Chapter Four B #2
“Outside of the walls, you have seen the warrior village,” Clegg continued.
“That was the cluster of small cottages near the arena. We call the arena the Fields of Mars, and it is both our training ground and our entertainment field. Wealthy lords pay a good deal of money to be transported here so that they may gamble their money away on our fights, and we have had many a warrior leave us to assume the helm of an army or to become a man of great respect in the court of a duke or an earl. I’ve even had men end up as the right hand of kings. ”
Cam couldn’t help the question that came forth. “But ye’re so secretive,” he said. “If kings and great lairds know of ye, then why keep the establishment hidden as ye do?”
The humorless smile returned to Clegg’s lips.
“For two very good reasons,” he said. “In the first place, the amount of money we have changing hands on any given fight is staggering and it makes us a target for armies of thieves. We must, therefore, protect ourselves. In the second place, gambling is not something society, as a whole, approves of. Certainly, we know it goes on. Many honorable men participate in it. But the reality is that this is a gambling den, and that is a wicked vice as far as our civilization is concerned. It is better for us to remain isolated and shielded, and out of the public eye.”
Cam considered that explanation, a seemingly reasonable one. He’d asked the question of Luther on the wagon ride over and, now, Clegg had given him the truth of the matter. He would meet that honesty with some of his own.
“Ye’ve been truthful with me, m’laird, so I will be truthful with ye also,” he said.
“I’ve men tae kill. That is why I’ve come: tae learn tae fight so that I can seek vengeance for the death of my wife.
Men killed her and I must punish them. I will swear fealty tae ye and I will never disobey a command, but when my time us up, I will leave ye. I’ve something I must do.”
Clegg nodded faintly, a gesture of understanding.
“I appreciate your honesty,” he said. “I will, therefore, be honest with you. You are an investment, Cam. I will invest money into your training and your housing, and in return, you will swear fealty to me and you shall fight for me. The usual duration of your oath is seven years and I will expect you to hold to that oath. But seven years is a long time to wait to exact your vengeance, Cam. If you cannot wait that long, then you are free to leave now. I will not waste any more time on you.”
Cam shook his head firmly. “I will not leave,” he said. “I told ye I’d swear an oath. I meant it.”
“Good,” Clegg said. “But there is also something else to consider. Some of the lords who come to watch the battles do so in order to find strong warriors for their armies. If a lord is willing to buy out the remainder of your contract, then you shall serve a new master until such time as the contract is finished. Whether or not you wish to continue serving the man after that will be up to you. Is that clear?”
“It is.”
“But no leaving him until your time us up.”
“I will hold tae the bargain, I swear it.”
Clegg held up a finger. “This is a business, Cam. That is all it is to me, but even with business, there is honor. I conduct myself honorably and I expect you to as well.”
Cam may not have known much about the world in general, but he understood honorable practices from his days as a smithy.
He knew what it meant to make a profit, and that was exactly what Clegg was doing, only it was with warriors.
It all boiled down to the fact that this was a gambling business and Clegg was in it to make money.
And he was shrewd about it.
Cam had suspected that he would have to sacrifice something in order to be taught to fight, and Clegg was willing to teach him…
for a price. But Cam wanted to learn to fight very badly, so there was only one answer he could give.
He was willing to be indebted to the man, provided he could learn to kill.
That was all he cared about.
“I will be honorable in all things, m’laird,” he said after a moment. “All I ask is that ye teach me tae punish my enemies.”
Clegg made his way over to him, his cup of fine wine still in his hand. Silver eyes were boring into Cam and there was something hypnotic about them.
“I will teach you much more than that.”
Cam simply nodded because there wasn’t much more he could say.
The rules had been established and he had agreed.
When Clegg returned to his table and produced a contract that had been carefully written on parchment, Cam made his mark.
As Clegg sanded the ink, Axel, who had remained silent thus far, spoke to Cam.
“Now your education begins,” he said. “Put your right hand over your chest.”
Cam looked at him with some confusion until Axel showed him what he meant. When his right hand was over his chest, Axel continued.
“Repeat after me,” he said quietly. “I faithfully swear to do all that is commanded of me, all that is required of me, and all that is asked of me.”
Cam did. “I faithfully swear tae do all that is commanded of me, all that is required of me, and all that is asked of me.”
“May I live to both fight and protect my brethren. May God smile upon me and grant me courage so that I may not fail myself or those around me.”
“May I live tae both fight and protect my brethren. May God smile upon me and grant me courage so that I may not fail myself or those around me.”
When he was finished, Clegg’s soft voice filled the pungent air of the chamber. “Thus it is spoken,” he murmured. “Thus shall it be done. Now you are a novicius, Highlander. A novice. Learn well.”
There had been something reverent about the oath, something that subdued Axel and Clegg and even Wendell. Axel had spoken the words with such reverence, something not seen outside of prayer.
And with that, Cam was a novicius.
The oath he’d taken had been the Fionnadh Fuil, or the Blood Oath, of the Ludus Caledonia.
In the days to come, Cam would know those words better than anything he’d ever known in his life.
With that oath, he had become part of something that was far bigger and far more brutal than he could have ever imagined.
God help him, he had signed himself over to a fight guild.