~
Bandits
As they rode the muddy track, without warning Vashni urged her horse to trot up alongside Saul. ‘I thought you might be interested - a band of brigands are hiding in the bushes about half a league from here. I suspect they are aware we are approaching and are preparing an ambush.’
Saul looked at the elf, whose expression gave the impression that she found this situation no cause for concern, the potential encounter a mere game. ‘How do you know this mistress elf?’
‘They are smelly, and noisy. They have heard our hoof beats and are busy stringing bows as I speak.’
Saul groaned, there was no easy way around, and despite the skill of the party they would not fare well against an ambush of archers. Saul considered his options. Gallop past? Attempt to fight them? It seemed likely they would be seeking coin, in which case paying them off might be the action least risky to the mission. ‘Lady Vashni, raise your hood and try to conceal yourself at the back of the group. I will try to pay them off. Explain to the others what is happening.’
She gave him full view of her disdain. ‘Pay them off? Our party is setting out to slay an almost invulnerable, mythical beast! Why should we allow ourselves to be bested by a mere band of brigands?’
‘I do not wish to risk injury to any of our party, a little coin is of small consequence. I have the bulk of our available gold well concealed. The gold in my coin purse should placate them, and paying them off will hinder our progress less than any other action.’
‘As you wish master wizard. Though I fear this will prove to be a poor decision.’
With that Vashni pulled her hood up high over her head, hiding her face and allowed her horse to fall back in the group. Brael had already alerted the others as to the danger. When Vashni explained Saul’s plan and reasoning, it was met with some contempt. Harald, Korhan and Votrex complained most vocally about their distaste at ‘giving in’ to brigands, but they understood Saul’s logic. A stray arrow might injure or kill even the greatest warrior. The forest was thick in dense bramble and undergrowth at the side of the road, making circumventing the ambush difficult at best.
The horses trotted on. Vashni, now with her face covered and trying to remain inconspicuous, rode near the back with Korhan close behind, the mood becoming tenser and tenser. The road turned up a hill and approached a short wooden bridge across the river, which would wind its way around before arriving at the mill where they had procured provisions. As soon as the entire group had trotted onto the bridge, four shabbily-dressed bandits leapt out in front of the horses, bows drawn and arrows nocked. Three more jumped out behind, sandwiching the companions on the bridge.
The man who appeared to be the leader aimed his crude-looking bow at Saul, who had purposefully put himself in a position at the head of the party. ‘Halt! What in Ishar’s name is this? Trespassers? On our toll bridge? Keep your hands away from your weapons!’
‘A toll bridge?’ Saul was calm and friendly. ‘How unfortunate that the Berger of Briem has forgotten to put a notice up to warn road users that this is a toll bridge. It matters not, what is the toll? We shall pay and be on our way.’
The man, edging closer with the bow gave a sinister cackle. ‘Everything you’ve got I reckon. Hand over your coin purse while I check your saddlebags, that you haven’t forgotten any loose coins.’
Saul reached for his coin purse with care, then handed it over. The leader took the purse and started patting the saddlebags of the horses for the tell-tale jangle of coin. As the leader went about, Vashni subtly tried to stay inconspicuous. When he got to Brael, the bandit glared at him with suspicion, spending longer patting his saddlebags than the others’. After satisfying himself he had collected all the coin from the horses, his attention was drawn to the shadowy rider with their hood hanging low. Having seen the gravian and the dwarf, his curiosity was peaked. If not for their presence, Vashni may have gone unnoticed.
Stepping back he gestured towards Vashni. ‘Who’s the assassin? Pull back your hood, cut-throat.’
Saul glared at the man. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, we are not mere travellers or market traders. Up to this point we have been willing to hand over our gold without a fight, in order to allow us to continue our mission with haste. Pursue this line of enquiry, and I may change my priorities.’
The bandit leader grinned at Saul, showing a mouth full of black and yellow teeth. ‘What are you old man, a wizard? We’ve got so many bows trained on you, you’d all be dead before you were out of the saddle or could utter a spell... I ask again, remove your hood assassin.’
Saul tried to hide his growing concern. ‘Sir, this is a noble under my protection. I have some more gold coins magically concealed. If you allow us to leave in peace; I will give you an additional one hundred gold pieces.’
‘Good of you to say old man but-’
At that moment Vashni pulled back her hood, revealing her flowing blonde hair and obviously elvish features. ‘Enough! You have our gold and I have revealed myself to you; now step aside and let us be on our way.’
The bandits all gasped; the presence of the gravian and the dwarf had been shock enough, but an elf also... The leader recovered himself quickly. ‘Haven’t we made just the perfect find here? A dwarf, a gravian, an elf, and their escort. I don’t know who you are, but I’d wager my share that you are all important. Important enough to warrant a princely ransom perhaps? Kidnapping is not normally my game, but if three of the fabled magical races are not worth more gold than we’ve lifted in ‘tolls’ these last six months, then I do not know what would be. Dismount, elf, and come here that I may bind your hands.’ At that point he turned to his comrades. ‘Keep an eye on her; if she tries anything, shoot her. Forget my safety - any sign of reaching for weapons or spell craft, kill them all.’
