by Scott Wale
Arkiva seated herself in one of the chairs that had been arranged in a circle, Virra began to head for an adjacent seat when Ruk stepped in front of her and gestured towards one more seat away allowing him to maintain his position between his two protectors. Ruk saw a few advantages in this seating arrangement the most important being his better vantage point of their non-verbal reaction. He also felt a little more secure sandwiched between the two elders. Word of Jalpa’s hostile reputation had reached Ruk. The Tugos was concerned the outcome of the discussion could leave him in a vulnerable position. He was aware that he had lost most of his leverage when the opportunity to meet with the cymutt had passed. The elders would protect him where they could, but even they were at the mercy of the Ipta leader.
“Welcome, Arkiva and Virra”, Jalpa began. “I’ve been informed that my third guest comes with a dilemma.”
“Yes, this is Ruk”, Arkiva introduced the Tugos to Jalpa. “One of our premaliers caught him scouting outside of Aman. Ruk has been quite cooperative with us; however, we felt it necessary to inform you of our discovery.”
“That was a wise decision”, Jalpa said maliciously while holding his gaze on Ruk.
“He was employed by Grimtav, but his loyalty is to Artum”, Virra explained.
“Well that certainly doesn’t do us any good”, Jalpa responded. “I know the Loupiq and Chafel don’t trade in that currency and unfortunately for you, Ruk, the Ipta don’t either.”
Ruk took a moment debating on whether he wanted to speak or not. Jalpa had the expertise of drawing beings into a conversation only to shred their confidence that things were going well. Ruk didn’t want to be the cause of his own demise. Arkiva and Virra could adequately defend him which meant that his best strategy was to sit there quietly and only intervene if his sentence wasn’t going to be to his liking.
“We believe he can be an asset towards the protection of Aman” Arkiva said. “The question is how much can we trust him and what do we have to offer other than his freedom?”
“Spies are not to be trusted at all”, Jalpa declared. “Freedom should also come with a heavy price. Grimtav was a complete fool to hire you. Even if you had gotten intel back to him, it would have lead him to make some poor decisions. The strength of Aman lies within her walls, which you would never have set eyes upon. I have no use for scouts, especially of your inadequacy.”
Jalpa finally removed his gaze from Ruk and made eye contact with Arkiva. He didn’t need to say the next sentence aloud as Arkiva could read his thoughts from his face.
“If you have no use for him, then we have a suggestion”, Arkiva replied calmly hoping that she had misread Jalpa’s intention.
“You’re mistaken about to whom the prisoner belongs”, Jalpa started. “Your people may have caught him, but you’re still tenants on my land. His fate belongs to me.”
“I thought you said you had no use for him”, Virra pointed out.
“I don’t”, Jalpa confirmed.
“What do you want then?” Virra said having reached the same conclusion as Arkiva, but wanting to force Jalpa to proclaim his intentions.
“The prisoner shall be executed”, Jalpa stated in a notably indifferent tone.
Ruk’s eyes shot open at the revelation. His sentence had escalated quickly and he had not expected the possibility of an execution. Now was the time for Arkiva and Virra to improvise on their strategy and do what they could to spare his life. This was clearly nothing more than a show of power on Jalpa’s part and hopefully the two elders could convince him of the absurdity of his fickle decision.
“What purpose will his execution serve?” Arkiva asked to Ruk’s relief.
“I’ll be rid of a spy”, Jalpa began. “More importantly, when Grimtav comes looking for his paid spy he’ll find a corpse, which will drive him into a rage. Rage is preferable to deal with as it forces one to make poor, impulsive decisions.”
“We won’t condone you sacrificing a prisoner as a means to infuriate an enemy”, Arkiva said.
“You have no say in what I do with my prisoner”, Jalpa argued looking over Arkiva’s shoulder to ensure his guards were still present outside the door to his residence.
“Our premaliers have used their time to explore the Echo Woods”, Arkiva started. “They’ve found a clearing northwest of Aman that would be an ideal location as a new settlement. If you insist on sacrificing your prisoner, then we shall relocate.”
