Dividing the Spoils

A half-man-high hill had been piled onto the long wooden table in the mill.

Scottish wool, Flanders cloth, Italian silk, the leaders' coats and belts, the hardened bandits' undershirts and leather boots, the lackeys' broken shoes and blankets, along with clay jars, wineskins, iron pots, dinner plates, wooden spoons, cheese, oil lamps, candles...

Anything Roger had permitted had been scavenged out by the "bandit-slaying warriors."

At the very top of the hill sat a cloth bag half-full of assorted gold and silver coins. A rough count put them at nearly two thousand, worth more than three pounds.

Most of them had come from an iron chest in the sterncastle where the pirate ship's chief leader lived. Some had also been stripped from the two leaders, the hardened bandits, and the lackeys.

Naturally, Roger had no intention of putting all the captured gold and silver out for distribution. So, before several of his trusted men, he openly took out the most valuable large gold coins, along with silver dinner plates, knives, forks, goblets, several fine pieces of porcelain, silver brooches, an enamel swan pendant, crosses, and other valuables, and put them back into the iron chest. Those items were estimated to be worth around five pounds.

Roger claimed those gold and silver utensils, along with the pirate ship itself, as his own. No one raised the slightest objection, nor did they dare entertain any crooked thoughts. This had been Master Roger's rightful share to begin with.

As for all the captured weapons and armor—including one crudely made cloth-covered iron cuirass, two half-suits of chainmail, four padded armors, five kettle helmets, six shields, ten iron spears of varying lengths, five assorted longswords with weapon belts, five self-bows and crossbows along with several dozen arrows, plus machetes, axes, and iron-headed hammers—Roger had them all carried aboard the pirate ship. He had no intention of sharing any of them.

He did not even intend to return the weapons and armor taken from Brodick Castle's armory, much less hand these things over to White-faced John.

Once that bargain-bin Baron uncle returned, he planned to trade these weapons and armor for a large sum of gold and silver, building enough funds for his planned journey south and eastward homecoming.

Roger had already sent Gray Rat and an islander back to Brodick Castle with the news. Before White-faced John arrived with his men, he had to divide up these goods captured from the pirates, lest they make others green with envy.

At that moment, an unusual merit-assessment meeting was in full swing before the hill of goods on the long table.

The dozen or so warriors who had followed Roger into the mill last night stood gathered around the table. The cowards who had only charged down after all the pirates were dead had been driven out of the mill and assigned to keep outsiders from approaching.

Roger promised to leave them some "dregs of the soup" afterward, but only after the real warriors had picked over the "fat meat."

The spoils would be divided according to each man's contribution during last night's raid, and the warriors were all worked up.

Ponytail had played the most crucial role in last night's attack. He had borne the greatest risk and suffered the most torment, so naturally his merit was the greatest as well.

Blackhide Dog, Fat Widow, Old Joey, and Black Charcoal had followed Roger into the slaughter and truly taken down two hardened bandits. They counted as members of the assault team, and their merits were considerable.

Baldhead had charged in a little later, but when Blackhide Dog was stabbed, he had fired his crossbow and killed a man. Added to the fact that he was Roger's trusted man, his merit naturally stood on equal footing with those before him.

The point under dispute now was the relative merit of Gambling Addict, Missing Tooth, and the two hunters.

"...I followed close behind Master Roger and was among the first to charge in. With one strike, I stabbed to death the hardened bandit in front of Master Roger." Gambling Addict kept waving both hands as he mimed stabbing.

Black Charcoal immediately cut off Gambling Addict's boasting with a shout. "Gambling Addict, you rotten bastard, you've got the nerve to say you were among the first in? By the time you came in, Fat Widow had already hammered one to death, and Old Joey and I had stabbed another dead."

Missing Tooth was also displeased with Gambling Addict. He squeezed out a mouthful of thick phlegm through the gaps in his rotten teeth, spat, and said, "Gambling Addict, you call that killing someone? That hardened bandit was dead as a doornail already. You just stabbed at him blindly with your eyes shut."

"Right, Gambling Addict has always been shameless. That year when we went to fight the English, he was so scared of dying that he hid in the grass, yet when it came time to divide the goods, he bragged that he'd been covering the flank." Old Joey loudly echoed him, condemning Gambling Addict for having claimed merit he did not earn before.

"I ought to get more, though. I may not have charged in, but I chased down and hacked at several pirates. Baldhead and the hunters can testify to that." As Missing Tooth spoke, he signaled the two hunters beside him with his eyes.

"You did chase a few people, but the hunters were the ones who shot them down. What did that have to do with you?" Baldhead pursed his lips and choked off Missing Tooth's boasting.

"I say, Baldhead, you Green Toad, you bastard..."

The two hunters were the only ones in the mill who did not boast of their achievements. They usually made their living hunting and rarely spoke with others, so they were naturally nowhere near as glib as a street thug like Missing Tooth.

Besides, they had faltered last night. Even after charging down, they had not dared kill anyone lightly, merely shooting and wounding two fleeing lackeys. Later, they discovered that both lackeys had died from poison, which had little to do with them.

Roger ignored the heated argument. On his own, he picked up a wooden conical wine cup with a slight crack in it, brought it beneath his nose for a sniff, then casually flung it back onto the long table.

Originally, he had wanted to burn every iron pot, water bucket, wooden ladle, and dinner plate that might have been contaminated with deadly poison. But the simple warriors had all stopped him, saying that these poisoned cooking utensils could be taken home and rinsed with seawater for several days, after which they could still be used normally.

Roger truly could not outstubborn these simple yet greedy islanders. He told them to rinse everything thoroughly for several days, then boil water until it was rolling hot and use it first to serve food to chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs. Only after confirming it was not poisonous could they use it for people.

Hopefully, these warriors would take his words to heart.

Seeing that it was getting late, Roger estimated that people from Brodick would arrive in another hour. He did not want to keep wasting time with these warriors.

He grabbed a dinner plate and struck the long table with it. The sharp reverberation drew the warriors' attention, and the mill gradually fell quiet.

"I've heard everyone's merits clearly. I fought shoulder to shoulder with you, and I know every little thing each of you did."

Once Roger said this, no one dared interrupt. The reason they had seized so much gold, silver, and goods was entirely because Roger had planned it and led the attack. At this moment, no one dared disobey his words.

In just two days, they had seen with their own eyes that Master Roger had killed five people. Before, they had feared and loathed Master Roger; now, only fear remained.

Yet this Master Roger had also brought them surprise after surprise and enormous gains. Alongside their fear, something indescribable had taken root in their hearts.

"Time is short, and I'm busy. I'll propose a method for dividing the loot. If you think it works, divide it up right away and hurry home with it." Roger swept his gaze around the room.

Everyone nodded in quick succession.

"Master Roger, you're a nobleman's son. You'll surely have a good method." Fat Widow, her face full of coarse flesh, tugged at her fat cheeks as she offered the flattery. The other street thugs hurriedly chimed in as well.

Roger took the cloth bag from the little hill on the table. As he lifted it, the bag gave off a crisp clinking sound.

"This money is no small amount. If we split it evenly, no one will be satisfied. So I've divided everyone's merit into three ranks, with each rank receiving a different amount of money."