The Hungering Saga Complete

by Heath Pfaff

  Wisp said nothing as she permitted us entrance into the room, and I did what I could to make myself appear calm and relaxed. In reality, though, between running into Wisp again and the knowledge that I was about to be pressed for answers I didn't have regarding my cloak, my nerves were so taunt I could have played them like a harp. I kept Wisp at the corner of my line of sight as we moved into a room full of equipment I didn't recognize. There was a door at the opposite end of the room from where we'd entered, to which Tria was walking. I followed her. For her part, Wisp stayed distant from me, never coming within physical range, which suited me well enough. I wasn't exactly afraid of her, but I refused to be less than cautious in her presence. I followed Tria through the room to the door at the back. Once there, she knocked and called, "Master Froast, the sample is here. I believe you will be most pleased."

  The door swung open before Tria had even finished her words, and a tall, chubby man came rushing out. His hair was of middling length, blond but streaked with gray and unkempt. He had eyes of a deep brown that almost appeared black, set high above a graying mustache and a large grin was on his face that showed off a set of teeth in terrible disrepair. His brown robe, an expensively cut piece of fabric, was dirty and covered in splotches of what looked like dried blood.

  "By all that is good in the world!" He exclaimed as his eyes locked on my cloak, and he pulled the door of the room he'd just come from firmly shut behind him. I noted that a strong animal smell wafted from there in. His hands, cleaner than his clothing thankfully, were on the material of my cloak in an instant and his nose, a long hooked affair that might have appeared strange on face less hawkish than his own, was actually pressed against the fabric as he examined it closely. "But how did they..." He began, and then, "Oh, now that is...." He seemed to have entirely forgotten there were others in the room.

  After a few moments of this, Tria cleared her throat loudly. "Master Froast?"

  "What?" He called out, looking up to his assistant, his eyes attentive, and then a moment later he looked up at me, noticed my eyes, and exclaimed, "Oh my, how colorful!" And then a look of what appeared to be embarrassment crossed his face, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Where are my manners?" He took a step back, made a pointless attempt and fixing his hair, and held out one of his hands. "I am Dian Froast, and it has been my task for the last thirty years to work with and attempt to improve the Lucidil fabric. I haven't gotten out much in that time, so some of my social graces may have slipped a little."

  I took his hand in my own, noting that my massive clawed digits made his disappear. "I am Noble. I've come from the south to bring you the latest progress from our team there."

  Froast's eyes were on the fabric again. "It is remarkable. How did you manage to solve the sustainable energy problem, and yet maintain cohesion at the thread level?"

  I opened my mouth to say something, though I hadn't actually formulated an intelligent reply, but was saved when Froast suddenly held up his hand to silence me before I spoke. "No, wait, don't tell me yet! Can I have a night to look at the cloak, and see if I can figure it out for myself?"

  The relief that swept over me made me feel lighter than air. I again opened my mouth to reply that he could indeed have all the time he wanted, but he interrupted once more.

  "I know what you're going to say; 'It's important to learn the techniques quickly so that we can start mass production for our forces on the field!' But, my friend, Noble, I have been working on this for years and years, please would you give me the opportunity to unravel the mystery of the magic myself?" He pleaded, and I almost laughed in relief. He was offering me a solution far better than any I could come up with to deal with the situation.

  "Of course. I don't see how one night can hurt anything," I said with a smile, and proceeded to remove my cloak. I hated to see it go, but the alternative to giving it up was putting myself in a position where I would have to explain how the cloak was made, and since I couldn't do that, losing my cloak seemed the least of my worries. Besides, giving Froast the cloak would buy me the only time I'd probably have to accomplish my goal before news reached Tuskavar of my escapades at the bridge.

  "Good, good!" Froast exclaimed, as he ran his hands over the cloak I'd removed. "Tria, would you see that our guest has a place to rest. He must be tired from his trip."

  Tria bowed. "Yes, Master Froast. If you would, please follow me, Noble?" I fell in behind her once more and she led us back out the way we'd come in, past Wisp who again made no move to acknowledge me. If she held any hostility towards me, or felt anything else at all, it was not evidenced by her actions. I still felt an itch run down my spine as my back faced her, a symptom of my paranoia, and nothing else.

  It didn't take long for Tria and me to reach the guest room I was to stay in. It was only a short walk down the corridor from Froast's lab. We passed four doors on each side of the hall and Tria stopped and removed a set of keys from her pocket. She found the appropriate one, put it in the lock, and opened the door into a nice-sized bedroom attached to what appeared to be a separate room containing a bath facility, a luxury not many people had.

  "The rooms here are quite nice. They don't let us out much, but they do try to keep us comfortable. Make yourself at home. I'll send some food up for you later this evening, and see that you're sent for in the morning, when Master Froast is ready," Tria said with a smile. "He might make you wait a little longer if he thinks he can figure things out on his own, but don't worry. He won't forget you."