The rest of the bandits looked at each other, momentarily flummoxed, before tensing their bow-strings and focusing on their targets. Vashni, seething, slipped down from her horse. Votrex and Harald exchanged nervous glances; Korhan looked at Saul pleadingly, as if to say ‘What now?’ Silus cast his eyes around for signs of an easy escape or anything to help their situation. Only Brael, the dark elf seemed to keep his composure. When Vashni offered her wrists to be bound, the leader swirled his finger in the air gesturing for her to turn. ‘Behind your back elf, and open your mouth. I think we’ll take the precaution of gagging you. After all, we don’t want you uttering a spell do we?’ Until this point Vashni had looked composed, confident. Now she seemed panicked, but before she could do anything he was binding her wrists with a length of twine he’d been concealing about his person. When she opened her mouth to whisper to him he grabbed her, clamping a hand hard over her mouth and tying a gag tight around her neck.
One of the others glared at Brael. ‘The same goes for you, gravian. Open your mouth to utter a spell and I put an arrow in your belly.’ Brael nodded understanding. The horses were led off the path, through the trees. The leader was pushing Vashni forwards, on occasion so roughly she fell on her face, while he led Saul’s horse. The others followed; the bandits’ bows trained on them all the time. Korhan meanwhile, began fighting a building rage. He had to wait. Of course, his father Brian would have been ashamed. The old man had a fearsome reputation for wielding his anger like a hammer. Few warriors would have willingly fought alongside Brian the Red, for fear of being caught by a rage-fuelled, wild swing. Korhan had seen him carried off the battlefield too many times though, enough to realise that allowing your thirst for revenge to consume you – to go berserk – was not always a good thing.
In time the party had been led to the bandits’ camp, about half a mile away from the road in a deep gully. Ramshackle huts littered a clearing, and surrounded a well-used fire pit, with a steep cliff of granite dominating one side. Throughout the short trip, the companions had all been running “what if” scenarios in their heads, trying to work out a way of escaping unharmed. Embarrassingly, none of them could think of anything. Only
Brael seemed truly calm. When they stopped, the archers surrounded the group. The leader, with Vashni still firmly in his grasp – spotted one of them gazing longingly at the elf. He slapped the man on the face, leaving him shaking. ‘Concentrate on what yer doing, Griff! You watch these lot! I’ll deal with pointy ears!’
Griff recoiled and forced his eyes back onto the companions, his bow shaking in his hands. Satisfied - the leader began dragging Vashni to one of the huts, calling over his shoulder in a mocking tone. ‘I reckon I’ll have some fun with this one. So long as I don’t damage her too much, it shouldn’t affect her value.’ Vashni was clearly in fear now; she made muffled cries through the gag as he dragged her forcefully into the hut.
The companions began glancing at each other’s faces in desperation now. Brael however, caught Korhan’s eye and gave him a knowing look. Six archers surrounded them. Korhan glanced across at Silus, then his spear and the archer who had an arrow trained on him.
What happened next was almost a blur; Brael manoeuvred himself so that only the one bandit training an arrow on him had him in sight. He moved in such a way that it appeared his horse was getting restless. Once positioned, Brael locked his eyes onto the bandit nervously pointing a bow at him. Out of sight to most of the group, he reached carefully into his pockets with both hands and withdrew the tiny wooden darts he’d spent the previous night whittling. When he threw them, his arms were a blur, almost imperceptible to the human eye. At exactly the same time the man holding him in his sights screamed, dropped his bow and clamped his hands over his eyes.
This diverted the attention of the others for just a second. In that second, Silus hefted his short spear and flung it with all his might at the man guarding him. The spears flight was true and it pierced its target right through the heart. During this commotion, Korhan, Harald and Votrex all leapt from their saddles, drawing their weapons as they landed. At this point arrows were released, one slammed into Harald’s shoulder causing him to grunt in pain and his arm to go limp. Another pierced Korhan’s horse in the flank, causing it to whinny and panic, charging off and almost knocking Korhan over. Their arrows released, the four bandits were too close to risk taking the time to nock another, so they drew their short swords. Despite the arrow protruding from his shoulder, Harald was the first into the fray. His limp arm meant he could not wield his battle axe, so instead he launched it at his target with a clumsy throw. The weapon clanged off the bandit harmlessly, but bought Harald enough time to step forwards, grab the bandit’s sword arm and plant a heavy head-butt square on his opponent’s nose, causing an explosion of blood. The man went down, and as he hit the floor Harald stamped all his weight onto the bandit’s throat, ending his life.
