The
sound of birds chirping in the trees above was the first thing that
touched Gurdors senses later that day. Slowly opening his eyes,
he saw the sun beginning to fall below the tree line, and a soft
orange and red glow threatening to overtake the afternoon’s
bright sky. A sudden ache in his shoulders and lower back reminded
him of the day’s terrible and unusual events. He closed his
eyes again and felt his head swirl. Tyla… Dondels…Aidden!
Quickly the older man sat up, but his body was too sore to allow
anymore, and he sat there staring dumbfounded at his four friends,
sitting across from him in a circle with very startled expressions
on their faces.
“Ahh, my fearless
rescuer has awoken!” Tyla chimed, kissing him quickly on his
cheek. Kildor chuckled silently, but Gurdor brushed it off and sat
upright on his knees.
“What's happened to Aidden!? Where is the boy?!” A quick
silence followed as all heads turned to the earth. Gurdor followed
their gaze and realized they were no longer in the wet swamp-water
but upon a massive rock, completely covered with a thick coat of
moss.
“Where are we?”
He questioned further. Kildor chuckled again, but held his gaze
to the ground in front of them.
“Aidden was stabbed twice during his little rescue attempt;
once during the onrush to Tyla, and again as he tried to catch up
with us." he began. "I had the distinct ‘honor’
of seeing both wounds, but I also saw some of the Dondels tie him
up as the others gave chase to you, which means he may still live
now… although he’d have lost a lot of blood with injuries
such as his.” He shifted his weight back, looking Gurdor square
in the eye. “We are at a ‘point’ in the swamp,
a place where my fellow workers and I come when we need to lie low
for some time.” Gurdor looked around him, uneasily. Kildor’s
specialty as a slave was to spear-spar with the Dondel trainees,
and with a mouth like his, Gurdor was sure this was a place that
the younger man might be quite familiar with.
“So I assume we’re safe” He grunted. Dolven laughed.
“Sure we are, man
- as long as you don’t go around collapsing in random pools
of water again. I had to pull your muddy corpse out of almost a
foot of muck!” Kildor chuckled again, but Tyla stood suddenly.
“If Aidden is alive, we have to find out where, and rescue
him… soon. Lord Hayden is a proud and stupid man. If he has
his way, he’ll probably try to barbeque him at the mound tomorrow
in front of everyone”. Dolven scoffed.
“Pray tell, my dear, how four slaves will go about dragging
a twice-wounded, full-grown man through a garrison of warriors and
from the inner-depths of a fortress we have no knowledge of?!”
Tyla stiffened as her fists clenched.
“I wonder if YOU would have taken the chance to save me had
it not been fo-“ But Dolven shouted her down -
“What were you even doing stealing all that food they caught
you with?! A piece of meat here, a piece of meat there… we
all love you for it! But several meals?! What were you thinking
woman?!”
“They were NOT
for you, you old fool! They were for that man’s family!”
“What man?!” Dolven exploded angrily. “Who warrants
taking such a risk?!” Tyla clenched her teeth with rage.
“Who do you think you ar-“ Gardon cleared his throat
and stood, cutting the girl off in mid-sentence.
“The idea of fighting
each other is silly” he stated flatly, gazing at the sky as
he began pacing around the group. “But it is possible to save
Aidden, and so I think we should try.”
“How?!” Demanded
Dolven, still eyeing Tyla with a vicious glare.
“Tyla spends every day in the Fortress” he stated, looking
at the girl standing across from him.
“Not anymore, she doesn’t” Dolven growled, whirling
around to sit on a fallen log.
“Not anymore, but she did, and in that time, I’m sure
she had taken a dinner or two to a guard here or there, or even
Lord Hayden?” Gardon kept his eyes on Tyla. She looked suddenly
into the trees past Gardon, and then to Gurdor. He returned her
look, and saw hope in her eyes.
“I know where they are keeping him” she whispered. “I
know the layout of almost the whole fortress!” She paused,
looking down quickly to the earth. “There must always be a
guard to the prison, even if it is empty” she began stammering…
“I’ve taken dinner to them many times… I know
where he is!!”
~~~
Aidden
looked again to the barred window above him. He had been trying
to reach it from his spot on the damp stone for some time now, but
each time found himself spinning back to the floor, his waist and
back wounds torturing each breath he took, each movement he made.
Wincing, he tucked his feet underneath him in a crouch. Since coming
to, his legs had been too cramped and sore to do more than drag
around…but now –
He looked again to the dull yellowish bars above him. He didn’t
know why, but he had to get to the window. He could hear the sounds
of the world through it, and his struggle to reach it gave him a
reason to live, not simply lie twisted on the floor, awaiting fate.
He closed his eyes and felt a clean and slow calm breeze sift through
the bars to his cell. Coiling his torso, he made a sudden leap to
the window above him. Rattled with pain, he grabbed as far above
his head as he could, and felt the metal rods in his hands. His
back arched as he pulled himself up to the window, and he heard
himself scream from the pain in his midsection as he struggled to
steady his legs beneath him for support. Finally, he was standing
upright, feeling the blood painfully circulate through his thighs
and calves. Cautiously, he peered out through his prison to the
world beyond.
