ACT XXXV – Geoff's Tale (Part I)

Shirou and the others returned to the city as heroes, having pushed back Morgana's army and prevented them from ever setting foot anywhere near it. However the Knights and the King didn't see it that way. They retreated to the war room in the castle to discuss things, while Merlin was free to examine the corpses of the giants that Morgana had unleashed during the battle. The 7th Legion was dismissed and put on standby in the camp outside the city.

"I must ask you to remain silent at the meeting, no matter what you hear." Bedivere whispered as the knights and the King walked through the castle together. Her voice was soft, but serious as always. It didn't look like she'd come from a battle, her armor and weapons were mostly untarnished at all, and her hair looked as smooth as it always did.

Shirou nodded. "They're gathering everyone, are you sure I'm even allowed in?" He questioned.

"You are my trusted Squire, they dare not refuse you." She replied with a warm smile. "If you wish to be a knight as you have said, then you must pay close attention to matters like these.

"I do, and I will." Shirou answered simply.

"Good. Your eagerness will take you far." Bedivere seemed satisfied by his answer.

Once in the war room the important people stood in the circle around the map table, and Shirou decided it was best to take a corner out of the way, near Sir Bedivere.

Arturia waited until everyone took their desired places, and began to speak. "As I am sure you have all realized by now, that could not have been Morgana's full force. I have called you here to discuss possible motives and what we should do next." She spoke loudly and sternly so everyone could hear her, her hands placed on the circular map table in front of her for emphasis.

()()()

"Over here!" Judeau yelled and pointed towards some farmland where a few enemy soldiers were retreating. After the battle, the 7th Legion was giving the task of cleaning up the soldiers that fled the battlefield. A lot of Morgana's forces were mercenaries, so when the battle started to go bad a lot of them simply turned tail and ran.

"I will take the house." Geoff shouldered his hammers and began to walk towards the small farmhouse. The cleanup crew consisted of Geoff, Judeau, Gilbert, and a small handful of other soldiers from the Legion.

"The fields are mine then. You, and you, come with me." Gilbert pointed at two of the soldiers to follow him.

Geoff reached the house and kicked in the front door, the man that ran in had closed it behind him, hoping to slow his pursuers. Geoff didn't know if there was a back door in the house or not, but he stepped through the doorway, his heavy boots thudding on the wooden floor, and he listened. A silence began to descend upon the house, the entryway split off in two directions, a hallway on the right that looked like it led to a small kitchen, and the one on the left that probably went towards bedrooms. Much of the house was upturned and possessions were thrown everywhere as though it had already been ransacked.

After a solid minute of listening, Geoff finally decided he'd better just search the house. Trying to hide in the kitchen would be stupid, so he turned left to search what was in the rest of the house. He tried to be quiet, but it was impossible due to his heavy footfalls on the wooden floor.

"The only way out is through me, laddie. Ye may as well jus' come on out." Geoff said in an attempt to lure out the soldier. He turned into the first door in the main hallway which turned out to be a bedroom. It was torn apart in a hurry, clothes tossed about, sheets on the bed disheveled.

A sharp noise instantly turned Geoffs attention towards a closet on the other side of the room. It was a sharp inhalation of air. Someone was in the closet. Geoff chuckled out loud. "That's rather cliché, don't you think?" He approached the closet and set down one of his hammers to open the door.

"Stay back!" The soldier shouted. He wasn't alone, the sharp inhalation of breath hadn't come from him, but from the woman he was holding hostage, she was probably the wife of the man who owned the house, and he was holding a knife to her throat. "I'll kill this wench, I swear I will, Twinhammer!" He roared and pressed the blade against the woman's throat, who whimpered, drawing a bit of blood.

"Now now, let's not do anything stupid, alright?" He wasn't surprised that the mercenary recognized him, but was more concerned about the woman he held hostage. He held up his free hand in a gesture of non violence. "Way I see it, ye have two options. Ye can let the woman go, and I'll paint the walls with ye." He held up a hand and extended his index finger as he spoke, glaring at the man. "Or ye can choose to kill her, and then I'll paint the walls with ye. Either way, I dinnae think it's looking too good for ye." He held up his second finger.

"Option three." The mercenary pushed the woman at Geoff, who dropped his hammers to catch her, meanwhile the man bolted and pushed past him, running out of the house. Even if he beat Geoff outside, the others would most likely kill him.

"You alright?" He quickly asked the woman.

