It was early evening as the crowd gathered round the gallows, while being held back at a respectable distance by a set of guards in the local count's livery. Pikes were jabbed out and sharp orders given to the soldiers as the onlookers were waiting for an execution to take place. Standing in the cold and feeling the wet mud grasp onto the boots, they saw a cart drawn out with four soldiers and a figure firmly bound.
It made a slow progress to the scaffold where the prisoner was roughly hauled out and carried up the steps. At the top, a priest fiddled with his robes while clutching his worn copy of the bible. As the prisoner was stopped in front of him, the crowd watched as he gave absolution to the man. Ather a few words in latin were spoken, the prisoner was passed across to the executioner, a burly man dressed all in black who guided the prisoner to his final standing spot. The local captain stood at the top and unfurled a scroll and began reading from it. The crowd fell silent, although they knew what was coming, but it was not often that such theatre was played out for them.
"For the crime of theft and burglary against the Count de Rochard, and for the attempted murder of the soldiers of the Count de Rochard, this man, Fernand of Loire has been found guilty. The penalty is death." He turned and nodded to the executioner, who began to hood the man.
The crowd jeered as the man struggled slightly, but without success as he was firmly held in place by two guards. With the hood firmly in place, the rope was then neatly fastened around the neck and the guards moved back. As if knowing that this was the end, the figure stood still in his final moments. A second nod from the Captain and the level was pulled, dropping the man.
As the body jerked and twisted in the breeze, the crowd cheered glad to see that, for them at least, justice had been done. After a short length of time, the figure had stopped struggling, the body was cut down by the guards and flung back onto the cart to be taken away for disposal in a lime pit for paupers. The crowd dispersed, their bloodlust satiated and went back to their daily routine.
"You know, I never thought he would be caught." From afar, two men had been watching from the shadows of the nearby houses. Unnoticed, or perhaps ignored by the peasants, they bowed their heads slightly as if to respect a comrade.
"You knew, otherwise you would never have asked me here." Dressed in plain travelling clothes, both were armed marking themselves out as servants to no-one. "He was one of the best at breaking in silently and carefully and he never took chances, how did he end up in a fight?"
"I don't know, but I need you to find out. This isn't the place for such a discussion and there is more I need to tell you."
"Isn't there always."