  "Thank you," I said, trying to decide whether I wanted to risk asking any questions of the friendly lab assistant before she left. She might know where Kye was being kept, or she might not, but asking her such questions would likely raise her suspicion and put me in danger. Even if it didn't raise her suspicions of me, my questions could put her at risk. If Tria knew I was interested in Kye and I walked out of here with her, Tria could be seen as responsible. It would not do to involve more people in my problems. I would have to do what needed to be done on my own. How I was to go about that, I was not yet sure.

  "Might I get a cloak to replace the one that I have given up?" I asked, a sudden inspiration striking me.

  On my walk through the hallways I had passed no less than four Knights of Ethan patrolling the corridors. To get where I needed to go, I would have to travel the corridors without being obviously out of place, lest I rouse suspicion and bring the guards down upon myself. Under the hood of a cloak, I would look like any other Knight. That would give me, at least to some extent, the ability to move about without attracting too much attention. Of course, my movements were not likely to match the usual patrol pattern and being out of place would attract unwanted questions, but at least I would not look conspicuous for my lack of adornment. I needed any advantage I could get.

  "I'm sure we could find you a cloak to replace yours. I'll have it sent up with your meal. Is there anything else before I get back to work?" Tria asked, her tone friendly.

  "No, but thank you," I said, and offered her a smile, behind which was hidden a great many fears. Tria left the room, and I found myself wrapped in a profound silence. I was road weary and covered in grime, so I decided to make use of the facilities provided to wash the dirt from my body. The basin in the bathroom was large enough to immerse my entire body in water if I wanted, and was designed to pull water from an external source through a series of pipes that came in from the wall. The water was not cold, but it was far from warm. Still, I was eager to be clean, so I ran the basin partially full of water, took off my clothes and worked at the worn in dirt on my flesh. I had one alternate change of clothing in my pack, and I put those on, though I was still without a cloak.

  That finished, I was left to decide my next course of action. It would have been easiest to accomplish my ends if I could have waited until night and gone sneaking through dark corridors, but I didn't believe my situation afforded me that much time. If I waited until Tria sent my food and replacement cloak, I would have at least some semblance of
a disguise to work with, but how long would that be? I looked out the single, high placed window of the room I was in, and saw that the sun still had much distance to travel before it would reach the horizon. The evening meal was probably a few hours away. Could I really afford to wait that long before going out? I not only had Kyeia to worry about, but I also needed to find Malice and free her from the dungeon, which might be more difficult than finding and freeing Kye.

  At the realization of just how near finding Kye I was, my heart beat quickened in my chest. She was in the same building as I was, possibly only a few hundred feet away. I only needed to find a way to get to her. It would have been a relief to be so close if the situation I was in didn't make this last stretch to save Kyeia so difficult. Finally, after deliberating for a few more minutes, I decided it would be best to wait for the cloak to come up with my dinner.

  I waited for what felt like hours, biding my time and hoping that Tria would send my meal and cloak earlier than the evening meal, but as more time passed I began to realize that was not going to happen. I was on the verge of going to my door and leaving the room to start my search despite my lack of disguise when a shuffling sound in the hallway caught my ears. The steps were quiet, and there seemed to be multiple sources. My keen hearing picked out the slightly varying steps, differentiating three distinct sets. They all had one trait in common though. They were the footfalls of Fell Beast paws, a soft pad hitting tile, followed by the slight click of claw. I desperately wanted them to be a group on patrol, but I had the suspicion as they drew nearer that such was not the case. They moved with a purpose, and as they drew within range of my door I heard the telltale scraping of metal on leather as weapons cleared scabbards. I felt a tightness about my heart as grim reality set in.

  My time was up, and I had squandered it in waiting. The Knights of Ethan did not bother to knock. My door crashed open, and two of them blurred into the room, coming at me quickly, with weapons drawn, but not set to attack. A third figure, Torment, stepped through the broken frame, shattered during the entrance of her two fellow Knights, her earlier look of lust and sadistic glee replaced by one of pure malice. The two guards who had first entered the room moved to flank me, one to each side. In less time than it took to draw a breath, I was surrounded by a superior number of foes, weaponless and without my armor.

  "Stand down, Lowin Fenly, or we will cut you into pieces," Torment said, and I did not doubt that she meant it. Such was the look of rage on her face, that I suspected that she wanted me to give her such an opportunity. I, however, did not intend die yet. I had things that I needed to accomplish, and though the situation seemed hopeless, dying was the only thing I could do that would truly make the situation hopeless. "You are wanted for the crime of treason for your actions committed at the Iol Adjot West Gate. You are to be held until your charges are judged by the highest court, at which time your punishment, and there is only one punishment for treason, will be carried out here."

