by T. Norman
Han knelt down and wiped off the blood from his swords using the clothes of the limp body before him. He turned to the men standing around him. “Don’t just stand there, get rid of this fool and get back to work!” he shouted. They reacted instantly, busying themselves with their assigned tasks as a few stepped forward to dispose of the body.
Han walked back to his brother, who dismounted from his horse.
“Did you have to toy with him?” Victor was known for his ferocity in combat. He was not one to take his time in defeating his opponent.
Han shrugged. “You asked me to teach him a lesson, so I figured I might as well give one to the rest of our men while I was at it.”
“Next time, don’t give him any ground. I don’t want them to mistake your lesson with weakness.” Victor gave his brother a scowl.
Han gave his brother a smile. “Vic, come on, you know I would never actually give them ground. If any of our men thought Pallius gained an upper hand against me even for a moment in that quick round, then I have no need to worry about them getting the courage to stand up to me.” Han knew their men were terrified of them. New members, like Pallius, were the only ones to worry about, but shows like the one they had just witnessed easily silenced them.
Victor shook his head. “Someday that mindset is going to get you killed.” Victor walked away from his brother toward his tent.
Han stood and watched as his brother walked through the crowd. Their men quickly stepped out of his way. Han released his clenched fists. One day, brother, I will get my vengeance. Han turned on his heel and leapt onto his horse, riding out to check their perimeter himself.
As he rode, he couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander back home. He was surprised to find that he actually missed his wife. Han chuckled to himself, realizing that the farther from home he was, the closer he wanted to be to his wife, but the closer to home, the farther he wanted to be from her. He assumed that was how all marriages worked.
26
“You just let them take him?” Gant yelled at Julia. With Alric’s assistance, she had recounted the story of the tavern. Gant’s hostility was evident as he threw his glass of coffee into the weeds.
“We didn’t ‘let’ them take him, there was nothing we could do.” Alric stepped between Julia and Gant in an attempt to redirect the boy’s anger.
Julia grabbed Alric’s arm, pulling him aside. “Gant, we didn’t have a choice. They had us completely outnumbered.”
Gant stormed away from the fire, stalking into the dark woods alone.
Julia let out a frustrated sigh. She wished he could understand the situation instead of being clouded by anger. She sat down next to Mic, who was poking at the embers in the fire with a long stick.
“What do you think?” Julia asked Mic.
He turned to face her, the scars on his face outlined by the blaze of the fire. “You made the right choice.” Julia knew he was a man of few words, but when he did speak he always put great thought into what he was going to say.
Alric sat opposite Julia and poured himself a cup of coffee. “The real question is, what do we do next?”
“I know what you are going to say, and it’s out of the question,” Julia said. “We can’t leave Rysh behind.”
Alric nodded. “I know, Julia, but we can’t jeopardize the mission for him. If anything happened while trying to save him, he would never forgive us.”
Julia shook her head. “No, we’re not going to leave him behind. There is no way I’ll let that happen.” Alric opened his mouth to protest but Julia interrupted him before he could speak. “Would you defy a direct order from your princess?” Julia saw the look of defeat on Alric’s face.
“Princess?” Julia turned toward the new voice coming from outside their fire ring. “Here I thought you were simply a farmer’s daughter.”
Alric and Mic both rose in an instant with their weapons drawn. Valcor stepped into the light of the fire holding Gant with one arm, while his free hand held a short sword.
“Let him go,” Alric called out toward the man.
“Why don’t you tell me who you really are?” Valcor pulled Gant closer to him.
Julia stepped toward Valcor with her hands outstretched. “Okay, just please don’t hurt him.” She let out a sigh as she realized they had been caught. “My name isn’t Alys. My name is Julia Rawson, daughter of King Arturious Rawson and Princess of Dusseldorf.” It was the first time Julia had said her title out loud, and the words sounded strange coming from her lips.
