Chapter 115: Running Out Of Time
Several hours had passed since the delegation disappeared towards the Whitemane Estate.
Roderic sat inside one of Riverwood’s abandoned houses, several cards spread across the table in front of him.
’’Show me what you got,’’ he said.
Edmund stared at his cards for a moment before placing them down and shoving them forward.
Roderic’s expression immediately soured.
’’You bastard,’’ he cursed loudly.
A small grin appeared on Edmund’s face.
’’I graciously thank you, young master,’’ he said while respectfully sweeping the gold coins towards him.
Roderic waved him off dismissively.
That’s when his gaze fell on his four retainers around the table.
Each of them had awkwardly put their cards down, having folded long ago.
’’I’m going to warn you for the final time,’’ he said. ’’You fold because I bet one more time and I’m kicking your ass!’’
Peter awkwardly picked up his cards, flipping them around.
’’My lord, I really didn’t have anything good,’’ he whimpered.
Roderic stared at the cards with narrowed eyes.
Then his gaze flickered to his other retainers.
’’I’m talking to you three here,’’ he said, pointing at them. ’’Don’t fold because my surname happens to be Whitemane!’’
Frederic and the others nodded weakly.
CLATTER! CLATTER!
Before the cards for the next round could be dealt, faint clattering noises rang out outside.
Roderic’s eyes narrowed instantly.
He placed a finger to his lips, hissing at them to stay silent.
Standing up, he quickly moved towards the window.
’Finally,’ he thought. ’There we have them.’
The first knights were just barely entering Riverwood.
Just like before, they seemed to be in quite the hurry as they raced across the streets.
Even so, Roderic had just one worry.
His gaze briefly flickered up to the darkening sky above.
’I doubt they will... but let’s hope they don’t stay here for the night.’
Fortunately, they showed no signs of slowing down.
One knight after another raced through the village, barely paying any attention to their surroundings.
Roderic quietly watched from behind the window.
Before long, the familiar carriage came into view.
’There’s no wagon behind it anymore,’ he thought. ’The deal has been completed successfully.’
The carriage continued down the road without slowing.
Roderic’s eyes followed it closely, a faint grin appearing on his face.
’Have fun, Margaret,’ he thought. ’You’ll tell your brother exactly what I need him to know.’
He turned away from the window.
’And that’ll result in both your deaths.’
Before long, the noise from horses and the carriage had completely vanished.
Roderic glanced at Edmund for a moment.
’’Seems like we’ll have to finish our poker session another day,’’ he said.
Edmund nodded, already gathering the cards.
With that said, Roderic opened the door and stepped outside.
Several of the disguised soldiers were already looking in his direction, clearly waiting for instructions.
CLAP! CLAP!
’’Everyone, gather up!’’ he shouted.
It didn’t take long before soldiers began emerging from the surrounding houses.
Roderic waited until most had gathered before pointing towards the hidden wagons.
’’We’ll start setting everything up tomorrow morning,’’ he announced. ’’For tonight, get some food and sleep.’’
The soldiers nodded right away.
No one seemed interested in losing a foot to traps in the dark.
After dispersing, Roderic too turned around.
’Time’s closing in,’ he thought. ’We need to make tomorrow count.’
...
The first rays of sunlight had barely appeared over the horizon when Riverwood came alive once again.
Soldiers dragged the hidden wagons back into the streets, removing the cloth that had concealed their contents.
Bear traps, caltrops and all kinds of other tools like shovels quickly began piling up across the village.
Roderic stood nearby, watching everything being unloaded.
’’Careful with those!’’ he shouted as one soldier casually grabbed two bear traps. ’’I need them catching Deres soldiers, not your fucking hands.’’
The soldier immediately slowed down.
Roderic shook his head helplessly.
’Alright...’ he thought, glancing around. ’We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.’
His mind began churning right away.
Before he could start directing people, faint clattering echoed out behind him.
Roderic immediately turned around.
A lone horse was racing down the road towards Riverwood.
His expression changed the moment he recognized the rider.
’Our scout?’ he thought. ’Oh, fuck, that’s not good!’
The man had barely reached the village before pulling hard on the reins.
’’Young lord!’’ he shouted.
Roderic quickly nodded.
’’What happened?’’ he asked instantly.
The scout’s expression paled slightly, still catching his breath.
’’Baron Deres’s army,’’ he finally reported. ’’They’re roughly two days behind me. Maybe a little less.’’
Roderic’s expression darkened.
’Two days?’
That was much fucking sooner than expected.
’Did Aldric set out right after the first messenger came back?’ he thought. ’Or even before that?’
Whatever the answer was, it didn’t matter anymore.
They only had two days left and nothing had been placed yet.
Roderic turned to his soldiers right away.
’’Change of plans!’’ he shouted. ’’We have two days before Baron Deres gets here!’’
The soldiers immediately stopped what they were doing.
’’We start with the forests! Move in together and only place the traps on your way back. That way, nobody has to walk through an area we’ve already trapped.’’
He pointed towards another group.
’’The rest of you start here. Doors, windows, barns, alleys. Anything an enemy might enter without thinking, trap it.’’
His gaze moved towards the piles of traps.
’’Cover the roads as well. Use sand and dirt, anything to make them harder to see!’’
With that said, Roderic clapped his hands together once more.
Everyone instantly sprang into action.
Traps and shovels were being handed out like candy before being carried in every direction.
Roderic turned back, his eyes narrowing.
’’Get yourself another horse,’’ he told the scout. ’’Stay some distance from Riverwood and report back immediately if you spot an advance party heading our way.’’
The scout nodded before trotting away on his horse.
Roderic didn’t wait around either.
’I need to make every second count,’ he thought. ’It’s time to chop some trees.’