Passion of the Different

by Daniel A Roberts

  "Yes! I understand, please don't eat my face!"

  "Where did you take the woman you kidnapped from Ocaza?" Ryan thundered, letting his anger through without hesitation. "Where is she right now?"

  "To Fort Iskath, where another transport waited for her. I don't know if they went from there to Central Avernus or not! Is that good enough? I didn't lie! Please, let me go!" Kah'Deen struggled a moment to shift his weight, whimpered as he got nowhere.

  "When did you get her there?" Ryan demanded.

  "Yesterday!"

  "Give me directions to Fort Iskath!"

  "What?" Kah'Deen said, slightly more puzzled than he should be.

  "Something smells good to me, Kah'Deen," Ryan warned, and the young man cringed.

  "Alright! Go two hundred yards to the west of here! Take the white sand road south and the fort is on the left, three miles distant!" Then the guy started to bawl. Loud and without regard as to who might see or hear.

  Ryan had what he wanted, now to make sure the young man didn't talk about it, ever. He silently approached from behind and Kah'Deen couldn't see him coming, only heard the impossibly heavy footsteps. His mind was shot, blown away by fear and his senses were scrambled because of it. Ryan's hand went down and clasped the front of the terrorized face, his palm covering the eyes and squeezed. He picked him up and held him against his large frame with that powerful grip. The young man screamed, expecting death. Ryan lifted him higher and used the dagger that had been left in his barn door to slash the rope off the struggling feet. Then he freed the hands. He put the dagger back into his belt and used his free hand to clamp over the bawling mouth so he could hear what the large monster had to say.

  "Run home, Kah'Deen. Run and don't stop," Ryan growled into his pointed ear from behind, voice cold as death. "Don't come out of your house for a month. Don't say anything to anyone about tonight. If you see Gher'Jek, he will be a ghost sent by me to check on you. Run away from him all the time! If you don't, I'll come out from under your bed, no matter where you live, and eat your face clean off before you can wake up!" Then he let him go. Ryan watched with distinct pleasure and a measure of revenge for Myra as the young man vanished into the night, running like hell was nipping at his heels.

  He kicked dirt onto the campfire and put it out. Then he collected the spear that was leaning against the tree by the river. The night was young and he had plenty of time to visit Fort Iskath, but there wasn't going to be any deception there. He would have to use stealth once again, but this time a bit differently.

  He had avoided killing people before, knew deep down his luck wasn't always going to help him out of all situations. Being big and strong did have intimidating advantages, but he had to be prepared to use it when needed. Tonight unfortunately, it was more than called for and he knew the men in that fort had seen his wife. They had abused her. For that, he wasn't prepared to forgive or forget. He got fully dressed but left his boots off. Those hard soles would make leaves crunch and twigs snap and tonight he couldn't afford that.

  Following the directions proved easy even in the dark and on horseback. He found the fort as described and it was a small compound resting on a hilltop. As he tied off his horse in the woods to another tree, he gauged the night wasn't even half over. There were two towers, one in front and back. The wall was made of simple wooden planks, the archway through the gate was cobbled stone. He counted four men walking the wall and one in each tower. They shuffled slow and looked tired. Ryan instantly understood. They probably had never been attacked before. In the middle of the night, boredom was at its worst when on a dreary patrol route.

  Two towers and a bored wall patrol. Piece of cake.

  He stuck to the shadowed side of the fort, the two silvery small moons above casting little light, for which he was thankful. He could avoid ground objects that would make noise while using the inky shadows the double moons generated to stay out of sight. As he neared the one tower, he looked for handholds. Sure enough, there were gaps in the planks. Probably for spears to be stabbed through to kill attackers, but they also made great finger holds.

  Climbing carefully, he reached the top of the wall without much effort. The patrol was on the opposite side and he quickly found the ladder that led to the bottom hatch of the high tower cage. He held his breath and scaled it as fast as he could. While the bottom of the giant wooden top basket was in deep shadow, the middle length of ladder was not. It was a small miracle he got there without being seen by the other tower and because it was dark, he couldn't tell if they were looking in his direction or not. The risk was worth the reward in his mind and it paid off.

