More Meat And The Iron Maidens

It was already 3 in the afternoon and streams of residents and citizens each hauling their hemp sacks were returning from their hunting game.

From their looks, they looked pretty shacked out since they had skipped lunch and had brought along with them their balance of breakfast to hunt and earn some coppers and at the same time enjoy the fun and camaraderie.

The hunting games did prohibit them from hunting wild boars and red deer as these would be confirmed as the champions if one were to haul them back to the town Square...!

Besides, small game and birds are the ones most sought after and not rodents since it would be made into our food later on after the hunting games had ended.

Samuel was there to announce the number of pounds a person had managed to bring in and the number of coins a person had received followed by their names as well.

Samuel was assisted by Anastasia who had been known to have her first appearance last week and today she had once again used her special ability to project Samuel's voice over the town Square.

Loud cheers resounded throughout the square as the weight was announced and the prize. Although the prize was secondary but the true recognition of bringing home the kill to feed for the future makes the hunters and trappers proud.

There was a lot of hunted game they were brought in and even the fattest of red jungle fowl were hauled in through by the sacks load.

When Crystal saw a lot of birds had been brought in, she somehow felt that the flying red jungle fowls would only return in a week or so to roost and feed at their usual feeding grounds. Besides, her plans to trap them alive was slightly dashed as all the game that was brought in was already dead.

One by one the hunters had their names announced, their game weighed and they were paid on the spot. Gwen looked at the huge pile of kill that was placed on a wagon afterwards was in joy as she and the hunter-gatherer would be busy in the next few days to process the pelt and make leather.

It was at 5 in the afternoon when Samuel had and Anastasia had made the last announcements as the judges were there to make the count who earned the most. To make it fair for them, refreshments were handed free of charge as they waited for their turns.

Finally, the top three top earner's names were announced as they had bagged in more than 20 over pounds of the game and each was declared a winner and received a silver coin each.

Not only they had warned more than 20 coppers but they also had earned an additional silver. Well, these all would go into a Joyous Celebration and a bonus for them as they headed out to the Greasy Spoon to have their dinner with their loved ones.

When the participants had arrived, Gwen wasted no time as she and several other hunter-gatherers went to the wagons to clear the carcasses. There was a lot of pelts, innards and meat to process and it was immediately dressed and cleaned before they were all stored in the Freezer of the cold storage.

Just on that day alone, we had gained more than 500 pounds of game meat and this would be a great addition to the frozen section at the grocery store.

The group of troubadours had moved to the town Square instead and places their seats at the Greasy Spoon as they entertained the diners as well as the gamers earlier.

Soon, a song had struck a chord in Strongbow and he can't help to go outside and observe the group that was playing their musical instruments.

He wiped his hands on his apron and stepped outside with a mug of dark ale in his hands. He can't help to tap his feet when he heard the awfully familiar tune when it was played first and last at the old tavern he was handling over at the junction of Old West Tanfield.

When the troubadour had finished playing their piece, Strongbow raised his mug of ale in his hands and did a perfect bow to the group. When he peered closely, he can't help to notice that the ones that were playing the tune were ladies...!

"Something that brought you back to where you used to be, mate?" one of the Shadow approached Strongbow who was also an ex-Shadow and fell out due to his love life.

"Aye, mate. I thought the Shadow unit are all made up of able-bodied men who sacrificed their families and friends to be part of this Kingsmen Orders?"

"Not at all, my old mate. There are women as well within our ranks and they alone were as strong as us men, Strongbow. Besides, they don't inter-react with us much and had kept music as their main passion. I guess these are the remaining 20 that was secretly brought in to guard Our Majesty and his royal family members without his knowledge."

"Yeah, mate... I agree with that. Besides what Eagle had been doing was for the good of everyone."

"Even our Shadow HQ was considering treating this town as one of its satellite base where the rest of the Shadows were able to connect to other towns as well."

"Besides we could even act as an ambassador and support unit for the Sheriff's confidante."

The Shadow member explained and he nodded his head. Treating the 20 mixed groups of Shadow unit members masked as musicians as their main profession would be easier to blend with the community and to weed out any unnecessary possible acts of treason or dishonesty here in this town.

Strongbow offered the Shadow member a stiff ale but he turned it down and asked for a small table ale instead. "I'm still on duty there, mate. Need to keep my mind and head sober and alert at all times. Besides the troubadour and jonguler would be here till late evening so stick around and listen to some tunes."

With that, the Shadow unit had his small table ale and waved his hands as he slinked off between the buildings and got to where he intended to be.

Besides these shadow unit members would be monitoring the activities around the town's walls and from there, they were able to hinder any intruders without disrupting the already hectic lives of Their Majesty.

Anastasia was walking about with her parents and was delighted that her daughter had been a great help in contributing a cause to the community. As they walked, Strongbow motioned them over and asked if Anastasia could project her voice not just through speech but through music.

"I am not sure, Mister, but I could sure try. Please forgive me if it doesn't sound that good since it's my first time to project so many sounds at the same time."

Anastasia replied and when the troubadour started their new piece of music, Anastasia first concentrated in the lutes before she progressed on to the flutes and drums. She also managed to incorporate the harp and lastly the hurdy-gurdy as well.

It took her almost near to the end of the music before she got everything organised and it was projected softly at first and it got louder and clearer and everyone who heard it around the town Square and beyond was doing their little ditty and jigs around with their neighbours.

I heard the music slowly increasing and I thought that the troubadour was moving to the domain to play their pieces but when I looked out from the balcony, I saw the group of musicians were still at the front of Greasy Spoon and the music had been transmitted by Anastasia.

The patients, unbeknownst to us were also tapping their feet if they had one as well as their fingers too while listening to the tunes coming from Greasy Spoon. It was such a joy and everyone remembered that day very well.

The troubadour played a set of 45 minutes before they took a 15-minute break between each set to rest. Strongbow invited the family over and treated them to several pieces of Crispy flatbread, grill and fried snacks.

Since the family had just come to the town and their breadwinner was awaiting treatment, they do not have many coins to spare and to dine outdoors as the others do.

Instead, they had bought some groceries and saved their meals daily and since Mother Appleton was the only one working in the factory at the moment, she tried to save up as much as she could till as salary day would be today and she would be receiving them later.

Soon, Mother Appleton would be fully paid as a general worker, earning 6 silvers a month and by then she could breathe easy. Fortunately the Community Chest helped the rest of the 560 new residents to cope well.