“You’re probably right,” he agrees. “Anyway, James and Potbelly need to rest.” He leads them off the road and they travel cross country for another hour before coming to an old abandoned farmhouse. They bring James and Potbelly inside before they picket the horses nearby.
Delia has them lay Potbelly on the floor in the front room. Scar stays with her while the others see to the horses. She begins to unbind his bandages around the bolt. She looks to Scar and says, “It’s time for it to come out.” Removing the rest of the bandages, they can see where the skin around the shaft of the bolt is beginning to turn red. Drops of blood continue to well out from around it.
He nods as he watches her take out a needle and remove a thread from her shirt.
When she has the thread through the eye of the needle and tied securely, she says, “Alright, you gently pull out the bolt and I’ll sew it close.”
He grabs the portion of the bolt sticking out of Potbelly’s side and looks to Delia who nods. Then with a gentle, even pull, he removes the bolt as blood begins streaming out.
“Quickly!” she says to him, “pinch the wound closed so I can sew it together.”
As he holds the wound together to inhibit the flow of blood, he looks to the unconscious Potbelly and murmurs, “Glad you’re not awake for this.” He continues holding the wound together until Delia has completely sewn it closed. Tying it off, she has him remove his hands and the stitches hold securely, only a few drops of blood continue seeping through between the stitches.
Taking some water, she washes away the blood from Potbelly’s side and then dries it with an extra shirt. Using strips of cloth she tore from a spare shirt, she once more binds the wound. When she’s done, she says to Scar, “Hopefully we can rest here at least a day to let this heal. Keep a watch on him and don’t allow him to move around very much, we don’t want him to tear open the stitches.”
“I will,” he assures her as he settles down next to his friend.
When the others have returned from picketing the horses, Jiron sets up a watch schedule and takes the first shift. He finds a place outside where he can see anyone approaching and settles in until its Scar’s turn.
Shortly after he begins his watch, Delia comes out and sits with him. “You need to get some rest,” he tells her.
“In a moment,” she replies. “Just needed to get out of there for a bit.”
“Potbelly’s snores bothering you?” he asks her with a smile.
“No, not really,” she replies back. “I just can’t get being questioned by Lord Cytok off my mind.”
“It’ll get better over time,” he assures her. “Some things, especially intense situations like that, have a way of hanging around longer with you than others.”
“I suppose,” she says. She gives him a quick glance and continues, “Did anyone tell you why he captured us?”
He shakes his head and replies, “No, not yet.”
“Well, the last package on the list was for his estate,” she tells him. “When we went to deliver the goods, the man at the gate called the guards and had us taken. It seems that the smugglers had worked for Lord Cytok, in fact his is the name on that letter James has been showing everyone.”
Nodding his head, he says, “That makes sense.”
“Yeah,” she says. “They held us until he showed up and then began questioning us as to how the letter and the cargo came to be in our possession. He hadn’t been at it very long before you guys showed up.” She lays her head on his shoulder and he puts his arm around her as sobs begin to wrack her body.
Holding her close, he sits there silently as she lets out all the emotions she’s kept bottled up since the ordeal.
When she’s done, she wipes her eyes and says, “Thanks.”
“That’s what friends are for,” he assures her. He gives her one more hug and then says, “Now, you go and get some sleep, you look like you could use it.”
Nodding her head, she begins to turn toward the house. Then she comes back over to him and gives him one last hug before leaving him there alone.
He watches her go until she’s inside the house. Brushing away the tears that had fallen from his eyes in the dark, he turns his attention back to keeping watch.
Late in the night as Stig is taking his turn at watch, he hears horses passing off in the distance. He quickly moves to try to better see where they’re going. In the moonlight he’s able to see a company of twenty empirical horsemen ride past, going to the east.
He continues watching them until they disappear into the night. When he wakes Yorn for his turn, he tells him of the riders before turning in.
Yorn keeps a watchful eye and ear out for any other visitors, but his watch passes quietly.
“This is not the afterlife,” Scar assures Potbelly when he wakes up, thinking he’s dead.
“It’s not?” he asks confused. “But I died last night.” He sits up, even though the pain in his side is throbbing greatly.
“Don’t you tear out those stitches!” Scar admonishes him severely. He lays a hand on his friend and says, “You need to rest and let you’re body heal.”
Potbelly gives his friend an annoying look as he knocks his hand off his shoulder. “Don’t need no nursemaid!” he exclaims. “Been hurt worse than this many times in the pits.”
“Stubborn,” Potbelly tells him, “that’s what you are.”
Tersa walks over to see how he’s doing and he asks, “Are you sure this isn’t the afterlife? For there surely must stand an angel.”
She smiles at him and asks, “How are you doing?”
“Better,” he replies, “seeing as how I’m not dead.”
“That’s good,” she tells him. “Jiron was saying that we might stay here till tomorrow if nobody shows up.”
“What for?” Potbelly asks.
“So we can rest and you can heal,” she replies.
“Heal? Me?” he asks as if the thought had never even occurred to him. “Now don’t be thinking that I need any rest.” He starts to get up and says through teeth clinched in pain, “I hardly even notice it.”
