The Ten Thieves and the Elf (2)

Birdsong outside the window woke me.

I stared ahead through bleary eyes, then jolted upright and wiped the drool from my mouth.

“Ugh.”

I'd spent the previous day at my desk, trying to track down the Ten Bandits. At some point, I'd fallen asleep over the paperwork.

No one had seen me, as far as I knew, but I still felt embarrassed.

I cleared my throat, patted my cheeks to wake myself fully, and pulled a map from the heap of documents.

I'd studied the contradictory witness statements until late at night. The city was divided into three main districts, and I'd marked the places where I thought the bandits might strike next.

There was no guarantee my reasoning was sound. I could only say these were the most likely sites.

Unfortunately, I'd circled nine separate areas.

If I could deploy all the count's soldiers and knights, finding ten criminals wouldn't be so difficult.

But sweeping the county with an enormous force would frighten the residents. Such a conspicuous deployment would alarm the very people whose cooperation I needed.

And if I failed to catch ten thieves even with that many soldiers, my reputation as regent would suffer terribly.

I needed to be careful.

Perhaps I should speak to the nobles who were robbed.

The statements collected by the count's soldiers had taken me as far as they could. It was time to interview the victims myself.

I'll call Marhan and arrange a patrol.

As I was sorting the reports, someone knocked.

The elf?

I stayed quiet for a moment, wary of another demand for punishment.

A deep male voice came from the other side of the door.

“Your Excellency the Regent. Hildes Froheim speaking. I apologize for interrupting you during your work. May I have a moment?”

Hildes Froheim?

He was the commander of the Blue Banner Knights, the order founded by Count Pelgaroin. His swordsmanship had earned recognition from an imperial association, and he was known by the sobriquet Silent Hawk.

Eight years ago, during the war against the orcs, he'd held a knightly command over numerous troops. There could hardly be anyone in Pelgaroin who hadn't heard his name.

Why would a man like that come to see me?

I cleared my throat.

“Of course. Come in.”

The door opened.

Hildes was clean-shaven and smiling beneath the creases around his eyes. He wore light armor despite the peace, and his every movement showed the discipline of a veteran soldier.

Carrying his helmet under one arm, he approached the desk and bowed.

“On behalf of the Blue Banner Knights, I greet Your Excellency the Regent. Forgive my late visit.”

“Please, don't trouble yourself. I know how busy your knights have been since the robberies began. Raise your head.”

“Your consideration is admirable, Your Excellency.”

He straightened, a hint of mischief in his expression.

“It has been some time since we last spoke face to face. You've grown into a fine young man. I'm sure your late elders would be proud to see you governing the county.”

I felt my cheeks grow warm.

“You give me too much credit.”

“Not at all. One of my subordinates tells me you haven't left your office since taking up the regency. Anyone can see how diligently you're working. How could I fail to think highly of that?”

“Commander, are you making fun of me?”

I was doing nothing more than my duty, and he was praising me as though I'd accomplished some extraordinary feat.

Hildes laughed and placed his helmet on the desk.

“There are plenty of nobles who neglect their responsibilities while demanding every privilege they can claim. You deserve praise for taking yours seriously. If you insist on treating an honest compliment as a joke, there's little I can do.”

“All right, all right. Enough flattery. But…”

Something on his breastplate caught my eye.

Scratched into the metal near its edge was a deer running through a forest.

Someone had scratched the image with a sharp point, perhaps an awl. It was a rough technique for so lively a picture.

“What's that picture on your breastplate? I didn't know you had such an interest in woodland scenes.”

“Oh, that?” Hildes smiled. “Yesterday I removed my armor to exercise near the training ground. When I returned, I found your slave drawing on the breastplate. She's a bold one, isn't she?”

My blood went cold.

So that was her 'little mistake' yesterday?

She'd deliberately scratched a picture into the armor belonging to the commander of the count's knights.

That wasn't a mistake at all!

I shot to my feet and bowed.

“I-I'm terribly sorry! I failed to manage my slave properly.”

“Your Excellency? There's no need to apologize.”

“But the armor is yours. I'll take responsibility and compensate you for any damage. Send the bill to House Deharem.”

“I understand your concern, but I rather like it.”

“…You do?”

Hildes tapped the scratched image.

“Look at the branches. You can almost see them swaying in the wind. And the deer seems ready to leap out of the metal. It's a lovely piece of work, especially considering the curve of the breastplate. Even a trained artist would struggle to produce something like this without a flat surface.”

I looked again.