  The ease of it all explained itself as he slowly opened the hatch. The tower man, in uniform and next to a warning bell, was sound asleep and snoring softly. He went to reach and break the man's neck with a quick twist of the helmeted head when he paused. An inner voice spoke up without being called for. Don't kill if you don't absolutely have to! What the hell? He had no problem with it, this man was the enemy. No, he's not a threat and you can make sure he stays that way without killing. Only if you have to, and here you don't.

  Ryan sighed to himself silently. Alright. He casually removed the soldier's helmet and the idiot still didn't wake. He shook the guy and his golden eyes popped open. All he saw was a huge fist coming at high speed. The big guy caught the unconscious sagging form so the armor wouldn't clang to the floor boards and lowered him gently. He tore a strip off the man's pants leg and used it for a gag in case he woke up. Tearing the other pants leg and a few more strips later, he made sure both hands and ankles were tightly bound. Now for the others as they approached the darkened corner. The ladder dropped close to their pending destination. Perfect.

  Sergeant Urag'Cho hated the wall patrol. His small four man unit did nothing but walk the same route twice an hour every single stinking night. As they passed the shadow of the tower, the footstep sounds changed. Normally this wouldn't have caught his attention, but he was used to hearing the same thing over and over. A change, even a minor one, stood out to his sensitive ears. He stopped and turned. The two men who followed him also stopped, looked at him dreary eyed but alert enough to be puzzled.

  Two men?

  "Where's Dron'Roo?" Urag'Cho asked unkindly. He was the rear guard, the last man in the little train they made.

  "Maybe he went to take a piss?" Sudi'Kra offered, but this didn't sound like something he would do without making a verbal request. It was possible though, they could have missed him using the tower ladder to go to the bottom level and relieve himself.

  "Go check," Urag'Cho ordered. "Kick him in the ass when you see him, he knows he's supposed to ask first." Sudi'Kra gave a lazy salute and left for the darkened corner. Zand'Ree fought off a yawn, the only guard left on the wall other than Urag'Cho. He looked as bored and tired as the Sergeant felt.

  After an uncomfortable amount of time went by, both men became more alert. Something was amiss, they should have been back by now. "Let's go see what's wrong," Zand'Ree offered and Ulag'Cho nodded in agreement. The Sergeant took the lead, knew Zand'Ree was right behind him. They entered the darkened corner and carefully made their way through it, looking for any sign of the missing guards.

  As Ulag'Cho stepped into the moonlight on the other side of the shadowed tower ladder, he could see the latrine trench just below the walkway. Nobody was there. "I don't like this," he told Zand'Ree, and he turned to say something else but the words never left his mouth. Zand'Ree was gone.

  Ice walked up and down his spine with the creepy footfalls of invisible spiders. Ever so carefully he drew his sword while regarding the darkened corner. Wait! There was a small flutter of movement from just behind the ladder in the inky blackness. "If this is some prank, you three are going to get hurt." He then strode forward, intent on exposing their mischief for what it was. Just before he entered the heavy shadows with filled lungs ready to lecture on base idiocy, he saw an impossibly huge fist swing out of nowhere and then the world went upside
down and away into a forced dreamland.

  Ryan didn't waste any time getting to the second tower. That guard was groggy but awake, and he almost got his sword all the way out when the big guy loomed up out of the floor hatch. He was on the guard in an instant, shoving the hilt back down home. Keeping the one hand on the sword hilt and crushing the guard's thin fingers, the other hand grabbed his collar and jacked him up off the ground.

  "Scream and I throw you over the side," Ryan threatened darkly, his menacing voice deep as hell and filled with contempt. The guard nodded his frightened understanding. "How many are in this fort?"

  "S - seven," he replied, stuttering in absolute fear.

  "Alright," Ryan agreed. "You, the other tower and the four guards on the wall make six. They won't be bothering us anymore tonight. Where is the last one?"

  The guard's eyes were made of pure panic, but he understood the question and was too terrified to be anything else but honest. "Sleeping in the captain's cabin."

  "Point it out with your free hand," Ryan demanded coldly. He followed the shaking finger to one of the larger huts against the opposite wall. "Thank you and good night." Then he punched the guard's lights out and used strips of the uniform to gag and tie him up.