Valcor looked shocked. “Well, this changes everything.” Alric and Mic both stepped forward, ready to attack. Valcor dropped his hold on Gant, shoving him back toward his friends. “No need for a fight, I have no allegiance to Ansaroth.”
Julia was confused by Valcor’s actions. “Why did you follow us?”
“I came to make a deal with you. Some of my crew was thrown in jail and I have been unsuccessful at breaking them out. I thought we could work together.”
Julia felt sudden relief at the thought of rescuing Rysh. Before she could say another word, Alric questioned Valcor.
“Why should we trust you?” He examined the large man, trying to read him. “As a matter of fact, why should we help you?” Alric was hesitant to trust anyone, especially after Pod had attempted to take Julia’s life.
Valcor shrugged. “What have you got to lose?” Alric’s frown showed his dissatisfaction with the reply. “I’m offering to risk my life to help break your friend out of jail. Why would you turn that down?”
Julia noticed Gant had been silent since being released. He simply sat staring at Valcor with a questioning look on his face.
“I don’t trust you. You followed us into the woods and held one of ours at swordpoint. That doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Fine, you don’t want to make a deal, I will take my assistance elsewhere.” Valcor turned to leave.
Alric took a few steps forward. “I’m afraid I can’t let you leave here alive,” he said. “You know too much.” Alric prepared to charge at the man.
“Wait!” Gant lunged forward, beaming confidence. “You said some of your crew was locked in the jail, correct?” Valcor gave him a confused nod. “What kind of crew?”
Julia realized Gant’s meaning as Valcor responded. “It’s my ship’s crew. Why does that matter?”
Gant turned toward the others with a smile. “Alric, I know you don’t want to risk the mission to save my dad, but this is exactly what we need.”
Julia fed off Gant’s excitement, addressing Valcor again. “We’ll help you rescue your crew on one condition.”
Valcor shifted his eyebrows in confusion. “You realize I was offering to help rescue your man on one condition, but let’s hear you out.” He gestured for Julia to continue.
"Take us to Dusseldorf." Julia didn't know how else to say it and decided being blunt was the best solution here.
Valcor laughed at her proposition. "You want me to bring you to Dusseldorf? You know there’s a bounty on your head, which I could easily collect, providing me with enough gold to buy my crew's freedom."
Julia doubted herself for a moment, thinking this might not be the direction they were destined to take after all.
"If you were going to turn us in, you would have already," Gant said. "You said yourself you have no allegiance to Ansaroth, otherwise I doubt you would worry about your crew being in jail."
Valcor let a smile creep across his lips. "You're right. I have no allegiance to Ansaroth, but I also have none to Dusseldorf. I'm a smuggler, so if I'm going to do this and risk the lives of my crew, I’m going to need a payment."
Julia clenched her fists in frustration. She was afraid it would come down to gold. They had little money and there was no guarantee how she would be received once they reached Dusseldorf.
"We can pay you, but only after we safely reach our destination," Alric proposed.
Valcor shook his head without giving the proposition any thought. "Sorry, but I'
ve fallen for that mistake before. I need payment up front." Valcor held Alric's gaze.
"Valcor, please." Julia tried to appeal to Valcor's sensitive side. "We have no gold to give you now, but I promise on my honor that as soon as we reach Dusseldorf you will receive double your standard payment." Julia had no idea what she was promising, but she knew she had to do whatever possible to make a deal work.
Valcor sighed. "Look, you seem like trustworthy people, and I want to help you out—"
"Then do help us out!” Gant interrupted. “Our home was attacked and all of our friends and neighbors were killed. We’re all that’s left." Tears started to well in his eyes as he spoke. "As long as we stay here our lives will be at risk. There are only five people left who I care about, please don't make us lose anyone else."
Julia put an arm around Gant. The sorrow he bore weighed upon her shoulders, as well. She continued to blame herself for all the deaths in Wayton.
As Julia and Gant embraced, she noticed Valcor staring intently at Gant, a look of admiration on his face.
"All right, you've got a deal." He held his hands out in resignation.
