Richard had been unconscious when Mitchum found him a mile from the Wall of Salvation. He had a crossbow bolt in his chest, and it was a miracle that he was even alive. After removing the bolt and bandaging the wound, Mitchum dragged him back to his hidden mountain cabin on a makeshift stretcher. He expected him to die at any time, but he never did. His wounds miraculously healed, and, even though he did not regain consciousness, he seemed to get healthier every day.
While the young man slept and recovered, Mitchum tried to learn more about him. He scouted the area where he found him and learned that the Wall of Salvation had been overrun. He knew that the young man was a soldier and assumed that he must have been there when the wall was attacked. It appeared that everyone else who had been defending the wall had been killed. That was all he was able to learn, and he took to calling the young man Richard just to have a name for him.
By the time Richard finally woke a month later, Mitchum was anxious to learn all about him. Unfortunately, the young man didn’t remember anything - not even his name. Months later, his physical injuries were healed, but his memory had not returned.
They were heading back to the scene of Richard’s injuries. They both hoped that seeing the place where he was nearly killed would help him remember who he was. It was dangerous because the area was still occupied by the invading army, but they couldn’t think of any other way to help him get his memory back.
They talked quietly about the current state of Solandeus as they ate. According to the few contacts Mitchum had with the outside world, the capital had been overrun and the King had been killed. Most of the kingdom nobles had also been killed or driven into hiding. Mitchum knew of hidden Basilican fortresses in the mountains and believed many survivors might be there. He wasn’t sure how long they could stay hidden there, but that wasn’t his problem to worry about.
Eventually, they both got up and found relatively comfortable places near the fire to sleep. They both woke before dawn and ate a silent breakfast before cautiously travelling to the Wall of Salvation to confront Richard’s past.
- - - - - - - - - -
“From the top of this rise, you can see the Wall of Salvation,” Mitchum whispered to Richard. “We are still a long ways away, but there may be scouts around so don’t stand up or make any loud noise. If this triggers your memory to return, it may be disturbing, but you have to remain calm or it could cost both of us our lives.”
“I’m ready,” Richard replied softly. “No matter how bad the memories are; it will be better than not knowing who I am or what my life was like before.”
Mitchum watched him slowly crawl to the top of the rise overlooking the Wall of Salvation. He barely breathed as he watched Richard reach the top and rise up on his elbows to look over. He stayed in that position a long time, and Mitchum started to worry that he would be seen. Eventually, Richard lowered himself to the ground and crawled back down the hill.
As Richard neared, the anguish was clearly visible on his face. Mitchum assumed this meant he still had no memory and mourned for the past he apparently would never recover. “It’s gonna be all right, boy. We’ll figure out another way to get your memory back,” he consoled.
“I failed,” Richard replied weakly.
“No, you didn’t,” Mitchum replied, trying to encourage him. “You can’t give up so easily.”
“No, I failed,” Richard insisted. “It was my duty to warn the king, and I failed. Because I failed, Solandeus has fallen to these godless barbarians. The king is dead, and my family probably is too.”
“So you remember the battle?” Mitchum asked.
“Very clearly,” he replied. “They surprised us. Hundreds of them flooded onto the wall. We killed them all, but they kept coming. There were just too many.”
“It’s not your fault,” Mitchum told him. “You gave everything you had. By all rights, you should have died. No man can give more than that.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that I failed to warn the king,” Richard insisted.
“Do you remember who you are?” Mitchum asked, not wanting him to dwell on the defeat any longer.
“I do,” he replied solemnly. “My name is Gavin Bernados Vanderwal, and I may be King of this defeated land.”
- - - - - - - - -
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Continue reading all about the further adventures as Mat, Persephonie, and the group seek to save Solandeus.
Book 3 of the Salvation of Solandeus Series coming in
Early 2015
Armor of God (Salvation of Solandeus Book 2) Page 15