Gasper crawled up the hill alongside the other bandits. They had covered most of the distance between the Black Dog camp and the Big Mountain camp on horseback, but they still made it to the latter after dusk.
When they finally crawled their way to the top of the hill, the Big Mountain camp came in sight. It wasn't unlike the Black Dog camp. It had a palisade slightly higher than a man's height, surrounding the cramped tents. Some crude watch towers were scattered around the palisade and near the crooked gates.
Gasper spotted some Big Mountain bandits patrolling the surroundings of the camp, but he and his companions were too far away to be spotted. He couldn't help but scoff. Leaving a hill like the one they were on unwatched showed just how incompetent bandits were. He wondered why the former Viscount didn't just wipe them all out. They were no match for a real army. The Viscount just had to recruit some more men and spend some coin on their equipment. The bandits wouldn't have stood a chance.
"I don't want to hear even a fart from anyone of you while we're here," Yellow Dog said, running his eyes over the bandits and Gasper. "If they see us here, we're as good as dead."
Everyone nodded. Any noise would mean everyone's death. They didn't need to be reminded twice of such a thing.
The last rays of light were soon stifled by the night as they waited, vigilantly watching the camp. Yellow Dog had arranged for half of them to be watching at all times, and the other half to be resting. It would go that way for a fortnight. If they didn't find anything by then, they'd drag Gasper back to Black Dog for his reckoning.
Most of the time, Gasper would be on the receiving end of the dubious stares from Yellow Dog. Every moment of patience for the bandits meant more suspicion towards Gasper. The longer they had to wait, the worse it would get for him.
They didn't have to wait for long, though.
At midnight, Gasper saw a rider approaching the camp from the distance, wearing the Viscount's colors. The young Viscount had delivered. The plan was going just as he had told Gasper. They had agreed on acting on the same day. The Viscount had said that it was better that he sent a rider on the same day Gasper informed Black Dog, in case the latter doubted Gasper and didn't have the patience to wait for more than one night. That was why Gasper had to get Black Dog to act on the same day too. Fortunately, he didn't have to persuade Black Dog to act quickly. The latter was in a hurry himself and dispatched him and Yellow Dog to watch the Big Mountain camp on the same day. As far as Gasper knew, it wouldn't have been a serious issue if the bandit chief hadn't acted on the same day either. The Viscount had promised to send a rider on a few different nights after this one for assurance.
One of the bandits beside Gasper spotted the rider and almost yelled out. He quickly got a hold of himself, though, and kept quiet. Then he turned to Yellow Dog who wasn't on watch. "Yellow Dog!" he whispered. "He's here."
Yellow Dog quickly scrambled up and poked his head over the hill with them. He look at the horizon and saw a rider approaching the camp. The rider trotted all the way to the camp's gates before being stopped. Gasper and the bandits beside him couldn't hear what was being said as the rider stopped. They were quite a distance away from the camp, enough to see but not to hear anything aside from unclear yells.
The rider stayed on his horse for a few moments as Gasper and Yellow Dog watched a few words being exchanged. It took a while for the gates of the camp to open and the rider to be allowed inside.
Yellow Dog kept his eyes glued to the camp until the rider was out of sight. "Why did they keep him outside for so long," he asked, eyeing Gasper suspiciously.
Fucking hells, Gasper swore inwardly. This fool isn't supposed to be this sharp.
"They did that last time too," Gasper said after collecting himself. "Maybe they're making sure he isn't a spy, especially after they noticed me last time."
Yellow Dog grunted then shrugged. "Alright, let's go back and report to the chief." The bandits soon complied and crawled back down the hill and mounted their horses.
It didn't take them long to ride back to the Black Dog camp. Yellow Dog took Gasper to Black Dog's cabin once they arrived.
"Chief," yellow Dog said as he pushed the cabin's door open. "We're back."
Gasper stepped in after Yellow Dog, hoping the latter wouldn't mention the delay they had witnessed the Viscount's rider encounter at the gates.
"Come in, quickly," Black Dog yelled. "Tell me you've found something or I'll skin you two for coming back so quickly."
"We did," Yellow Dog nodded as he and Gasper arrived in front of Black Dog. The chief was seated with his legs on the table as usual. He quickly sat up when he heard Yellow Dog's last words, though.
"What did you find?"
"It's true, chief," Yellow Dog said. "They have really been receiving the riders of the Viscount. We saw one just now, before coming back."
Black Dog stood up, expressionless. He pondered for a few moments, while Gasper secretly sighed in relief that Yellow Dog didn't get into the details. Black Dog, however, was too silent for Gasper to be comfortable. He felt something odd about him. His feeling was soon explained as Black Dog broke into mad laughter. "Those bastards thought they'd make a fool out of me," he said in the middle of his barking laughter. "Now they've given me the opportunity. I can finally take the whole east for myself. None of the other crews would blame me for wiping the Big Mountain out. Haha, great. This is great."
Gasper watched bandit chief nearly dancing in happiness. "Will we move against them, chief?" Gasper asked after some hesitation.
Black Dog eyed him. "Why, of course we will, lad. But first, we have to gain the approval of the others. Yellow Dog, send your fastest riders to the two crews in the north. Inform their chiefs of what we've found and tell them to send someone to witness what we've seen. Those bastards won't believe us until they see it themselves."
"Yes, chief," Yellow Dog nodded then quickly left.
Gasper was relieved. Everything was going as planned. Black Dog was too greedy to notice that he was really being taken for a fool. It was a pleasant surprise for Gasper. How had he not expected a bandit to be greedy? The best way to play a bandit was through his greed. It wasn't really a revelation. He was just too anxious to notice the glint of desire in Black Dog's eyes the first time he had lied to him. It was always clear that the bandit chief was anticipating the current results. Gasper just never noticed it.