“Be that as it may,” she tells him, “we’re here for a while so you may as well take advantage of it and heal the best you can.” She gives him a playful, stern gaze.
“Yes ma’am,” he replies as he settles back down to the floor.
“Keep an eye on him,” she says to Scar, giving him a wink and a smile.
“You can count on it,” he assures her as he turns his gaze to Potbelly. “You rest!”
Potbelly gives them both a small smile as he lies back down and soon drifts off to sleep once more.
Over to the other side of the room, James has awakened and is talking with Jiron. “Did everyone make it?” he asks.
“Yeah,” he replies, “we’re all here. Potbelly took a bolt in the side, but he’ll survive.”
“That’s good,” James says. “We should probably get going soon.”
“You need rest,” Jiron tells him, “and Potbelly could use a day for his wound to heal.”
“We may not have that much time,” warns James. “They’re going to want us bad. Lord Cytok will most likely want revenge for what we did to him.” He looks to Jiron and says, “He’ll mobilize everything he can to search for us.”
“What should we do?” he asks.
“I’m still going after Miko, but the rest of you should try to get out of the Empire,” he says.
“You helped me get Tersa back, I’m not going to leave you before you rescue your friend,” he tells him.
James looks at him a moment and then replies, “Alright. We’re near the coast, or at least we were. Maybe we can sneak into a port town and get passage for the others on a ship, sailing up the coast to Cardri. If the Empire isn’t at war with them, then there still should be unrestricted access for Cardri captains.”
Jiron nods and adds, “With them out of danger, you and I can go after your friend.”
“We just need to figure a way into
a port where a Cardri ship is at anchor,” he says.
“That’s going to be the tricky part,” agrees Jiron.
“What’s going to be the tricky part?” asks Yorn as he comes over and joins the conversation.
Jiron quickly fills him in on the plan thus far. “You and the others need to get Tersa and Delia to a safe place and hole up while we’re rescuing his friend.”
“Take her to Trendle, it’s a village to the north of Bearn,” suggests James. “When you get there, find a Forest Warden by the name of Ceryn and let him know what’s going on. He should be able to get you settled in while you wait for us.”
“Alright,” agrees Yorn.
“Now,” James says, “ready or not, we need to get out of here.”
Chapter Twenty
“Get away from me!” Potbelly yells at Scar who’s trying to assist him in mounting his horse. “I ain’t no invalid.”
“Alright,” Scar replies impatiently as he backs away. “Tear out those stitches then, I hope you bleed to death you pig headed mule!” He stands there and watches as Potbelly grabs the saddle and swings himself up onto his horse with a groan.
“See,” he says through teeth gritted in pain, perspiration beginning to form on his face, “don’t need your help.”
Scar shakes his head at his friend then mounts his own horse. Staying close in case Potbelly needs him, he sits and waits for the others to get ready.
Delia rides over to them, nods to Potbelly as she asks Scar, “How’s he doing?”
“I’m fine!” Potbelly answers, irritated at her for talking about him like he isn’t even there.
“Stubborn and likely to kill himself because of it,” he says with a slight smile, “but I think he’ll survive the ride.”
“Let’s hope so,” she says.
Jiron is the last to mount. He turns toward the others and says, “We’ll make for the sea and then travel along the coast. First chance we get, we’ll acquire some clothes that will allow us to pass ourselves off as Empire citizens.”
Yorn asks, “What are we to do if we encounter the enemy?”
“Avoid them if possible,” he replies. “Kill them if not.”
Yorn gives him a satisfied grin at the thought of a little payback for the sacking of his home.
“Now, let’s ride!” Jiron exclaims as he kicks his horse into a trot. Heading to the northwest, he leads them toward the sea.
James rides in the lead with Jiron as they make their way back through the desert to the road. “Think we’ll make it?” Jiron asks him.
“We can but try,” he replies.
“What do you plan to do once you get your friend?” he asks.
“Make our way back to Cardri,” he says. “At least there it’s reasonably safe right now. After that, who knows?”
Shorty hollers from the rear, “Jiron! Riders coming from the north! Looks like an advance patrol.”
They turn to see ten riders coming directly at them, they have little chance in avoiding contact. “Potbelly! Stay and watch the others,” Jiron hollers to him. Turning his horse, he cries to the rest, “We can’t let even one escape, or they’ll bring more.”
Leaving Potbelly to protect Roland and the ladies, the others turn and race to meet the oncoming horsemen. Before they close the distance, two slugs fly from behind each taking out a horse causing the riders to fall to the ground. Drawing their swords and knives, they race forward, closing with the enemy.
Shorty lets fly with a knife and takes out one rider as the knife embeds itself in his chest. He then slows his horse and jumps to the ground, as knives are little use in mounted combat. He dives to the ground to avoid the blows of the mounted riders and regains his feet quickly as he heads for the ones approaching on foot whose horses were knocked out from under them.
Stig closes with a horseman, his shield on the arm holding the reins and his mace striking out. With a clash of metal, the combatants begin beating at one another, each looking for an opening.
James holds back and is looking for a clear shot to take out another rider, but his friends are too close, he dares not try it.