Arkiva had learned a few truths while her people were positioned outside of Aman. Grimtav was truly after Jalpa and Jalpa knew this. Jalpa also feared it was probable that Grimtav’s cymutt army could take control of Aman. Jalpa needed the Loupiq and Chafel if he were to have a fighting chance at defending his city against invaders. The Loupiq and Chafel had been delivered to the Ipta leader at a critical time. Arkiva was confident her bluff would work. She didn’t like the idea of risking the life of another being, but she could at least take solace in the fact that if her people were to relocate they would at least not be caught in the middle of an age old feud. The real risk would be what Grimtav did after taking possession of Aman. Her people would still be vulnerable, which meant to some degree they needed the Ipta as much as the Ipta needed them.
“I don’t need the pestilence of your people outside my city walls”, Jalpa responded to Arkiva’s surprise. “The prisoner is mine and the execution will ensue.”
“I’m powerless to demand this, but I ask that you reconsider”, Arkiva pleaded desperately.
“Ask that you reconsider?” Ruk said astounded by the chosen words. “You’ve just handed me over to my death. I thought you would protect me.”
“Jalpa has not errored in stating that you were captured within his territory”, Arkiva replied. “I don’t agree with his decision, but you are technically his prisoner.”
“My decision is final”, Jalpa said motioning for his guards to come forth and join the group. “Take the Tugos to the holding cell for the night. He’s to be executed and put on display outside of Aman by dusk tomorrow.”
“Arkiva, do something!” Ruk pleaded. “This is not why I agreed to join the both of you.”
“Get him out of here”, Jalpa commanded.
The guards detained Ruk and hauled him out of Jalpa’s rotunda while the Tugos continued to plea with anyone who would listen. There was nothing Ruk could do to defend himself physically or from his assumed fate.
“This isn’t just, Jalpa, and I have faith you’ll reconsider before we’re concluded here”, Arkiva said.
Jalpa stared into the pink eyes of the elder. It would only take a moment before the awkwardness turned into intimidation. He didn’t need to say a word and he knew it. Jalpa held all the power and he wasn’t about to be lectured on moral high grounds and what constitutes as just. He broke eye contact after he felt the gaze had reached maximum intensity and then once again looked over Arkiva’s shoulder to determine if the guards had escorted his new prisoner out of the rotunda.
“He has no intent in releasing his new prisoner”, Arkiva stated trying to read his eyes.
“I’ve obviously fooled you, which only helped sell my plan to the Tugos”, Jalpa said once he was satisfied the guards had carried Ruk away.
“What do you mean?” Virra asked.
“Our captive will be presented with an opportunity to escape his imprisonment during the night”, Jalpa began. “I expect him to take it when he considers that his alternative is an execution. It has been arranged for it to look like he’s taking advantage of an oversight, so that he doesn’t expect that we’re letting him go. He’ll then get his findings back to Grimtav and get paid something for the scouting he thought he performed.”
“Thought he performed?” Virra asked curious of the wording.
“He witnessed two major vulnerabilities of Aman that were staged”, Jalpa continued. “The first was a weakness in the northern wall. The wooden reinforcements had been temporarily removed so that anyone worth their weight in scouting would tak
e notice. These can and will easily be put back in place. It’s my understanding that cymutts can chew right through wooden walls, but at least they’ll have to deal with more thickness than expected. The second weakness he’ll have observed is the change I ordered in our guard while the Tugos was present in Aman. The guard fully assembles at Aman’s front gate just after dusk. He may have caught this before you captured him or recognized the full assembly when you brought him up here with you. Either way, both observations would lead to the conclusion that the north wall is the point of attack. I expect this information to get back to Grimtav which only makes the planning and coordination of my defense all that much easier. The last piece of information I need is to know when the attack occurs. This is why one of my scouts will follow the Tugos out of the Echo Woods in an attempt to gather that information. Even if the tailing scout fails in his mission, the notice I get from my usual patrol of scouts will be sufficient enough to counter Grimtav’s attack.”
“Why do you think an attack is imminent?” Arkiva asked.
“He wouldn’t have hired a scout if it wasn’t”, Jalpa said pausing to decide if he wanted to divulge any additional information. “We’ve also noticed cymutts creeping deeper into the Echo Woods whereas before they held up at the perimeter. They’re still a great distance from Aman, but it’s a noticeable breech from the usual territory.”