Now that he'd pointed it out, the drawing really was excellent.

Where on earth did she learn to draw like that?

While I was still staring, Hildes picked up his helmet.

“In any case, I ought to be going. I only came to greet you.”

“Do you have more business concerning the Ten Bandits?”

“Some, but first I have to deal with a labor dispute involving witches who live in the county. I'd rather resolve it before it causes needless trouble with the Church of Balance.”

“I see. That does sound troublesome.”

“You have the harder task, Your Excellency. You're spending your days chasing a gang of criminals. All I have to do is go where I'm needed. Why do so many troublesome things have to happen at once?”

He sighed, then gave me an apologetic smile.

“You chose a difficult time to act as regent. If only those thieves would turn themselves in, things would become much easier.”

“I wish they would. But they seem to have planned their crimes carefully. I can't imagine they'll surrender willingly.”

“True.”

Hildes clicked his tongue, then paused as though remembering something.

“One more thing. If you catch the leader, would you question him personally? His method of killing sounds very much like the criminal His Excellency was pursuing three years ago.”

I remembered fragments of that older case: a woman whose husband had been brutally murdered, followed by a house burned to the ground.

“I see. I'll investigate the connection if we catch him.”

---

In the cellar beneath the Black Wheat Fields Tavern, ten armed men examined their weapons and laughed.

“Boss, did you see those knights yesterday?” the one-eyed second-in-command asked. “They came so close and then went away empty-handed!”

The hooded leader grinned, showing a row of prominent teeth.

“That's what happens when you toss a little of the nobles' money to the locals. They'd rather help us than help the knights. Righteousness? What use is that? Those fools have no idea how much damage we've done.”

His men roared with laughter.

The leader took a long drink of moonshine. It tasted sweet and sharp going down.

Stupid knights.

They'd been robbing nobles for nearly a month, and the authorities still had no reliable lead.

The gang had made certain of that. They bribed residents to give false testimony, then scattered some of their stolen money among other townspeople to win sympathy.

The knights couldn't trace ten men through a city full of witnesses who contradicted one another. And even those who didn't lie outright had little reason to cooperate with the authorities.

The leader chuckled.

They even gave us a famous name. The Ten Bandits!

Still, he knew a gang that operated too long would eventually be caught.

Another month of profitable raids, then they would cross into the principality. That was the plan.

The one-eyed deputy leaned forward.

“Boss. Remember the pretty girl who brought us milk last week to thank us? How about paying her a visit before we leave?”

The leader gave him a contemptuous look. The fool never stopped thinking about women.

Then he grinned.

“Why not? When we're done playing bandits, we'll kill her family and rape her before we leave.”

The others cheered.

Their celebration ended with a crash.

Bang!

The boards barring the cellar entrance flew inward and clattered across the floor.

Every head turned.

A woman stood in the doorway, her long silver hair gleaming and her eyes a striking red.

An elf?

The leader stared at her pointed ears, unable for a moment to find his voice.

She brushed a lock of hair behind one ear.

“My toy broke because of you,” she said. “I've come to fix it. Don't resist. Go to the count's castle and surrender. You can say you were so afraid of Theorad that you turned yourselves in.”

The leader could hardly believe what he'd heard.

What the hell was she talking about?

“What are you waiting for?” she asked with a blank expression. “Aren't you going to surrender?”

The deputy laughed, and the others followed.

“Have you been raped senseless, you crazy bitch? What makes you think we'd surrender?”

The leader raised his weapon. Around him, the gang readied theirs as well.

The elf let out a sigh and raised both hands, spreading her fingers.

“Ten.”

Ten?

Was she giving them ten seconds to drop their weapons? The leader nearly laughed again.

“Nine.”

Pop!

The one-eyed deputy's head burst apart, matter spraying across the cellar. Blood spurted from his neck as his headless body collapsed.

What?

The leader froze.

Before any of them could understand what had happened, the elf folded another finger.

“Eight.”

Pop!

A second man's head burst, blood spattering the wall. His headless body lurched against it and collapsed.

Screams broke out.

The leader stumbled backward, staring at the elf's remaining raised fingers.

Those aren't seconds.

She was counting them.

Ten men. One life for each finger.

Every time she lowered a finger, another of them died.

The realization emptied his legs of strength.

The elf began lowering a third finger.

The leader threw down his weapon and fell to his knees.

“P-please… forgive me…”

Tears ran down his face. He could barely force the words out.

“We'll surrender! I swear! Please, just spare us!”

The remaining men dropped their weapons and surrendered.