Chereads / The men of the forest / Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: Hell's ending

Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: Hell's ending

The small group of the rich farmer had now arrived at destination after an hour or two of walk. The farmer only had a tiny land, with everything we could normally find in a farm of the North: they cultivated barley and cabbage. The crops aside, they also raised all kind of animals, such as chickens, pigs, sheeps, horses, goose, goats... But the farmer possessed an astonishing amount of cows, whose milk was his living; every morning, he used to send some of his men to sell that milk and to do some errands.

The men whom served as slaves had to take care of the barley and cabbage field, to ax wood and to feed the animals. For women, they had to take care of the three children of the farmer, to cook and to do other things that took place indoors. The farmer's dwelling was quite large, enough to suppose that he was rich. Slaves used to sleep in a tiny room where they stacked above another. The cold was a terrible problem for the slaves, same for the meals; they received an unique meal per day.

Autumn was the season for working hard: supplies had to be done, or else, winter was going to be harsh. Winter was the sole moment of respite, but many died of cold. For Önd, winter's respite was all what he needed to build a plan for escape. Unfortunately, he never reached a concrete idea, mostly because of the farmer's men whom watch them. Slaves were precious: they could use them as a replacement for money, or for exchanging them for food, or just sell them. Thus, in the situation where supplies were lacking, slaves were a simple alternative to money.

The farmer's men always kept an eye on the slaves, supposedly because they would lose their work if a slave had the luck to escape. Every morning, they woke up the slaves and then gave them their unique meal for the day. Then, they supervised the slaves in their daily outdoor tasks until the evening. At evening, they had to verify that each slave was there, although they used to not count them; they merely watched each slave's face and ask themselves if one or more was missing.

Önd had world's entire time in order to get used to his new life, but he wished at any cost to see again his family and at least, die on his ancestors' lands. Fortunately, time had repaired some matters; war had finally ended! After all this time, it appeared that the kings were overtired of the people's complaints, and simply made a truce. What a great news for the people—! They organised feasts in every village, with on the menu the best food available. Anyone was invited to celebrate this wonderful announcement!

The farmer justly wished to celebrate the news with his family and his men. Önd had never been fond of parties, but this one was justly offering him an opportunity. The eve of the feast, he quickly built a plan; if everyone could drink to their thirst, then nor the guards or the other slaves could realize his disappearance. It was thus necessary to his plan that everyone would drink. Hopefully, the slaves would surely benefit of this occasion. Önd simply had to ensure that the guards would drink until being drunk.

On the great day, Önd carried on his slave's routine while wondering if he should talk about his plans to his war companions whom became slaves along with him. But the more he considered other person in his plan, the more likely it would be hard to deceive the guards. He thus decided to escape alone, even though it was a quite selfish choice. Once their daily chores done, the slaves were finally invited to participate in the feast that had organised the farmer.

The feast took place in the first room of the dwelling, a place where slaves only used to pass by when they came out or went back. For the feast, the room was filled of tables with exceptional foods: wine, ale, boar, fruits, soup, bread, all these at will! For once, Önd was going to eat to his hunger! The slaves had gathered themselves in a corner of the room where they discussed, and the farmer, his family and his men were in the rest of the room, also discussing with each other.

Before starting to eat and drink, the farmer announced:

- Today, we celebrate peace—! We celebrate the end of the war and its hideousness—! We celebrate this blissful event as brothers, for we've all been victims of war—! Thereby, slave, farmer, rich or jarl, we celebrate together peace!

- We're all hungry and thirsty! exclaimed one of the guards with glee.

The farmer chuckled for an instant and ordered the outset of the party. Everyone was having a good time; the slaves had not to retain their hunger, and the guards were drinking. Yet, Önd had to assure himself that the guards kept drinking. He meticulously observed all the guards and the slaves for a moment, and once everyone seemed drunk enough, he now had to hide himself in the dwelling. But before that, he had to distract the others. Thus, he began to hit with a punch one of his fellow, and an big fighting followed.

In all this violence, Önd silently headed to where he reckoned was the farmer and his wife's chamber, and quickly entered the room. The room had a bed in its bottom, with to its left a hearth, and a table to his right. Önd decided to hide himself beneath the bed, even though it was a rather narrow place. Now, he only had to wait until everyone was asleep. He waited for a long time and finally the farmer and his wife went inside the chamber.

The farmer fell in his bed, and his wife then went sleeping. After an hour, Önd silently came out of his hideout and watched around him. The farmer and his wife were already asleep, a relief for Önd. Fortunately, they left the hearth alit, or else, Önd would not have taken all he needed. He quickly searched a tunic in the coffer of the farmer and put on a cloak for cover himself. Then, he inspected a last time the room and noticed a purse and an axe on the table. The farmer had likely left them. He rapidly hanged the purse and the axe to his belt and discreetly came out of the room.

There was now no one in the room where had taken place the feast. He quickly headed to the main door and leaved. The full moon was enlightening the neighborhood. With this visibility, Önd had no trouble to find his way to the village where they sold them. He now had to find a ship in order to go home. He hoped to asked someone the road to the nearest harbour village. The villagers must have been celebrating the end of the war, thus, it wouldn't be hard for him to find informations. He continued his way before seeing from afar a light. The village, thought Önd.