Chapter Three B #3
Even though Cam knew their names now, there was still an air of mystery about everything. As much as he’d wanted to find The Cal, there was still some lingering doubt. Had he made the right choice by coming with them? He was starting to second-guess himself.
“We’ve left the city,” he said, looking at the darkened landscape. “The Cal is not in the city?”
A flicker of a grin crossed Luther’s lips. “It is not.”
“But why all the secrecy?”
“That will be explained to you,” Luther said. Then he rubbed at his eyes, sore from Cam sticking his thumbs into them. “We’ve been watching you for several weeks, you know. Have you not seen me in the tavern?”
Cam looked at him. “I thought so,” he said. “But why have ye been watching me? Why not simply state yer business?”
“Because we had to make sure you were to our standards,” Milo spoke up. “That is my job and Luther’s job. We find men for The Cal, and when we hear of one who seeks to join us, it is our job to ensure he is worthy.”
Cam looked between the two men. “I thought the earlier fight started too easily,” he said. “’Twas a test ye gave me.”
Luther nodded. “Indeed, it was,” he said. “But do not be insulted. We do that for most men. We must ensure they are what Clegg is looking for.”
“Who is Clegg?”
“Clegg de Lave,” Luther clarified. “He owns the Ludus Caledonia, and other fight guilds just like it. Six of them, in fact, all over the north of England and southern Scotland. There is the Ludus Hadrian in Carlisle, the Ludus Antonine in Glasgow, and the Ludus Trimontium in Berwick, the Ludus Bremeniun in Ayr, and the Ludus Agricola in Newcastle. The Cal isn’t the only one, but it is the biggest and best.”
Cam seemed a little overwhelmed with what he was being told. “All places where a man can learn tae fight?”
“All places where men fight each other.” When Luther saw the confusion on Cam’s features, he asked the obvious question. “How much do you know of The Cal? Were you told anything other than it was a place where a man could learn to fight?”
Cam shook his head. “I was told it is a gambling den,” he said. “What else is there tae know?”
Luther chuckled softly. “Rich lords gamble on the fighters,” he said, but it still didn’t seem to register with Cam. “You and another man will fight, and rich lords will bet on who they believe will win. That is why you will be taught to fight, Cam. It will be to make Clegg money.”
That wasn’t what Cam had envisioned at all. “I willna fight a man tae the death for another man’s profit,” he said flatly. “I dunna want tae go tae The Cal if that is why ye’ve brought me.”
But Luther shook his head. “You misunderstand,” he said.
“Dead warriors do not bring any money, and this is a guild for profit. Do you understand? You will be taught to fight, you will be provided for, and you will be well fed and well kept. But in return for that, you will fight a man until he submits to you, or until you submit to him.”
Cam eyed the man, still on his feet. “And… and rich lairds place wagers on who will win?”
“Aye, lad. If you do well and win often, you shall be rewarded.”
“And if I do not?”
“You shall be no worse off than you are now, except that you will have learned to fight.”
Cam pondered that for a moment. “And when I want tae leave?”
Luther cocked his head. “You give your oath to The Cal,” he said.
“It is an oath of fealty, just as any warrior would give his lord. You are not a prisoner, nor are you a slave. At The Cal, you are a warrior in training, and because Clegg will spend money feeding and training you, you promise to give the man seven years of your life before you leave to seek your fortune or, in your case, your vengeance. But that is not the only way to leave The Cal.”
“What else is there?”
Luther shrugged. “The most common way is if a wealthy lord offers you a lucrative position,” he said.
“Many lords come to find highly skilled warriors. They pay Clegg your worth and essentially buy your fealty from him. That lord then becomes your new liege. There are many ways to leave The Cal, but until you do, we expect you to work hard, train hard, and learn.”
“I can do all those things.”
“Then we understand one another.”
As the wagon traveled on into the night, the conversation died. Cam was thinking on what he’d been told, gazing out at the dark landscape, wondering what he’d gotten himself into. He had to swear an oath for seven years, which was unexpected.
He didn’t want to wait seven years to exact his vengeance.
Vengeance for his beautiful Tira, the woman he still wept over at night, when all was quiet and still and he realized just how much he missed her.
Tira was the only reason he was doing this.
For those who had murdered her and had changed his life forever, he had to learn how to punish them.
Even if it meant entering into something darker and more violent than he could imagine.
The Ludus Caledonia wanted a man to learn to fight other men for sport. They wanted something from him, and Cam wanted something from them in return.
He wanted to learn to kill.