  I forced the claws on my hands to dull, though it took an effort to keep them so. My entire body was tensed and ready for attack. Every inch of my being was on edge. I took mental stock of myself, forcing each muscle to loosen and relax, until finally I trusted myself to be touched without attempting to kill the first one to come near me. I might be able to take one attacker, possibly two, but three Knights of Ethan were beyond me, and if they were all skilled, than I might not finish even one. The two Knights who had flanked me moved in, their swords ready, and each reached out to take one of my arms. I made no attempt to resist, allowing each guard to firmly grab and restrain me. Of those who'd come for me, I recognized only Torment. There was a woman on my right and a male on my left, both with the scaled hands of lesser fell beasts, which they had wrapped so tightly about my arms that I could feel the skin being punctured by their claws. Yet in their grip, which I knew to be as hard as they could make them, I felt an inherent weakness, and suddenly found myself aware of just how much stronger I was than either of them. I had not had much contact with other Knights since I'd taken the eyes of Kye; other than Silent, Brutal, Lucidil, and Malice, I'd had no one with which to compare my own strength. Of those other Knights, or Broken Swords, I had only ever sparred with Brutal, Lucidil, and Malice. They had all been quite strong, but perhaps I was wrong in assuming that they were of average strength. Perhaps, those three, whose strength was equal, or in some cases greater, than my own, were the strongest of the Knights. As my arms were gripped in vice-like holds, I began to realize just how wide the gap was between me and some of the other Knights of Ethan. I was at least as much stronger than those that held me, than they were stronger than an average man or woman. I allowed myself to be held.

  Once I was well in hand, or so it appeared, Torment approached me and lashed out with her fist, striking me in the side of the face in a blow that would have killed a normal man. My jaw snapped viciously, and I felt the bones in my face crack, and then snap back as they began to heal almost immediately. My body was still improving. I had first noticed it when I stood aboard the ship that was to be my vessel on the first leg of this journey, and my senses had immediately attuned to the roll of the waves. I noticed it again now, as I healed faster than I ever had before. I turned to face Torment, and let the contempt I'd felt for her since arriving flow into my eyes. Since the game was up, I would no longer pretend that I felt anything remotely pleasant about her. This infuriated her further, and she struck me again, harder, but not as much harder as I would have expected. My face split open, and blood spattered the floor. I realized then, as the world spun for a second, that Torment was at the limit of her strength. Without using her claws, or a weapon, she could do no more harm to me. The bone and flesh of my face stitched itself back together. I remained stoic.

  Torment growled her frustration and then screamed at the two Knights restraining me, "Throw him in the dungeon!" As my guards started off, Torment yelled at my back. "You're going to learn why they call me Torment, Lowin Fenly. When the king hands down his justice, I will make sure you do not die quickly."

  I believe she wanted a reaction from me, but I offered her none. I did not intend to stick around long enough to find out what "justice" the king might have in store for me. I would allow my captors to take me to the dungeon. From there I would be near Malice again, and that would give me a distinct advantage. Malice was powerful too, stronger even still since her eyes had begun to change. Between the two of us I believed we stood a good chance of being equal to the challenge of recovering Kye and escaping from Tuskavar.

  The two guards did not treat me roughly, though I sensed that would change if I gave them trouble. So long as I allowed them to lead me to the dungeon, they would not go out of their way to make their job more difficult than it needed to be. The trip to the dungeon was not a long one. We passed four human guards, and two additional Knights of Ethan along the way, and all made no pretense at hiding their curiosity at the purple-eyed Knight being led by armed guards through the halls. Traitors were virtually unheard of among the Knights, and I was the first traitor with purple eyes any had seen. I couldn't blame them for staring - in their position, I would have done the same, but I still resented it. It was part of a greater resentment, I realized. I did not resent the Knights themselves, but the structure of government for which they stood.

  The dungeon was located at the very bottom of villa, two floors below ground level. The floor above it was a guard post, with heavy doors that could be locked externally at both ends. The cells themselves were dingy and dirty, as one would expect, but they seemed to have been designed with the prospect of keeping a Knight of Ethan imprisoned. The bars were of a heavy forged iron, tightly woven, each bar slightly thinner than an average man's hand. They would be impossible to bend. I kept my eyes open for Malice as I was led past the cells, but it was dark enough that I couldn't make out whom, if anyone, was in each enclosure. The guards stopped two doors from the end, one of them released me long enough to open the gate, and I was pushed towards
the opening, not hard but with enough force to let me know that going any other direction would be trouble, especially with the two swords pointed at my back. I considered for a moment attacking my two guards and attempting to escape, but there had been no less than five human guards and four additional Knights of Ethan in the guard post on the floor above. I didn't think I could dispatch six Knights on my own. I walked into the cell and heard the metal door close heavily behind me. There was a note of finality about that sound that I didn't like in the least.

  The footsteps of the retreating guards faded, I heard another heavy door open and close, and then the world was full of nothingness. The darkness was far deeper than that of the outside world, even to the point that my eyes, as well attuned to working in the dark as they were, could make out only the faintest details. I could navigate if I needed to, but much beyond the reach of my arm was complete blackness now that the light from the floor above was blocked off by the door.

  "Lowin?" A familiar voice called from a neighboring cell, Malice.

  "Yes," I answered, feeling a mix of guilt and pleasure at hearing her voice. I was happy to hear that she was alive, but I felt as though I had failed her by not finding Kye and rescuing her. "I'm afraid I haven't done very well."