"You know, there's a smaller cove and town off to the left a few miles," Taeko observed.

"Yeah, you're right. I see it," Gavin looked through his monocular. "Doesn't look anything like the city over there." He gestured towards their intended destination, then pointed at the smaller town. "Everything looks run down. Lots of small boats, beached, no pier. I see nets hanging. Must be a fishing village."

Mike joined the conversation. "Yeah. You know, if you want the straight skinny on a place, start with the poor people."

"Dafydd, what do you think?" Gavin wanted agreement.

"Reasonable," he frowned, apparently in thought.

"Okay," Gavin made up his mind. "Hannah?" She was steering at the moment.

"Yes?"

"Steer us over to the left. We're going to check out the smaller town first."

"Okay," she called back.

The cove was about a half of a mile wide. The water was clear, and the sand was white. Yet, unlike the clean stone and tile they'd seen in the distant city, this town was built of grey, weathered lumber and brown timbers. The wood-shingled roofs were half-covered with moss. The stench of fish filled the air. Dirty smoke rose from mud-brick chimneys. The air stung their eyes and nostrils.

"Whoa. This place reeks, dude," Mike groaned. "Man, my eyes are burning."

"Yeah," Gavin tried to joke. "Breath deep. Clears the sinuses."

"Not funny!" Hannah cried. She held a hand over her mouth and nose.

"I think they're burning peat," Dafydd said. "Why can't they burn wood or coal?"

"Okay, guys." Gavin faced everyone. "Let's step easy here. We'll find out what we can."

They drove their ship right up to the beach until the bow crunched into the sand. Dafydd put the anchor out. They all hopped out over the bow without getting their feet wet.

"Should somebody stay and watch the ship?" Dafydd asked.

"Looks pretty quiet," Gavin answered. "Let's just try to keep it in sight."

A few men were mending nets on the beach.

"Those guys barely looked up at us," Hannah murmured. "Aren't people usually interested in strangers?"

"Yeah," Gavin didn't have any feeling of danger, but there was definitely a bad vibe. He went up to the net menders. They were gaunt with unkempt hair and beards. Their breeches were ragged, and they were bare-chested. Not an ounce of fat softened their features. Both were sunburned and tanned as if they lived outside.

Hannah sniffed. "Poor things. You can count their ribs."

"Good morning," he started. The two men looked up with smiles and vacant eyes.

"Good morning," one said.

"What town is this?"

The men looked confused. "What do you mean? It's our town."

"I mean, does your town have a name?"

Both men shrugged.

"Uh, how's the fishing been?"

They shrugged again.

Trying a new tack, Gavin asked, "Is there any place where we can buy some food?"

"Try the store." Both men put their attention back to the nets.

"Are there other towns like yours?"

The men looked at each other for a long moment. Then, finally, one said, "Yes. Fisher towns, farmer towns, miner towns," He waved an arm around. "Towns all around."

Gavin gestured to his friends and walked towards a dirt road that led away from the beach. The houses were tiny. They could see garden plots and a few emaciated cows in the backyards. People walked about. They smiled, but their eyes had the same vacant look like the men on the beach. No one offered a word of greeting. It was eerily quiet. Stray cats wandered the street.

"I think we've entered the Twilight Zone," Mike grumbled. "Look at this place. Not even glass on the windows, and everyone looks starved and brain dead. What is this? Mid-morning of the almost dead?"

The stench of untreated sewage joined with the reek of fish and unwashed bodies.

Taeko made a growling sound and said, "This doesn't make any sense. We could see fish in the cove and out in the water. The woods look like there's a good climate with plenty of rainfall. Why is this place so poor and hungry?"

"Yeah," Mike agreed, "I don't get it. And why does everyone have that deer-in-the-headlights look?"

Gavin looked around. "You know what else? There's what looks like a store over there, a tavern next to it, and an office thing across the street."

"Yes," Dafydd muttered. "And?"

"No signs. Even in semi-literate societies, businesses had signs with at least a picture."

"Maybe it's because it's a small town and everybody already knows all the places." Hannah pondered.

A horn sounded in the distance. The long call repeated. People started coming onto the dirt street. They all carried big baskets of goods. Some appeared to have vegetables, others cheese wheels. One man brought a tin container that might have held milk. Two guys carried a big basket between them. It was full of clams. Everyone walked up the road towards a big circle of packed dirt in the middle of town. Four ragged men pulled a two-wheel cart up the road. It was full of fish.

The horn call sounded again, closer this time. People hurried.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Gavin worried. "Let's find a place out of sight to watch this. I want to know what's going on, but we better not attract too much attention."

