Forsaken At The Crossroads

by Joe Sniezek

  Wilfer approached the innkeeper and said, “One more thing,” as he motioned for the innkeeper to follow him back into the kitchen. Wilfer made up a story on the spot about dodging debt collectors. He thanked the proprietor profusely for the aid he provided. The proprietor listened closely; he was always interested in new gossip and the possibility of getting more gold pieces. During this, Ikvig, Eniyan, and Zumi hastily dragged the unconscious soldier towards the stairs. Eniyan lingered near the fire as a lookout, but the whole process went smoothly.

  ∞∞∞

  Wilfer made his way upstairs and entered the room to see the soldier asleep lying on a bed, with his hands and legs tied to each bedpost.

  Eniyan examined the unconscious man. Although a large bruise was darkening on the side of his head, his injuries did not seem too severe. The swelling did not indicate a fractured skull.

  “I tried to be gentle,” Ikvig said as he watched the examination with concern.

  Their prisoner was clean-shaven like soldiers often were. He wore the same dark green cloak Wilfer saw the other night; this was indeed the same man. Although wearing no insignia, his wool tunic, leather pants and boots, and physical features identified him as from Wilfer’s homeland.

  Searching the man’s pocket revealed nothing except a small dagger in his boot. Mainly a defensive weapon, but it could easily have been used to slit someone’s throat in his sleep. Wilfer confiscated the knife.

  “Not a warrior then,” Wilfer said to Eniyan and the room in general, “Likely a scout or messenger. Not much else we can tell just by looking at him. He looks to be part of the group who were following us.”

  “That’s good,” Eniyan said to the confusion of the others, “Better than having more than one group chasing us, right?” and he smiled.

  Zumi wet a cloth and placed it on the scout’s head. He groaned and shifted his body as he began to wake but did not open his eyes. Wilfer waited but his patience soon wore out. He placed his hand on the man’s shoulder and shook gently. That did not have much of an effect so Wilfer shook him again – this time hard enough to bounce him on the bed. At last, the man grunted and opened his eyes. He gave a hard look of hatred at each of them but showed no fear. He said nothing.

  “You’re going to talk to us. I promise you that,” Wilfer said firmly.

  “You haven’t asked me anything yet,” the prisoner sneered.

  Wilfer stepped towards him and slapped him as hard as he could across the face – an open-handed blow, but hard enough to spin the man’s head around. Wilfer’s friends gasped with as much surprise as the spy had. This will set the tone, Wilfer thought. He was not a violent man, but he hoped this one act of mild violence will set the proper tone in the beginning and prevent the necessity for more violence later. Wilfer had no stomach for torture whatsoever, but he didn’t dare show any sign of weakness.

  Wilfer never took his eyes off the man. Nor did he back away, or wind up for another blow; he just waited motionlessly.

  The prisoner stared at them with hatred and after a moment, he gave in and said, “I was just tracking you. I was not going to harm you.”

  Wilfer was pleased that he had started the man talking. However, his answers were likely garbage. “Who?” was all Wilfer asked next. He had no patience for playing word games with this prisoner. He didn’t want to accidentally ask the wrong question or give away anything himself.

  After a long pause filled with tension, the prisoner again answered the question put to him, “We were tasked with capturing you alive. There was a triple bonus promised if we capture you completely unharmed so we’re going extra slow to make sure you don’t hurt yourself.”

  Wilfer knew that last sentence was added to upset him. This soldier was not nearly as compliant as he seemed. He was giving them very little information was and frankly, Wilfer didn’t believe much of it.

  “Do you believe him?” Wilfer turned to ask Eniyan. Typically, the old man responded with just a shrug and a half smile.

  Wilfer turned to Ikvig and asked the large man, “Do you think Ike could help? Can you maybe bring him here?”

  Ikvig was surprised by that clever idea. He grabbed his backpack and went to retrieve the squid. As he was heading out, Zumi said, “I’ll go with him. I don’t have the stomach for this rough stuff.”

