by Tom Burton
He looks over to his horse and begins to stroke him.
“A good companion of mine needs to have a good name,” Luke whispers to the horse. He looks up to the clear day’s sky then looks back to the horse.
“Skylight.”
Luke smiles as he continues stroking the horse.
A few days later, Luke seems to have better control over his newfound power. In the early morning, he gets out of the bed from the Inn he is staying in, and decides to go for a run. But it is not a usual run; to everyone around him, it looks to be the speed of a sprint. But to Luke, it is a simple jog. He finishes his run at an open field with a downed tree in the center. He then begins to lift the huge tree trunk and place it over his shoulders: he walks around the field. A crowd begins to form on the outskirts of the village. When Luke spots this, he drops the trunk and whistles for Skylight. The horse strides toward Luke, and he mounts Skylight and rides away.
That night, he enters his room and grabs his bag full of scrolls. He carefully places each scroll on his bed, facing up. Once he spreads them all out, he begins reading through them all. Eventually, he picks one up on the far left side of his single bed. The wanted man is nicknamed “The Python”; there are no real names on the scroll. Of all the men whose greatness are on the scrolls Luke has in his possession, the reward for the Python’s capture—whether dead or alive—is the most.
Luke continues reading, and sees that the Python’s last known location was Dellmoor. Luke smiles as he reads this; then, he hears a knock on the door.
“Come in!” Luke shouts.
A woman reluctantly opens the door and peeps in.
“Sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering if you would like me to reserve this room for you for the next few nights?”
Luke turns to face the woman.
“Actually, keep this free, I am leaving first thing tomorrow,” Luke replies.
The woman nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.
The next morning, as the sun pierces Luke’s window, he starts to gather his possessions. He stores all of the scrolls in his bag, but puts the one of The Python in his pocket. He walks out of the tavern and begins to saddle Skylight. The townsfolk notice him leaving.
As Luke mounts Skylight, a woman slowly approaches him. She places her hand on Skylight’s shoulder, looking at Luke gratefully. Luke looks back at her, confused, and then looks around to see other men and women walking toward him. They approach Skylight and just like the woman, place their hands on the horse’s body. Soon Luke and Skylight are surrounded by the villagers, all looking up at Luke. Luke has a bittersweet smile. He then sees a man walking toward them. He recognizes the victim whom he helped a few days ago; walking in front of him is a little girl holding a rose.
The two approach Luke. The crowd gathered around Skylight part way for them. Then the girl reaches up and offers Luke the single rose in her hand. Luke reaches down and graciously accepts the girl’s gift. Then he sits back up and smiles at the townsfolk. He looks up and sees the mage woman standing far away from him, with her hood covering most of her face. Luke’s smile quickly fades, as he focuses on her.
“Look at them, look at them all,” the woman’s voice instructs. Luke looks down at the crowd around him.
“Soon…you will kill them all,” she whispers.
Luke quickly looks up in shock, but finds that the woman has disappeared. Luke then whistles at Skylight, forcing the crowd to part ways, and he rides away.
Once he is out of the village, Luke stops. He looks back for a few seconds. But he finally looks away in shame and continues riding away.
After a few days of riding continuously, Luke arrives back in the Crown Lands. He sees Skylight begins to struggle, slowing from a gallop to a walk. Luke starts gently stroking the horse.
“Don’t worry, boy!” Luke whispers, “We’ll get some rest tonight.”
Skylight neighs. Luke looks up and sees a building in the distance. He whistles, and Skylight walks toward the building. As they approach it, Luke sees that it’s a Tavern. A sign reads The Three.
Luke moves to the barn at the side of the tavern then dismounts Skylight and ties him up within the barn. He takes all of his possessions with him.
As Luke walks into the tavern, he sees it is already busy: barely any seats are available. Finally, he finds a chair in the corner. He places his bag next to him as he breathes a sigh of relief. When he sees a barmaid walk past he raises his hand.
“Pint of ale, please.”
The barmaid nods as she continues walking by. Luke then slowly takes the scroll out of his pocket. He unrolls it and begins to reread it. After a few moments, a younger man walks up behind him and sees the hand-drawn photo of the Python.
“You know him?” the man asks Luke.
Luke turns to look at the man.
“I know of him,” Luke replies hesitantly.
The man takes a seat across the table from Luke.
“Help yourself….” Luke sarcastically remarks.
The young man ignores Luke’s comment. “How much do you know of him?” he asks.
Luke scoffs and gives him the scroll. “Everything on that piece of parchment…. I’m heading down to the capital now.”
The man eyes Luke suspiciously then turns his gaze down to Luke’s belt. He notices Luke’s daggers.
“To kill him?” the man asks sharply, looking back at Luke.
“I’d rather use the word capture,” Luke replies, just as sharply.
The man smiles at Luke’s comment. “I know him quite well…he is the unofficial loan shark of the capital. Should the banks turn a customer away, they turn to the Python for help.”
“What’s his real name?” Luke asks.
