The Magistrate: Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Chapter 6

Family Matters

Tobias had gone to speak with the blacksmith who sold his brother the sword. News that he had become a magistrate and paid off his family's debt had circulated through the town, and the blacksmith hadn't dared cheat his brother. He'd sold him a good sword at a reasonable price. He'd even advised him against taking the south road alone because of bandit activity, which is how Tobias found himself travelling along the western road a few days later.

Lord Bi, the local lord who had owned his family's debt, wasn't interested in selling any of his farmland. His grandfather had broken the wild terrain, and his father had tamed it. There was too much history and pride for him to part with any of their work, but he was willing to part with the less fertile hills to the northwest of town.

Those hills marked the edge of a very hilly region in the district, which was uninhabited by people and gave the district its name, The Three Step Hills. The hills he was allowed to buy had been deforested to build the town before Tobias's father was born, and were now covered in bamboo and low-lying brush that was essentially worthless. Tobias had seen terraced rice paddies in other parts of the state, so he wasn't opposed to purchasing them, but he wasn't sure if farming the land was viable. Part of his motivation for chasing after his brother was to find an overseer who could determine whether farming the land would be successful.

Around midmorning, Disciple Wo suddenly stopped walking down the empty forest road they were travelling on. In one smooth motion, he strung his bow and caught an arrow fired from the trees an inch before it struck his face. He placed his assailant's arrow in his bow and returned it to the owner as five bandits rushed from the surrounding woods.

Tobias stood stunned as Disciple Wo caught another arrow meant for Tobias and returned it to the other bowman hiding in the trees. He then drew three arrows from his quiver, slapped them between the fingers holding the bow for easy access, and fired them through the eyes of the three nearest bandits in quick succession.

Seeing three of their allies drop dead before they'd even reached the cultivator, the remaining bandits turned and tried to run. An arrow in the back of the neck killed another before Tobias came to his senses.

"Capture the other one if you can," he said, remembering his responsibilities as a magistrate.

The fight had started and ended in seconds, completely disillusioning Tobias of what he thought his assistant was capable of.

Disciple Wo released the tension on his bow and exploded after the fleeing bandit. Hearing rapid footsteps, the bandit turned and raised his spear. Disciple Wo knocked the tip aside with his hand as he rushed forward and delivered four quick strikes before sweeping the bandit's feet from under him.

Disciple Wo turned and pointed to the bandit closest to Tobias. "I'm almost entirely certain that bandit has your brother's sword."

Tobias turned and walked to the dead bandit. He leaned down and pried the sword from the man's dead fingers, while his body twitched and examined the blade and sheath. The marks on the blade matched the ones the blacksmith had shown them, and the colours and sequence of silk cord around the handle matched the sequence he'd been told.

In a daze, Tobias undid the man's belt and took his brother's sheath. He slid the blade into the sheath as anger and grief started to boil to the surface. He didn't need to ask. He knew his brother was dead. Roro would have returned home if he'd just been robbed, but no one had seen him since he left. Tobias turned and stalked towards the whimpering bandit, gripped the handle of his brother's sword, without drawing it.

The urge to remove the bandit's head almost won, as his anger and grief rushed through him, but the thought of never finding his brother's body and laying him to rest if he killed the man before him held him back. His parents would never forgive him, and he would never forgive himself.

Tobias dropped into a squat before the bandit and held out the sheath. "Describe the man you took this sword from."

The bandit looked at the blade. "Will you let me go if you do?"

"No, but I'll promise you a swift death."

The bandit sneered. "I remember nothing."

Tobias met the man's gaze. "The sentence for anyone found committing banditry is death by hanging. For attempting to murder a magistrate, I can have you staked out naked under the sun with the tip of a bamboo shoot inserted in your anus. Your legs will be smothered in honey, and ants and birds will peck at your flesh until the sun or bamboo growing through you kills you. This, of course, will be after the questioners are allowed at you to find out what happened to my brother."

The bandit lost his sneer as he looked into Tobias's eyes and only saw anger without mercy. "I'll take a swift death."

"Wise. Now, describe the man you took this sword from?"

"He was dressed like a peasant. A little taller and older than you. His arm was covered in burn scars. He-"

Tobias held his hand.

Roro had almost died when they were children. He'd jumped over a bonfire on a dare during the New Year's Festival and slipped on the other side. His arm fell too close to the flames and received severe burns. Tobias had spent a week by his side, making sure he lived, but fever and infection nearly claimed him.

"That's enough," Tobias said. "Did you kill him?"

The bandit nodded.

"What did you do with his body?

"We buried him in the woods."

"Do you remember where?"

He nodded.

Tobias turned to Disciple Wo as his anger gave way to grief. "Collect the bandits' weapons."

Disciple Wo passed the bandit's spear to him and did as he was told.

