Saints, Obled anecdote

Obled

Obled walked through the village and ignored the whispers and pointed fingers, mothers hiding their curious children behind their skirts and men watching him warily.

There were many stories about him and his fellow saints, that they would steal away your children in the night if they didn't do their chores or that they ate puppies in their spare time.

A small boy clutched his puppy and dashed through the doorway to his home.

Obled watched it all impassively.

He was here for a job. Nothing more.

No time for puppies.

Finally the crown hall came into view and he entered without pause.

The floorboards creaked under his dusty boots as he entered. It was a small building, one side was filled with books while the other side held a bench built into the wall and a desk with an attendant sitting behind it, her nose buried in a book.

He approached the desk and the young attendant didn't look up from her book.

"Be with you in a second..." The attendant said distractedly with her brown eyes running across the pages of her book.

"Aaand there, just had to finish my page." She said, sliding a bookmark in and closing it. "I just hate it when I can't find....my...place....and uh." She trailed off as she met Obled's gaze. Her eyes took in his brown robes, worn armor, bald head and spear.

"H-how can I help you?" She stammered, clutching her book to her chest and sitting upright.

"I am here for the infestation of goblins." Obled said, pulling a scroll from its carrier and handing it to the girl.

"G-goblins? Oh! Right." She took the scroll from him.

"I'll uh, I'll go get the governess. She'll know what to do." She said, leaving with the scroll in hand up the stairs in the back.

He heard her footsteps travel across the wooden floor above him and a muffled conversation could be heard between him followed by more footsteps.

"Welcome to Longdale, Saint. I am Governess Green." The older woman said with a slight bow while the attendant nearly hid behind the older woman.

"Ms. Spencer said you're here for the goblin infestation?" She said, examining the scroll he had given the timid woman.

"I am Saint Obled of the Northern Abbey and that is correct Ma'am." Obled said simply.

"Is the rest of your party outside?" She asked.

"I am all that was sent." Obled said.

"B-but the infestation is well over three dozen goblins! I requested at least a squad of soldiers from the crown." She said, unrolling the piece of paper on the tall desk and pointing at some of the lettering on it.

"See here? Three dozen or more goblins in the mines outside of town." She said, beckoning Obled closer to see where she was pointing. He remained where he was, this was getting tedious. He'd read the request himself, he knew what it said.

"That is correct Ma'am. Three dozen or more goblins for twenty gold." He put his hands behind his back as he recited the contract. "You recommended a squad of the king's soldiers to deal with the threat but the receiver has the prerogative to send whomever they deem capable of completing the task." He snared her with his eyes and she paled.

"I am all that was deemed needed to complete this task."

"I'll repeat myself at the risk of sounding rude. There are three dozen or more goblins. Armed and some are even armored! They've barricaded themselves in the mines after killing most of the miners." She said, her voice rising in pitch as she spoke. "They're bloodthirsty little monsters!"

"I understand Ma'am, if you can sign my orders I will be on my way to deal with it." He said with a shrug as he released his hands from behind his back.

"Yo-you can't be serious! You'll die!"

"Then the saints will send two more, as one was apparently not enough."

"Fine! If you want to go get yourself killed that's fine." She said, clearly exacerbated as she scrawled her signature on the contract.

"Thank you Governess Green, Ms. Spencer." He said congenially with a nod as he examined her signature and rerolled the parchment.

He left the two open mouthed and stepped into the middle of the road. He faced the setting sun and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in through his nose and focussed only the scent, shutting out everything else. He took another breath in and sorted through the normal scents that accompanied a town like this.

Horse manure, smoke, food, an apothecary shop, even the small food vendor on the corner all emitted smells that he pushed aside. He was looking for a very specific scent, a scent that one would never forget.

There it was. The faintest hint of death and decay.

Of rot and blood, filth, excrement and foul body odor.

Goblins.

He smiled and turned to the right, going through a narrow alleyway and entering the woods all the while following the horrid scent of the small humanoid creatures.

The smell became stronger the closer he got to where he assumed the mines were.

