Free Games of Otterburn 1388 by Charles Randolph Bruce

battlements of the tower and went below to count out coin enough to please the Scottish earl.
    “If I ever get the chance I will personally cut that man’s head from his shoulders,” swore Clifford growling through every word.
    “Pay the coin, Milord,” advised the seneschal. “You’ll make more that that by far... come spring.”
    “Through the parsimonious fingers of the baron laird the coins were angrily thrown into six bags. The seneschal cinched the burlap bags up and tied them two by two by two.
    “You don’t need to make it easier for them,” gripped Clifford standing over the servant.
    The seneschal said nothing but the word that passed through his mind was, Idiot!
    He stood with both hands hanging two sacks each and they were heavy. “May we get three large men to do the carryin ’, Milord?”
    Clifford grumped but from the floor he took the remaining two sacks in his own hands and led the way to the front gate of the tower house.
    A guard at the gate raised the heavy bar and Clifford slowly opened the gate. From across a goodly expanse of tall weeds stood Fife ’s men who were waiting for their money to be delivered.
    Roger Clifford became faint hearted and went back behind the gates.
    “Change your mind, Milord?” asked the annoyed seneschal.
    Without a word Clifford handed his load to the gate guard and opened the gate to let his two men go into the open field to deliver gold and silver valued at about three thousand pounds sterling.
    “Your coin Milord,” said the seneschal politely.
    Fife nodded soberly.
    None of my doin’s , Milord,” he added as an odd apology for the conduct of his liege lord.
    “I understand,” said Robert letting the seneschal off the hook for Baron Clifford’s behavior.
    Three of Robert’s knights moved forward enough to indicate the sacks were to be handed over to them. As the delivery was made and strapped securely to the haunches of the knight’s destriers the group rode off.
    Clifford had returned to the tower top and as they left he cursed the Scots until they were out of sight then he went to his solar where his regularly beaten wife, Maude, was once more beaten.   He then threw her onto the stone floor and raped her with every bit of anger he could muster while thinking of his lost gold.
    He then threw himself onto his bed and within a few minutes was snoring loudly.
    She laid spraddled , mostly naked, and motionless on the floor. Her body ached in familiar pain and she swore under her breath that she would butcher him in his sleep soon but she had been swearing that for years and she dreaded she would lose to faint heart yet again.
     

August 13 - Late Morning
    The Bishopric of Durham

    The various sources of acrid smoke from the burning crofts of Durham mixed from blacks to whites became a muddled grey that matched the clouds overhead so that it appeared the whole world was engulfed in disaster.
    Raiding across the borders in both directions was an activity long practiced. Much of the northern part of England was once considered the southern lands of Scotland which had been absorbed into the English nation due to the almost constant border wars of the past.
    Earl James Douglas was moving his army northward through the countryside close to Hardbottle. Earl George was taking the westerly route in the same direction while his brother Earl John was sweeping the eastern side. They remained within sight of each other and kept their ever increasing menagerie of reived goods beside them to the middle.
    The various farmers and merchants who had paid attention to the obvious signs of the Scots bound for Durham took what they could and fled. Those who stayed to fight were usually killed. The bishopric folks were accustomed to Scottish raids every few years or so and the people generally had a contingency plan to stay far afield from the raiders.
    “We’re ‘bout to get more than we can drive,” said Earl George as he came aside Douglas .
    “I’m figurin ’