Art rode to the Church construction site, only to see a crowd of people gathered in front, with timber and stones scattered everywhere. Art dismounted and walked closer, hearing a gruff voice declare, "I don't care what your damn guild is; we only follow the rules set by Lord Harder. He said to unload according to the signing order, and these timber and stones are our work for today. I won't acknowledge whatever your guild says. Whoever dares to snatch this work from us, I'll dare to spill his blood."
A sarcastic voice replied, "Big-nosed Odo, don't you dare act so fierce just because you have some strength. If you want to fight, we're not afraid of you. If you want to talk sense, then come with me to the guild, or even to Bishop Olov, if you wish."
Art dismounted and pushed through the crowd, squeezing inside. He saw a big-nosed burly man, bare-chested in the cold winter, glaring at a fellow with a goatee. Behind each of them stood a group of men, all dressed as construction laborers. The goateed man looked scrawny and was half a head shorter than the big-nosed man, yet he showed no fear, as his group was nearly twice as large as the other's.
The big-nosed man scoffed, "Bah, go to the guild to talk sense? Who doesn't know you're with the guild? It's your guild that forced the carting company to hire your men to transport..."
The goateed man sharply interrupted him, shouting, "What do you mean 'forced them to hire us'? I'm also doing things according to the rules, not charging a single fenny more than you. How am I forcing the carting company? Go ask the people from the carting company, have we ever forced them?" A group of people behind the goateed man chimed in agreement.
The big-nosed man sneered, "The carting company doesn't dare offend you. I don't need to ask them. I saw it with my own eyes, so there's no need for a confrontation, is there? No matter what you say, this job is ours!"
Upon hearing this, the goateed man's side became agitated, and they all started flexing their muscles. The goateed man shouted, "If you don't play fair, don't blame us for being barbaric. I've long found you country bumpkins, you wild dogs trying to snatch food, to be an eyesore. Today, let's fight to the death. No more talk, everyone, get them!"
The goateed man's group all shouted together, grabbing sticks and clubs from behind them and swarming towards the other side. The big-nosed man's side also showed no weakness, pulling out stones and clubs from behind them.
Clearly, both sides had been prepared.
Seeing the situation turn ugly, the onlookers quickly retreated. Art also led his horse back several dozen steps.
The construction site became a lively brawl. Both sides were laborers who lifted timber and carried stones, enduring hardship daily. Though they looked lean, they were all strong, robust, and fierce men who enjoyed a good fight. Once they started, it was intense. The goateed man's side had more people, but the big-nosed man's side, though fewer in number, seemed to have better tacit agreement. They stayed in small groups and didn't scatter, which, while not exactly coordinated, was better than the other side's chaotic, swarming charge.
For a time, the two groups fought to a stalemate, with several people falling on each side.
The goateed man himself hid in the back and didn't join the fight, constantly urging his laborers to attack. Odo was quite brave and seemed to have a lot of fighting experience. He led several men, wielding short wooden clubs, blocking and striking, having already knocked down several people. He pushed back four or five opponents in front of him. Seeing several of his own men fall and hearing the goateed man still yelling from the back, he became enraged. He suddenly charged forward a few steps, enduring two blows from the side, and then knocked down the man directly in front of him. Immediately, he ignored the others, swinging his short club like a windmill, striking only the man on the ground. Earlier, he had been afraid of killing someone and didn't dare to hit the head, but now he didn't care. After a flurry of blows, the man on the ground covered his head with both hands, screaming repeatedly, and soon his head was bleeding profusely.
Behind Odo, a short redhead brought more men to hold off the sides. The four or five men in front, seeing the miserable state of the man on the ground, felt their courage falter and quickly dodged Odo's direct path. Odo was waiting for this opportunity. He immediately abandoned the man on the ground, charged through the opening, reached the goateed man, and swung his club at the goateed man's head...
By the time Rowan arrived at the Church construction site with the carpenters, a spectacular brawl had already ended. The goateed man had been knocked to the ground by Odo with a blow to the head, and Odo himself had been surrounded and beaten by urban thugs who had rushed in to help. The Monastery's armed guards arrived in time to quell the situation. Both sides sustained injuries, but no one died.