  Wilfer snapped at her more harshly than he should have, “You’ll stay right here.” He noticed that Zumi and the prisoner exchanged a split-second glance at each other. It was lightning-quick but Wilfer was watching for it. That was enough confirmation that Zumi was a traitor. Although that could have just been a look of compassion, Wilfer chose to believe the worst. He was not as naïve as he was even a week ago.

  While waiting for Ikvig to return with Ike, Wilfer continued his interrogation. “Who hired your squad? Who gave to order to capture me?” That was the real question, and really the most important one.

  “I just follow orders. My captain gave the orders, handed down from his commander. Soldiers don’t ask questions,” the prisoner said. Wilfer believed him. Even before asking that question, he knew he would not get the answer he was looking for. Why would the soldier know or even care where the order came from?

  “I saw you come into town the night before. How did you know we were here? I know you’re meeting someone. Who is it?”

  The soldier’s eyes darted back and forth as he thought quickly. “We paid a local for information. He is not very reliable. Sometimes he shows up for the meeting, sometimes he doesn’t.” Wilfer could tell the man was lying.

  Ikvig entered with Ike in his backpack and said, “He said maybe he can help. He doesn’t know but he will try.” The large man carried the squid to the prisoner’s bed and placed the creature down. The squid slithered onto the man’s head and clamped down tightly, leaving only his mouth exposed so he could breathe and speak.

  “Ask a question,” Ikvig translated for Ike.

  “Who is behind all this?” Wilfer asked. It wasn’t a very good question; the soldier probably didn’t know and if he did mention a name, Wilfer might not know recognize it. However, the first question was a test of Ike’s abilities. It didn’t matter.

  “I told you, I’m just following orders,” the captured man croaked his words from under the tentacles. But as the man spoke, Ike flashed some images into Wilfer’s mind. There was an image of a mustachioed soldier, and another clean-shaven one. Wilfer recognized neither, likely the captain and commander previously mentioned. This was followed by images of his homeland, the palace, and an army making preparations for some sort of conflict.

  It was very interesting but ultimately devoid of answers. Although Wilfer was not aware of an upcoming conflict, they do happen from time to time, and Wilfer couldn’t see how he was involved.

  “Who were you meeting?” Wilfer re-asked the question.

  “Like I told you, we paid off some local,” the captive said, but an image of Zumi flashed into Wilfer’s mind. Although he was not surprised, his heart sank with betrayal. He had hoped that his suspicions were unfounded.

  Zumi received the same message from Ike. Before Wilfer could react, she was out the door and down the stairs. Wilfer intended to chase her, but Eniyan said to let her go.

  Wilfer spun on Eniyan with anger, “What do you mean, let her go?”

  “What would you do if you caught her?”

  Wilfer took a moment to allow his frustration to subside then asked, “It seems we will soon be out of time. What should we ask next?”

  Eniyan shrugged, “What information was Zumi giving you?”

  The captive answered, “Just where you are and where you were going next.” Ike just showed an image of them talking again. Wilfer wasn’t sure if that was a confirmation or not, but he assumed so.

  “This guy has nothing left of value,” Wilfer said. The captive started to struggle against his bonds. “Ike, that’s probably all we need,” Wilfer said. The squid slithered down off the man’s face and jumped onto Ikvig and settled
into the backpack.

  Eniyan said ominously, “They are coming. We can’t stay here for long.”

  “I know. Let him go, Ikvig. Show him to the edge of town, make sure he goes away,” Wilfer instructed the giant.

  Ikvig untied the captive, who remained calm and didn’t try to do anything tricky. He looked at the dagger in Wilfer’s hand but when he realized that he would not get it back, he walked out of the room, followed by the giant.

  Eniyan looked at Wilfer gravely. He said, “We have to go.”

  They grabbed their belongings and left the building to head up the river. They used the same route that Wilfer took before when he hid behind the rock.

  “Here comes Ikvig,” Eniyan said as he whistled a birdcall. Ikvig tilted his head to listen, he nodded and said something to the squid on his back, then headed directly for them.

  Ikvig trotted towards them and as he caught up, Eniyan and Wilfer were already running in the same direction.

  “Will Zumi figure we go back the same way?” Wilfer asked as they ran.

