by Luka Petrov
“Of course not,” I mused. “What will happen to us now?”
“We will let Lord Abraxas decide on that. Once we turn you over, we will get our bounty. We don’t care what happens to you after that.” We continued to swing helplessly. This would not turn out well for us, regardless of which fate Lord Abraxas chooses for Yves and Agnes. My fate was already predetermined since Lord Abraxas wanted me as his eternal servant. I suppose I could join King Harold and his father as servants.
Aragon the Wise had another magic user with him since I was able to subdue the one that followed me to the Enchanted Swamp. This magic user wore a black hooded robe and seemed to be more accomplished than the last one.
“Nordic make sure these guys do not get out of control with their magic once we let them go,” Aragon the Wise said to the hooded magic user.
Aragon cut the rope that held the net tied to a tree branch. We hit the ground with a loud thud and as soon as we did, Nordic cast dispels magic on us, squashing any magic that we could cast for the time being.
“All right, we must transport our prisoners,” Aragon said. “Tie them up, nice and tight. Make sure they cannot move their hands, but make sure they can still walk, I don’t want to be carrying them.”
Another one of Aragon’s four men came up and tied a rope around our wrists and our waists. He tied it very tight that I could not move my arms and was off balance as I attempted to walk.
“Walk!” Aragon the Wise commanded.
Yves tried putting up a fight and refused to walk. “I said walk, girl!” Aragon shouted.
The magic user cast a firebolt down at her feet, prodding her to move her feet. Yves was much more compliant than Cecily was. Cecily would be so abstinent that it would not be funny. Yves refused commands, which was not like her. Yves was much more of the intellectual but was a people pleaser, except when it came to our witty banter and competition of who knew the most magic. This behavior was not like her. I wanted to be got act out in the same manner, but it was a losing battle, that was not even a question.
We all marched, the three of us in a line with one of Aragon’s henchmen in front, and the magic user, another henchman, and Aragon bringing up the back. At this point, I was saddened by how far we had come and that all of our hard work had resulted in this. Being led away to my eternal servitude.
While we walked, I began thinking. The result was the same. I am headed to be Lord Abraxas’ servant. If my dad did not rescue us and start our escape, the result would have been the same. I started to hate the fact that my dad came to the jail cell that first night that we were taken in and sent us on our journey. This journey had been all for not. We were in the very same place that we were in that night.
Except for that night, I was going to barter my release and so it would have been authorized by the King and Walter could take my place while I learned all of the magic that I needed to know to defeat the Demon Lord. Then I would come back and save Walter. As retribution, I would teach all of the magic I learned to Walter. He said that he wanted to be an accomplished magic user, then that deal would have been a win-win for both of us.
Instead, I was marching to my fate of eternal servitude and Walter was—I had no idea where Walter was. In any case, I hoped he was happy, wherever he was. Apparently, he was free, roaming around. Perhaps he made it back to his home village and was with his family. Even though I did not like Walter, nor thought he was a valuable member of our team, at this point if someone could become happy and live a good life, I would like it to be someone who was on my team, no matter how bad of a team member they were.
My mind had wandered while we walked. I did not have much to think about since we simply put one foot in front of the other. I was behind Yves and Agnes was behind me. We were being led like pigs to the slaughter. I was curious as to what the bounty hunters had in store for us as they would lead us to Gilmore.
After several miles of walking in a line, Aragon the Wise yelled, “Halt!” The henchmen leading the line came to a sudden stop, making Yves, Agnes, and I stop dead in our tracks. Aragon continued, “We must wait until morning before we can deliver these prisoners to Lord Abraxas. His tower is through a portal, and we will have to wait until morning before we can find the portal to get to his tower and collect our bounty. We will take them to our stocks, and we can get some shut eye before we look for the portal in the morning.”
“Yes sir!” the leader of our line said. The line leader made a sharp right turn and led us a few more miles to what appeared to be a semi-permanent camp.
The camp had a stone enclosed fire pit, linens of clothes drying, and tents. There was also a large wooden cage with hay and other grass on the bottom. We were led straight to the cage. “You three will sleep here tonight,” the line leader said as he led us to the wooden cage, unlocking it with a key attached to his waist.
The henchman continued, “If I were you, I would get all of the rest you possibly could. This will probably be the last time that you will be able to sleep without one eye open. Let’s face it, you are our precious treasure. We will protect you until we are no longer breathing. You are worth far more to us alive than Nordic or hell, even Aragon is worth to us. Aragon will get the biggest share, but event he cut that I will get tomorrow, I will never have to take on another bounty again. I’ll be set for life.”
I could not think about how much I would be worth to the Demon Lord and how this man is now set for life. My only thought was number one, escaping, and then if that could not be arranged, figuring out how to get rid of the Magi Staff and magic spell book before I was turned over to the Demon Lord. I might be a pig being led to the slaughter, but I did not need to be bearing more gifts than myself.