Tobias placed the spear's tip against the bandit's shoulder so he couldn't move or kill himself. They hadn't been warned about this group in the nearby town, so this group had to be relatively new and unknown.

"How many people has your group killed?"

The only sentence for banditry was death. Anyone who walked that path knew this and rarely spared their victims because of it. Dead men couldn't remember your face.

"We weren't always bandits. We used to guard a merchant. Our leader took a liking to the merchant's daughter. The merchant didn't like the way he looked at her, and the two of them got into an argument one night. It came to blows. The merchant's son grabbed a spear and tried to get our leader off his father. My cousin killed him. Then, our leader killed his father. The rest of us were damned to this life the moment we didn't step in to help the merchant. I never wanted this."

"How many?"

"The stupid part is the merchant's daughter actually liked our leader. At least she did until he killed her father and brother. Now, she tries to kill him in his sleep."

Tobias glared. "How many?"

"I don't know. Someone always has to stay, so she doesn't run off. They've shown up with new stuff a couple of times. I don't know where everyone is buried."

Tobias kept his anger under control. As a magistrate, he was obliged to investigate. Disciple Wo was considered to be enough assistance, so he didn't need to gather more men. "Are you paying protection money to anyone?"

The bandit frowned. "Protection money?"

His confusion seemed real, so none of the local authorities were likely involved. If that had been the case, this would have become a lot more complicated.

Disciple Wo returned with a pair of bows, a few daggers, and three more spears. Tobias let him take over guard duty as he made the bandit drag the bodies of his comrades to the side of the road. He searched their pockets and delivered what little coin they had to Tobias to pay for the mess before they set off for their camp.

Tobias was only interested in retrieving his brother's body, but they had a prisoner, so the prisoner came first. They trekked through the forest for about an hour before arriving at a small camp. They'd dug a cave in the side of a hill for shelter, and there was a cooking fire being tended by a young woman out front. A pair of horses grazed nearby, watched closely by the other bandit.

Disciple Wo disarmed the bandit with little trouble and signalled Tobias. Tobias led their other prisoner into the small camp at spear point. The moment Tobias stepped from the trees, the frightened young woman bowed.

"This one greets the magistrate," she said.

Tobias marched his bandit over to Disciple Wo, who was in the middle of binding the bandit's wrists with the rope he'd found. Once both bandits were bound, Tobias turned to the young woman.

"I am Magistrate Finch."

She trembled. "This one asks to be heard by the magistrate."

Tobias nodded. "Speak."

"This one is the daughter of a merchant. This one was taken captive the night these bandits killed her father and brother. This one is not with them."

"That's a lie," the bandit who had been guarding her said. "You always had eyes for the boss."

"This one does not deny that claim, but that ended the night he killed this one's father and brother."

Tobias turned to the bandit. "Do you deny this?"

The first bandit whispered something to the other, and he paled. "I do not deny her claim. She has been as cold as snow to the boss since he killed her father and tried to kill him more than once."

"Your honesty has earned you a swift death after you show us where you buried all those you killed."

The bandit bowed. "Thank you, Magistrate."

Tobias nodded and then turned to the young woman. "You are free of suspicion. You may collect anything they stole from your father."

She finally rose. "You don't intend to execute me for consorting with bandits, Magistrate?"

"Your attempts to kill them allows me to spare your life."

"This one thanks you for your leniency."

Her thanks disgusted Tobias, because it was honest. There were magistrates who would kill her simply because of her association. "Collect what remains of your father's possessions. We have graves to find and a town to reach before sunset."

***

Tobias spent the following day helping the local lord's men retrieve all the bodies. The shallowed graves had accelerated decomposition, making many unrecognisable. Tobias convinced the bandits to provide accurate descriptions of the people in exchange for better food and a swifter death. Over the next week, families who were missing loved ones came out to check the dead, and were read descriptions of what the people looked like. There were many screams of anguish as families found those they had lost, recognising them through articles of clothing.

At his request, the local lord had sent his men to find an overseer skilled at building and farming terraced rice patties. Terrace farming was a complex endeavour, but they quickly found a seasoned overseer willing to travel with them for the money that Tobias was offering to see if the land he wanted to purchase was viable.

Tobias remained in the town until the last body was claimed and then beheaded the bandits himself with his brother's sword before the families of those they'd killed, closing the case. Tobias had never killed a man before, but he felt no guilt and had no trouble sleeping that night. The only part that surprised him was that his anger barely faded with their deaths, and his grief grew worse.

Twelve days after setting out, Tobias returned to his parents' hut with Roro's body in a plain wooden coffin. His mother and father both collapsed at the sight of the coffin as grief overwhelmed them. Whatever Roro might have done, they still loved him.

Tobias's relations put aside their work for the day to grieve, but the smell of Roro's decaying body was terrible enough that they all immediately went to collect firewood instead.