  “We just need to put some distance between us for now,” Eniyan said.

  The traveled only a few hundred paces up the river before they saw a couple soldiers at the edge of town. “They were closer than we thought. A curse on them,” Ikvig said.

  Wilfer did not intend to cease running up the river but stopped short when he saw two more guards standing on top of a small rise upstream. The river was wide and swift enough at that spot that they could not attempt a crossing. That would either slow them down enough that they would be caught or would carry them downstream into the arms of the two guards behind them. There was only one choice, up the bank away from the river. They began the climb but three more guards were coming down the slope. The guards rained down walnut-sized stones upon Wilfer, Eniyan, and Ikvig. The stones were not large enough to kill, but certainly large enough to incapacitate when thrown from that height. There was nowhere to go; they were trapped. Wilfer looked again at the river and seriously thought about diving in.

  “There’s only seven of them,” Ikvig said and pulled out his mace.

  “I don’t think they’ll get close enough for you to use that,” Eniyan warned.

  The three soldiers on the hill were holding nets. From their vantage point, there would be no easy way to avoid the nets. The soldiers advanced as our band of travellers braced themselves for combat; Eniyan pulled out his staff, Wilfer his short sword, and Ikvig his mace.

  Ikvig asked Ike for help, both vocally and mentally. “Ike says if we each grab a tentacle, he can swim us to the far shore but with three of us, it would be slow and we’d probably have to hold our breath,” Ikvig said.

  “Better than nothing,” Wilfer said.

  As they turned around preparing to jump into the water, one of the soldiers yelled stop and aimed his bow. Wilfer ignored him. To make good on his threat, the archer let his arrow fly and it sank deep into Ikvig’s flank. The giant fell forward into the water with a small cloud of blood slowly forming in the water around his wound. The squid grabbed him and quickly disappeared under water and did not emerge. Wilfer didn’t know if they were safe but he knew they were gone. No point in thinking about them right now.

  Wilfer and Eniyan stopped in their tracks and put down their weapons as the soldier closed in for their capture. The soldiers on the hill tossed a net over each of them and one soldier drew a sword and raised his arm to strike Eniyan. Apparently, the safety of Wilfer’s companions was of no concern to the soldiers.

  Before the soldier could land his blow, a voice screamed, “NO!” It was Zumi, running down from the hillside.

  “He’s just an old man,” she said, as she drew closer. “He won’t be any trouble.”

  The soldiers bound the hands and feet of Wilfer and Eniyan. Zumi said, “Spare his life, and Wilfer will be more likely to cooperate.” She turned to Wilfer and said, “Won’t you, Wilfer?”

  “Yes,” Wilfer said through a clenched jaw.

  The soldiers dragged them back to town and tossed them onto a small ox cart. Wilfer scanned the crowd hopefully, trying to catch the eye of one of the locals but none so much as looked in his direction. This was none of their business and they meant to keep it that way. They didn’t care what happened to Wilfer and Eniyan anymore than they cared what happened to a stray cat or dog.

  The soldiers marched down the road, three in front with Zumi, and four behind the cart. The ox was slow in its climb up the hill. This would be a long ride back to the gateway. Good, there was plenty of time to plan an escape.

  ∞∞∞

  As the time passed, a rage grew inside Wilfer; it was a mistake to harm his friends. He would get his revenge if it killed him. With the bile rising within him, Wilfer looked over to Eniyan and was surprised to see that the old man was perfectly calm. In fact, if it wasn’t for the tight ropes around his wrists and ankles, the man would have been completely comfortable.

  “How can you be so relaxed?” Wilfer hissed at him.

  “I will get upset when it’s time to get upset. Right now, it wouldn’t do any good,” Eniyan said.

  “What about Ikvig?” Wilfer asked.

  “I choose to believe he is ok. But either way, there’s nothing I can do about it now,” Eniyan said calmly.

  From the back, one of the guards said in a loud firm voice, “Shut up, or you’ll be wearing a gag.” And they fell silent.