She was in tears, immediately broken up upon being released. "He killed my husband, my son..." She sobbed. This kind of tragedy was all too common when dealing with people like this. Geoff heaved a sigh, his mind grew restless. His attention returned to the fleeing man, and he went after him after retrieving his weapons. He ran out of the house, the man hadn't gotten far, he was running frantically across the field looking back as he heard Geoff exit the house. He spat on the ground, cursing himself for letting the man get away from him so easily.

Geoff wasn't fast enough to catch up to the man, but luckily Judeau was riding by on his horse and easily threw a knife at the mercenary, he hit him in the leg which caused him to trip and fall to the ground. Judeau rode up and glared down at the man and raised his arm to deal the killing blow.

"You think us evil? You know nothing! That man, that man is as bad as a hundred of us!" He pointed at Geoff and backpedaled away from Judeau on his hands and knees.

"What is all the noise? You two are getting sloppy." A faint rustling was heard as Gilbert exited from the fields, his sword bloodied from his own fight.

"You know not who you fight beside. That man is a demon!" The frantic mercenary yelled and pulled the knife from his leg. "I used to run with the Red Eagles, Twinhammer killed them all! By himself, while he was still with the Blackblood Clan!" He tried to stand and get away, however Judeau didn't let him, he disabled the other leg, and the bandit screamed as his foot was impaled with another knife.

"The Blackbloods? I have heard of them, worst bandits to ride across England in about twenty years." Gilbert scratched his chin. "What say you to this, Geoff?"

"You are not seriously considering this are you? Why are we even listening to this?" Judeau sighed.

"It's true, it is! Every word! I swear on me dear mum!" The bandit yelped, holding up his arms as a show of submission.

Geoff stood silent, his vision unfocused as if he was deep in thought.

"Geoff? What say you to these accusations? It is foolish, is it not? Ramblings of a madman, I fought beside you in the battle, I don't believe a word of it." Judeau grinned and shrugged it off.

Geoff uttered a deep, rumbling sigh from deep within his chest. "I suppose there is no hiding it anymore. I dinnae think this scum new quite that much." He scratched the back of his neck.

"He called you Twinhammer, did he mean THE Twinhammer?" Gilbert asked, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Geoff nodded slowly and reluctantly. "Aye. Killed my fair share, I have. However I will say that there is more to the story, than just what this piece of trash says." He gripped his hammers tight.

"Tell us, how we decide to deal with you, will depend on your answer." Judeau's attention turned to Geoff's.

"Finish our job here, and I will." Geoff said, glaring at the man writhing on the ground.

Promptly, Gilbert walked over and stabbed the mercenary through the heart, after a moment of screaming, the man died, blood pooling out from the wound and onto his body. "Speak, then." Gilbert glared, his eyes turned on Geoff, his gaze had been one of friendship before, but now he looked menacing and ready to kill at a moment's notice.

"Ye'd best sit down. It's a long tale..." Geoff set down his hammers.

()()()

The ring of the anvil was always music to his ears. It was all he'd ever known since his birth. It made him feel calm, forget all the troubles of the world, he was truly at peace when working metal. Sweat poured down his body as his fist clutched the hammer in one hand, and tongs in the other.

"A good start boy, but you need to take your time with it." A large man in an apron looked down at him from behind. His father, Gavin. A large, gruff man who always seemed to have five o clock shadow. His son had inherited his size, a proud, strong boy, wishing to learn his father's trade of smithing.

"Aye father. Mum says it's like kneading bread." Little Geoff said as he struck the hot iron and wiped the sweat from his brow. He'd been learning to cook from his mother as well, much to the displeasure of his father.

"Ye've got such big hands, they're wasted on a woman's task like cooking, but I cannae deny they be the same in certain ways." Gavin heaved a sigh. He'd been trying to teach his son how to forge his first weapon, they lived on the outskirts of a small town on top of a hill, it was a small bit of land, barely enough for what they managed to put on it. A small forge, a house, and a stable for animals like chickens, pigs, and horses.

Geoff would be having a birthday the next day. His sixteenth. He'd be practically an adult, old enough to start really working under his father as an apprentice. He had already been receiving training, mostly his father's techniques, some very minor forge work like horseshoes and other things. Today he was forging his first shortsword.

He picked up the blade when he was satisfied with the molding and threw it into the wooden bucket of water next to the anvil. A loud hiss filled the air, as did a cloud of steam. After a few seconds he held up the blade to his father.

"Not bad." Gavin smiled and nodded, taking the blade from his son's hands and turning it over in his own. It was little better than a butter knife, but would still be a weapon in an emergency situation. "Keep this from your mother, eh? She'll have my hide if she catches you playin' with it. It'll be our secret."