Julia's eyes lit up with excitement, and she lunged forward and gave Valcor a hug. "Thank you so much! I promise that we will get you your gold." As she let go, she couldn't help but beam. It was a relief to think that the end of their journey was in sight.
"No reason to smile yet, we still need to get our friends out of jail," Alric interjected.
Mic nodded, speaking up for the first time since Valcor's arrival. "How soon can we act?"
Valcor thought carefully. "We need to do it tomorrow night. It's the last night of high tide and our last opportunity to do this. Once the tide is down it will be much more difficult getting around the barrier in the harbor."
"What about Apo'k? He might not be back by tomorrow night," Gant asked worriedly.
Alric grabbed Gant by the shoulder, looking him in the eyes. "We can't miss this opportunity. All we can do is hope that he makes it here in time."
Gant shook his head. "No, we can't leave him behind either. I know he's not from Wayton, but Apo’k is one of us!"
"Gant, Apo’k is different, he's not in jail right now. If he misses us he still has a chance at survival." Julia hated disagreeing with Gant, but knew that they couldn't delay any longer.
Gant knelt down next to Ros. "Apo’k, I know you're there,” he said. “We have a ship to take us out of here, but we need to leave tomorrow night. Please hurry." Gant rose and addressed Valcor. "All right, let's plan a jailbreak."
27
Gant sat in the tavern watching the door. A large crowd had gathered for the evening. Nellisa moved through the tavern taking orders, seeming distracted, and Gant caught her stealing glances in his direction. Beads of sweat rolled down Gant's forehead as he anticipated putting their plans into action. Since they were so few, they all had large roles to play in the coming events. Gant wished Julia could have been kept out of it, but she was insistent that she be included in the plan.
Gant's thoughts were interrupted as the door to the tavern opened. A large red-headed man walked in with a group of men following close behind him. Though Gant wasn't in the tavern when Rysh was taken, he knew without a doubt this was Captain Stolle.
Erik Stolle marched toward a table in the middle of the room and shouted at the patrons seated there, "You're sitting at our table!" The occupants quickly grabbed their drinks and moved to stand along the bar. They looked back scornfully as Erik and his companions took their seats.
Nellisa walked by Gant's table, giving him a slight nod. She continued on her way to the newcomers. Gant watched as Erik grabbed at Nellisa as she took their orders. She hurriedly left the table and continued working.
Gant started flexing his arms, getting himself ready for what was to come. A few minutes passed and Nellisa moved back to the table with a tray full of drinks. As she passed out the drinks, an intoxicated patron from the next table threw his arms out in exclamation, hitting Nellisa and sending the drinks all over Erik and his friends.
Erik rose, drawing a knife immediately. "You there!" he shouted at the man sitting at the next table. "You’re going to pay for this." Before he could say another word the man threw a drunken punch, missing wildly. This set off the other soldiers and a number of individuals in the bar, who also happened to be friends of Valcor’s. Punches were thrown left and right. Gant quickly rose from his seat and moved toward the commotion. He didn't have much time to act.
He had to dodge a number of punches as he weaved through the crowd. He found Nellisa crouched next to a table. He moved to her side, giving her a reassuring pat.
"Good work, see you in a little bit." He lunged forward, continuing to push his way through the crowd. Gant rose from his crouch, coming face to face with Erik Stolle.
Erik gave him a confused look of recognition. "Do I know—" he began to ask before his words were lost as someone was shoved into him.
Gant pushed past Erik, working his way toward the exit. Meeting little resistance, Gant was outside in mere moments.
He hustled down the road, needing to get to the opposite side of town before the fire started. Gant looked down at the keys in his hand and smiled. He was continually amazed at how perfectly Alric played drunk.
Rysh sat in the dark, unable to sleep despite his exhaustion. He couldn't stop his mind from racing. He assumed by now that his friends were already on their way, sailing toward Dusseldorf.
"Can't sleep, either?" The voice came from the cell next to his. Rysh could hear the sounds of other people in the prison, but with the solid wooden cells he had yet to see anyone else.