“No one knows his name, but what we do know is that he charges a high rate of interest, and the risk of borrowing from him is even higher. But when people get desperate, they’ll do anything for help. The great Python has been doing this for years,” the man tells Luke, “slowly building his power and influence.”
Luke crosses his arms. “Why has no one stopped him?”
The man throws the scroll back onto the table between them.
“He has the best of guards protecting him, all day, every day. The irony is that he doesn’t pay the guards, the guards are paying him.”
Luke looks at the man, confused.
“The guards are indebted to him, they pay him back with their services,” the man explains.
“How many guards does he have?” Luke asks. He takes the scroll from the table and puts it back in his pocket.
“Too many to count…and certainly too many for you to take on. “The guards are spread out all over the city,” the man continues, “as the Python moves everywhere, seeking desperation around every corner. The problem is that the Python has the most power and the strongest influence around the capital, even more than that of the king. His arm reaches out to all of Neroman.”
Luke leans cautiously back in his chair as the man removes a knife from his belt. Suddenly, he lunges out over the table toward Luke. Luke quickly takes the knife out of his hand and grabs the man’s neck. The grip seems to paralyze the man, and Luke drags him over the table then makes his way back through the crowded tavern and throws the man out the front door. Luke’s throw causes the young man to fly far out into the open field. Multiple bones can be heard cracking as the man lands on the ground and his body rolls across the grass.
Luke walks over to the man. He goes down on one knee, placing that knee on the man’s chest. The man screams.
“Grab your horse and ride back to the capital. Tell your pathetic debt collector that I am coming for him.”
Luke takes his knee off the man’s chest and then takes a few steps back. The man slowly gets up while whistling at his horse.
“You best hurry,” Luke warns again.
“I won’t be far behind.”
Luke watches the horse galloping away, the man holding the reins weakly. Then, Luke slowly begins to walk back toward the tavern. He notices every window of The Three is filled with men and women, staring back at him nervously.
Luke stops, then hesitantly resumes walking.
As he slowly enters the tavern again, the men and women inside fearfully begin to make way for him. They are staring at him as he slowly walks to the bar, trying to ignore everyone.
“Room for the night, please?” Luke asks the barmaid. He puts a bag of silver down at the bar; the barmaid offers him the keys. Luke quickly goes upstairs, where he rushes straight into his room, and turns in for the night.
The next morning, before the sun rises, Luke drops the keys at the bar and leaves the empty tavern hastily. He quickly finds Skylight and begins to untether him.
“You fully rested, boy?”
He strokes Skylight’s forehead. Then he quickly places the saddle on Skylight and mounts him.
“Come, Skylight, show me how fast you gallop,” Luke whispers.
Skylight breaks into a gallop, quickly leaving the site of The Three behind them.
In the afternoon of the next day, Skylight continues galloping toward the capital. They ride over a small hill and see the capital in the distance. Luke tugs the reins to bring Skylight to a halt as he admires the beauty of the city before him. He smiles for a moment—then whistles. Skylight gallops quickly toward Dellmoor.
As they make it onto the main path, he slows pace and looks up and admires the high stone walls above him.
Suddenly, a guard at the gate raises his arm.
“Halt!”
“No horses are allowed to roam in the city!” announces a guard.
“What am I supposed to do with him then?” Luke questions.
The guard turns around and points to an area inside the gates.
“There are stables just to the side of the front gate, you will leave him there.”
Luke dismounts Skylight and walks with him inside, scowling at the guard as he does so. He quickly drops Skylight at the stables, paying a dear price for the privilege. But as he walks around the city, he sees that the streets are filled with people walking both ways; everyone is smiling either to themselves or to each other, wearing gold jewelry and unnatural hairstyles. He sees people wearing very unfamiliar clothing, made of finer materials, looking tidier than those outside the city.
As he walks, Luke approaches various men and women, showing them the wanted poster.
“Do you know who this is?” Luke asks. But the men and women shake their heads or look puzzled. He walks into taverns and smithies, asking, “Does this face look familiar to you?” But again, no one gives him any information; instead, they merely stand there shaking their heads at him.
Finally, Luke walks into a jewelry shop. “Have you seen this man anywhere here?” he asks one of the jewelers, showing him the scroll. The man takes the scroll and gives it to his superior. He grabs the scroll and throws it back to Luke.
“It’s time for you to leave.”
The man grabs Luke by the shoulder and drags him toward the door.
“You know where he is?” Luke asks excitedly.
The man continues dragging Luke. “Not anymore….” He shoves Luke out of his shop, locking the door behind him.
Later that afternoon, Luke walks to the center court of the city. He throws up his hands in frustration. At that instant, a man approaches from behind him.
“I hear you’re looking for him?” the man asks weakly.
Luke turns instantly. He sees a weak, hunchbacked man looking at him. Luke grips the hilt of one of his daggers.
“Who?” Luke asks, playing innocent. “The one who strangles….The Python,” the man says weakly. He turns his gaze downward and begins to shake in nervousness. “You want him?”
He looks up to Luke. Luke simply nods his head. He slowly releases his grip on the hilt of his knife.