Before long he stood above the mine's entrance where it sat nestled in a low hill. He looked down through the greasy smoke that seeped out of the hastily constructed barricade and frowned.

Mine carts, random planks, buckets and even a barrel or two were all stuffed into the framed threshold of the mine, blocking it off.

The smoke smelled like burning hair and fat. It mixed with the scent of the goblins and made Obled's eyes water. The sun was truly set now and he could hear the creatures below him yipping and screeching at one another.

Oklos has blessed me. To arrive right as they leave to hunt and forage is fortunate.

As if heeding his thoughts a small group of goblins shoved a minecart aside with a clang and shambled into the clearing. He stepped back from the edge and watched.

They pushed and shoved one another while the largest one ate meat straight from a disconcertingly human shaped piece of flesh.

They carried poorly cared for daggers they held like swords and one even had a pickaxe that it lugged on its shoulder. They wore random bits of clothing and armor that was as equally dirty as they were. Stained cloth and rusted armor were strapped to them haphazardly with dirty rope and leather, serving as poorly placed armor.

Obled readied his spear, a fairly long spear with a steel bladed head. Standard issue from the saints. He waited until the five goblins made it to the woods and silently followed.

The biggest goblin, the one eating what Obled was now certain was a human forearm given how he was holding it by the hand, went down first. A quick thrust into its heart from behind put it down with only a soft squeal.

Obled jerked the spear from its chest and slashed another in the neck as it turned. Dark blood flowed freely down its front as it dropped the pick ax and slapped dirty hands to the wound to try and stop the flow.

The last three screeched angrily and the nearest one lunged at him with a dirty looking dagger.

Obled backpedaled and thrust his spear at the goblins chest but the goblin ducked in an attempt to dodge under the attack.

This instead made the spear point skitter up the goblins cheek and enter its skull through its yellow eye instead. With a crunch the goblin went stiff and took the spear with it as it fell stiffly to the ground.

Obled released the weapon without a second thought and drew his mace from where it hung at his hip.

The remaining two goblins eyed their fallen comrades and, with a brief look at one another, ran in opposite directions.

Obled's frown deepened as put his boot on the fallen goblin's face and rehung the mace from his belt. He jerked the spear from the goblin's skull and raised it to throw.

Cowards.

Thick blood dripped from the spear point.

He tracked the one to the right as it darted through the forest, running in a straight line away from him.

Fools.

He threw the spear with a soft grunt.

The goblin fell with the weapon in its back, writhing on the ground while screeching and squealing. Trying in vain to remove the spear it couldn't reach.

Weak.

Obled left it to die and ran after the second one, following the rotten stench of its breath and the sound of it crashing through the brush.

He didn't want to kill this one, not yet. It was running back to the mines and he followed it at a distance. His blood ran hot in his veins and he allowed himself a smile.

Oklos will be pleased.

The goblin ran to the barricade and scrabbled at the makeshift door. Screeching came from within and the terrified goblin answered, gibbering in their strange tongue.

Obled pulled the small shield from where it hung at his back and unhitched the mace from his belt.

The minecart was once again shoved to the side to admit their panicked brethren and Obled dropped from above. With his mace raised back he dropped behind the filthy goblin and swung down as he hit the ground with bent knees, transferring a great amount of force into the strike.

The mace flattened the goblins lumpy head, warm blood sprayed across Obled's face and chest.

Obled laughed, feeling the bloodlust within him rising.

He jerked the mace out and charged through the small entrance into the goblin's temporary home.

Taylor closed the door to her home and shivered in the cold. The sun was only just coming over the horizon but it wasn't really that late.

Fall was just like that in Longdale, the days got shorter and colder. Especially the mornings.

She stood on the porch of her parents house for a moment and deeply considered going back inside for a coat or scarf.

"No, if I wear a coat I'll just end up sweating as I carry it home after only wearing it to walk to work." She mumbled to herself.

"My book bag is heavy enough as it is." She turned and stepped off the porch. "Besides, the Governess keeps the office warm."

She trekked down the dirt street and into town, fighting off the desire to shiver miserably the entire way and thinking about hot tea, a cozy fire and her book the whole way.

