Milo was shaken awake by Ivy the next morning. The shadow-stalker was already dressed.

  “Time to rise, you’ve got a big performance ahead of you.”

  He got up and started dressing, they’d come up with a new plan late last night after Laurel had been kind enough to provide every member of his party with a bedroom. The plan was mostly a work of his own mind and was based on his long experience of interacting with big crowds. Ivy had been sceptical about his ability to follow through but had eventually agreed to it.

  “Is there food?”

  “Yes, downstairs in the dining room, Crystal has taken over the kitchen, I don’t think she’s slept much.”

  Milo winced at the mention of Crystal’s name. He had promised to protect her and instead had allowed her to be dragged out into the street and beaten. Ivy sighed.

  “It’s not your fault that her bastard of a husband laid hands on her. She didn’t warn you so how could you have seen it coming?”

  “Now that I think back on it the signs were all there…”

  “Well, she’s safe now, Haldor has barely left her side since last night. Once we finish our business in this town, she will never see her husband again.”

  “And that’s good enough?”

  Ivy’s eyes narrowed.

  “You can’t kill him.”

  “Why not?”

  “These people are peasants, they won’t understand. The mayor and sheriff abused their positions openly for years building up resentment. Crystal’s husband is different, half of them probably think that he has every right to discipline his wife.”

  “So, what, he just gets off with a beating? What kind of example does that set?”

  “That you are a benevolent ruler who respects their traditions and culture.”

  Milo gritted his teeth.

  “This feels wrong…”

  “It’s too early to make changes, our hold on this town is tenuous at best. Once the citizens are converted and a garrison is in place you can start changing things to your liking, until then, be patient.”

  Milo sighed and with a nod walked down the stairs and found the dining room. Inside he found Crystal and Haldor sitting on one end of the table talking in quiet voices as they ate. Crystal got to her feet with an awkward bow when she saw him.

  “Thank you for rescuing me last night my lord.”

  He eyed the purple and black bruise which covered half her face. Next time he would bring a healer with his party.

  “Your gratitude is unnecessary Crystal, it never should’ve gotten as far as it did.”

  Crystal sat back down, and she looked close to tears when she asked a question which had clearly been on her mind all night long.

  “What will happen to my husband?”

  Milo looked at Ivy and then sighed.

  “He will be paraded around some, and everyone will hear how he’s been abusing you for years. Hopefully the shame of it will humiliate him and maybe even make him an outcast.”

  Haldor’s face twisted into a grimace and the general sounded genuinely angry when he spoke up.

  “That is far better than he deserves.”

  Ivy took it upon herself to explain.

  “We must be careful here general, one wrong step might turn this entire town against us.”

  Haldor grunted but didn’t protest further.

  Milo sat down at the table and started eating, after a few moments Crystal started talking.

  “He wasn’t always like this you know… When we were young, he would bring me flowers nearly every day for months until I promised to marry him. The first few years of our marriage was happy enough, but he was desperate for a son. I had several miscarriages and with each one he grew angrier and angrier. When my daughter was born his anger turned to action and he started beating me. I tried to please him, but it was like everything I said just made him angry no matter what. I finally couldn’t take it anymore and ran away, I even abandoned my daughter…”

  Crystal started sobbing and Haldor placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He felt like he owed her something after the way he had treated her, an idea suddenly came to him.

  “Crystal, do you want your daughter back?”

  Crystal rubbed at her eyes and the nodded vigorously.

  “More than anything.”

  “If you can repeat the story, you just told me during the trial, I might be able to reunite you with your daughter.”

  Her words were only half the equation, the towns people would get the other half from the bruise on her face.

  Crystal’s face filled with determination a.

  “I’ll do it, just promise me that we will never return to this place because if we do, I’m certain he will kill us both.”

  “I promise.”

  They continued eating until Laurel appeared. She was wearing an elegant black dress, and he noticed that her boots were covered in mud. She’d clearly been up and about for several hours already.

  “It’s finished” Laurel announced.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Milo put down his bread.

  “What is?”

  Laurel didn’t answer, instead she motioned for him to follow her outside.

  There was already a large crowd gathered, and their attention was primarily directed at a wooden scaffold which hadn’t been there last night. He studied the shabbily built scaffold and then turned to Laurel. The old woman truly was resourceful.

  “Someone’s been busy…”

  “The carpenter’s daughter was raped by the sheriff 4 years ago and the mayor did nothing. He’s been holding a grudge ever since.”

  “Looks like he got half the town to help him build that thing.”

  Laurel’s face twisted into a cruel smile.

  “Indeed, it seems even I underestimated just how much hatred our dear mayor has inspired in his subjects…”

  “Any final notes before we get this show underway?”

  “Listen to your woman, killing Crystal’s husband would be a mistake.”

  Yet again Milo felt anger welling up inside him, but he knew somewhere inside that they were both right. He intended to humiliate the man and then take his daughter away, he was already pushing what the people might accept.

