Darth John snow's Arc

Chapter 3 of 10

The recruits were halfway to their horses when the girl ran out from the stone house with two folded cloaks in her arms. She pushed them into their hands. The cloth was plain, the color of dust, and each was fastened with a heavy iron clasp shaped like a knot. "Wear these," she said. "So they know." Darth John Snow watched from the doorway and said nothing. They rode the north road past noon. The trees thinned. A tall iron gate rose at the bend, spikes along its top, a pale skull bolted to the center post. It marked the start of bandit country. The recruits slowed their horses and looked at each other. The taller one tugged his cloak straight across his chest. The shorter one pulled his hood up, then down, unsure. The first village sat behind a fresh stake fence, sharpened tops still pale where the wood had been cut. Moss had not yet found the new posts. A man stood behind it with a hatchet. Two women crouched lower with stones. When they saw the riders in dark armor, the man raised the hatchet and shouted for them to turn back or be cut down. The shorter recruit lifted both hands. He pulled the cloak wide so the iron knot showed clear on his chest. He pointed at it. He said nothing clever, only, "We came for the bandits. Not for you." The taller recruit did the same beside him. They did not draw their swords. They waited. The man behind the fence stared at the knot a long moment. He lowered the hatchet by an inch. Then he called over his shoulder, and an old woman came forward and looked at the clasps and nodded once. The gate of stakes swung open. They were given water. They were told where the bandits slept. No one asked who sent them. The knot had been enough. The recruits rode on without looking back toward the stone house. They had not waited for a word from Darth John Snow. They had chosen the cloaks. They had spoken for themselves. Somewhere behind them, past the stream, he would hear of it by nightfall and turn his face away so no one saw him smile.