She enjoyed working for the Governess, she was pleasant to be around and allowed Taylor to read whenever she wanted, as long as there weren't people that needed helping.

Plus it was better than working in the fields like her parents. They both had scraped and saved to get her a teacher and had been ecstatic when she'd gotten the job working for the crown.

A better life they'd said. A safer life.

"Except for yesterday." She mumbled, shivering. Her words left her lips with puffs of steam.

Yesterday was an exception.

Usually her job was boring and mundane. Sorting paperwork, filing it away and organizing it for the governess.

The most exciting thing that had happened in the office since she had started had been when the goblins had come. Harried and bloodied miners had stormed in, desperate to talk with the governess. Taylor had served them all tea and small food items as the governess had listened to their woes and then Taylor herself had drafted the request for the squad of soldiers to eradicate the goblins. Her draft was even the one they'd sent off. After the governess had reviewed and signed it, of course.

She'd felt important that day. Useful and proud of what she'd done.

"Too bad that saint picked it up and we'll have to write another one." She murmured, stepping around a large pothole..

"That guy's gonna get himself killed."

She waved to the baker as he set out fresh bread in the window of his shop.

Smoke billowed out of the blacksmith's forge and ringing could be heard from within.

She walked on.

The saint coming into the office was probably the second most exciting thing to happen. After the goblin hoard.

She clutched her book bag tighter.

Saint Obled evoked a strange combination of fear and curiosity in Taylor. His hard eyes had held her rooted to her chair. She had barely been able to think and those dark eyes had plagued her thoughts since he'd left.

It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

"Too bad he's probably long gone." She murmured.

Her mother and father looked down on the saints, as most people did. All because they occasionally took in criminals destined for death. Took them in after they swore a blood oath to their brutal god Oklos.

Rumor was that Oklos took great joy in ending their lives if they stepped outside of the oath's strict bounds.

Taylor herself didn't know what to think.

She didn't think most saints were criminals though.

They couldn't be, the numbers just didn't add up.

They, at most, took in a half dozen criminals a year and there were likely several thousand saints in existence. She'd seen the historical records herself that tallied them for yearly taxes.

She'd even seen them in Longdale before, a group of eight came through several years ago. With their shaved heads and brown robes they had stood out, even the single woman in their group had a bald head. She had carried a long thin sword on her back and had even nodded to young Taylor as she had gawked with the other children. Affording her a small amount of fame amongst her peers at the time.

They'd walked through town, bought some traveling supplies at the market and simply walked out but the town had only just stopped talking about it.

The saint, Obled, from yesterday seemed different somehow, or maybe she was just older and had perceived him differently. She wasn't sure which it was. He was handsome in a strange way.

Scarred and muscular without being a hulk of man, he had been polite but firm when talking with the governess. He had even kept his eyes from roaming Taylor and her employer, even when no one was looking. Something most of the men in the village failed to do.

She wasn't so naive as to believe he had any interest in her specifically, such a thing only happened in fantasy books. But she was still intrigued and had found herself thinking back on their short interaction often.

She walked past the apothecary shop. The smell of strong herbs was evident, even through the stone walls and the smell always reminded her of her grandmother. It was also her last turn before the office came into view.

"Finally. Can't wait to start a fire and make some tea." She murmured, already looking forward to the book she had brought along as she rounded the corner.

"Course I'll probably draft up another request today, can't imagine that saint....saint s-survived." She trailed off and stopped as the crown's office came into view.

There on the porch was Obled. Sitting cross legged on the wooden porch floor. A spear rested against his shoulder and a small shield was propped against his side. The saint's outer robe was missing which left him in just his armor and roughspun tunic and pants but the armor looked different from when she had seen him last, it was darker somehow. Clouds of steam rose from him as he exhaled with slow breaths and his armor sparkled with frost, as did the porch.

There was a great gash across his brow with dried blood crusted below it and that was when Taylor realized why his armor looked different.

"It's blood." She whispered.

The saint's dark eyes snapped open and snared her.

He stood smoothly from his seated position and let the spear slide in the crook of his shoulder as he rose.