  “Very well, have the prisoners brought to the scaffold, I’ll be there shortly.”

  He went in to gather his party and gave them final instructions. They came back outside just in time to see a bruised a defeated looking mayor being led to the scaffold. Milo looked to Ivy.

  “As far as I can tell He still has all his fingers, how long did it take before he broke during your interrogation last night?”

  Ivy snorted.

  “He put up a good front after a few punches to the stomach but as soon as I threatened to gouge out his eye he broke immediately. He confirmed Laurel’s story and that he intentionally covered for the corrupt sheriff. I explained to him that he was already dead and that the only thing left to decide was how it happened. As I suspected he was rather keen on not ending up drawn and quartered and agreed to admit his crimes.”

  “Let’s hope the man was honest for once, I’d prefer not to have to follow through on your threats…”

  They arrived at the scaffold and each member of his party took their places according to the plan. In the middle of the scaffold waited a wooden stump and what looked like a lumber axe. Laurel and her little band of guards were standing at the back of the stage with their prisoners kneeling in front of them. Milo studied the crowd closely, taking in its mood.

  By his estimation there were nearly a thousand people in the crowd which meant that most of the town had turned out to watch the trial. Many looked angry, and as far as he could tell that anger was mostly directed at the pale looking mayor. But a few were directed at him as well which only underscored just how carefully a crowd like this had to be handled.

  He began by introducing himself again.

  “My name is Milo Harper, I am Lilith’s champion and the lord of a nearby settlement. My people and I are new to this region, but our magic and armies are powerful.”

  He thought he could hear somebody in the crowd murmur.

  “Red eyed freaks…”

  He ignored it and went on.

  “When I discovered a satyr warband with prisoners I acted immediately to destroy the foul creatures. From the prisoners I learned of Willowford and its plight. For years now you have been attacked by these monstrous enemies while your king does nothing!”

  The mood of the crowd turned ugly at the mention of their absent king and his failure to protect them.

  “I can see that many of you are angry, and why not? When a ruler claims and taxes a village, is it not his responsibility to protect those he calls his subjects?”

  “Bastard king!”

  “Thief in royal clothes!”

  Milo nodded along with the angry shouts, so far everything was going exactly as planned.

  “Yes, it is clear to all that your king cares nothing for your plight, but I promise the good people of Willowford that I do!”

  A few cheers erupted from the crowd at this, and while that was encouraging, he could tell he had not yet reached critical mass.

  “I swear upon my title and lands, that I will bring Willowford into a new and more secure future! I will garrison this town with soldiers to guard you! I will build fortifications to shelter you! And finally, I will cut your taxes to a tenth of what you pay right now, payable in full by foodstuffs!”

  The roar which erupted from the crowd was so loud that Milo wondered if Lizbeth could hear it back at their base. As far as a sales pitch went this was the best he and Ivy had come up with. Of course, the deal was nowhere near as good as what the people of Willowford imagined. Due to the complete absence of an economy and trade in his little domain he had zero use for coins. Which meant the only two things Willowford could give him was spirit essence and food. The fortifications and soldiers would serve the dual purpose of keeping the people of Willowford in line while also defending the town from any attempted recapture from the Lendorian kingdom. The deal would wreck Willowford’s limited economy, probably making coins obsolete, at least until Milo’s domain grew large enough for coins to serve any purpose.

  Now that he had the crowd exactly where he wanted them he motioned Laurel forward.

  “You all know Laurel Roseway, yesterday she made serious accusations against your former mayor and sheriff. She will now voice those accusations so that all can hear and judge for themselves.”

  Laurel nodded to Milo and then told the crowd the same story she’d told him yesterday. By the time she was finished the crowd was glaring at their former mayor with such hatred that Milo was amazed he didn’t catch on fire. Milo beckoned the former mayor forward and Turiel yanked the man up and shoved him forward.

  “Mayor Kerill, you stand accused of theft, corruption, negligence and murder. What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Kerill’s face twisted with indignation and for a moment it looked like he might deny everything. Then he cast a brief glance at Ivy and instead decided to play his part.

  “It’s true, all of it...”

  The crowd roared with anger, and somebody threw an amazingly accurate salvo of animal dung and rotten vegetables at the mayor. Milo held up his hand to forestall the assault, mostly because one of the dung missiles had hit his leg.

  “Enough! I understand your anger people of Willowford. Kerill has admitted his crimes and by doing so has earned himself a merciful end!”

  Turiel brought forward the wooden block while Turial picked up the axe and readied himself to strike. Turiel forced the mayor down on the block and a quick strike followed. the mayor’s head rolled across the stage before Turiel picked it up by the hair before raising it above his head. The crowd roared with approval.

  Milo waited for the crowd to calm down before beckoning the three other prisoners forward. One by one they were forced back down on their knees. Milo could see the crowd’s jubilation turn to uncertainty as they stared up at their fellow townspeople.

  Milo had Crystal brought to the front of the scaffold and right on que she dropped the scarf she had been using to hide the bruised side of her face. A gasp erupted from the crowd, most coming from the women present.