"Can I go down to the village? I haven't seen Lenore in nearly a week." Geoff asked as he took the sword back from his father. Lenore was the name of a girl in the village, her mother ran the small bread shop in town, and it's why he took an interest in it himself. She was a pretty girl with blonde hair, and wit as sharp as any blade. He had seen her many times on his errands into town, he eventually got the nerve to talk to her and the two of them got along wonderfully.

"Aye, but put that somewhere yer mum won't find it first." Gavin nodded before pointing at the sword in Geoff's hand.

He did as he was told and hid the sword in his room, before saddling up his horse and riding down the hill into the village below their farmland. It was a small village with only about 15 families, a few merchant stalls, and livestock. It was mostly farmland, but it had everything a person could need to live, and was surprisingly self sufficient. The small thatched roof cottages were split on either side of the dirt road that was the center of the village.

Lenore's cottage was on the far end on the west side of the village. Most of them knew Geoff and his family as they often traded with the village, his father, being a blacksmith, made tools and horseshoes for people in exchange for food and other various things. It certainly wasn't rich, but it was peaceful. Geoff closed his eyes and breathed deep the warm, air, the end of spring and the beginning of summer. The breeze rustled the leaves of the trees dotting the outskirts of the village and the sun shined brightly overhead as the clouds moved slowly across the sky.

"Afternoon, Geoff." A middle aged man with thinning hair nodded at him.

"Hello." Geoff nodded back from atop his horse. It was Mr. Chaimberlain the fruit seller, he needed a set of knives about a month back, Gavin obliged his request in exchange for a week's worth of fresh fruit.

Geoff turned the corner and went down the side street toward Lenore's house. He found her mother, Giselle, outside hanging up laundry to dry on a line strung in between a couple trees. She looked up at Geoff when he approached and smiled. "I wondered when you would be dropping by, dear." His relationship with Lenore's mother was good, she seemed to approve of him hanging around her daughter.

"Is Lenore home?" Geoff asked eagerly.

"Aye. You had best call on her quickly, Ancel isn't home yet." Giselle said with a smile. Lenore's father, Ancel, was less than thrilled at her relationship with Geoff. He was intimidated by Geoff, thought that men of large size were prone to violence, he didn't want his daughter around it, so he was prejudiced against Geoff.

Just then, the door to the house open and Lenore trotted out. "I shall save you the trouble, I heard every word." She ran up to Geoff and hugged him. "It is too long since I last saw you."

"My father has been working me to the bone, lately. It is good to see you again." Geoff smiled from ear to ear. The two of them were clearly in love, even at that young of an age.

"We'll be off then, ma'am." Geoff said to Lenore's mother as he helped her onto his horse.

"Make sure she's back before dusk, or Ancel will tan all three of our hides." Giselle replied with a slight laugh.

Geoff urged his horse off. He had a spot that Lenore and he liked to spend time together. There was a large willow tree up on top of a barren hill. The tree's roots grew deep and must take up most of the hill since there are no other trees on the hill. It provided shade in the summertime, and was nice to lean against while the two of them talked, and looked down at the fields below. It was like their own little world since it was nearly outside of town.

"Your birthday is tomorrow, is it not?" Lenore asked with a smile. She turned to face him, her long, blonde hair blowing in the breeze.

Geoff scratched the back of his head. "I'm surprised you remembered."

"Will I see you again tomorrow?" She asked, while looking out at the horizon. The sun had nearly dipped too far, it was nearly time for her to go home. However, she wasn't unhappy.

Geoff shook his head. "I dinnae think so. Me dad sounded like he had plans for me tomorrow."

"Then I shall have to give you your present early." Lenore replied.

Before Geoff could ask what she meant, he found his face cupped within her silken hands. She turned his head to face her and leaned in. Her lips pressed against his in a soft, loving embrace. It was Geoff's first kiss, his heart felt like it stopped in that very moment, the world around him seemed to grind to a halt. Nothing else mattered except her, right then and there.

After that he was forced to take Lenore back home so he could return to his own. As he helped her down off of his horse, they exchanged a smile and Geoff waited for her to enter and close her front door before sauntering off. He couldn't stop thinking about her, and soon he had arrived back home.

"A man came by looking for you today." Gavin grumbled as he entered the house. The smell of his mother cooking dinner wafted over the place, and his father was in the living room sitting by the fire.

"What did he want?" Geoff asked curiously, he never got visitors other than Lenore.

