Nature and Blight
Page 21
Chapter 21: A Loyal Friend Is A Blessing Indeed
The Journey (Lawlessness)
They watched and waited from the tree-line. They knew they were unseen but the one with the bow, the one named Deadaim, had somehow detected their presence. They remained in hiding for it was not the right time, not the right circumstance. They were stealth killers. Open warfare held no advantages to ones like them. They would bide their time. It didn’t matter. Even if it took years they would avenge the one they lost.
“Sergeant.”
“Yes, Deadaim?”
“We have Elvin on our trail.”
Savage looked to the rear but couldn’t spot them. He didn’t question the archer, he didn’t need to, it would’ve been a waste of words.
“Well, we knew they’d be coming so let’s just load the Midglings on the camels and put some distance between us.”
Deadaim nodded and they lifted the two unconscious beings, placed them on one camel who was particularly unpleasant because its hoof hurt where an arrow was removed and tied the two down so they wouldn’t fall off.
“Where are we going?” Brutus asked.
“Well, for now I think we should just move as far away from the forest as possible. We’re mounted and the Elvin on foot so I think we should be able to put a lot of ground between us and them. When the Midglings wake up we can ask where they’re headed and figure it out from there.”
So six camels left six Trolls laying on the wasteland awaiting the buzzards who would pick their bones clean before the sun set.
“Sergeant.”
“Yes, Brutus?”
“The Midglings appear to be awaking.”
The Midglings did appear to be regaining consciousness but, unfortunately, they had no recollection of the preceding time interval and were instantly confused finding themselves tied up on the back of a camel. So they did what Midglings did.
“Help!”
The camels were walking the way camels always walked which was in a straight line. Savage was in front, Stu and Wort’s camel behind his, Brutus’ behind them leading two more who were tied together and in the rear, sitting backwards to keep an eye out for Elvin assassins sat Deadaim. Since camels were long-necked creatures and Midglings weren’t, their vision was obstructed which was why what happened should have been predicted.
“Hello, sleepy-heads.”
“Yaagh!”
“Did…? Did they just faint again?”
They’d been tied down facing forward, two Midglings sitting atop one hump, Stu in front of Wort. When Savage turned his mount to welcome them back from faint-land the first thing which came into view was the rather ugly and annoyed camel-face of the steed he rode upon. Midglings were not desert people. They had never seen camels before the Trolls’ arrival and had definitely never ridden them so they were rather disoriented sitting ten feet off the ground on a stringy-haired mammal with beautification issues. They awoke again ten minutes later.
“Okay, no more fainting.”
“Yaagh!”
And fainted again. Savage realized the problem, dismounted and walked his camel. When they again awoke he was below them and not such a jarring picture for their senses.
“Um, okay, are you two done fainting?”
Stu, facing forward, was going to answer the man’s question with a question of his own but didn’t because his question was answered by the subject itself.
“Yes, I think…”
“Yaaagh!”
Stu wasn’t aware Wort was behind him and was going to ask where his best friend was. When Wort spoke it scared Stu to sleep. He came around to the sound of Wort’s voice.
“… and then the Elfin swung us through the treetops and then we ran into the Trolls and then you guys came along and then, um, okay I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up and then… Oh! Hey Stu! I want you to meet Sergeant Savage.”
Stu, still a little groggy but somewhat more aware of his surroundings looked down upon the man walking alongside their camel.
“Hello, Sergeant Savage, I’m Stu.”
Savage was slightly amused because both Midglings did the same thing when they introduced themselves. They sat up straighter, squared back their shoulders, lifted their chins with regal bearing and announced their presence to the world. He’d heard of Midglings, even seen a few before but they were rather rare for they were considered delicacies to quite a few of the creatures walking, shuffling and roaming the land.
“Hello, Stu, it’s very nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
“Thank you. Now, I would also like for you to meet my friends, Brutus and Deadaim.”
The two Midglings, now fully awake and in touch with reality immediately re-squared their shoulders, lifted their chins and tried as hard as they could to crane their necks in an attempt to turn and look where Savage indicated his friends were located.
“Oomph!”
“Erg!”
They were completely unsuccessful due to their bindings so did what Midgling courtesy demanded.
“Hello, Mister Brutus! Hello, Mister Deadaim!” they shouted to the sky at the top of their lungs.
Savage decided they were not going to faint again so called a halt, reached up and untied the two little beings.