“What do we do now, Ed?” Agnes asked as we stood by ourselves in the cage. The bounty hunters were preparing for the night. One would keep watch all through the night and they would rotate every two hours. They drew straws to find who would be woken up in the dead of night. The beginning shift and the ending shift were the most sought-after shifts. Aragon coincidentally got the first shift and Nordic got the last shift. The two henchmen bounty hunters had the middle shifts.
I gathered hay to make it soft while I laid on the ground. Yves followed suit. Agnes still stood up and tried to giggle the locked door. I finally stopped collecting the hay on the ground for my bed that would resemble a bird’s nest. “You heard the man,” I replied. “We rest!”
Chapter Seven
The dawn broke over the horizon and despite knowing I would be the most protected right now, probably more protected than in my entire life, I did not sleep one wink. I sat on the bottom of the wooden-barred cage observing the softness of the forest and how calm and serene everything felt. Nordic was keeping watch for intruders. He sat by the extinguished fire. None of the other bounty hunters were up yet.
Agnes and Yves took my advice, and they were still sleeping among the hay like zoo animals would in my previous life. This was a hard day. I could feel it already. There was nothing to look forward to, no glimmer of hope. They would turn me over to Lord Abraxas today and begin my eternal servitude.
Embarking on this entire adventure, meant that I would become the greatest mage that ever lived. I would learn an infinite amount of magic and could wield any spell and conquer any opponent. This who thing was supposed to be easy. Especially since I had the advantage of using my previous life’s knowledge and had the edge of my eidetic memory.
What was the missing piece here? I should have been able to dance all around these fools and make the Demon Lord look like a sad little school girl. However, the exact opposite happened. In my attempt to overpower myself in this world, I floundered, and I did not know why.
At Draererth, I learned spells quickly, could memorize entire spell books and figured out the lost and undiscovered spells. Life was simple then. I knew that once the Demon Lord would emerge then that would be when I would need to rise and defeat him. That would be where the real challenge would begin.
> Yet, here I am. A prisoner, a price on my head for my return to the Demon Lord. I cannot accept defeat, not yet. However, where do I go from here? We will be led in our line, tied up and under full control by Aragon the Wise and his henchmen. They would deliver us this morning to the tower of the Demon Lord, which apparently is through a hidden portal located somewhere in the barren field, I assume.
Then, I would act on behalf of the Demon Lord and his biggest threat, me, would be no longer and he would have no obstacles in his way for completely taking over this universe. My sole purpose for reincarnating into this world would be for nothing. I would be a failure, and worthless being.
In my previous life, I never made it become my dream of practicing medicine. In my lives before that, I do not remember what I was or if I could accomplish my goals, I set for myself. However, this incarnation would be the biggest letdown. I purposely made myself have better abilities than my competition. I designed it. I knew exactly what I asked for when I met with the figure in the afterworld. I was deliberate with my abilities and even when I put all of my efforts into achieving a goal, I still come up short. Why?
Yves and Agnes stirred. They both squinted open their eyes. The camp was still silent with Nordic stoically keeping watch. “Morning, Ed,” Agnes said as she laid among the hay.
“Morning,” I responded, careful not to wake the camp. I did not need to start the procession of events today. Especially, when the procession of events was ending with my demise. As I looked at Agnes, I realized what a failure I was. I let her down. Her soul would be scrapped along with mine and we would cease to exist in this world or the afterworld. It would be as if we were never created in the first place. Looking into her big beautiful blue eyes, my heart sank, and a tear rolled down my cheek.
Yves, who is not one to lend comfort, got up from where she laid and rubbed my back. She whispered, “Ed, I don’t know how I know we will get out of this. Mark my words.” At this moment, I appreciated her optimism, but I had none left. I found it easier to accept the truth than to diligently fight it.
I did not want to squash Yves’ optimism, even though I did not believe in it myself. Therefore, I replied, “Yes, we will. We have to.” I did not even believe the words that came out of my mouth, but I appreciated her willingness to keep on fighting, and if she would lead the charge I would follow.
Perhaps that was the exact thing that was missing in my ability to defeat the Demon Lord. I had been going about this all wrong. I had been occupied with advancing my magic and learning all the spells that I possibly could that I did not rely on the help with my teammates. My friends. They were all just as able as I was. Why was I not able to lean on them and to allow them to help me.
It was only weeks ago that I was willing to have Walter take my place as the eternal servant of the Demon Lord while I walked in this world a free man and able to learn magic. I rationalized my decision by telling myself that I would come back and save him and then teach him all the magic that I learned as payment, but what kind of person did that make me? It made me someone who was not willing to fully take on the risk that accompanied becoming the greatest mage that ever lived.
Throughout this incarnation, I was quick to run away when things became too difficult and I blatantly used my teammates without giving them much in return. I suppose that I felt that by them even being with me was their own reward. How selfish and self-serving is that?
As I thought more and more about how I treated the precise people who had helped me. Who had dealt with the same obstacles as I did, it was clear that I use them. I used Yves for her cunning ability to be the most read student among us. I took her for granted when she would know the answers to things I did not know. I took Agnes for granted when she would encourage me and cheer me on. Her words of encouragement and her belief in me are what kept me going sometimes.