  “Last night one of my followers, a woman recently rescued from satyr captivity, was set upon by her husband and his brothers. They dragged her into the street and beat her, I ask you now t-“

  “The whore deserved it!”

  The interruption came from Crystal’s husband. The man’s eyes were bright with rage as he glared at his victim. Milo slapped him hard enough to send him sprawling on the ground.

  “I’m warning you now, I will not tolerate any further interruptions before I am done speaking. When that happens, you will have your chance to say your piece.”

  Turiel yanked the man back into a kneeling position with a new hand shaped mark on the right side of his already bruised face. Milo went on.

  “I ask you now to hear Crystal’s tale from her own lips.”

  Crystal was shaking like a leaf but a reassuring look for Haldor broke the dam. She told the crowd the same story she had told the rest of them at breakfast. She spoke about the constant abuse and how she finally couldn’t take it anymore.

  As she spoke Milo studied the crowd. There was a clear divide between the sympathetic looks on the women’s faces and the mostly uncomfortable looks on the men’s faces. Ivy had already anticipated this and had warned him it might happen. It still disappointed him to see that the crowd was so split on such obvious cruelty.

  Once Crystal was finished her turned to face her seething husband.

  “You have been accused of disrupting the peace of Willowford and repeated unjustified abuse against your wife. What do you have to say for yourself?”

  “The whore is lying! The only thing I am guilty of is disciplining my wife, as is my right!”

  It was her word against his, and Milo didn’t like how several men in the crowd were nodding along with the words. This was clearly a no-win situation and almost anything he did either way risked destroying the solid hold he now hard on this town. He felt wrong as he rendered the judgement, they had agreed on beforehand.

  “As the new lord of Willowford, it is my judgement that your marriage with Crystal be dissolved, and her daughter returned to her care.”

  The man’s eyes went wide, and his face purpled with rage.

  “Over my dead body you red eyed freak! You have no right to take my family from me! And I promise that if you do, I will hunt them to the ends of the world. And believe me, once I find wherever that whore is hiding I’m going to…”

  Milo’s hand went above his shoulder to the hilt of his sword. When he spoke, his voice was deceptively calm.

  “Are you threatening a person in my service?”

  “You’re damn right I am, that whore is mine! My daughter is mine! They are both mine to do with as I wish!

  “I’m warning you, if you call her a whore one more time…”

  “Whore! Your magic might have turned her hair and eyes black and given her back some youth but inside she will always be that same useless whore!”

  Milo’s sword left his sheath so fast that the crowd barely registered the move before the sword thunked into the stage. Crystal’s husband never even knew what hit him. He heard Laurel sigh as the man’s head rolled across the scaffold and over the edge. The crowd were staring at the headless corpse with stunned silence.

  Milo knew he’d just screwed up, but he did his best to salvage the situation.

  “I warned him, I will not allow anyone to threaten or harm those in my service. Now this trial is over. I will be sending soldiers to protect you from the satyrs within days. While I am gone look to Laurel Roseway for leadership, she had proven to be capable and will from now on serve as your new mayor. That is all.”

  Much to his relief the crowd failed to turn on him. He’d definitely lost a significant portion by killing Crystal’s husband, but he thought he might still have a majority in favour of his rule. As it turned out lowering taxes and public executions were popular things no matter which world you were in.

  He gathered his party around him, including Laurel. Crystal looked shaken by her husband’s death, but he detected no resentment in her eyes. Haldor on the other hand was looking at him with newfound respect. Ivy and Laurel both shared that same look of vague disappointment, as if they were looking at a naughty boy who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

  “Let’s go get Crystal’s daughter, then we’re out of here, Turiel and Turial you will remain here and serve as bodyguards and enforcers for Laurel. I don’t think her rule will be challenged but I could be wrong.”

  Neither hybrid looked particularly enthusiastic about their new assignment but neither did they protest.

  Crystal led them to one of the farms outside the town where they collected a young girl with brown hair who Milo judged to be no older than eight. There was an awkward episode when a middle-aged woman rushed out to rescue Crystal’s daughter from the strangers. Apparently, she was married to one of her deceased husband’s brothers. The woman initially protested the kidnapping and even threatened to go get the watch. When they told her that Crystal’s husband was dead and that the watch had been decimated the woman paled and stumbled back inside the farmhouse.

  Despite the ‘kidnapping’ Crystal’s daughter, whose name was Elise was ecstatic to be reunited with her mother. She was also extremely curious about the strangers and stared at him with an open mouth. Milo resolved to get Crystal and her daughter a separate house just for the two of them once they got back home.

  On their way back past Willowford they were intercepted by Laurel who had taken it upon herself to deliver Willowford’s first tax tithe. This tax took the form of three mules loaded down with sacks of grain and cuts of salted deer. Apparently, Laurel had paid for all of it herself and the idea was to normalise tithes to their new lord, thus securing her own position as well as his own.

  With that done they set out on the road back to their base.