Wings of Grace

Chapter 8

Many of the lords of the county were well-blessed with an abundance or land which they would lease to local families who were not so fortunate. These simple folks would seek out a meager living by crop-raising, some for their own use and extras to be sold at the town market, using the profits to pay the rent.

Several landowners got selfish and began to raise the monthly amount of rent on their tenants. If there were not an abundant of crops they would not, of course, be able to pay the increase amount; they would be evicted.

There are the needy and there are the greedy, thought Antoine. It was apparent to him that those greedy ones should become the recipients of his vengeance. Those lords were, in a sense, stealing from the poor people, so why shouldn’t he do some stealing from them! He would return the redeemed wealth back to the tenants, then he figured it really wouldn’t be theft on his part. Well, he did need a little of the monies to obtain some form of sea-worthy transportation, but he could always pay back whatever he had to "borrow". That would give him a clearer conscience!

Each of the lords would set up a central location for the monthly collection time. The funds would then be transported by coach back to the abode of the lord. Herein was Antoine's chance to relieve the coach-driver of his heavy load and so it began…

For the encounter Antoine chose a section of the road going through the woods of his own property. As he would be on foot, he didn’t want to carry too much too far. Besides, no one would suspect a robber to be so bold as to pull this off on his own land, in his own back yard, so to speak.

On the night chosen for the robbery, Antoine donned his disguise, a dark faced mask ad a long length black cloak which enveloped both hos body and his swords. He secretly hoped the weapons would not be needed except only for a scare tactic.

He stopped at the spot he had chosen and stepped back into the shadows to wait. His heart was pounding loud, and he hoped that the driver wouldn’t hear it and be tipped off.

Antoine could hear the wheels of the coach as it rapidly approached and, as it neared him, he stepped out into the open, brandishing his swords and announcing his intention to rob.

The driver afforded no resistance; to the contrary he seemed more than willing to comply to the demands, as if he didn’t approve of the cargo either and wanted to rid himself of both it and his delivery duty.

For some unknown reason, Antoine felt it common courtesy to thank the driver, maybe because the entire event went over without incident. He watched as the coach disappeared in a different direction from what he had expected, then he tossed the moneybags over his shoulder and headed for home.

When he arrived at his front door, he was met with a surprise; Luna was there waiting for him. She had come upon the buildings some time ago and, thinking they were abandoned, she had found a secret way inside and made herself a cool place to rest each day before she hiked back to SilverGlade's castle. One of her new found woodland friends had then revealed to her that the place would soon be inhabited, and it was she who arranged for the furnishings and food previsions before she had even met the new owner.

Antoine now had no fear of inviting her to come in, she had already been there over and over again. What a special turn of events. That explains the woman touch inside, he laughed to himself.

He escorted her to the great hall, as if she needed to be escorted. There they emptied the bags onto a large carved banquet table. They divided what they thought he would need for a sailing vessel, then set aside what would be returned to the peasants later when he could figure fair and proper way of dispersal.

Word spread quickly throughout the countryside that this newcomer to the locale was not in favor of the methods used by the other landlords to swindle their tenants, and those renters considered asking Antoine if he would be willing to help their cause. They had heard of his close friendship with Luna and decided to approach her first with their ideas.. She was such a kind person, a loyal acquaintance of theirs, maybe she would be the one to put in a good word for them with Antoine. Yes she would, and she did. She arranged a meeting for them with Antoine at the great hall. He listened to intently to their needs and they, in turn, informed him of ways they could help if he were willing to come to their aid.

Trained soldiers or sailors they were not, but their eagerness to help, based on a combination of desperation mixed with hope impressed him. One of them owned a small boat that he was willing to loan, if that would be of any use. Antoine thanked him and gladly accepted the tiny vessel.

The offshore waters were shallow, too shallow for the large cargo ships to pull into the docks; the sailors would load the good into the smaller boats and bring them to shore that way. What and opportunity for Antoine's crew!

Antoine wanted to make a trail run alone but Luna insisted that she accompany him; after all, she was the one who brought him into contact with the others int the first place, so he owed her that courtesy, didn’t he?

The chosen night was the dark of the moon and the two occupants of the little skiff were able to row out from a spot on the shore above the main harbor; for from here they would be able to observe the unloading maneuvers for themselves. The pair watched silently as the transport boats were loaded and brought to the harbor one by one.

Antoine could immediately see that this operation he had planned was going to be too risky for a lady, especially HIS lady, no matter how capable she was; he insisted that, for the actual raids, she not go along. He would choose a crew from among his trusted friends who would, in turn, rent several additional boats from the townsfolk. He had discovered early in his residency who in town would conduct business and keep quiet about it.

It didn’t take long for Antoine to gather the crew, willing if not all that able. He was surprised to say the least when he saw who was volunteering… of course the tenants (he knew they would) but also the coach driver who had so willingly allowed himself to be robbed, and the fennec fox, he had his own reasons for desiring vengeance on the unscrupulous lords, on in particular. With a crew and fleet assembled, Antoine and his crew listened intently for the news of the next shipment to arrive offshore.

The waiting period was a short one, a large ship carrying exotic foods was due in two nights, and the little crew of would be pirates wade final arrangements for the escapade, as once-in-a-lifetime great adventure for most of them.

What did they want with fine food, rather than riches, they asked Antoine. He explained that’s the items would be distributed among the crew. If they were in need at home, they were more than welcome to take some back to their cottages, if they had a place left. Otherwise they could take their share to the local market for sell. The funds they received here could be used to buy back their farms. The landlords would have to purchase what they wanted at the market and would therefore end up paying for the goods twice, having paid for them to be shipped in the first place. Antoine would give up his share in order to repay what he had borrowed to rent the additional boats. The fennec and coach driver wanted nothing but to get even with the landlords and SilverGlade.