  ∞∞∞

  The sun was setting and the squadron pulled off the road to make camp for the night. Zumi approached them, but Wilfer refused to even look in her direction. She spoke anyway, “The road doesn’t go all the way to the gateway, so you’ll have to walk. That means we’ll have to untie your feet.”

  Wilfer still said nothing nor even turned his head in her direction.

  “You know they won’t kill you, but that’s the only guarantee. If you cause trouble, things can go bad for you, and even worse for Eniyan,” Zumi said to Wilfer’s silence. After a moment of more silence, she got up and said, “Well, you’re smart enough to know how it has to be,” and walked away.

  Yes, Wilfer thought, smart like a fox. They have spent the last week slipping away from the troops; he will slip away again. And then his revenge will come.

  Fifteen

  Wilfer was happy to find himself back in the strange Crossroads Realm. Although he would never get used to the harsh shadows and soulless colors of this place, at least he knew the softer terrain would make his journey easier. Mountain climbing in Granberk was difficult with his hands bound and tethered to Eniyan. More than once he had fallen to the ground because he could not use his hands to brace himself. Being tied to a leash – no matter how long – made him have to stop when he would naturally be moving and to keep moving when he wanted to pause. It was an exhausting trip. The guards wanted Wilfer unharmed, but they didn’t seem to care very much about his comfort or happiness.

  The group arrived at a wide level road. Wilfer was relieved to see there were horses waiting for them. His relief soon vanished when he realized that neither he nor Eniyan would be riding one. They had a long walk ahead of them. It was a matter of security; it would be much easier for him to escape on horseback. Furthermore, his captors were well rested while he and Eniyan were exhausted with sore feet.

  Wilfer was by no means out of shape but he wondered just how far his captors would push him. A horse can travel 20 miles in a day. Several days in a row of that kind of distance on foot could destroy a man. Wilfer wondered how Eniyan was holding up. If a young man such as himself was struggling, how much more must the old man be suffering? He looked over at his companion and was surprised to see him holding up quite well. The old man showed few signs of tiring from the walk. If Eniyan was uncomfortable or worried, he didn’t show it.

  Wilfer did not try to hide his bitterness as he asked Eniyan, “Are you enjoying yourself?”

  “I’m just biding my time,” Eniyan was calm.

  “They killed Ikvig,” Wilfer pointed ou
t.

  “The shot him, yes.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “They could have done worse. They only shot him with a single arrow and left him alone after that. They were fairly restrained, I’d say,” Eniyan said.

  “Killing him is restrained?” Wilfer was incredulous.

  “There are worse things than death but I think he will survive,” Eniyan predicted.

  The soldiers talked amongst themselves while they traveled. Overall, they were not a chatty bunch but it was a long journey. Wilfer heard bits of conversation as the horses brought him into range.

  “The sooner we’re out of this accursed place the better,” one soldier said.

  “It takes some getting used to,” another soldier agreed.

  “Nobody gets used to curses. And it is cursed, I tell you. Five men lost,” the soldier spat.

  “That was the giant, and we paid him back,” a third soldier in the rear said.

  Wilfer looked out of the corner of his eye at Eniyan upon hearing that. Eniyan just nodded imperceptibly in acknowledgment; his point was made, there were two sides to every story. Revenge was a never-ending cycle. Wilfer was vowing to kill these men for hurting Ikvig but they hurt Ikvig because Wilfer and his companions had killed several of their comrades. Wilfer let that sink in. He didn’t start this whole thing; he was sure of it. He hadn’t ever done anything noteworthy never mind something that would cause them to kidnap him. If he was being honest with himself, he was mostly a decadent and spoiled rascal. He had never harmed anyone but he never did anyone any good either. Maybe he was a drain on society but that didn’t warrant a kidnapping.

  Wilfer tried to avoid hurting anyone but ultimately the blame for the death of those soldiers falls on him. Eniyan was the actual person who killed them. Well, Ike too. But Wilfer was their leader, no matter how reluctant. He could have chosen not to set a trap or not to run from the soldiers, to begin with. Should he just confess and save his friends from any more harm?

  “What should I do now?” He asked, hoping Eniyan could lead him out of this confusion, “Everything I do just seems to make things worse.”