"He was not from around here, looked like a bad sort, so I sent him off." Gavin replied.

Geoff's curiosity was piqued. "Bad sort?"

"Had a mace on his hip, he did. Smelled of blood. A man like that coming to this peaceful village can only mean trouble." Gavin turned his head and looked Geoff directly in the eye. "I know what ye've got goin on in yer head. Ye'll stay away." His father ordered, a seriousness across his face.

"Aye." Geoff nodded. However in secret he had planned to go talk to the man as soon as he could without his father knowing. It couldn't hurt to at least see what he wanted, could it?

"Ad a feelin' ye'd come to see me." The stranger chuckled as he drank from his cup, filled with some foul smelling liquid. Later that night Geoff had snuck out of his house and went into town, he figured an outsider would be in the small tavern, drinking. He had assumed right. He was older than Geoff by a few years. Dressed in furs to keep warm, he had what looked like a spike club on his hip. He had short brown hair and his face bore a few scars upon it, the most noticeable being the one across the bridge of his nose. It had scarred over. He looked at Geoff across the table with a slight smirk on his face.

"Ye've got a curiosity about you, deep down, yer lookin for somethin' more than this hole in the dirt." He mused, as if to himself, proud that his assumptions of Geoff.

He wasn't wrong, but it seemed that Geoff's father had been correct, he had an air about him that wasn't pleasant. "Get to the point, would ye? Why where ye lookin' fer me?" Geoff asked.

"Heard tale of a giant around these parts, figured that person might want a job, so to speak." The man answered.

Geoff was a little too eager to answer. "I do, what did ye have in mind?"

The man got up and instructed Geoff to follow him to his camp outside of town. Fires marked it's location easy in the night air. The camp was little more than a few fur tents put in in a circular formation. Campfires littered the place, all of them surrounded by grizzly looking people, gnawing at legs of poultry, drinking warm beverages out of small iron cups, wrestling and fighting with one another. They looked like a small army.

"What did ye say yer name was, again?" Geoff asked as the two of them walked through the camp.

"I did not give it, yet." The stranger turned his head back and grinned. "Names are for if you decide to join our family or not."

"Oi, is that the kid we came out here for?" One of the men whispered as they walked past.

"Aye, he's a big one he is." Another in the group said.

"Bigger than me oldest son."

"Which one? Ye've fathered probably dozens." Another chuckled.

"He best be worth all this effort."

"Am I famous or something?" Geoff asked as they approached the tent at the far end.

"Rumors, mostly." The stranger peeled back the entrance of the tent and went inside, motioning for Geoff to follow him.

Inside was a rather extravagant tent, far larger than the rest. Lit by a firepit in the center, tapestries hung from the ceiling, piles of gold and trinkets upon wooden shelves littered the sides, there was a side room that was draped off with expensive curtains, probably the bedroom and on the opposite end of the door sat a man similarly large as Geoff, however he was much more muscled, and hairy. His hair was jet black like a raven's feathers, and he sported a large bushy beard. Over each leg was draped a women, silent, but looking satisfied. Their chests heaved as if tired. Geoff began to slowly come to a realization about who these people were.

"This the one?" The man spoke, his voice boomed even though he wasn't speaking loudly, it seemed to reverberate inside Geoff's body, making his skeleton shake.

"Aye, Boss. The blacksmith's boy." The stranger replied.

"Who are ye? What's all this about then?" Geoff asked, hoping his assumptions were proven wrong.

The large man in the highbacked chair chuckled heartily. "I am the leader of this pack of men, and I want you to join us."

"If I refuse?" Geoff asked, they were bandits. Murderous bandits. His father was right, he never should've come, he should've stayed away. He wanted to do something to get away from his father, and to start moving forward with his life to ask for Lenore's hand in marriage when he was the proper age.

"Hmm." The man scratched his beard and thought for a moment. "We have traveled a bit, if you refuse I suppose I'd have to take it out on your family, the woman you've been courting, and your village. I'd call that fair compensation, we may or may not kill you afterwords, so mind your tongue, boy. As much as I don't want to, I would not suggest crossing me." The man leaned forward and glared threateningly at Geoff.

"Yer not givin' me much choice..." Geoff sighed. His life had just taken a turn for the worst. "I'll join willingly on one condition. Ye traveled all the way out here fer me, so I know that ye need me."

"Don't mistake my kindness for desperation, we could have rode straight through your village, and taken you against your will, but yes, willingness is preferred. I will hear your condition." The large man glared.