  Not more than five minutes later, Captain Yorg'Zax found himself flying out of his broken cabin door while wearing only his pajamas. Something huge and horrible had woken him up and then tossed him around like some child's doll. All grogginess fled as heavy footsteps followed him outside. He turned and looked up from the dust, the fierce remarks that he had instantly generated froze in his mouth.

  "Where's my wife?" The living nightmare asked.

  Then the stuff called memory returned to Captain Yorg'Zax as he was privy to the signed orders that arrived from Queen Darya. "You're the giant?"

  "Answer the question or I'll kill you," Ryan replied with an ice cold growl.

  "She's in Central Avernus at Queen Darya's castle," Yorg'Zax replied quickly. "If you are who I think you are, and I'm sure of it actually, you don't have to fight. You were invited to arrive. All you have to do is let my men escort you. The main patrol will be here in the morning, they'll take you."

  "Like you took her?" Ryan said, coldly scolding the captain. He picked the small guy up and threw him further into the main yard. He sprawled out and ate more dust. "You bound her hands, your men abused her, took her as a prisoner with nothing but hate and disrespect! I am doing all I can not to kill you right now, you bastard!" The captain was up to his hands and knees when Ryan delivered a swift kick to his enemy's stomach. He stood there and let the captain retch for a few minutes, then used his big bare foot to push him over onto his back. He placed his heel across the thin man's throat but didn't use enough pressure to strangle him. While he was wide eyed and still gasping for air on his back, Ryan asked him without remorse or mercy, "Is that what you would like for me? To be your prisoner, you scum?"

  "N - no," he finally rasped out between wheezes. "A guest. As a guest, you have my word!"

  "You're word means nothing to me," Ryan seethed, his ice blue eyes narrow and diamond hard. "Less than nothing." He applied an ever gentle pressure with his heel on the captain's throat. "Where is Roo'Pah right now? I owe him something. I would rather give it to him, but will give it to you instead if you won't tell me."

  The captain's eyes flickered recognition, and it took him another minute or so to get the words out. "I had him flogged, p - punished. They were un - under orders not to mistreat her. She scratched h - his face badly, but it wasn't enough for me. Please, I - I don't want anyone mistreated." Ryan let up the pressure off his heel a little. Yorg'Zax took this as a good sign as he could talk better. "The Queen gets what she wants, and she wants to see you for herself. Please, it's not what you think."

  Ryan removed his foot from the captain's throat and glared down. "You want to know what I really think?" Without waiting for a reply, his big hands grabbed the captain by the collar and hauled him to his feet. "Do you really want to know?"

  Yorg'Zax nodded, a wary fear traveling his features. "Of course."

  Ryan obliged. "I think you need to go back to bed." Then the huge fist backed by an uncanny amount of strength slammed into the captain's jaw and he went back to sleep the hard way. "Lying prick. Yeah, I'd make one hell of a guest, wouldn't I?"

  Chapter Sixteen - Infiltration

  Queen Darya's castle was huge. Still traveling by night and avoiding patrols of armed men, Ryan tied his horse next to a spring with extra rope to make sure it had plenty of room to graze. It was only a short distance from the main road and quite on purpose. If he failed in this quest then the horse could be found by a local and cared for.

  He located the castle's front entrance quickly, wagons and groups of people with pointed ears and various shades of red and blue hair waited outside as guards inspected their products. The stone walls offered no hand holes like the planked fort did, and even though it was several hours before dawn, there was no easy way to sneak in here. A place this size didn't get sleepy and was a twenty four hour operation.

  The thicket he was crouching behind to peer through was filled with leaves and hid him nicely, but it stopped well before the gates, or even the wall for that matter. If it had been daylight the wall guards would have seen him. Salvation came about ten minutes later when one of the guards found something he didn't care for. A ruckus was raised and a complaining merchant was hauled away. The next closest wagon was momentarily unwatched as the spectacle unfolded and Ryan moved as fast as he could. With a low hop over the thicket followed with a quick duck and roll, he was under another merchant's wagon. He pulled himself up and rested his arms in the front axle support and his feet rested on top of the rear support. Excellent. He could stay there for quite some time without getting too exhausted. He was also glad he had the foresight to lash the spear across his back, so he had more than a dagger in case he was spotted and attacked.