"Ms. Spencer, Good morning to you." He said in a rough voice as he gripped the spear.

"You're alive! You lived!"

"Yes. The goblin's are dead to an individual." He said, holding out a string of dark shriveled things attached to his belt.

"Thirty-eight in total."

"Wh-what?" Taylor said, walking closer to the office and clutching her bookbag.

"I have completed the request you sent to the crown." He said simply. Letting the odd stringfull of lumpy things hang from his belt once more.

"I uh-really? And you survived?" Her mind still hadn't caught up to the situation.

"Yes."

"I mean, yeah. Of course you did, you're right here." She stammered with a small laugh.

"Yes."

An awkward silence enveloped them after that. She looked up and down the cold street, doing anything to avoid looking into his dark eyes again but finding herself wanting to all the same.

"Will Governess Green be in soon?"

"She uh, she usually comes in around now." Taylor said. Dropping her book bag so it hung from the strap.

"Oh! Would you like to come in and wait inside? I was just about to open the office, it's a lot warmer in there." She said, proud of her sudden bolt of insight.

"I'm afraid I am in no state to be indoors but thank you Ms. Spencer." He said with a nod as he gripped his spear.

"Oh, yes. I suppose not. Is all that yours or..." She said, gesturing to his bloodstained clothes and armor.

"Some, some is from the goblins." He said, looking down at himself and shrugging.

He bent and retrieved the small round shield that had been leaning against his leg.

"I will not keep you from your job Ms. Spencer, I will wait outside for the governess."

Shield in hand he descended the handful of steps to stand on the road in front of her.

"It-it's...you can call me Taylor, Saint Obled." She said, looking up into his dark eyes and leaning toward him ever so slightly. He was tall, taller than her by a good margin.

"Very well, Talyor. I shall remain here, thank you for the offer to come inside. Your kindness is appreciated, even if I do not show it." He said as he resumed his cross legged position in the grass, paying no heed to the frost that was gathered there.

"N-no problem, saint Obled." She said as she fumbled with her keys and walked up the steps to the door.

Obled closed his eyes once more and folded his hands in his lap.

How long must he have been sitting there for frost to have gathered on him like that?

She opened the door and relished the meager warmth the office had. A fire was quickly lit on the coals of the previous day and a kettle was swiftly swung over the flames.

She stood by the fireplace, soaking in the warmth and found her eyes constantly drifting to the door while her mind circled back to the saint meditating in the frost outside.

The kettle hissing and steaming as it boiled water onto the coals snapped from her musings.

She quickly pulled the kettle from the flames and poured two cups of tea.

She took the cups to the door and had to stop and take several breaths to calm her shaking hands before she pushed the door open with her foot.

Just taking him tea, nothing more, just being polite.

Obled was exactly where she had left him, although now he sat in the sun and with the frost melting she could see that he was nearly covered in splatters of dark blood, blood too dark to be human, his shield was in a similar state.

"Saint Obled, would you like some tea?" She said and was immediately proud of how steady her voice had been.

"May I ask what kind of tea it is?" He said without turning.

"Oh, uhhh peppermint I think? Smells minty." She said, taking a deep whiff of the steam rising from the cups.

"Then yes, thank you."

"Can you not drink other kinds of tea?" She asked as she handed him the cup, ignoring the saint's bloodstained hands. She realized with a gasp that his middle finger was missing from the second joint up, it was a scabby ruin with remarkably clean edges.

Her stomach clenched and she felt woozy.

"Here..you uh..." She stumbled forward and barely caught herself. Spilling some of her own tea in the process.

"Ms. Spencer. Are you well?" Obled said, standing in alarm and holding his hand out as if to catch her.

"I'm fine...fine." She said, flushing with embarrassment but still feeling dizzy.

Obled looked unsure but also unwilling to contradict what she'd said.

"I'm fine really, just got a little woozy. Your finger was...is gone..." She trailed off, her stomach churned.

He put the cup of tea in his other hand and looked down at his missing finger with a frown.

"Yes, a goblin shattered the bone with a dull sword. I had to cut the rest off at the joint." He said.