“He broke me, tortured me, humiliated me,” the hunchbacked man tells Luke. “Many want him dead.”
Seeing the man grow emotional, Luke puts his hand on the man’s shoulder.
“He will pay for what he did to you and to the others,” Luke reassures the man.
The man then slowly gives Luke a folded piece of parchment. Luke unfolds it and reads it.
“Thank you,” Luke says, but the man walks away weakly.
Luke rushes in the opposite direction, to the address provided on the parchment.
As Luke approaches the street he is searching for, he spots a house with a low-lying roof and begins to climb up to the rooftop, with ease. He then crouches down and begins to slowly crawl along the rooftops of the connecting houses. As he gets closer to the house he desires, he spots two guards standing outside the front door. He crouches down further to avoid being seen. He hears movement and looks away from the house: a man accompanied by three guards is walking toward the house. He removes the scroll from his pocket and compares the face drawn on it to the face of the man who is walking alongside the three guards.
“There you are,” Luke whispers to himself.
He rolls the scroll back up and places it back in his pocket.
Luke sees the Python go into his house, accompanied by the three guards. The two guards remain posted outside of the main entrance; the front door is locked on the inside by one of the guards.
Luke slowly moves across the rooftops and gradually draws closer to the house. Eventually, he makes it onto Python’s rooftop, where he peers down, over the front entrance. He still can see the two guards standing at the front door. Luke slowly moves toward the rear of the house. He sees that the back door is unguarded!
Smiling to himself, he begins to slowly climb down. Once he’s down, he quietly moves potted plants and stone bricks to the backdoor. Eventually, he has created a little wall in front of it.
“No chance of escape,” he whispers.
He climbs back up to Python’s rooftop and slowly approaches the front of the house. In a quick movement, he leaps from the roof, landing on the ground right in front of the guards. The guards quickly lower their spears, but before they lunge onto him, Luke shoulder-barges one into the wall of the house, knocking him out. Then he darts behind the other guard and puts him into a sleeper hold: after a few moments, the guard loses consciousness.
Luke lets go of the guard. Then he moves both guards out of sight of the windows. He grabs the keys from one of the guards…and then he slowly opens the front door.
Luke quietly enters the house crouching down, searching for the three guards downstairs. But he cannot find them. He hears noises upstairs and rushes toward them, though slowly to avoid being noticed.
He spots one of the guards at the top of the stairs, facing away. Luke approaches him. When he is close enough, he yanks the guard’s leg. The guard falls to the floor, knocked unconicious.
“What is that…?”
The Python’s croaky voice echoes through the house. The other two guards hear their master and rush out into the hallway, and they spot Luke. The two guards charge at him, but Luke immediately knocks one of them down the stairs. He grabs the other guard’s spear and hits him over the head with it, knocking him out, too. Luke then hears noises downstairs. He runs down the staircase and sees one of the guards trying to escape through the back door. Luke sees the guard struggling to open the door and smiles.
“I’m glad to see it work,” he remarks.
The guard turns and sees Luke. Luke charges at the guard, bashing him against the door and knocking him out.
Finally, Luke draws his knife. He begins to walk back up the stairs. As he gets to the top of the stairs, he hears the croaky voice:
“Who are you?”
Luke does not respond.
“Who are you?” the Pyth
on repeats.
Luke approaches him slowly.
“I’m someone who is putting an end to your terror,” Luke replies.
“Please! Please! I’ll do anything…,” the Python begs.
Luke just stands over him.
“Why did you do it?” Luke asks.
“Because the capital is full of us…. I was just pressuring all the right areas.” He raises his hands in surrender.
“Not anymore…,” Luke threatens. He hits the Python in the head with the hilt of his knife, knocking him unconscious. Smilingly, he puts his knife away, picks the Python up and sets him on his shoulders, then slowly walks out of the room.
As Luke leaves the house, he sees the hunchbacked man, who had provided him with Python’s details, walking toward him.
“How did you do that?” the hunchback asks in surprise, looking at the unconscious guards behind Luke.
Luke feels weighed down by the weight of the Python.
“Just got to be patient and have a bit of luck on your side….”
The man moves toward the Python’s face and spits on his face in anger.
“Thank you for helping me capture him. I owe you giving me his address.”
The man smiles.
“Who do I hand this man over to?” Luke asks. “For someone like him,” the hunchback replies after a moment, “it would be the lord commander himself!”
Surprised at his reply, Luke asks, “The lord commander? Of the royal army?”
The man simply nods.
Luke puffs his cheeks then begins to walk toward the main street. The man watches as Luke walks past him, a huge smile on his face.
Soon after capturing the Python, Luke carries him back through the center court and toward the main gate. Some of the city dwellers turn to watch him carrying the unconscious man across the court. Those who notice that the man on his back is the Python gasp in shock.
Luke notes the gasps but chooses to ignore them. Instead, he keeps going.
Eventually, he reaches the royal castle.
“Halt!”
Luke hears the male voice commanding him from atop the stone wall. He immediately stops. He senses arrows being drawn at him, but he is unable to lift his head as he is heavily burdened by the Python’s body on his back.