“Thank you.”
“Ooh, that’s much better.”
Introductions were formally given, the camels again mounted and the caravan began moving.
“So, where are you two headed?” Savage asked.
“We’re supposed to go to the Lazy River.”
“The Lazy River?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Why?”
“Well…”
As Savage questioned the Midglings about their mission Deadaim kept watch for signs of Elvin. The landscape was barren, a vast area with little shrubbery and almost devoid of color. Most found it somewhat hypnotic and would fall asleep while trying to keep watch. Deadaim didn’t. He was an expert in patience. He had a lot of practice.
“The walls have been breached! We must flee with the others!”
“I will not leave my post.”
He’d signed on for the promise of gold. He hadn’t always done so.
“Do you pledge your loyalty to the Empire?”
“I do.”
“Then rise, Archer of the Realm.”
He’d enlisted in his kingdom’s army. He’d been born, bred and raised as a loyal subject to his Emperor. The Emperor had been crowned after his father designated him heir then died. He was wise, brave and impeccably honest. It’s what got him killed.
“The Emperor is dead.”
“How did he die?”
“Someone poisoned him. His brother is the new Emperor.”
It was, of course, his replacement who did the evil deed but since he was the next in line to the throne the investigation never went far. Deadaim, loyal to a fault, demanded more answers than the new Emperor was comfortable with.
“Archer Deadaim?”
“Yes?”
“You’re under arrest for disloyalty to the crown.”
Deadaim was tried, convicted and sentenced to solitary confinement. He was sitting alone, contemplating the meaning of life when a reprieve was offered.
“If you declare your allegiance to the new Emperor you will be reinstated as an Archer of the Realm.”
“No thanks.”
It wasn’t personal to him, it was communal. He didn’t hold the new Emperor any ill-will for he understood the desire for power, it wasn’t hard to comprehend, but the reaction of the citizenry was something else altogether.
“All hail the Emperor!”
“The Emperor is dead.”
Gasp!
“Meet the new Emperor.”
“Hooray! All hail the Emperor!”
It was as if the old Emperor had never existed, merely changed mortal form and took on the appearance of his sibling. The fact people could so readily accept a replacement for a Monarch they p
ledged unbending loyalty was confounding to him.
“Do you vow to lay your life down for me?”
“Yes, My Emperor.”
Thunk!
“Um… that is, of course, unless you get an arrow stuck in your chest. Okay, who’s the next heir?”
He couldn’t quite grasp the concept of pledging one’s support if it only lasted till another supplanted it. He was in his second year contemplating life when another reprieve was offered.
“If you fight in the Gladiator Games you can win your freedom.”
He wasn’t a fool.
“Okay.”
So he entered the contest and quickly vanquished all.
“On this side we have a former Archer of the Realm…”
“Yay!”
“… and on this side we have a butcher of children…”
“Boo!”
“… let the games begin!”
Thunk!
“Wow! That was quick.”
The problem he had, of course, was speed. He won every contest a moment after it began. There was no defense because he could place an arrow-tip with the precision of a seamstress.
“Um, we can’t let you go.”
“Why not?”
“The Emperor had some money on the Games and… well, he’d like a chance to win it back.”
The Emperor, it was later found out, had a bit of a gambling problem. It’s what actually made him ruler in the first place. The men running the gambling ring were constantly harassed by the previous Emperor’s troops. It got to the point where they were considering abandoning the occupation altogether when good luck fell in their laps. The Emperor’s brother was somewhat of a moron when it came to odds calculation so they gave him a line of credit which he quickly maxed out, they called in his debt, he couldn’t pay and they offered him a solution.
“Kill your brother and we’ll forgive what you owe us.”
So he did as asked, became the new Emperor, imprisoned those foolish enough to believe loyalty held meaning, began the Gladiator Games and quickly found himself in even more debt than before.
“What are the odds?”
“It’s a hundred to one in favor of the Archer.”
“Put a thousand on the Butcher.”
His problem was he couldn’t resist the long shot. He bet against the favorite every time and since every once in a while he won it only reinforced his belief he could spot a winner when all others saw a loser. The fact the odds-makers were experts in their field was discounted. His thought was if he bet enough times on underwhelming odds eventually someone would get in a lucky shot and he’d come out ahead.
“On this side, the Archer!”
Cheers.
“On this side, the Murderer!
Grumblings.
“Let the Games begin!”
Thunk!