He hardly
expected to see anything more than trees and green moat water, but
instead was greeted by an impressive sight. Squinting as his eyes
slowly adjusted to the sunlight, Aidden took in a full convoy of
Dondels in procession, making their way to what appeared to be Fort
Kilgore’s main entrance. There was a difference in this detachment,
however. In place of the red chain mail armor and black leather
clothing, these warriors were clad in blue leggings and grey chain
mail. The familiar brown leather helm was replaced by a dull grey
steel.
Aidden
watched as several horsemen trotted by, leading wagons of food,
ale, and wooden chests to a bridge that led into the fortress. For
a moment, he entertained the idea of an invading army of Dondel
liberators, coming to buy the freedom of the Nicals… but his
hopes were dashed by the cordial welcome they received from a detachment
of Lord Hayden’s men. Suddenly, it became clear to him. This
was Lord Hacenyth, and these were his men. The future King of the
Northern Mountains had arrived to inspect Hayden’s operation.
Aidden
felt his spirits sink as he let a burst of air out through his mouth.
Would his arrogant master kill him now and try to make yet another
example out of a Nical, or hide him away during Hacenyths’
visit, left to fend off the rats in his sleep until starvation or
disease finally drained his will to brush them away. With these
thoughts heavy on his mind, the young man slide away from the window,
down the wall to the familiar stone floor he had awoken on a few
hours before. The wounds in his midsection flared to new life, and
Aidden clenched his teeth to ward of the pain. Before long, he passed
back into a tortured, painful sleep.
~~~
Lord
Hacenyth lay back in his carriage seat, absent-mindedly twisting
the end of his mustache with his thumb and index finger. He had
initially been annoyed at his uncle for forcing him to travel so
far south from the Dondel Capital deep in the Phoenix Mountains,
where he had grown up. However, just last week King Cutio had given
him a royal banquet full of dancing women and bumbling entertainers,
and they had celebrated into the early hours of the morning on more
than one occasion. Then came his last visit to Fort Dravenpool,
and because the fortress was such a small little wreck, his mere
presence was perceived by all to be something like the coming of
the High Emperor himself. He felt himself snicker as he thought
of the grand party he’d started at Dravenpool – they’d
be cleaning up the cannon tower for several weeks to come –
and he still wasn’t sure what he’d managed to stuff
into one the cannons, but he remembered being amazed that it all
fit!
He took
to twisting both ends of his mustache at once now, as he usually
did when pondering such gleeful thoughts. These little flatlander
Lords were so ambitious that they’d walked away from their
Dondel homeland in the blessed mountains to make something of themselves.
Just the idea of hosting the High Emperor’s nephew made them
sweat with anticipation, he was sure. Now, after inspecting this
stench-filled area of the kingdom he could expect a long but happy
ride back to his new realm in the north, as the king of the Northern
Dondel Realm, next to his cousin Cutio and under his Uncle Siud.
Hacenyth
sat up then and began to straightening his jacket and mumbling to
himself in distracted tones. His mind was a bit troubled at the
thought of his cousin these days. Cutio had always been good to
him when they were children at the capital. He stood up for him
when no one else would and taught him some of the better points
in making those around you respect your birthright. Just a few days
ago, it was his cousin who had shown him such a marvelous time in
his castle… and would do so again on the return trip north.
Hacenyth snickered deeply while considering his planned antics then…
but almost as quickly as he had begun his laugh, the man frowned
again, biting his lower lip. Cutio was uncle Siud’s only son…
as such, it was Cutio who would be elevated by the Dondel Shamans
to High Emperor after Siud passed away, not himself. Hacenyth clenched
his teeth in annoyance and began a strange series of short, dissatisfied
grunts. Something would have to be done with Cousin Cutio.
~~~
Lord Hayden was once
again examining himself in the looking glass as the bells announcing
Hacenyth’s procession sounded. He felt his face flush as his
heart began pounding deep within his chest. This would be the beginning
of his attempts to escape this putrid swampland hell. He couldn’t
stand the mushy, black earth and twisted gray trees that were now
an everyday part of his life. Examining his front teeth for any
pieces of food debris, he took to remembering the days of his childhood
in the crisp air of the mountains, with solid ground below and strong,
powerful woodlands stretching up to the heavens themselves. The
Phoenix Mountains were surely the Promised Land, as depicted by
Dondel scriptures of old. Designed by the Great Gods, the mountains
were made to nourish and protect the Dondels until they were powerful
enough to stream forward and lay claim to the lands of –
“Keep it still
you clod!” He scolded the woman holding his mirror, as she
started to tremble from its weight. His mind crept to the prisoner
below who had attempted to save the other Nical woman yesterday.
A familiar feeling of uneasiness entered into his mind. The Nicals
were starting to cause problems, and the group who had carted the
woman-slave away yesterday was still not to be found. He had to
get promoted out of here before the situation became embarrassing.
“My lord?” A warrior poked his head into the chamber.
“Yes man, what is it?” Hayden answered, giving himself
one final review through the mirror.
“Lord Hacenyth is approaching the fortress, and entering the
main gate as we speak.” The guard responded, glancing quickly
to the Nical woman still holding the mirror. Hayden stepped towards
the soldier and doorway to distract the man from his latest prize.
“Very well then.
Lets go and meet our future King of the North.” The two exited
the chamber and were immediately joined by three more guards as
they headed to the main gate.