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Gerald chuckled as he received the news from Robard. The rider had visited the Big Mountain bandits last night, and their chief was more than just delighted with the Viscount's proposal. Gerald wasn't surprised. For a bandit to be given a toll by a lord, it was a sign of recognition and it meant that the lord had given up on removing them. The bandit chief was glad to the point of endless laughter, according to the rider Robard had sent.
Gerald, too, wanted to laugh. But he would wait for the last laugh. It was coming soon, and patience was of the essence.
"How much did they demand?" Gerald asked Robard who stood in front of him. They were in his study and Harrid was standing right beside him as always. Gerald had given up on teaching the boy to stand outside. He'd found it easier to just let him stand beside him.
"A hundred gold coins, my lord," Robard said begrudgingly. "I still think we shouldn't do it, though."
"Have patience, Robard," Gerald said. "Believe me, this won't last for long."
Robard nodded, though obviously unconvinced.
Gerald just sighed and continued, "Wait a few nights then send them half the gold. Tell them that we have to make sure our passage to the southeast is really safe before we pay them the rest of the gold. Then a few nights after that, send them the rest of the gold."
Two more times should be enough for Gasper to prove his words to the Black Dog crew.
Robard nodded. "I will, my lord."
"You can go," Gerald said.
The head knight saluted then left the study.
It was still early in the day and a few rays of light broke through the study's window. Harrid was standing completely silent beside the pondering Gerald when someone knocked on the study's door. "Who is it?" Gerald asked. He hadn't summoned anyone for now.
"I'm here to clean the study, milord," said a young, untrained voice. Gerald was sure that it was a familiar one.
The door opened and his doubts were confirmed as he saw Yanna, the girl he'd picked up along with Harrid from the streets. She retained her sharp gaze as she looked around, never once looking scared. Whenever her wide eyes met with Gerald's, he'd feel like someone was reading his thoughts. It wasn't that she really saw through him, he believed, it was just the feeling that her peculiar gaze provoked. And it was one of the things that made him take the two children to the keep in the first place.
"It's you," he said.
"Yes, milord," she said, bowing. Then she ignored him and began cleaning. Harrid's eyes never left her for a moment after she entered the study. Gerald used the opportunity to flick the boy and chuckled. The latter rubbed his sore forehead without saying a thing. He was quite the timid one, if Gerald were to describe him. It was no wonder that Yanna was the one to come up with their plan to ambush the hoodlums the other day. Gerald didn't think Harrid was useless, though. The boy was quite hardworking. Gerald had handed him a Warrior manual, and he was progressing well in his training. Gerald believed that it wouldn't be long for the boy to become a Warrior. He was probably more talented than Gerald himself who became a warrior at the age of 15.
The familiar voice soon interrupted Gerald's thoughts. "My lord," Yanna said. "Can I ask you a question?"
Gerald was genuinely surprised. Since the two children had arrived at the keep, neither of them had dared to talk to Gerald without being addressed first. His intuition about Yanna's character seemed to be correct. The girl didn't have a simple head on her shoulders, and she was far from timid.
"Sure, Yanna," Gerald smiled. "Go ahead."
"How did you find us when you did?" she asked with a tilted head.
"Heh," Gerald chuckled. "Well, I was at an inn and I was returning to the keep. Why do you ask?"
The girl quickly looked away when he addressed her with a question, then she said, "Nothing. It's nothing. Were you watching us from much earlier, milord?"
"You mean early enough to see how you got the sweet buns?" Gerald asked, chuckling.
Yanna blushed slightly, then she quickly changed the subject. "Why were you at the inn, milord? You're the lord of the castle. You wouldn't need to visit an inn, right?"
Gerald didn't find her continuous questions annoying but actually amusing, and he decided to indulge her. "I was there to listen. It's important to know what your people think. It makes your decisions wiser."
Yanna, for the first time since he saw her, looked surprised. She perked up slightly and said, "but you're the lord. You don't need to go to the inn yourself to hear those things. Many people would wish to tell you everything they know."
"It's not that simple," he said. "Common people are usually too scared to say much to me when they see me. They spend most of their time bowing or praising me. Most of them wouldn't dare tell me some of the ugly truths out there."
"Oh," realization seemed to have dawned on the girl. Then she smiled. "I can help with that," she said, looking spirited.
Gerald was puzzled. "How would you help exactly?" he asked, raising a brow.
"There are a lot of homeless people in the streets," she said. "They know me. If I give them some food or clothes, they'll tell me everything they know. They hear a lot of things."
"They hear a lot of things," Gerald said with a smile. "Like you do?"
The girl froze for a moment then smiled back. "No, I hear much more than they ever could, milord," she said proudly.
"Haha," Gerald laughed. He had never expected his piqued interest in two homeless children to bring him something like this. "Very well. You can take some food, clothes, and some coin too. Bring me everything these people of yours hear in the streets. I doubt they'd hear what's said behind the closed doors of an inn, though. I suppose they aren't welcome at inns to begin with."
"That is true, milord," the girl said. "But they can hear what's yelled inside some homes. They can hear what women gossip to each other. They can hear who and what men curse in the streets. They hear a lot of things, milord."
"Good," Gerald said. "If this works well, you will have earned your stay here, Yanna. Do you want me to send someone with you, though?"
"No," Yanna shook her head. "If a guard comes with me, he'll scare them. Harrid can come with me, though." She eyed the silent boy hopefully.
"Alright. Harrid can go with you," Gerald smiled then nodded at Harrid who excitedly accompanied Yanna out of the study. Gerald looked around. "Well, she's an awful maid anyway. I hardly see a clean thing in the whole damn study."