“Are you kidding me?”
A dilemma emerged which no one foresaw. The Emperor was so bad at betting the gambling operation was, on paper, the richest organization around. Their only problem? They couldn’t collect on their bets. He was the Emperor, after all, and always surrounded by an elite squadron of soldiers.
“We have got to stop taking his bets.”
“I know, it’s looking bad.”
“But we’ve got to do it in a way which won’t get us killed.”
“True. How?”
“What if he wins and we pay his earnings. We’ll then say the Games need to end because it’s horse-racing season. Even he can’t lose every bet in horse-racing.”
“Not a bad idea.”
So they went to the Archer with a request.
“If you concede defeat we can put an end to the Games and then, after a little time has passed, we will arrange for your pardon.”
His answer threw a kink in their designs.
“I cannot. I pledged a loyalty to the Empire and even though I believe him to be of dishonest quality he is still the Emperor. When I compete I represent the Empire’s archers. Thus, as long as my pledge is held I cannot concede defeat.”
The gambling ring was not successful because they were dimwitted.
“Emperor?”
“Yes?”
“We have a rather strange request.”
They explained they were running into a scheduling conflict with the equestrian races.
“You cannot start them while the Gladiator Games are going?”
“No, Your Excellency, the audience is at the Games.”
They were walking a fine line but knew something about gambling and thus things about men in debt.
“What happens if I call off the Games?”
“All debts are due.”
They knew he couldn’t acquiesce because he owed so much therefore they gave him a solution.
“We have an idea. We know you are eventually going to win. I mean, it’s not like the guy can keep putting arrows into everyone he opposes. Therefore we propose he concede defeat. Without him the citizens will quickly lose interest and begin betting on the horses.”
They saw him waver and went for the kill.
“We understand your reluctance but we must add it’s only a matter of time before someone beats him so you really aren’t changing anything other than the inevitable.”
He’d been betting against the archer every time.
“That is true. I am inevitably going to win.”
So they had his acceptance but still needed another’s who was, surprisingly, unwilling. So they went back and queried again.
“Um, Emperor?”
“Yes?”
“We need another favor.”
He entered the arena knowing one thing with absolution; he would walk away alive. It wasn’t arrogance he relied upon but the clear knowledge none could stand against him. His opponent obviously shared his belief because he was, at that moment, on his knees praying to his god in an attempt to make amends for all he’d done wrong.
“… and I’m sorry for starting the fire and I’m sorry for stealing that horse and I’m really sorry for…”
The crowd was anxious with anticipation. Everyone was talking and a buzz filled the stadium when suddenly the Emperor rose. Everyone became quiet.
“Former Archer of the Realm!”
Deadaim turned to face the man who replaced the man he took an oath to. He indicated with a slight bow he was indeed the former Archer of the Realm.
“I relinquish your oath to the Empire! You are no longer a subject under my protection! What do you say in return?”
The deal was quite easy. Extinguish the man’s oath and allow him to concede defeat. The Emperor would finally win his bet, the gambling ring could move on to other lucrative adventures and the archer would gain his freedom. They would give him a pardon in a year or so and everyone would come out ahead. Therefore, everyone won. Or so they thought.
Thunk!
“Did he…? Did he just shoot the Emperor?”
“I bet he didn’t expect that response.”
Deadaim walked out the arena without any resistance.
“Shoot him!”
“Are you crazy? The man just put an arrow into the Emperor’s head from a thousand paces away!”
“You swore an oath!”
“Yeah, you know what? You can take your oath and stick it…”
Loyalty was a slippery subject where kingdoms were concerned so Deadaim altered his perception, allowed for more than one answer to his meaning for life and signed on with a baron who was trying to take a part of King Rot’s domain.
“Surrender or die, Baron!”
“I surrender!”
“Okay, now tell that insane archer you hired to do the same!”
The castle was taken but the tower was not. He was stationed high and they below. A hundred men pinned down by a lone sniper with bow and arrow.
“Someone rush the tower!”
“Why don’t you rush the tower?”
“Um, okay, change of plans. Bring me that baron!”
The Baron was brought forth and a sword held to his throat.
“Deadaim!”
“Yes, Baron?”
“You are relieved from duty!”
So the former Archer of the Realm slid down a rope, scaled the wall and fled the castle followed by Savage, Brutus and ten others who would learn it was better to be a friend than enemy to a man who valued loyalty.