Silus was on the floor too, his sword drawn. Korhan's opponent had tried to get the first attack in, swinging fast at Korhan’s midriff. The Silvarian was too fast though, turning his body and raising the handle of his great sword while dropping the blade. The clang of blade on blade rang out through the clearing; it was followed by the dull thud of Korhan's sword meeting the bandit’s flesh after he’d whipped the mighty blade around in an arc at neck height. The head rolled through the brown leaves, picking them up on the sticky stump where it had connected with the body. As the decapitated corpse lolled forwards Korhan stepped aside and started jogging towards the shack. The clatter of steel and the smell of blood had sent Korhan’s rage soaring. He was red in the face. The berserker rage now in full swing - he roared and quickened his pace towards the leader’s hut.
The brigand facing Votrex tried to use his greater height to his advantage, with a wild overhead swing. Votrex instead of parrying the blow skipped forwards and swung his axe straight at his foe’s knees. The blow cleaved one leg asunder and almost severed the second, sending the man screaming, tumbling onto the floor with a thump. As he hit the ground Votrex’s axe twisted, rose, and fell, beheading his assailant.
Brael meanwhile had slid off his horse and drawn his sword, dispatching his adversary, who had his hands clamped over his eyes, with a straight thrust clean through the heart. Only then did the hands recede, revealing two wooden darts sticking out of the bloody eye sockets.
As Silus had dismounted, his attacker had charged in, short sword meeting short sword with a flurry of slashes, thrusts and parries, driving the veteran back. Silus feinted to one side, then, when the bandit raised his sword arm for a high slash to the neck, Silus switched his footing, stepped in grabbing the man’s sword arm, and slid his sword clean through his attacker’s trunk. He twisted his blade in the bandit’s belly; his opponent grunted in pain and slumped forwards dropping his sword and clutching his wounded stomach. He lay whimpering and groaning on the ground for a few moments before his life finally ebbed away.
Saul, who had dodged two wildly shot arrows but otherwise remained above the fracas, left his saddle and glanced around at the corpses. All eyes raised to see Korhan fling open the door of the ramshackle cabin. He’d opened the door so hard it nearly fell off the hinges. They rushed over as Korhan disappeared into the hut.
The bandit leader and Vashni were sprawled on a rough, hay-stuffed bed together. The leader had tried to remove her clothes by force, his clumsy hands tearing at her leather shirt. Korhan, now at the height of his rage, grunted and raised his sword, ready to behead the leader. Then he paused. Something was wrong. The bandit chief had frozen, he had a haunted expression on his face, and Vashni appeared a little vacant. When the others stormed in Korhan looked up. Brael raised a palm to Korhan. ‘Stop! She is in his head! Killing him now may cause her great harm.’
Korhan lowered his bloodied sword. He trembled as he tried to subdue the red mist that had come over him. ‘What must we do?’
At that point Vashni gasped through her gag. Korhan threw his sword down and began frantically freeing her mouth and untying her hands. She was taking deep, heavy breaths and appeared to be in some discomfort. The bandit leader lay still on the bed, drool seeping from his mouth, tears rolling from his eyes.
Votrex scowled, disgusted at the sight. ‘What did you do to him, elf?’
Vashni glanced up. ‘He was trying to... Urgh! I entered his mind and began attacking it. Weakening it first by shifting his perception, so that he felt that he was both the aggressor, and at the same time, the one about to be violated. As his mental defences were breached, I tore at his memories, his identity, his mind… He was weak, but to enter a mind so disgusting, so vile! I fear I shall never feel clean again.’
Saul stepped forwards. ‘Are you unhurt?’
She nodded. ‘The bandits?’
‘Dead.’ Harald answered, through gritted teeth, while gripping his protruding arrow.
Vashni rose shakily to her feet. ‘Good. I take it we sustained no other casualties?’
Korhan shook his head and offered his arm for her to grab, but she simply scowled at him and ignored it. As they left the bandit’s hut, Korhan looked around for his horse. ‘My steed took an arrow, I had better go and search for him.’
Vashni, listened for a few seconds then pointed. ‘That way. He rests now. Fetch him, and bring him back to me, while I tend to Harald.’
Harald by this stage had sat down, his back against a tree, panting hard, grimacing in pain. Silus had fetched a flask of mead and after pulling Harald’s tunic clear, used some mead to clean the area of the wound. He then gave the flask to Harald. Vashni strode towards him, with Saul, Votrex and Brael in her wake. ‘Step aside dragon slayer, let me tend to him.’
Silus looked up at her with deep suspicion. ‘What are you going to do, elf?’
‘I’m going to drink his blood and suck out his soul.’
‘Very funny, witch!’
She ignored him and leaned close to Harald. ‘Harald, will you let me tend your wound?’
Silus piped up again. ‘Don’t trust her!’
She sighed. ‘Harald, if you let me, I can heal your wound and make sure it doesn’t get infected.’
Harald nodded. �
�Do it.’ Silus muttered under his breath, rose and stormed off.