Taeko nodded, "Yeah, it's not like we look anything like these people."

"Over here," Mike called. "There's an alley here with a view."

They hurried into the space between two dilapidated buildings. A few fat rats hissed at them before scurrying off.

"I might be sick," Hannah worried.

"Don't blame ya," Mike groaned. "This place would gag a maggot on a gut truck."

"Seriously?" Taeko hissed. "Not helping."

"Shhh," Gavin waved a hand. "Something's coming."

Four big open wagons pulled by teams of four horses each pulled into the town center. They turned into a circle and stopped. Men in tall black boots and long red coats sat on the front bench of every wagon. They were obviously clean and well-fed. Grey metal curved plates covered the tops and backs of their heads. They all had shoulder-length hair in various shades of brown and sported thick mustaches.

"Check out the goons," Mike whispered. "And I thought we looked like cosplay gone wrong."

"And what about those metal head caps?" Taeko wondered.

"I don't see any weapons visible," Dafydd observed.

"No. But there could be anything under those red pirate coats." Gavin added.

Hannah peaked out. "I may be wrong, but the redcoat guys look like they've got all their marbles."

Gavin took a closer look. "I think you're right. They don't have that same dull vacant stare as the townspeople."

One of the redcoats wore a silver plate, with strange markings, on a chain around his neck. He stood on the bench of a wagon. Another raised a horn and blew a short call. All the townspeople froze in place, facing them.

The one with the silver spoke in a loud voice.

"Greetings from Port City. Put your offerings in the wagons."

"Short speech," Dafydd murmured.

The thin people in their ragged clothes placed all the baskets of goods into the wagons. The fish and clams went into the last wagon, and the fishermen covered the load with a canvas tarp.

All of the townspeople stood silent around the wagons. No one spoke or moved.

"The chief goon doesn't look happy," Mike noticed.

"People!" The redcoat shouted. "You have not met your quota. Again. The Headman will step forward!"

An elderly man shuffled up to the wagon. He wore a threadbare jacket with faded blue trim. His battered sandals dragged in the dirt. Despair radiated off the older man like heat waves from the desert. Two of the goons ripped the man's jacket and shirt off. Old scars crisscrossed his lean back. They tied his hands up on the side of a wagon. One of the redcoats produced a long whip. As he walked up to the Headman, who was already whimpering, he flicked and snapped the whip. It whistled and cracked.

Gavin felt a hot coal of anger start in his gut and crawl up to encompass his chest and throat.

The chief redcoat shouted, "Is it not the First Law of the State to give fully with a generous heart?"

The crowd answered as one, "It is so."

"Is the state not generous in return, sharing the land's bounty equally to all?"

"The State is generous," the townspeople droned.

"Is the State not merciful, that punishment is inflicted upon your Headman instead of on you all?

"The State is merciful."

All the people stood still. Many had tears streaming down their faces. Most hung their heads down.

"You will all raise your heads to witness the punishment." The chief goon shouted.

Everyone raised their heads. The one with the whip got into position behind the elderly Headman. The redcoats were all grinning and leering.

"What kind of wacko commie trash is this?" Mike growled.

"Feudalism," Taeko hissed. "With a big dose of brainwashing thrown in. Everything goes to the rulers. Nothing ever comes back."

Gavin's thoughts came fast.

I don't know diddly squat about this world, and I could be making the biggest mistake of my life. I don't care. If I watch this without doing anything, I'll never be able to live with myself. Okay, there are eight of them. But they're bullies. Even if I only save this town for a day. . .

"You guys stay out of this. I mean it," Gavin hissed. "If this goes south, get back to the boat and go home."

Without waiting for an answer, Gavin marched out of the alley. He drew his spatha in his right hand and his P17 pistol in his left. He was an equally good shot with either hand.

At first, no one noticed. The people and the goons were fixated on the Headman and the guy with the whip. Then, finally, Gavin shouldered his way through the crowd.

The man with the whip threw his hand back to get a full swing. The tip stretched out towards Gavin. He put his sword hand out, and the end of the whip wrapped around the hilt. Gavin jerked with all his strength, and the goon fell back with a thud upon the ground. His head bounced off the packed surface, and he lay there stunned.

The crowd didn't move, but Gavin could feel the instant tension around him, like a coiled spring. The chief goon's eyes bugged out in shock. The people looked at their Headman, waiting for orders.

"Who? Who?" The chief goon stuttered.

"Nobody," Gavin said in a clear voice. "Who are you to oppress these people?"