Two swords weaving a pattern of death, Scar engages a horseman and soon has him falling to the ground, blood welling from where his sword took him through the chest. Looking around, he sees Shorty running toward the two men on the ground. Suddenly he notices a horseman riding toward him from behind, sword raised to cut him down.
“Shorty!” he yells, “Behind you!” He watches as Shorty turns to see the horseman almost upon him and dives to the ground, avoiding by inches the sword of the rider. Then Scar’s attention is diverted as he’s beset by another horseman, having to block an overhand attack with one sword while slicing back with the other.
Yorn is engaged with two and is having a hard time, trading blows with one while turning his horse to avoid the other. Suddenly, the one he had been trying to avoid falls from his horse as one of James’ slugs explodes out of his back.
Shorty regains his feet as the two on foot reach him. He circles, trying to keep it so only one is able to attack him at a time. He catches the sword of his attacker on his left knife as he follows through with the other, opening up a long slash along the man’s forearm causing him to drop his sword.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the rider turn and begin to come back toward him as the remaining man closes in and engages him. Unable to disengage, he tries to quickly finish him off but is distracted by the advancing rider.
Suddenly, just when the rider is almost upon him, another horse runs full tilt into his attacker, knocking the horse off its stride. As Stig’s horse crashes into the other, he vaults from his saddle and grabs the rider, dragging him to the ground. Stig lands on top of the rider and gets up first, mace smashing into him as he tries to rise, crushing his shoulder. He follows through with another blow that caves in the side of the man’s head. Looking around, he sees Shorty engaged with one of the unhorsed horsemen and hurries over to render aid.
Able now to focus his attention on the remaining man, Shorty circles as he looks for an opening. The enemy strikes out with his sword and he deflects it to the side with the knife in his left hand. He twirls quickly and his elbow connects with the man’s face, blood flowing from his broken nose.
The man staggers backward and then comes again at Shorty, who easily deflects another blow. Kicking out, Shorty knocks him backward toward the approaching Stig. As the man regains his balance, he’s struck from behind in the head with Stig’s mace and falls to the ground, lifeless.
Looking around, Shorty sees the battle is pretty much over, the last horseman is engaged with Yorn. Seeing his fellows dead or dying, the horseman starts to flee as he turns his horse and begins racing across the desert. Shorty is about to holler when the man falls to the ground amidst a gory spray as James’ slug exits the man’s chest.
“Anyone hurt?” Jiron shouts out over the battlefield.
“Slight cut, but nothing serious,” Yorn yells back. Everyone else has sustained only minor injuries as well.
“Are any left alive?” James shouts.
“One!” replies Shorty as he comes to the one he sliced on the forearm. The man is lying there, trying with little luck to stop the blood from flowing out of the wound.
“Roland!” James hollers back over to where he’s waiting with Potbelly and the ladies. “We need you!” He continues over to the fallen man as Roland and the others ride up to him.
“How may I help?” he asks when he reaches James.
James indicates the fallen man and says, “Maybe we can find out what their orders were and where they were to patrol.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he says as he dismounts and comes over to the fallen man. He starts to talk to him, but the man is unresponsive, just stares back at him.
“He’s not going to cooperate,” Roland tells him.
Looking to James, Stig asks, “Is this important?”
“Could be,” James replies.
&n
bsp; Stig draws a knife and comes over to the man as he says to Roland, “Ask him again.”
Stig holds the knife in front of the man’s face, intimidating him as Roland again begins speaking to him.
The man’s eyes widen but still he refuses to say anything. “Tell him if he doesn’t answer, I’ll start removing fingers,” he says to Roland as he grabs the man’s forefinger, placing the edge of the knife against it.
Still the man doesn’t answer, so true to his word, Stig takes a firm hold of the man’s finger. He makes ready to slice the finger off and glances meaningfully at the dying man.
The man almost seems to deflate as he cries something out. Stig moves the knife away from the man’s finger as he looks to Roland.
“I think he’ll talk now,” he says, relief obvious in his voice.
James says, “Ask him what they were doing here.”
Roland exchanges words with him and then says, “They were looking for a group of assassins who tried to kill Lord Cytok.”
“Assassins?” Scar exclaims. “That’s not the way I remember it.”
“What were their orders?” asks James.
“They were to patrol several miles into the desert and along the road for any sign of us,” he says after speaking again with the man. “Apparently, no one really thought that we would be in this area, the main search is farther to the north.”
“Good,” James replies.
“How do we know we can trust this guy?” Shorty asks. “He may just be telling us this so we won’t hurt him.”
“I think he’s telling the truth,” Roland says, “at least as he knows it.”
“I agree,” James says. “Whether he is or not, it’s not going to make any difference on what we’re going to do.”
“What are we to do with him,” Tersa asks.
“We can’t let him go or he’ll tell them where we are,” Stig insists.
“If we leave him here, he’ll die,” says Delia.
“Then there seems to be only one thing left to do,” Stig says as he grabs the man’s hair, lifts his head back and slits his throat. Letting go of the dying man’s hair, he wipes his knife on the man’s shirt as he gurgles and dies.
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