"What gave it away?" Rysh replied.
"You tap your finger when you think," the strange voice called back.
Rysh had no hesitation about speaking to the man next to him. The guards had yet to check on the prisoners unless they were bringing in food or water, and that wasn’t often. Otherwise they sat upstairs drinking and playing card games.
"What are you in for?" the voice asked Rysh.
"Standing up for those in need. You?"
"Same here, mate." Rysh was thankful the man couldn't see him roll his eyes at his response. He suspected the stranger was in for much more than that.
A commotion from upstairs caught Rysh's attention. He stood straining to hear the sounds. The door opened and Rysh saw the silhouettes of two guards walking down the steps and to the cells.
"Did you bring us some more food?" the man in the cell next to Rysh called out.
"I'm afraid not."
Rysh dropped his jaw as he recognized the voice. "Gant?" he called out.
"Dad!" He saw one of the figures rush down the hall to his cell. "Dad, is that you?"
Rysh reached an arm through his cell, embracing his son by the forearm. "Gant, it's me. How did you get in here?"
Out of the corner of his eye Rysh saw a spark as Mic lit a lantern hanging from the wall. He walked down to meet Gant and Rysh.
Gant held out his hands, revealing a set of keys. "It seems Captain Stolle misplaced his keys." He smiled at his father.
Rysh's initial excitement was overshadowed by confusion. "Why are you still here? You should’ve been long gone by now."
"We made a deal with Valcor. He has a ship and will take us to Dusseldorf, but we had to help him out first." Gant unlocked Rysh's cell. Rysh shook Mic's hand.
"That still doesn't explain why you broke in here."
The man in the cell next to Rysh spoke up. "That would be for me."
Rysh turned, able to see the other prisoner for the first time. The man was young and sturdily built with jet-black hair.
"What's your name?" Gant questioned the man.
"Cal." He stepped back from the bars, waiting for Gant to open them.
"Where’s the rest of the crew?" Gant asked as he unlocked the cell.
Cal shook his head in disappointment. "They didn't make it."
"We need to get moving," Mic said a
s he started moving toward the steps. Cal followed behind him, with Gant and Rysh at the end.
"I need to get my stuff. I'm not leaving my sword behind," Rysh said before they exited the building. He went through the upstairs door into the armory, where he found a locked chest in the back corner. Gant opened it with the key ring, revealing the personal belongings of all the prisoners. Rysh pulled out his sword and pack, then turned to exit.
"Gant, let's go." Gant was standing by a desk on the other side of the room. He turned around, facing his father with a pouch in hand.
"Let's get out of here." They quickly exited the building. Outside, the warm fall air a relief. In his cell, he had shivered constantly in the cold damp defines. Rysh bumped into Mic, who stood still in front of him. He turned his gaze to the road in front of them.
A dozen armed soldiers stood with their weapons drawn facing Rysh and his friends. Rysh turned to see Gant with his bow drawn, ready to act. Rysh drew his sword and in a fluid movement, they charged the soldiers.
Julia stood waiting in a dark alleyway with Valcor. They watched the horizon, waiting for their signal.
"There it is." Valcor spoke quietly, pointing in the distance. Julia followed his finger and saw a faint glow emanating from the city. Alric had succeeded in starting a fire, and now it was their turn to act.
Without speaking, Julia followed Valcor out of the alleyway and down toward the docks, Ros was running right at her heels. Two guards were stationed on the docks, distracted in conversation.
Valcor moved up next to the men, tapping them on their shoulders. As they turned to address the newcomer, he grabbed their heads, slamming them together. The two men fell limp.
Valcor beckoned for Julia to follow him. They quickly found a suitable raft. With the high tide and a light-enough raft, they and their friends would be able to float right over the barricade that sat at the entrance to the harbor. Julia and Valcor waited on the docks, Valcor pacing impatiently and Julia sitting cross-legged on the rough boards, knowing the others would be arriving shortly.