Vashni pulled Harald’s damaged tunic away from the wound and studied it carefully. Saul, Votrex and Brael watched from a distance. As she studied the injury, Brael whispered into Saul’s ear. ‘You may find this interesting wizard. I believe she is going to attempt to whisper the arrow and contaminants out, then whisper the wound closed. ‘
Sure enough Vashni lowered her face to his wound and started whispering in a quiet, caring sounding, almost inaudible tone. Harald grimaced in pain and started panting hard as the arrow, seemingly of its own accord, started reversing out of his flesh. Her whispering became more intense, almost coaxing and Harald yelled in agony. Then the arrow tip slid clear and fell onto the floor. Saul, had been watching the process with appalled fascination. ‘Is this supposed to happen?’ he mouthed to Brael, concerned.
Brael nodded. ‘The arrow is gone, but the wound needs to be cleaned before it is closed. Watch.’
Rust, muck and blood continued to ooze from the wound as she whispered, but after a while the flesh started to knit together before their eyes. A few moments later the hole had been replaced by a neat, pink scar in a perfect line. She continued to whisper, while Harald grunted and groaned, then as she finished he let out a long sigh.
Harald flexed his hand and tested his arm; it felt weak, tired, but not damaged. He gaped at her in wonder. ‘That was amazing! How did you perform this feat?’
Vashni smiled weakly at him and rose. ‘I didn’t actually do much. I simply instructed your body to push out the impurities and knit itself together. That’s why you are a little tired. Your damaged nerves and muscles are mended though, your skin is sealed and you are clear of infection. Apart from the scar you are almost healed.’
Harald, almost speechless in amazement, smiled at her. ‘Thank you Lady Vashni.’
Korhan appeared at that point leading his limping horse into the clearing. A now rather tired looking Vashni approached the horse, placed her mouth near the wound and started to whisper. Eventually the horse became more restless, making Korhan struggle to control it, the arrow fell out in time and the horse’s wound healed. Korhan shook his head in amazement. ‘Tis a strange ability Mir§a Vashni to whisper wounds together.’
She smiled at him weakly. ‘Ri§ine Korhan, whispering the wounds together would not help when doing this, you must whisper all the contaminants out first, and when the wound is closed, there may still be nerves and muscles damaged beneath the surface, which need whispering together. Healing with the art of whispering is a difficult skill. Now Ri§ine Korhan…’ Her voice dropped to a low whisper. ‘§ara Shoriuda di§airm §uisquira shom.’
Korhan recognised the words, but barely heard them. They bypassed his conscious mind and commanded his very being. He could feel himself kneeling in front of her and though he resisted, and tried to disobey, he leaned forwards and kissed her suede boot. The others laugh, glad for the distraction from the bloody scene around them. When he’d finished he rose and glared at her, his face full of anger. ‘Wha-’
‘Ri§ine Korhan, if you wish to gain mental discipline and strength you need to be prepared to defend yourself from mental attacks at any time. Remember, no questions. I will continue whispering this to you without warning until you resist the phrase instinctively.’
Korhan bowed his head to her, muttering under his breath. ‘Yes Mir§a Vashni.’
She pointed to the floor. ‘Wait here Ri§ine.’ Then she walked over to Saul. ‘Master Wizard, after invading that foul rodent of a man’s mind, I need to bathe. I feel dirty all over. I hear a waterfall, a short distance from here. Wait here with the others and search the bandits’ camp. I will take my Ri§ine to attend to me, but we shall return in a short while.’
‘Yes lady Vashni,’ he said, suppressing a smile, ‘I need to retrieve my coin purse anyway.’ He then went to organise the others, though Harald was still resting.
Vashni led her horse past Korhan. ‘Come Ri§ine, you will attend to me while I bathe.’ Korhan shook, stunned at her command. Of course the suggestion of performing such a menial task, tugged at his pride. For a moment he considered refusing, before he realised the implications of her order. He tried to hide a smile, thinking his luck was in. She was thin, unnaturally thin but athletic. To Korhan’s eye she didn’t have the curves or voluptuous shape of a human woman but her alien beauty was attractively exotic.
Korhan allowed his horse to rest with the others; they led Vashni’s white steed to the waterfall and tied it to a nearby tree. Vashni rummaged in her saddlebags, eventually coming away with a soft, towel and some soap. Happy that she’d got all she needed she started walking down towards a large flat rock that joined the earth and the water’s edge, beckoning over her shoulder with her finger. ‘Follow Ri§ine.’ Korhan followed her until they were standing on the large flat rock. She beckoned him closer. ‘Lend me your ear Ri§ine.’ He leaned forwards and she whispered in his ear. ‘Ri§ine, §hui abelk o§u §inair§a rai.’
Korhan helpless to stop himself found himself closing his eyes. ‘Mir§a Vashni!’
‘Shhh... I do not wish to expose myself to you Ri§ine, you will keep your eyes closed until such time as I have finished. Now hold out your hands.’ The soft towel landed in one of his hands, the towel was light and fibrous – and of an unfamiliar material. Next he heard her undressing, removing her boots, her cloak, her leggings and her shirt. As she removed each piece she would whisper something.
Korhan, unsettled by being forced to remain in darkness, asked her. ‘Mir§a Vashni, what are you whispering?’
She chuckled. ‘I am just talking to myself, do not concern yourself.’
‘Your words sound like whispering Mir§a Vashni!’
