by Kris Kramer
***
Around an hour before dinner, Riose escaped.
He waited for a moment when the guards weren't paying close attention, then he hopped up and bolted into the trees, catching all of us by surprise. I’m not sure exactly how he did it, but I can guess. Sometime earlier in the day he managed to cut his bindings, with a blade he either already had on him or that he stole. I’m sure it was the former. Guys like him tend to always have little surprises tucked away in the seams of their clothes. Then, he spent the hours before escaping stretching his legs. I thought he had cramps from the way he kept pumping his legs and crouching over and over again. When the right opportunity presented itself, he took it. No hesitation. I could at least admire that.
As soon as he left, about ten of Hagrim’s men gave chase, but he must have evaded them because about an hour later they came back – without Riose. Hagrim gave them a terrible tongue-lashing, roaring like a bear as he did, and even smacked a few of them around. I hadn’t seen him get this angry before, but I could imagine how fearsome he became to his men when he did.
Riose escaping made things that much more difficult for me, though, because Hagrim and his men would be on their guard. I’d have no choice now but to wait until after the bidding to get away. Although, to be honest, I was more annoyed by the fact that he was off traipsing through the forest, a free man, while I was still stuck in the hands of a man about to sell me to a murderous lunatic, and he didn’t even have the nerve to leave the knife he used to cut the ropes. Oh well. At least if he’s still alive, I can get my revenge on him later. That would keep me content for now.
Arnum had a different reaction. He blew up at Hagrim, shouting that if Riose could walk out of camp untouched, then how were any of them supposed to trust that I would be kept until it was time to announce a winner? The mystery man in the robe didn’t say much, but the other one did, quietly agreeing with Arnum’s rant. Hagrim yelled right back at them, even threatening their lives if Arnum didn’t settle down. He did, retreating back to a tent made available for him, but Hagrim was in a foul mood the rest of the night, and he nursed that mood by pounding down as much ale as he could get his hands on.
“You think he’ll come back for us?” Saras asked that evening. “Or did you ruin any chance of that?”
More guards were posted nearby, specifically to make sure we didn’t try anything suspicious, and they watched us carefully at the sound of Saras’ voice.
“He’s not coming back,” I said. “I know how he thinks now. He’ll stay nearby and wait for someone to win the bid. When they leave with me, he’ll grab me somewhere in the woods, probably at night. Just like the sneaky little bastard he is. And the worst part is that it'll work, too.”
“Should we tell them who I am?” Saras whispered. I shook my head subtly.
“No. Hagrim might kill you if he knew who you were. And that’s only if he doesn’t decide to ransom you for half your father’s fortune.”
“You heard Arnum. If they think I’m just your little sidekick, they might figure I’m not worth the trouble and kill me anyway.”
“Surely there’s a bounty on you?”
“I don’t think there is.”
“Wow,” I said, surprised. “How’d you manage that?”
Saras shrugged. “I don’t know. I wasn’t there when you got the gem back, so maybe no one thought to pass my name along to the city guard."
“Well, they won’t kill you. If Arnum doesn’t bid on you then they’ll just give you to the Ochaian, who’ll probably take you back and make you a sex slave for some crazy, twisted chieftain who likes young men.” Saras’ mouth hung open, shocked, but I shrugged. “Hey, I’m only being honest. You need to prepare for the worst possible outcomes. That gives you the motivation to keep them from happening. Old Gunther told me that. Remember him?”
“A sex slave?” Saras asked, still hung up on what was probably only a small possibility. “For a man? How would that even work?”
“You don’t know? Don’t worry, I’ll explain if we get out of this. Or, you’ll probably just find out on your own if we don’t. Either way…”
“It’s hard to know when you’re serious.”
Hagrim met with my suitors that evening in his tent, no doubt determining the winner. It didn’t take too long before the meeting ended, and even though I wasn’t sure of the results, it was pretty obvious that Arnum lost the bidding. When the meeting ended, he stormed out of the tent and retreated to his corner of the camp with his men. When the others walked out after him, I couldn’t tell which one made the winning bid, I was just glad not to have to suffer Arnum’s gloating for the next few days, followed by his ignorant smile as he watched me die.
"Arnum isn't the kind of guy who loses well," Saras said, echoing my own thoughts.
"Yeah. He wants me bad enough that he might just wait to steal me from the winner once we leave the camp."
"I can't tell who won. Everyone looks disappointed."
"I think that's a good thing. I'm willing to bet that the mystery man won."
"That's not a good thing. He's by himself."
"Right, he's alone, so I can escape easier."
"Or Arnum can take you easier. He's one man. Arnum will bring a dozen."
"I'll have to escape fast then."
"I don't know. There's something weird about him.”
"He's a mage." Saras gave me a curious look, so I explained. "He's by himself. He wants the gem. He wears a robe. He's mysterious. Mage.” I squinted, suddenly thinking of another possibility. “Or an assassin."
"Oh," Saras said, his face devoid of any hope. "This should work out well for everyone, then."
The Ochaian approached us, or more accurately, Saras. He crouched down and grabbed Saras’ neck to keep him from moving, then made a small mark on his forehead using some black ink or charcoal he had on his finger. Without saying a word, he left, and Saras looked over at me, both of us understanding exactly what that line on his face signified – Saras belonged to the Ochaian now.
After the bidding ended, the camp quieted down, and Hagrim’s men went about the business of bundling up everything in the camp except the tents. They proved to be remarkably efficient about it, too. Every blanket, tool, weapon and pot was cleaned and packed away. Hagrim even had two men assigned to walk around and cover up areas with excessive footprints with mud and dirt. No one told us anything, not even who won the auction, but my guess is I would be leaving with the winner first thing in the morning, right as Hagrim and his men trekked off to their next camp site. Resigned to my fate, I decided to try and sleep. I would need my energy for my escape tomorrow anyway.
I didn’t sleep long. I woke up in the black of night to feel a wad of cloth stuffed into my mouth, keeping me from crying out in surprise. I felt several hands grabbing me, and I tried to fight back but it made no difference. They held me tight. I looked around in the darkness but all I could see at first were shapes in the dim moonlight. My elvish eyes adjusted quickly, though, and when one of the shapes stopped and looked down at me, I immediately recognized the features of Arnum, who held his finger up to his mouth.
“Quiet,” he whispered, an evil smile on his lips. “I’m here to rescue you.”