In a way, I resented Val the Druid and Walter because they did not come on this journey with us. They were not here to help us solve the puzzles or battle the evil in this world. They were not here with us now as we waited for my untimely demise.
The sun became stronger as it came up over the horizon. I was under the impression that the bounty hunters would be quick to turn me in and claim their prize. They sure were taking their sweet time arising this morning. What was taking so long?
Four tents opened up to the fire pit, and then the cage to hold the prisoners the bounty hunters could capture, like us. I sat on the ground, dejected at what today would bring. Over my shoulder, I heard a faint whisper, “Shhh! Do not make a sound.”
I did not heed the advice from the voice that came from over my shoulder and shouted, “What the hell is going on?” I jumped from where I was sitting to find where the voice was coming from.
“A Druid?” I shouted as I saw him crouching down behind where I sat. I was certainly glad to see him, even if he did intend on turning me over to the Demon Lord for a bounty, it would still be better than traveling to the Demon Lord’s lair led by Aragon the Wise. Perhaps he could help us. He most likely was going to get us out of this camp, but what his plans were for us after that, I was not sure. In any respect, it was also just plain good to see someone willing to get me out of this cage.
“Edward MacAra! I told you to be quiet,” he whispered. “Let me get you out of here before the other two bounty hunters wake up. My name is Val. Val the Druid, and I am a villager in Gilmore.”
“But there are three more bounty hunters,” I reminded.
“Not anymore. And the one that calls himself Nordic, the one keeping watch, he has a knife sticking out the back side of his head,” Val the Druid whispered. He took the key from his waist and let us out. “Be quiet!” Val hushed under his breath as if we were not aware that we needed to be extremely quiet to flee these guys.
We quietly tiptoed through the brush and deeper into the Enchanted Forest once again.
We were far away from the bounty hunters and I could finally ask, “Val the Druid, where in the hell did you come from?”
“After the Demon Lord asked for you, and then found out that poor boy was not you, I knew the future of Gilmore and your lives’ days were both numbered. I believe you are the chosen one. The one who is supposed to free us from the evil Demon Lord’s wrath. I figured I could help. I tracked the bounty hunters. I figured they would eventually lead me to you. I was careful not to tip them off that I was following them.”
“What? How? … Why?” I asked out of amazement and extreme gratitude. “You risked your life and had been following the bounty hunters who had been following us for weeks? You could have gone back to your village and had been safe with your family,” I replied, still amazed at his character.
“I know. I could sit and wait in Gilmore while the Demon Lord made his descent. I needed to be proactive. I’d been looking for you for days until I spotted the bounty hunters. It took them a while to catch up to you guys, but I figured it was my best bet of finding you guys.”
“But but you could wait and could have been safe in Gilmore,” I interrupted.
“Ed, I don’t think you understand, and I wouldn’t expect that you would. You are my hero. We all need heroes, and for me—you’re it. In fact, all of you guys are,” explained Val the Druid. Oddly enough, I was touched at Val the Druid’s act and explanation of her perseverance to be reunited with us.
“But guys, I have to give you some bad news,” Val the Druid started.
Yves chimed in, “What is it?”
“It’s about the boy that was with you,” Val the Druid answered as she lowered her eyes.
“Is he dead?” I asked.
“No, he’s very much alive. But he is a prisoner of the Demon Lord,” replied Val the Druid. “He surrendered himself over to some bounty hunters. I believe the bounty hunters that I just rescued you from. This boy tried vehemently to convince the Demon Lord that he was you, Ed.” Val the Druid said as she looked at me. “They took him to Lord Abraxas. At first, Lord Abraxas thought Walter, I think th
at was his name, was Ed. Until Lord Abraxas asked him to cast certain spells and Walter couldn’t. The Demon Lord soon realized that Walter was not Ed and sent the bounty hunters back out. He threatened to kill the bounty hunters. They had already spent the bounty on a wild party at a tavern in Gilmore. They were practically hailed as heroes. The villagers celebrated them and had a parade in their honor because they had given up the magic wonder boy to the evil Demon Lord, it was quite sick if you ask me. But when the Demon Lord realized that Walter was not Ed, he attacked Gilmore until he found the bounty hunters. They could not repay the bounty and were sentenced to death. At their execution, Aragon the Wise begged for his life and said that he would personally see to your capture and return. That’s when I knew I had to find you before they did. Unfortunately, they were a little quicker than I was, but I saved you guys in the end.”
“That is quite a story, but we had heard it before. We know Walter is with the Demon Lord. We are going to save him.” I responded. “But—If that’s true, then why did the bounty hunters tell us last night that they would never have to bounty hunt ever again?”
Val the Druid asked, “For the girls. The Demon Lord is willing to pay for Yves and Agnes, and that other girl too. They will also become part of Lord Abraxas’ army. Aragon got his life back and would be paid for the lively return of you, Yves, and Agnes.”
“Huh! Oh, Cecily! We still haven’t gotten to her yet. I have a feeling I know where she is, but we’ve been so busy getting the Magi Staff, that we have not gotten a chance to finder her,” I replied.