"We'll be travelin' right? Then I want permission to come back here, I don't want to give up my life, my future for this." Geoff stated his opinion frankly.

The bandit leader crossed his arms and closed his eyes as if in thought. "I will allow it, but that depends on certain circumstances. To be discussed later." He nodded, the stern look still in his eyes. "You've got courage to even ask such a thing of me. I like that." The man grinned widely.

"What now?" Geoff asked.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning. Have your affairs set by then." The large man replied flatly. "Since you're joining our family, I suposse I should introduce myself." He stood from his chair and beat a fist into his chest. "I am Sven Hammerhand, leader of the Blackblood bandits." He stated proudly. "You've already met Quinn, my second in command." Sven motioned to the man that brought Geoff to the camp.

"Quinn! Show him around!" Sven barked.

"Aye. Come on." He jerked his head towards the entrance to the tent and then left without bothering to see if Geoff was following. "He just wanted us out of his way, no point showing you around a camp we're going to pack up tomorrow." Quinn huffed as he heard Geoff's footsteps behind him.

Geoff heard a lot of noise nearby and he turned his head to see several of the men break out into an all our brawl. One of them stood out among the others after he pummeled another man square in the face. "Is that all right?" Geoff asked.

Quinn only laughed, his teeth surprisingly white for someone who was supposed to be a dirty bandit. His hair surprisingly well kept too, he must wash it frequently. A real pretty boy despite his position.

"Oi! New blood!" Geoff barely had time to turn his head to face the noise when he was immediately met with a fist. Time seemed to grind to a halt as the fist inched ever closer until it collided with the left side of his jaw. His vision flashed white and the blow was enough to stagger him, the sweet taste of his own blood dripped into his mouth.

"What the hell!?" Geoff barked loudly at the man and wiped the blood that had leaked the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Raaagh!" The man roared and bull charged Geoff, his head bent downward. He collided with Geoff's stomach as he was still reeling from the punch. He was more surprised than hurt, but the air was knocked out of his lungs and he tumbled to the ground with the man attempting to grapple him.

"Don't jus stand there!" Geoff growled and attempted to struggle out of the hold. He was trying to wrap his arms around Geoff's neck to choke him, but he was making it difficult by lowering his chin and doing his best to throw the man off.

Quinn laughed and held up his hands. "I will not help, you the rumored giant. Consider this your initiation." He grinned and merely stood back as the two men rolled in the dirt, a cloud of dust was starting to slowly kick up around them.

"Fine!" Geoff huffed and planted his feet on the ground, using his strength to stand up just with the power of his feet. The man wasn't as tall as Geoff so as his arms tried to find his neck his feet dangled a couple inches off the ground. He knelt down, making the person on his back forced to go down with him. Geoff then reached behind his head and grabbed the collar of the man's tunic and flung him over his back towards the front, slamming him onto the ground in a cloud of dust. The man recovered and got up, resuming a fighting stance with his fists clenched in front of him.

Geoff did much the same but this time he didn't wait for the other man to attack first. He began to inch forward cautiously barely able to dodge the quick jabs that were being thrown at him. He punch angered him, he hadn't expected to be drawn into a fight, and he didn't feel like holding back anymore for the sake of this person. If he was going to make it in this place he'd have to throw his weight around, if anything do save his village from being put to the torch, to save Lenore, and his family. Growing up, his father used to explicitly warn him that because of his size he must never fight lightly, to use his head, and not his fists. Those times were now over.

Once he was able to get inside the man's guard, Geoff clenched his fists and threw out his right arm just as the man jabbed with his left, leaving his side open. Geoff's fist collided with the side of the soldier's jaw. The man collapsed in the dirt like a sack of potatoes and lay there unmoving. Geoff heaved a sigh and looked up at the group of men that had been fighting, his eyes narrowed as he looked at them.

"Anyone else? Geoff growled threateningly.

The other four men in the group backed away, their eyes darting from Geoff to the crumpled man on the floor bleeding from the corner of his mouth. Behind him, Quinn began to double over in laughter, clutching at his stomach.

"That was good, that was really good." Quinn choked out between fits of laughter.

"What's that about?" Geoff turned to glare at Quinn, who appeared to him to be laughing at his comrade lying unconscious on the ground.

"You have no idea who you just beat." Quinn steeled himself and calmed his laughter, though he was still trying not to burst back out into another fit. He pointed at the man on the ground, "He was one of the strongest men we have, we call him Bruce the Unyielding." Quinn started to laugh again. "You beat him with a single punch, you're something else."