Roro was cremated at the edge of their village, where all their family had been cremated for the past fifty years. Tobias's mother cried the entire time, clutching each of her children tightly as if to remind herself they were still there. His father wasn't much better.

They were simple people, but they loved their children deeply. There was nothing in life that they valued more. Tobias was the only one who could think clearly. However, he burst into tears on several occasions, despite having more time to grieve before he arrived.

When the fire had burned out, he collected Roro's ashes in a simple clay urn.

If they had been serfs, that would have buried him, and that would have been the end of it, but they were now the family of a magistrate. They needed to hold a funeral, so other families could pay their respects.

Tobias hosted Roro's funeral at the town hall.

Tobias's presence at the funeral meant that everyone had to stop and pay their respects to his brother to give him face. Tobias used the opportunity to purchase apprenticeships for his relatives: two blacksmithing, four brick-making, eight carpentry, three pottery, and two tile-making. All but one of the apprenticeships went to his younger cousins to fix any bad feeling that might have arisen from his success.

His younger cousin Ping was pleased about becoming a carpenter, bouncing around excitedly, and describing all the furniture he would make for him when he knew how.

Roro's funeral lasted seven days, consuming Tobias's remaining time and forcing him to send Disciple Wo off with the overseer and a map to inspect the hills he wanted to purchase. They came back with positive news: two-thirds of the land could be used to farm, which was more than enough to feed his extended family and pay the taxes. The top of the hills had very rocky soil for some reason and wouldn't make good farmland, so they could build up there.

On the last day of the funeral, Tobias walked outside to see who was waiting to be invited in. Old Yo wore the same worn robe he'd been wearing for years and clutched a small lantern for light. Tobia's old teacher bowed deeply as he approached him.

Tobias returned the bow just as deeply. "Magistrate Finch greets his teacher," he said warmly. "Disciple Wo, allow me to introduce you to Old Yo, my teacher, and the only reason I could become a magistrate."

"Disciple Wo greets his senior's teacher," he said with a slight bow.

Old Yo returned the bow more deeply. "This one greets Magistrate Finch and Disciple Wo."

Tobias smiled. "What can I do for you, Old Yo?"

"If it is not too much trouble, I would like you to call on me while you're in town, Magistrate Finch."

Tobias frowned. "Have I caused you some trouble?"

"It is a simple misunderstanding that can be cleared with a visit."

Tobias sighed. The change in his standing had caused all sorts of local problems. "What trouble have I caused you?"

"News of your appointment raised concerns for some families. They believe you might think I treated you poorly and seek revenge for this mistreatment."

"How many students have you lost?"

"All of them."

Old Yo was not a wealthy man. He lived in the room behind his classroom and survived on the rice and vegetables the local families gave him to educate their children. He wasn't the greatest teacher, but he was earnest, hardworking, and kind.

Convincing him to employ Tobias, a boy of only five years old, had taken months. Tobias's only payment was his education, a small ball of rice upon his arrival, and a few bags of rice at the end of each season. For this, he had to arrive an hour after dawn each morning and leave late after lunch when everyone else had returned home to work. To everyone in town, it had looked like Old Yo was taking advantage of him, but he had not.

Tobias bowed again. "I am sorry to have caused you trouble, Teacher. Would you allow me to make amends and do both of us a favour simultaneously?"

Old Yo frowned. "How can I be of assistance?"

"I was hoping to hire a teacher to live on the farm I intend to buy and educate my relatives' children so that their prospects may be better than their parents'. I can pay two teals a season, along with food and board."

Old Yo shook his head. "Your offer is generous, but I prefer my life here in town, where I need not fear beasts and bandits. However, I know a few who might be interested."

"You can tell me about them when I visit."

Old Yo smiled with pride. "Let me pay my respects to your brother, and then you can tell me what it's like being a magistrate."

***

Having the man who once owned his family's debt have to bow to him was not a satisfying experience for Tobias. Lord Bi was not wealthy in his eyes, nor was he cruel, and Tobias did not like to see the man so afraid. Especially while he was in his own garden.

Tobias did his best to put the elderly man at ease as he took a seat at the garden table. The servant came forward and served them both tea. Tobias recognised the blend immediately. It was from his grandfather's private stash. The quality was better than what Tobias had been able to find anywhere outside his family's village and was the reason his family had spent so many decades as serfs. His grandpa's failed tea crops were both bitter and sweet.

Tobias enjoyed the tea before breaking the silence. "As I told you at the funeral, I would like to purchase the small section of Three Step Hills you offered me."

Lord Bi clenched his hands together. "I'm an old man and my thoughts are not as clear as they once were. My son will soon inherit and has pointed out that we have greater needs than keeping the western fields. He suggests I sell them to you in return for your services."

Tobias frowned. "What services would they be?"

"Services only a magistrate can supply. Services I'm desperately in need of."

"Go to the local magistrate then."