‘I am not whispering, there is no intent there. I am just talking idly to myself, in the language of the ancients. You will hold my clothes Ri§ine.’ He felt clothes being placed into his spare hand, first her leather and suede over-clothes then soft, silky, delicate material that had to be her undergarments. He retreated deeper into his own mind; being blind was torture enough, without dwelling on what he might be missing. The fleeting images, involuntarily conjured up by his imagination, of her naked body, right before him... He tried the techniques he’d practiced that afternoon – noticing the surface and angle of the ground he was standing on, the mildness of the wind in this sheltered spot – anything to take himself away from what was resting in his hands, or just beyond their reach.
As soon as she’d loaded his hands up she began humming to herself and skipped off to the small waterfall. The darkness was overpowering. He tried to resist the whisper, to open his eyes, but it felt like they were sealed shut. Instead he was left helplessly standing still, acting as her clothes rack while she frolicked in the water laughing and splashing. He longed to open his eyes, not to spy on her naked beauty, but just because being blind in broad daylight gave him a sense of extreme vulnerability.
After she’d washed herself thoroughly, she returned to him. Korhan heard her soft footsteps slapping onto the smooth, weathered rock. After Vashni had slowed and stopped next to him, Korhan felt her grab the towel from his hand. He then heard her towelling herself off vigorously as she hummed. The ruffling and rubbing continued for some time, Korhan, frustratingly, could only imagine her thoroughly towelling her naked body off. In a few moments, she was more or less dry, having only to towel her hair for a spell to be completely so. She then replaced the now damp towel in her saddlebag, and began pulling her undergarments from Korhan’s outstretched hands. He heard her dressing, mere feet away from him, but he saw nothing. After the undergarments she took her over clothes and he listened to the rustle of her donning them. When the rustling died down she sighed. ‘There. I feel much better Ri§ine. Shall we re-join the others?’
Korhan, found himself disorientated and vulnerable still, his eyes locked shut. When he spoke his voice trembled. ‘Mir§a Vashni, I still cannot open my eyes.’
‘Silly
me, I forgot. Hmmm, you sound quite subdued. Does being blind scare you Ri§ine?’
Korhan thought about trying to deceive her. Somehow he suspected this would not be possible. He let out a sigh and tried to hide the trembling in his voice. ‘Yes Mir§a Vashni. It does a little.’
She giggled. ‘Dear me my Ri§ine. You lose one sense and you are so compromised? You have more than one! I think an over-reliance on your sense of sight has dulled your other senses. Smell the air, and the pines, listen to the wind and the crunching of leaves under your feet. Think only of your sight and you will miss much of the beauty and interest this world has to offer. I think a spell without the gift of sight will do you good. There are places in the world, where no light can penetrate and the sense of sight is unavailable to any, even by magical means. You need to learn to use your other senses; otherwise, finding yourself in peril in these places will mean certain death. You shall spend as long as I see fit without the benefit of sight. We will continue your exercises and once I am satisfied you are making some progress, I will either remove another sense for a spell – perhaps your hearing? – Or I shall restore your sight. Now, we return to the others. Follow me.’
Korhan tried to track her through the forest, but suddenly having to rely on sound alone made the task difficult. He could hear her crunching through the leaves. He tried moving towards her, arms outstretched.
Her voice came from another direction. ‘Over here silly! Use your ears!’
Korhan moved his head around as she spoke; eventually satisfied he set off, treading carefully and groping with his hands. Vashni giggled at him and crunched through the leaves towards him. ‘Dear me Ri§ine, I can see we’re going to have to do some work with you aren’t we? Give me your hand. I will lead you, but try to use your sense of hearing and your awareness of the space around you.’
Her soft gloved hand took his in hers and she began crunching through the leaves, leading him gently, blindly towards the others. He could not shake the sensation of being vulnerable that had overcome him. ‘Mir§a Vashni, please. Let me open my eyes before we get back to the others!’
She chuckled at his pleading voice. ‘Shhh, that wouldn’t teach you much, Ri§ine! Focus, concentrate, but relax. Try to take in your surroundings. Do not fear. I will ensure no harm comes to you. Experience the forest; enjoy the sounds and smells!’
Korhan tried to relax. However, he could not hide a growing frustration at being rendered sightless - helpless. Her treating him as a lowly servant and scolding him as she might a child only compounded his frustration. The very sensation of being taken care of; being cared for by someone was alien to him. Back in his village when he was growing up, he’d been expected to fend for himself almost as soon as he was strong enough to hold a weapon. Now he considered himself reduced almost to a child-like state. Crunching through the crisp dried leaves on the forest floor though, he did eventually find himself able to track the sound of Vashni’s feet kicking through the leaves. He gradually lowered his resistance and fear and allowed her to lead him submissively through the forest. He soon found he could hear more; he did seem to have a better grasp of his surroundings. It was almost inexplicable; sometimes he felt closed in, like the trees were tall and encroaching, other times he could somehow sense they were crossing a clearing. He even heard animals snuffling in the distance, birds singing overhead. Like it or not, the elf was right, he hadn’t been using all his senses to their full potential.