"We are the Enforcers of the Law!"

"Your law stinks. Now unload these wagons, and get out of here."

"Men, arrest this miscreant!"

Miscreant? Seriously? Well. No reason to kill him.

Gavin put his pistol in the air and fired twice. The two loud cracks echoed around the town center. The goons froze for a moment. The chief redcoat leered and put his right hand under his coat.

Oh, no, you don't.

Gavin lined up and shot. The .22 caliber copper-jacketed slug drilled a hole in the chief's right kneecap. He fell off the wagon onto the dirt like a bag of wet sand. His comrades stared at their officer, who clutched his ruined knee and screamed like a banshee. The crowd was backing off. Finally, one of the braver ones ran up and untied the Headman.

Several of the redcoats reached under their jackets.

"I wouldn't, I were you!" Dafydd's voice shouted from behind Gavin.

He turned to see his friends behind him. Their bows were out with arrows nocked. Hannah was holding her pistol.

Gavin felt his heart lift. But still, "I told you guys to stay put."

"Yeah," Mike scoffed. "So?"

Mike and Dafydd looked down at the wounded goon. The redcoat was writhing like a snake with a broken back while whining like a whipped puppy.

Mike shook his head. "Obviously, a man with a low pain threshold."

"Indeed," Dafydd agreed. "More used to dishing it out than taking it."

"Bullies."

"Quite."

"Stop gloating, boys," Taeko snapped.

"It's okay, Taeko," Hannah stepped up. "For the first time in my life, I don't feel like treating a wounded person."

Gavin could not help but chuckle. Then he faced the Enforcers. "Get down here. Now."

Evidently, they were used to following orders. In a few seconds, the seven were lined up in front of Gavin.

"Frisk 'em. And find something to tie their hands. Get their jackets off and take off those helmet things. Unload the front wagon."

While his friends got to work, the Headman approached Gavin. The man's eyes were wide with shock.

"What have you done?" the old man wheezed. "Enforcers will come back and kill us all for this."

Oh, no. Unintended consequence. Now what?

"You must leave. Now." The elder tried to sound authoritative.

"Okay. I'm sorry for your trouble," Gavin said softly. "Is there any way these Enforcers won't blame you and your people?"

The Headman's brow furrowed, and eyes narrowed.

It's like just thinking is hard for him. Is it hard for all of them?

"Maybe. You go, and I will take the people to the next fisher town. Then, after a time, we can come back. But we will all be killed if you stay."

"Are there a lot of these Enforcers?"

Again, the Headman looked like it took a great deal of effort to answer. He spoke with slow deliberation like a person tackling a foreign language.

"Yes. There are very many in Port City. They go everywhere to take offerings."

"Okay. We'll take care of these Enforcers. You get your people together and get out of here. Is it far to the next fisher town?"

"One day and a little, maybe."

"Okay then. Get going, and we will try to distract the city from going after you."

The old man put a hand on Gavin's arm with another squint and wince of effort to think. "I think you are good. I think you mean well. So, I thank you for standing for us. But please go. Only then do we have a chance."

"We're leaving. Get your people going. Maybe we'll meet again."

The Headman touched his forehead and left.

Gavin looked down at the pile of eight red coats, metal caps, and eight strange-looking pistols. The guns were black and large. He hoped the weapons had safeties engaged.

"What did the head dude say?" Mike asked.

"Just a sec."

The seven goons had their hands tied to the wagon. The wounded one had his hands tied.

"Let's get the plunder on the empty wagon."

"What about the redcoats," Taeko asked.

"Leave 'em."

"They'll get loose."

"We'll be gone by then. So will the townspeople. The Headman's taking them to another town to avoid any reprisals. He was adamant we take a hike so his people aren't killed by these Enforcers, just out of spite, I guess. I told him we'd try to make a distraction, so they don't go after him and his people right away. Is the wagon ready? Okay. Mike, you want to drive?"

"No problem. Done the horse and wagon thing before. Let's go."

Everyone piled in the back, and Mike drove the wagon towards the beach. People were gathering. Baskets rode on their backs, and children flocked around. Mike drove the wagon right onto the beach. They threw all the red coats, head plates, and weapons in the ship and got underway.

They sailed out of the small bay. The whole episode in the town had only spanned a couple of hours. It was barely mid-morning.

That was interesting. And disturbing. Are these Enforcers everywhere? Classic evil ruler set-up of forcing the people to produce while keeping them down and out. Stinks. We just came here to see if the place existed and collect some antiques. What have I gotten us into?

#

#

Chapter image by Mollyroselee from Pixabay