The Chapel Pt - 8, Judge Eternity

When both men had sword in hand, Ralph the man who had given his sword to Gustav stepped between the men.

"Baron Günter you are the man who has been challenged, it is to you to determine conditions for this judicial combat. What are your conditions?"

"Death, no quarter."

"Milord Gustav, are these conditions acceptable to you?"

"I would prefer, to give quarter rather than death."

"You do what you will Gustav, but I intend to kill you this day." The Baron roared.

Ralph moved himself into the face of the baron, "Sir, you are my liege and I am sworn to you, but I cannot allow you to interfere with judicial code, the oath that I took to you was based on the code, as you know well."

The baron nodded his ascension and remained quiet.

"Milord Gustav if you wish to give quarter you may but you are under no such protection, do you understand and agree."

"I agree."

"Then you shall each stand ten paces apart and wait for my command."

Ralph stepped over to one of the men in arms and took a monstrous crossbow that was already cocked and loaded. He stepped as close to center of the two men and held his hand up, balancing the crossbow on his hip with his other hand.

"Begin!" He stepped quickly backwards and gave the two combatants his absolute attention.

Both me stepped comfortably toward the center of the field. They moved in exactly the same manner and held their sword with the tips cocked back just slightly behind their heads and pommel slightly forward.

Gustav moved a bit quicker then Gunter, because he wasn't wearing the shirt of mail or the arm and leg defense that Gunter was.

Gunter moved with greater confidence and direction counting on his armor to make him almost impervious to the sword cut. He tracked Gustavs sword with his shield but he failed to notice that Gustave was holding the sword sinister or in his left hand.

In an eye blink the unarmored man closed and raised his knee striking the shield on its bottom edge so that the top edge rose and struck the baron across the nose. Blood splatter and Gunter roared, flailing form side to side with his sword as he retreated to try to clear his eyes which were filled with blood and tears from the impact.

The almost naked abbot moved so that Gunters shield was nearly pressed into his chest and grabbed bottom of the shield with his free hand forcing it up, until it was pressed against Gunters sword.

"Do you know what your problem is Gunter? You never studied." Gustave yanked the bottom of the shield up so it struck the baron again across his broken nose.

"You thought because you came from a wealthy family and you could buy the very best armor, that you had no need to study." Gustav yanked up on the shield again to punctuate his sentence.

"While that makes you a terrible killer of peasants it does not make you my equal."

Gustav yanked the shield up again harder and drove the baron to his knees. His nose was completely flattened against his face and blood was pouring like a leaking bucket.

The shield struck one more time and Günter's head began to swim. Gustav quicly shifted the sword to his right hand and reaching out with his left bound the barons sword backwards and out of play. He dropped his own sword across the other mans shield so the point was beneath Gunters chin and pressed into the exposed flesh there.

The victorious abbot cried "Yield Gunter!" and a spear point sprouted from his unarmored chest. He wheezed as his lungs deflated and fell sideways.

"Death to traitors!" Gunters squire cried, still holding the spear shaft with both hands.

Without a word Ralph shot the squire through the face with the crossbow. He handed the weapon back to the shocked man at arms and retrieved his sword from the dead abbots hand.

He turned and called to another monk who one day would be abbot there," You attend to the Baron. Stein make strict search of the abbey, find the prince and bring him here."

The knights followed Ralphs command easily disbursing the common soldiers efficiently.

The priest stepped toward Ralph accompanied by his two Swiss bodyguards. "You are a traitor and a murderer, sir."

"No priest I am not, I discharge judicial law in accordance to the code of knighthood but if you don't take your garlic reeking breath away, I will be a murderer. The church would doubtless label me a heretic and excommunicate me, but I will be done with your stinking meddlesome presence and a multitude will most likely be happier for your absence."

The priest remember the cold manner in which Ralph had killed the squire and then left the courtyard. The Swiss guards breathed a sigh of relief.

Vernon looked up from where he was treating the baron to see Sir Ralph towering over him. Strangely he had no fear of the man.

"The nose is ruined, there is no bone left to set it, I think he will loose it."

"If that is what is to be then that is what will be. Come and sit with me by the well and tell me about Gustav."

Vernon was confused and his eyes must have given it away because Ralph said, "Before he was called outlaw, I called him cousin, he taught me everything I know of chivalry and combat. He was a very good man"
* * *
Abbot Vernon shook off the years and watched as Brother Martin Luther stumbled toward his cell. There was that which reminded Vernon of Ralph in Martin Luther, a value for the law and the written word. A belief that man's actions should be set by law.

He shook his head as he prepared for morning Psalters, lawyers didn't make good monks.