When they did arrive back at the camp, their companions had brought the bandit leader out of the hut and were having a heated discussion on how best to deal with him. Votrex and Brael, believed he should be set free, his mind having been effectively shredded by Vashni. Silus and Harald on the other hand wished to execute him. Saul thought taking him back to Briem to stand trial was the correct course of action.
Silus was the first to spot Korhan and Vashni returning, and the first thing he noticed was Korhan’s shuffling walk and eyes tightly shut. He glared at Vashni. ‘What have you done to him!?’
‘I am teaching my Ri§ine a lesson, I am teaching him to use more of his senses. He consents to this.’
Silus looked at Korhan. ‘Korhan?’
‘Yes, I am happy with the situation.’
Silus shook his head in disbelief. ‘You’re mad, you’re utterly mad!’
Saul cut in at that point. ‘Come, we must tarry no longer, we need to decide what to do with this bandit Vashni has rendered mindless.’
The leader was crouched down sitting, gripping his knees, rocking back and forth with a haunted expression on his face; seemingly unaware of what was going on around him. A long line of drool was running down from one corner of his mouth and his eyes were locked in a vacant stare.
Vashni stepped up to him. ‘He’s harmless now. Let him go.’
Harald stood, his good hand supporting his recovering shoulder. ‘We should kill him, let Avanti, the Spider Queen weigh his soul.’
Brael gave a subtle frown at this, which was difficult to decipher. The fact was ‘The Truth’ was weighing heavily upon him and influencing his opinion. Saul noticed his discomfort and raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Brael?’
The dark elf sighed and looked away from the mind-shattered bandit. ‘You cannot understand the sanctity of life. I know we’ve killed; maybe we could have avoided killing these brigands, but our own lives are too precious to allow anyone just to take them.’
Saul strode over to him. ‘You speak in riddles gravian. What do you mean?’
Before Brael could answer Votrex interrupted. ‘Lady Elf; will this man ever recover his senses? What is his fate if we do allow him to go free?’
Vashni shook her head. ‘I cannot be certain. I did not have time to make a measured attack as I did with the Berger of Trest; I acted instinctively. I believe he will recover, though I cannot say when, it might be days or weeks, and it may be that he will never be quite the person he was before.’
Silus baulked at her casual description of the poor wretch’s fate. ‘Urgh! You can do that to a man? Have you no compassion?’
Vashni shook her head. ‘I will not allow anyone to bed me against my will. I warned him of the consequences; he didn’t believe me. Now he has paid the price.’
Harald stepped forward now. ‘How far is it to Briem? If it’s not far we should take him and hand him over to the Berger. We should also check to see what ill-gotten gains the bandits have hidden here.’
Silus grinned. ‘I like your thinking Northman; they do the crime, we put their ill-gotten gains to good use.’
Harald scowled. ‘That was not what I had in mind! We should return anything we find to the Berger of Briem and ask him if he can distribute them amongst others who have been robbed.’
Korhan throughout this conversation felt like he was reduced to merely standing and listening. Being so under Vashni’s control was making him increasingly uncomfortable and he started to consider ending their agreement; thus far he didn’t think she’d made much progress in training his mind to be more resistant to attack. At the back of his mind though, his deep attraction to her, despite her outright rejection of him, made him yearn to stay close to her.
Vashni began walking around the camp, leaving Korhan standing alone in darkness. After glancing at all the huts and orientating herself, she stopped and pointed at a cart parked between two huts. ‘There, I discovered their stash while invading Gedric’s mind. Pull the cart forwards, you’ll find a chest buried under dry leaves in a hole underneath it.’ Brael, Votrex and Silus walked over and started pushing. At the same time Harald took Korhan's arm and led him to the cart to pull. In a count of three they moved the cart and Silus barely saved himself from tumbling into the well-concealed hole. Silus, Brael and Harald dug the dead leaves off the top and clambered in. Sure enough a large iron-bound chest was at the bottom. Slowly the trio hauled the huge wooden box up and out of the hole.
The box was locked of course, Saul’s first thought was to brew a potion which would
destroy the lock, Silus suggested searching the bandits for a key and Harald offered to smash the lock off with his battle axe. While they were debating it though, Vashni leaned close to the lock and whispered into the keyhole on the padlock, which promptly fell open.
Saul pushed the lid up and they all peered inside. The bandits seemed to have enjoyed mainly meagre pickings. A few tiny items of jewellery languished at the bottom of the box, along with a large quantity of copper coins, with the odd silver. There were one or two gold pieces, but the total value of the contents appeared to be less than the gold Saul carried in his coin purse. Harald reached in and stirred the contents with his fingers, giving a deep sigh. ‘Our friends here were perhaps not the most successful criminals in Torea.’