Such conflicts and brawls were commonplace at various construction sites, not surprising at all; it was just that this one was a bit larger in scale and more serious.
Finally, the labor contractor named Harder came to the site. Evidently, he also somewhat feared the guild's influence behind the goateed man. After mediating for a while, he determined that Odo's side was at fault and had to compensate the other party for medical expenses, and he expelled Odo and his group from the construction site.
Art watched the laborers helping each other leave, then turned to Rowan and instructed, "Rowan, you've come at a good time. Did you see that group of laborers leaving the construction site? Follow them and see where they live, then come back and tell me."
"Oh, God!!!" Horrific screams echoed from the shanties at the base of the city wall.
Odo wiped the sweat from his brow, at a loss. He somewhat regretted leading his men to fight desperately with the guild members in a fit of rage today.
Big-nosed Odo and most of the other dozen or so men in the shanty town were bankrupt farmers from villages near Lucerne. They had either had their land seized by their liege lord or had been forced to abandon their fields and wander to other lands by heavy taxes. Losing their livelihoods, they had no choice but to bring their families to Lucerne to survive. In this cruel world, they were wandering wild dogs, oppressed everywhere.
"Alber, just bear with it. I'll gather some more money later to get a Medical Officer for you." Alber and the few laborers lying in the straw were all bleeding from their heads and looked pale.
Odo left the shanty and came among the group of laborers gathered outside the shanty.
"Brother Odo, we just paid those Bastards for their injuries and sickness. We don't have many fenny left. I just felt around, and we've gathered less than eight fenny. I'm afraid it's not enough to hire a Medical Officer." The short redhead handed a few copper fenny and a small handful of various small copper coins into Odo's hand.
Odo was a solitary man. The few wages he earned from work usually went to drinking or were shared with his men who had families to support. The advantage of his generosity was that he had considerable prestige among these laborers, and combined with his astonishing arm strength, everyone respectfully called him Iron Arm Odo; the disadvantage was that he never had a fenny left overnight.
Just as everyone was distressed about not having money to treat the injured, a fellow dressed in leather armor, a leather coat over it, and a long sword at his waist, accompanied by a follower, walked up to them. Everyone was startled, thinking that the guild had hired city guards to cause trouble.
Odo pushed the others aside, stepped forward to the two men, and shouted, "I instigated everyone today; it has nothing to do with them. If you want to arrest someone, arrest me."
"You are good men," Art said with a smile to Odo and the others behind him.
Everyone was puzzled; this didn't seem like someone seeking revenge.
"Who are you, sir?" Odo curiously sized up the two men.
"We are from the South. Today, we saw you all give those guild thugs a good beating at the construction site, and it was very satisfying. We'd like to make friends with you all." Art said, walking towards the shanty.
Everyone made way for the two men. Odo saw that indeed no one else was following them, so he followed them into the shanty.
"They were all injured by clubs. Their opponents had some sense and didn't break any bones. If you get a Medical Officer to treat them, they'll be fine in a few days," Art told everyone.
Everyone felt bewildered by the sudden appearance of the two men.
After observing inside the shanty for a while, Art said to Odo, who had followed him out, "Are you Big-nosed Odo?"
Odo glanced at Art, then at Rowan, and replied, mystified, "Yes, I am Odo. May I ask who you are, sir? And what exactly brings you here?"
Art looked around at everyone and said loudly, "To be honest with you all, I am the Patrol Officer who will soon take office on the southern border of Tinietz. I need to recruit a group of brave men to go south with me to patrol the border." Art paused, allowing everyone to digest the information.
"I'm sure you've all heard that the southern border is quite chaotic right now. I have been tasked by the Court Minister of Public Security to form a border patrol team, responsible for apprehending thieves, fending off mountain barbarians, and maintaining stability on the border. If any of you men wish to join the army and earn a living, come find me at the tavern next to the blacksmith's shop south of the city before noon tomorrow." After speaking, Art took out two deniers from his Pregnant and handed them to Odo.
"Sir, what is the meaning of this?"
"Since I've come, how can I ignore the brothers lying in the hut? Remember, tomorrow at noon, the inn next to the blacksmith's shop south of the city. I won't wait if you're late." With that, he took Rowan and left the shanty area.