"I can't. He holds a grudge."

Tobias raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I follow."

Lord Bi paused, considering how to word his complaints about the local magistrate. "In our younger days, we were both interested in the same woman. My wife. He's never forgiven me for winning her affection and goes out of his way to make things difficult for me."

Tobias nodded. "I can see how that would be a problem, and I'd be happy to help you with anything I can, but you don't have to sell me your western fields to get it."

The elderly man frowned. "What do you want instead?"

"Nothing. Consider it repayment of an old debt."

"Old debt?"

Tobias nodded. "On more than one occasion, you have opened your family's storehouse to your peasants and serfs during famine. Each time you did so at your own family's expense. I remember how much weight your household lost seven winters ago. Your kindness is not forgotten, and I'm happy to repay it in any way I can."

A wetness formed at the corner of the old man's eyes. "I thought you all hated me for taking so much of the harvest that year."

"Many in my family do. I am not one of them."

"You're sure about the Three Step Hills? They'll be difficult to farm. My father spoke to many experts when we began clearing the land, and those hills were considered a very expensive investment for little return."

"I was told the same thing."

"Why buy it then?"

"It will give my family the opportunity they need. Breaking in the Three Step Hills will keep them fed and give them time to learn and develop new skills. For that, I'm willing to pay eighty-five silver teal."

"That's too much."

It was only slightly more than what they were worth, but Tobias was terrified of the thought of being accused of accepting a bribe.

"Consider it part of me repaying my debt."

***

Tobias's forty-day holiday had been stretched to fifty-five due to the funeral and complications from purchasing land, but Tobias now had everything sorted. Come Spring, his family would move onto his land and begin clearing it and building up the rice paddies under the new overseer. His younger cousins would start their apprenticeships while the others received their education. The carpenters in town would take the bamboo they cut down and build temporary houses until they could afford better ones. It wasn't a perfect situation, but it was much better than their current lives.

Before setting out, Tobias and Disciple Wo watched the sunrise with his grandpa, enjoying a cup of his tea. The rich flavour continued to put everything Tobias had drunk since leaving to shame. He'd been missing this drink for far too long.

Disciple Wo lowered his cup and bowed to Tobias's grandpa. "I've visited the finest tea shops in the State of Shen, and this tea would not be out of place among their most desirable blends."

Granpa Finch had grown thin and weak over the years. He was in his early eighties, with hair as white as snow, and skin that was weathered and tan. He was too old to work in the fields beside his sons anymore, so he spent his days roaming the hills searching for edible herbs, plants, and mushrooms to earn his keep.

Grandpa Finch smiled at Disciple Wo's praise. "I always suspected that was true. I'm happy to learn that I was right."

"You should be a very wealthy man."

Grandpa Finch shrugged. "I would be if the damn plants could be cultivated. I tried growing them everywhere, but nothing seems to work. I'm forced to gather these leaves in the wild."

Tobias smiled. "Don't bother asking him where he gets them from. He wants to take the secret to his grave."

"That's because none of you appreciate good tea."

Tobias rolled his eyes. "You know that's not true."

"Yes, you appreciate it, but you have no intention of trying to cultivate it."

"I have no intention of stopping you from trying to cultivate it either."

Grandpa Finch turned to Tobias, a huge smile spreading across his face. "You'll let me try to grow it on your land?"

Tobias nodded. "As long as you're willing to keep me supplied."

The elderly man rose to his feet and shuffled inside his hut, returning with a large wooden box. He shoved it into Tobias's hands. "I need twelve silver teal."

Tobias choked on his tea. "What!"

Grandpa Finch didn't back down. "I only stopped trying to grow those damn plants because I ran out of cheap methods to test. Everything going forward is going to cost a fortune."

Tobias sighed and put down his tea. His grandpa had been the only one in his family to support and understand his dreams, and the only one with whom he could have frank conversations. The rest of his family might not have understood him, but his grandpa did. Tobias reached into his robe and drew out a string of coins. He didn't bother counting it out, handing over the remainder of his money from the sale of the pills to his grandfather.

Unlike the rest of his family, his grandfather was literate. He'd once run a small store for his uncle. He'd come here over fifty years ago for a hunting trip and found the tea plants in the wild. He'd immediately become obsessed with it, setting out on his fruitless quest to cultivate the plants and get rich. The man had dreamed of a better life. It was a dream Tobias respected and one he was willing to fund.

Grandpa Finch raised an eyebrow. "This is more than I need."

Tobias opened the box and realised it was filled to the brim with tea leaves. "There might be unforeseen costs with the farm. I trust you'll take care of them for me."

Tobias hoped the old man would finally figure out how to cultivate the tea he'd been trying to cultivate for so long. If he couldn't, he hoped he enjoyed his last few years of life trying. He deserved that much and more for keeping Tobias sane all these years.