Saul shook his head. ‘No, it seems not. Given the hard times the Empire has fallen on, you wonder how committed these poor fools were to their criminal life? Were they criminals? Or were they just farmers, whose crops had failed and who needed an alternative way to feed their families? Perhaps those corpses lying face down in the dirt are husbands, or fathers? Husbands or fathers who will never return home, and whose families will wonder what job it was they were doing that brought home a few coppers, but was so secretive. Maybe their families will believe they have abandoned them, simply because they can no longer afford to look after them.’
Silus glared at him. ‘They tried to kill us wizard!’
‘Did they? They could have killed us on the road, I suspect. Perhaps they merely wanted to rob us, for greed, criminality, or desperation? When they’d decided to hold us for ransom, perhaps we could have complied with them and remained unharmed.’
Korhan, still blind, tracked the sound of the conversation and cut in. ‘And what of Vashni? Would you allow them to ravage her on a whim?’
Saul stood up. ’Only the leader made that choice! In truth maybe he, like so many, had a hatred of the magical races, and thought Vashni, as an elf, should not be afforded the rights and respect that should be afforded a human woman. Though in his case I believe he was a genuinely evil man. Life, morality, right and wrong, these things can be complex. We make our choices, and kill when we have to, but I suspect it is often the case, that we kill those who do not deserve it, simply out of necessity.’
Harald nodded at this. ‘Tis true, many a brave and honourable man has died on the battlefield, for no better reason than him being on the opposing side.’
Vashni sighed. ‘The truth is, Gedric was a genuinely foul and vile man, cruel, greedy, and callous. I know, I have been inside his mind. Yet as I know this, I also know he was a product of circumstances. His father died of the pox when he was but a child. His mother took in another man who abused her, and beat him – this man had no empathy, and that is what Gedric learned; to take what you require in life through violence and never to consider the feelings of others.’
Silus sneered at her. ‘So he’s an innocent man?’
‘No, he was an evil man; he was responsible for his actions. However, there were factors which shaped him, moulded him into that evil man. Of course others may have resisted those influences.’
Harald gestured towards the other corpses lying in the leaves, attracting flies. ‘And what of these poor wretches? Did they deserve to fall under the sword?’
‘I do not know; from the images in Gedric’s head I suspect not. These men had been unable to sustain their families through legal means; I believe most were uncomfortable with the situation. Some simply followed Gedric’s lead. We should not dwell on this; I believe we should act within the confines of morality, but that we should be mindful of sacrificing our lives for principle. We were justified in ending these rogues’ lives. Despite the circumstances of their turn to crime, they made the decision to turn to crime, and they chose a criminal life.’
Saul spoke. ‘Criminals who died with no trial or sentence, who may have hated themselves for making this choice.’
‘Easy for you to say!’ Silus spat ‘Cowering behind your horse while we fought for our lives!’
Vashni spoke quickly, before Saul could respond. ‘They had a trial by combat; perhaps that is enough. I pity them, but I would not allow myself to suffer hurt at the hands of bandits simply because I agonised over the chain of events which inspired them to become criminals. As for Gedric, let us take him to Briem, and let the Berger decide how to deal with him, and this rather pitiful hoard.’
The warriors hauled the chest onto the back of the dilapidated cart that had been used to cover the hole where the treasure was buried. The bandits appeared not to have had horses. After a final search of the bandit camp revealing nothing of interest or value, they roped the cart to two of the horses, deposited the now mindless Gedric on the back of the cart with the chest and set off.
The companions travelled slowly, thanks to the cart roped behind Harald and Silus’s steeds. Korhan took up his usual place, a short distance behind Vashni, allowing her to lead his horse. As the wind drew up and the shadows started to grow longer, Korhan urged his steed to a trot until he thought he rode alongside Vashni. The ride was hard, he tried to focus on using his hearing and his smell to sense his surroundings, but fear, and anxiety got in the way. A growing sense of isolation increased his resentment, too. He found himself able to accept the torment because he was infatuated with her, but being reduced to blindness in order to teach him some sort of lesson pushed the boundaries of his tolerance to new untested levels.
He leaned closer. ‘Mir§a Vashni, have I not endured this torment for long enough? Can you please allow me to open my eyes again?’
‘Ri§ine Korhan,’ she said, speaking as to a sulking child, ‘You have spent barely two hours in darkness. How can you expect to learn anything in such a short time? I think you need to learn to appreciate your sense of hearing as well, because you take this sense so for granted and do not seem to value it. Your ability to detect the source of sound can save your life. Lean closer to me so I can whisper in your ear, I have decided to remove your sense of hearing as well. This will let you focus on your sense of smell, and the sensation of your horse under your thighs, your reins in your fingers.’
‘Mir§a Vashni, please!’
‘No questions, remember? You wish me to train your mind and help you to grow. I shall, but I will do as I see fit to facilitate this. I shall not beat you for questioning my methods, but I shall not attempt to teach you if you are not willing to undergo my training regime. Now, would you like me to restore your sight and end our Mir§a, Ri§ine relationship? Or do you consent to progressing to my next lesson?’
‘Mir§a Vashni, I am not ready! Without my sight I am too vulnerable, almost helpless.’
