The Sworn Sword

The next day a dozen would-be warriors found their way to Standfast to assemble among the chickens. One was too old, two were too young, and one skinny boy turned out to be a skinny girl. Those Dunk sent back to their villages, leaving eight: three Wats, two Wills, a Lem, a Pate, and Big Rob the lackwit. A sorry lot, he could not help but think. The strapping handsome peasant boys who won the hearts of highborn maidens in the songs were nowhere to be seen. Each man was dirtier than the last. Lem was fifty if he was a day, and Pate had weepy eyes; they were the only two who had ever soldiered before. Both had been gone with Ser Eustace and his sons to fight in the Blackfyre Rebellion. The other six were as green as Dunk had feared. All eight had lice. Two of the Wats were brothers. ""Guess your mother didn't know no other name"", Bennis said, cackling.

As far as arms went, they brought a scythe, three hoes, an old knife, some stout wooden clubs. Lem had a sharpened stick that might serve for a spear, and one of the Wills allowed that he was good at chucking rocks. ""Well and good"", Bennis said, ""we got us a bloody trebuchet"". After that the man was known as Treb.

""Are any of you skilled with a longbow?"" Dunk asked them."

"The men scuffed at the dirt, while hens pecked the ground around them. Pate of the weepy eyes finally answered. ""Begging your pardon, ser, but m'lord don't permit us longbows. Osgrey deers is for the chequy lions, not the likes o' us"".

""We will get swords and helms and chainmail?"" the youngest of the three Wats wanted to know.

""Why, sure you will"", said Bennis, ""just as soon as you kill one o' the Widow's knights and strip his bloody corpse. Make sure you stick your arm up his horse's arse, too, that's where you'll find his silver"". He pinched young Wat beneath his arm until the lad squealed in pain, then marched the whole lot of them off to Wat's Wood to cut some spears.

When they came back, they had eight fire-hardened spears of wildly unequal length, and crude shields of woven branches. Ser Bennis had made himself a spear as well, and he showed them how to thrust with the point and use the shaft to parry… and where to put the point to kill. ""The belly and the throat are best, I find"". He pounded his fist against his chest. ""Right there's the heart, that will do the job as well. Trouble is, the ribs is in the way. The belly's nice and soft. Gutting's slow, but certain. Never knew a man to live when his guts was hanging out. Now if some fool goes and turns his back on you, put your point between his shoulder blades or through his kidney. That's here. They don't live long once you prick 'em in the kidney"".

Having three Wats in the company caused confusion when Bennis was trying to tell them what to do. ""We should give them village names, ser"", Egg suggested, ""like Ser Arlan of Pennytree, your old master"". That might have worked, only their villages had no names, either. ""Well"", said Egg, ""we could call them for their crops, ser"". One village sat amongst bean fields, one planted mostly barleycorn, and the third cultivated rows of cabbages, carrots, onions, turnips, and melons. No one wanted to be a Cabbage or a Turnip, so the last lot became the Melons. They ended up with four Barleycorns, two Melons, and two Beans. As the brothers Wat were both Barleycorns, some further distinction was required. When the younger brother made mention of once having fallen down the village well, Bennis dubbed him ""Wet Wat"", and that was that. The men were thrilled to have been given ""lord's names"", save for Big Rob, who could not seem to remember whether he was a Bean or a Barleycorn.

Once all of them had names and spears, Ser Eustace emerged from Standfast to address them. The old knight stood outside the tower door, wearing his mail and plate beneath a long woolen surcoat that age had turned more yellow than white. On front and back it bore the chequy lion, sewn in little squares of green and gold. ""Lads"", he said, ""you all remember Dake. The Red Widow threw him in a sack and drowned him. She took his life, and now she thinks to take our water, too, the Chequy Water that nourishes our crops… but she will not!"" He raised his sword above his head. ""For Osgrey!"" he said ringingly. ""For Standfast!""

""Osgrey!"" Dunk echoed. Egg and the recruits took up the shout. ""Ogsrey! Osgrey! For Standfast!""

Dunk and Bennis drilled the little company amongst the pigs and chickens, while Ser Eustace watched from the balcony above. Sam Stoops had stuffed some old sacks with soiled straw. Those became their foes. The recruits began practicing their spear work as Bennis bellowed at them. ""Stick and twist and rip it free. Stick and twist and rip, but get the damned thing out! You'll be wanting it soon enough for the next one. Too slow, Treb, too damned slow. If you can't do it quicker, go back to chucking rocks. Lem, get your weight behind your thrust. There's a boy.