  An eternity later the wagon finally creaked forward as business returned to normal. After several jerking stops, he was at the gate checkpoint. Ryan could see the guard's feet as they rummaged the contents of the wagon from both sides. Satisfied, they stepped back and the wagon started to move without stopping this time. Ryan didn't think he chose another smuggler's wagon, but one never knew in this crazy world.

  Twenty minutes of rounding corners on a cobblestone roadway filled with litter of various types including horse manure, the wagon stopped over a patch of bare earth and the wheels settled into what appeared to be familiar ruts. It looked like this was the merchant's parking spot. After another ten minute or so of the man sorting through his things to make sure the guards didn't break anything, he finally walked away.

  Ryan slowly lowered himself to the ground. There was a wall near the rear of the wagon, but he couldn't tell what it led to. Probably a stall of some sort to hawk his wares when morning came. He carefully put himself between the wagon and the rear wall and slowly raised his head to look around. His eyes grew wide. Across the road was nothing but stalls with wagons in them, goods of various types ranging from food to weapons. There was a high roof and the entrance had two guards posted, both with spears and facing outward. Nobody else was around. He couldn't have asked for better.

  Quick and silent as possible, his large form loomed up behind both guards. He shoved one by his helmet into the side wall with a dull metal thud and let him slide to the ground. His other hand clasped around the front and covered the mouth before it could shout out for help. He dragged the guard back, taking a moment to yank the spear out of his hand and toss it aside. He wanted this one awake for a few minutes. Just to make his point, he throttled the guard by shaking him violently. Then as Ryan held him close and dangerously still from behind, he spoke in his most dangerous voice, "Make any sounds and I'll snap you in half. Understand?" He waited for the slight nod before uncovering the lips. He was ready in case he started to shout, but the small fellow stayed smart and kept his end of the deal.


  "Who are you?" asked the highly frightened guard. He had never heard a voice like that and didn't know what had grabbed him from behind. It was too large to be a normal creature of any kind and his blood turned to ice water as he listened to the reply.

  "Your death if you don't talk straight with me," Ryan promised coldly. "Where does your queen rest? Which part of the castle?"

  The guard hesitated and Ryan applied pressure with his hands on the shoulders, enough to prove that he could probably rip him in half for real. The soldier was a mess of jangled nerves but got his reply out without too much quiver in his voice. "Where she sleeps only her advisers know. But in the morning she will be in the royal garden for breakfast."

  "Which part of the castle is that in, scum?" he growled into the pointed ear. "Tell me from the front gate, how would I find it? No lies. If I find out you lied to me, I'll find you again and you won't survive it."

  Fear still riding high in the guard's strained voice, trying his best to appease the living nightmare behind him, convinced Ryan the words were as accurate as the terrified mind could make them. "Through the front gate, make a left after the second hall. It's wide open on top, a few trees grow there. I'd say about two hundred feet from the front to the second hall, and another fifty feet to the dining area. That's how you get there."

  "Good man," Ryan replied sharply. "Good night." Then he spun the fellow around just in time to punch him into a forced dreamland vacation. Then he untied the spear from his back and hefted it. If he was spotted now and they rushed him, he would have to start killing people. It was about two hours from dawn and he was determined to crash the breakfast hour with a certain queen on his terms.

  After careful consideration while a few sparse people walked in the distance, he chose to go up as he studied the layout of the various stone and mortar structures. He climbed the side of the merchant stall and swung up between the rafters. It was easy to find a loose tile and push it aside. As he rose to the top and took a moment to study the darkened layout, it was as he suspected. Overlapping tiled roofs led up to and around the main castle. Darkness was his friend and the moons had set, so he was in total blackness. With his eyes adjusted to the dark, he had no trouble seeing where one roof overlapped another. He was careful to step on the cross beams and not in the center of a possibly fragile tile. Within fifteen minutes of careful silent stepping, he found himself facing the outer castle brickwork and it wasn't that far up for him to the lower battlement from the roof. He leaned his spear against the stone wall, rubbed his hands together, then gave a strong jump. He barely caught the lower edge and thank goodness the brick was coarse and offered good traction. After a moment or two of palming the stone surface, he was certain there would be no slipping.