‘You need to learn another lesson then Ri§ine, you need to learn to trust and rely on others at times. In this instance you need to learn to trust me. While you are helpless, I shall look after you, I will allow no harm to come to you. Do you consent to proceed?’
She was testing his resolve. Korhan sensed she was trying to make him give up. Fleetingly, he pictured the relief of being freed of these restraints, but he was stubborn. When he imagined giving up and ending their agreement, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she would have bested him. He couldn’t stand that, his stubbornness won out.
Although part of him wanted to scream No and end this torture immediately, another part of him understood what she wanted to teach him and he could already identify improvement. His mental acuity grew stronger with each exercise. The sensation of being without sight had allowed him to know himself better. His thoughts had drawn deeper within himself, without the distraction of his surroundings. After a brief pause he leaned closer. ‘Mir§a Vashni, I consent to proceed, but I am afraid.’
She giggled softly. ‘Good. Do not worry, I will care for you while you are helpless. §hui abelk o§u §inair§a orao Ri§ine, abelk o§u §inair§a orao.’
As she finished her hypnotic whisper, Korhan heard the sounds of the forest die down to nothing. The sensation was eerie, being in the saddle,
plunged into utter darkness, and now total silence. It wasn’t just that his hearing sounded muffled, but more that it simply did not exist. The thing which surprised Korhan further was that he actually sensed more than he would have guessed. The vibration of the horse’s hooves thumping on the ground, the gentle tug on his horse by Vashni, the wind on his face. He felt himself rise and fall with the hips of his horse; through that, and the vibration, he sensed the actual structure of the horse, its skeleton and muscles working together.
He experienced all these things, but at the same time he fought a rising panic of being alone and extremely vulnerable. Being blind had been one thing but now, also without hearing, - he could have been alone in the forest, utterly defenceless. He also found his sense of balance encumbered. The mechanical function of balance wasn’t affected; the difficulty was caused by the simple disorientation, from having no audio or visual input. This made maintaining good posture difficult. Despite being an accomplished horse rider since childhood, he wobbled in his saddle several times and struggled to maintain his composure.
The others would cast a glance back to Korhan and Vashni at times, often shaking their heads. Even those who did not fear and distrust the elf found the exercise uncomfortable to watch, a mighty warrior, a skilled swordsman being guided around by a diminutive elf, who appeared to show him no respect at all. Harald scowled and turned to Silus. ‘Look at him! The way she treats him is demeaning! I cannot understand his motivation for allowing her to do this to him.’
Silus sniggered. ‘Thinking with his loins I shouldn’t wonder. Though I cannot see why he would even trust her, let alone find her attractive.’
If Vashni heard this she did not respond.
They rode for some time in silence, each rider deep in thought. Korhan deeper than any others, he found himself analysing his horse’s movements through how it felt to ride. Through this, he gradually gained a more intimate understanding of how ‘horse riding’ worked. He even thought he could almost sense the mind of the horse. Vashni hadn’t mentioned this possibility. Its mind seemed sharp, alert, but at the same time simple. He sensed an air of trust; the horse trusted its rider and the rider leading it along. The beast niggled a little over its wounded flank, which though healed was still sore and tender. This was another alien experience; his horse appeared to have no words in its head, simply wordless feelings, and primal instincts.
Throughout the ride, Gedric sat curled up on the cart, looking vacant and baffled, his mind shattered. He too could not form words - not even in his head. Whenever he attempted to form a thought, it fell apart into nothingness.
Vashni appeared to be in a jovial mood considering her recent narrow escape. She gave the impression of one who was finding life delightfully fun, constantly smiling - though a smile which suggested mirth rather than pure happiness. The fact was, she felt at ease. The frivolity of elves, and their long lives coupled with their formidable mental skills, meant when they did experience a traumatic event, they dealt with it efficiently, and then moved on. In Vashni’s case she had more or less stored away the memories of being attacked by Gedric, and the twisted phantasms experienced while charging into Gedric’s mind. They were packed neatly away, not erased, but to access them would require a conscious effort.
The fact that she had found a new challenge, a new avenue of life to explore made her happy too. She hadn’t really expected Korhan to agree to their Mir§a, Ri§ine agreement. She had been trying to force him to give up and end it. As he was too stubborn to give up, she would see how much she could teach him. She would try to teach this oafish barbarian the mental skills which all elves were taught from birth. This would be a difficult task, other elves would have said teaching a human was impossible, but Vashni relished the challenge. A large part of her thought it was impossible too, but if her training went well, maybe she should even try teaching Korhan some very basic whispers. It would be risky, and as things stood, she did not imagine him in the position where it seemed sensible to try, but that was her goal. Of course, the forthcoming battle with the dragon was something to look forward to as well. Knowing what little she did of Draconis Nobilus, and knowing the abilities of the rest of their party, she expected them all to be killed. Her plan was simple, try to assist them; if all seemed lost and the rest of the party were killed, she would whisk herself and her Ri§ine away.
Chapter 7
Deathsworn Arc: The Last Dragon Slayer Page 6