at the ready when, tragically a large
tree root rock blade of grass tripped us and we fell forward both striking the poor woman and killing her instantly.
We were all close to tears I can tell you but we consoled ourselves that at least now we had the lady's purse with which to purchase the liquor, Hey ho, every cloud an' all that.
Laying the Trail and Laying in WaitWe laid out a trail of bottles to lure our prey to a quiet spot where they could enjoy a good drink in peace and then tucked ourselves around a corner to wait....and wait.....and wait. We could not believe that fine Covian guardsmen and women would allow an opportunity like this to slip by. It was, after all, a devastatingly good plan. Trevor even sprinkled liquor on the barracks steps and still no-one came.
A Free ReinThe only explanation, we decided, was that there were no Guards in the barracks so we popped in for a little look around. Well what did we find but that we had the place all to ourselves. Trevor set to work on the lock whilst Obidah and I kept watch. Unfortunately the lock was of fine quality and Trevor was unable to pick it so Obidah slipped off to find something to jemmy it open with, not subtle but effective.
Company, bluster and bluffWe were waiting for Obidah to return but the approaching footfall we heard was too heavy to be his. I tucked myself under a desk behind some crates to hide but, BOLD AS BRASS, Trevor steps forward and introduces himself to the entering Guardsman. I was mightily impressed at this but even more so as he tried to persuade the man to open the armoury door as he was "Under the Barons orders to clean his armour".
Then, in the corner of the room, what I thought was a cloak tossed casually over a chair, began to move and to my horror I saw it was one of those sneaky scouts and he had seen us trying to pick the lock. I was preparing to break cover and run and I thought I saw Trevor prepare to draw a weapon but he held his nerve and brazened it out until the scout began to doubt what he had seen and wandered off to refresh himself at the Inn.
Despite this the Guards (for yet another one had joined us by this time) still hesitated over unlocking the door. Trevor took a gamble, reminding them of the Barons wrath if his orders were not followed he started towards the door. The bluff worked and the guards resolve buckled. We were in!
Still hidden beneath the desk I was able to make my way into the armoury unobserved. Whilst Trevor cleaned the armour he passed me bundles of armour which I carefully wrapped to keep them silent when I was moving. I tucked my self behind the door as Trevor called over the guards telling them that he had completed his labours and out I slipped again and hid in the corner of the room. I had to hand it to Trevor, even with our booty in my pack he demanded full payment from the guards for his armour polishing service. Now
that is a real professional and it also gave me a chance to slip out of the barracks unobserved.
Just RewardI made my way outside where I found Obidah waiting. A few moments later Trevor joined us but we had attracted the attention of one of the local citizens so we left Trevor sweet talking her and Obidah and I slipped back to the Cove docks to await Trevor's return and the deeds to our fine new ship.
Signed in a flowing hand
Charles H Fenwick
Author