Renault Chapter 1 part 2

            His men on the other hand were of a different sort.  In his mind they were weak fools whose only purpose in life was to serve his every command even to death without hesitation.  Several times he had randomly shot one or two of the weaker ones just to prove that he was their superior not just in his rank but in his very person.  He even had one fool challenge him to a fight for leadership like he was some wild beast in control of a pack of flea bitten dogs.  He was so insulted by the very notion of this idea that he granted this man his request in front of the soldiers and then knifed him the back when he turned from him.  As his warm blood trickled down the hilt of the blade he looked at his men growling, “Does anybody else want to challenge my leadership?”  He then turned around and shot the two men who were trying to check the status of their fallen comrade in arms. 
            In all reality his men were men of war but not of honor.  They went about terrorizing and destroying anybody or anything that came into their path not because it help to achieve some better good for mankind or even a superior goal, but because they had a blood lust that was fueled by the lack of law in the land in which they now transgressed.  The only law to these men was their leader and he was only the law because he was a more savage beast than any of them put together in their darkest time, and he had proved it to them many times.  The men feared him and therefore obeyed him, but it would not be surprising to anybody if one night this fearless leader was himself shot in the back during a charge or his throat slit as he slept peacefully. 
         In the far distance they see what appears to be a large circular building which stretches high into the sky and was surprisingly intact compared to its surroundings.  Around it appears a wall constructed purely of debris from many years of shelling and bombing.  So thick is this wall of debris that it would take a man years to cut his way through it to get to the building itself.  There is only one entrance that is long and narrow and most likely a death trap due to the fact that there would be some type of medieval defense system to keep it protected. 
In its prime we would have gone to this place to watch a recreational sport or maybe even a well crafted antique or road show, but there are no cars or professional athletes in this massive structure today.  No, it is filled with the workings of a hundred or so tired and well-worn people that a noble man of the 12 century would call peasants.  As we can look into the building we see that they have turned booths and stands into make shift shacks and living quarters.  They have torn the myriad of seats out and have built tents and onings to cover the area and inside of these tents are merchants selling and trading goods.  All and all this is a peaceful place where one might enjoy some strange and exotic sampling of food or drink.  Of course in this time it would not be advisable for us to drink anything. In the middle where you might have seen a famous pitcher stepping up to the mound you see what appears to be corn or some other type of plant growing in vast quantities stretching from the center of the field to the very corners being tended by several men and women using old baseball equipment that has been fashioned into tools.   
         These people might be weak in strength and numbers but their minds were strong and they had taken a place that would be perfect to grow a small crop and had utilized it perfectly.  In this world that small crop would be worth more than ten times its weight in gold which is no longer important to anybody since it cannot be eaten nor used to fashion weapons.  Before this time there was a great saying, “A Horse…  A horse…  A horse for my kingdom!”  But this people would know nothing of that since almost all resemblances of the past had been destroyed during the many wars and if not they had been burned by various dictators that had come and gone from power. 
         As Viktor came within three hundred yards of the building a man stepped out of the shadows were he had concealed himself quite brilliantly.  Viktor did not even seem to notice this man even though we are quite sir that he knew he had been there the whole time.  “Sir,” said the man with the dark circle around his eyes.  Viktor did not move his eyes off the massive building as he responded, “What news do you have on their defenses scout?”  “Sir, they very well shielded from prying eyes like mine. Therefore, we do not have much intel except for educated guesses.”  At this statement the leader looked down at the man who was considerable shorter with such contempt it was surprising he didn’t consume the man with his eyes.  He then spoke, “Educated guess???”  “Sir, as you can see they have utilized the debris from previous wars to make an impressive wall that not only shields from entry but also shields them from view.  If it was not from the sources in the last village we probably wouldn’t have even known there was a village here.”
         Viktor looked up at the small twists of smoke coming up from the various portions of the complex and then looked down at the scout and said, “So since you are so obviously educated vast in wisdom and intellect what do you think their defenses are?”  “Sir, first, they have lined the middle of the entrance with landmines.  Now no telling were they got those probably dug them up from a previous battle, but we do no that they will probably be effective.  Next, they have various slots at the top of the walls on either side of the entrance probably to pour some type of oil or burning substance.  The last most reasonable assumption is that they will have snipers maybe with rifles most likely with bows that will be positioned to shoot down on the intruders.” 
Viktor looked at the scout with hard eyes pondering what he should do since assumption gets people killed.  Then a thought hit him that was so ingenious his face lit up like a child on Christmas.  He called out, “Jonathan!”  Within seconds a tall man with a boyish face appeared from the back of the ranks.”  “Sir,” stated Jonathan with pride.  “Our scout states that the village has no known defenses and is only protected by that wall.  The entrance is only guarded by two fearful looking men who do not even have a weapon.  Take two men and charge the entrance put fear into their hearts, and when you reach the two men state the reason for our engagement today.  If they open up in peace and give us what we desire we shall let them be in peace.  If not, well, we will do what we do best and take what we want anyway plus we will kill all of them from the eldest man to the youngest child. Go.”  A gleam of arrogance flustered in his eyes.  “Sir, I will do whatever you command,” beamed Jonathan and then he was off to fetch his two closest companions.  Opposite Viktor the scout still quiet in shock looked up to see the commander looking peacefully at the building with a smile on his face.