“Did you ever plan to tell us?” Virra asked.
“I had no reason to believe that we would be the victim of an attack anytime soon until you caught that scout”, Jalpa responded. “As I mentioned, I have my own scouts watching the edge of the woods. They may have missed a Tugos, but they wouldn’t miss an army of cymutts.”
“Would you advise preparing our premaliers?” Arkiva asked.
“I don’t see a need to alert them until we can confirm the approach of a cymutt force”, Jalpa said. “If you are confident that they are keeping their skills sharp, then that shall suffice.”
“Very well”, Arkiva acknowledged.
“Return to your camp and rest easy”, Jalpa advised. “I’ll be sure to provide you with a status update that allows you adequate time for any preparations you may have. A battle is near, but the risk is low.”
Jalpa escorted both Arkiva and Virra out of the rotunda and left them at the door. They began to scale back down the great trees back towards the forest floor making their own observations of the inside of Aman. The north wall looked fragile just as Jalpa had described it. The main gate was the focal point of the city’s perimeter, but only a fool would attack it head on. Jalpa had cleverly created a failure of a plan for Grimtav, but Arkiva and Virra were still unconvinced that Aman could survive a cymutt onslaught.
“We shall post a few premaliers on the perimeter of the Echo Woods as well”, Arkiva said as the pair left Aman and headed back into the refugee camp.
“What if the Ipta interfere?” Virra asked.
“The Ipta have only set conditions about our presence in regards to Aman”, Arkiva answered. “The Echo Woods may still be their sacred territory, but we have the freedom to move through them just as they do. I want updates from our own people that I can completely trust. Jalpa has craved Grimtav’s blood for a long time and now he finally sees an opportunity to rid himself of the threat. We still have the clearing northwest of Aman as a retreat point if necessary. The safety of our people is still the priority and having a presence at the center of a battle goes against that position.”
“What of Fenrit and Alejade?” Virra asked concerned that the two could return at any time.
“I don’t know where their travels have led them, but an attack by the cymutts would indicate that any attempt they made has failed”, Arkiva answered. “According to Jalpa, there is still time for this to change, but we shall prepare for the worst and thank the Maker should there be a more positive outcome.”
XX.
Dawn had long passed and Alejade struggled to keep her eyes open. Fenrit still hadn’t emerged from the torrid sleeper and no one had seen any sign of movement from within the sleeping device. Tradok had advised to let Fenrit continue the fight on his own inside the sleeper. Tradok had promised Fenrit would emerge when his body had fully recuperated. The Sauronoid drifted into his own slumber after doing what he could to console Alejade.
Nevit had awakened shortly after dawn having fully rested. After learning that Fenrit was still within the sleeper he decided to expend his energy on collecting wood. This would allow Fenrit the opportunity to resupply some of his arrows when the time came for the journey to continue. Nevit knew nothing of crafting arrows, but he had spent enough time around the lake and swamp to pick out quality pieces of wood. He planned on simply bringing back the best samples for Fenrit to mold in the Loupiq’s own fashion.
Tradok had woken before midday and traipsed around the campsite trying to keep himself busy. There was little to do other than think about the journey that lay ahead. Nevit returned with a prime selection of wood well after midday much to Tradok’s relief. The two preoccupied themselves by planning out the remainder of the journey. Tradok discussed the particulars of the route while Nevit provided what little input he could on the terrain. Even though they were both engaged in conversation with each other, their mind was still on Fenrit’s condition.
Dawn had turned into dusk forcing the group to make the decision to hold camp for an additional night. Alejade stared at the torrid sleeper hoping that it would open up at any moment. Her brother remained enclosed within the sleeper and every passing moment began to put more and more stress on Alejade as she fretted over the lack of knowledge on Fenrit’s condition. Alejade’s eyes began to grow heavy as she stared and sat motionless. She began shaking her head at first to keep awake, but this only provided a short term benefit. When the fatigue became too overwhelming she stood up and paced the campsite. The flow of energy throughout her body also failed to give her an enduring boost. Alejade had forced herself to stay awake too long, which when compounded with the stress began to take its toll quickly. She would not make it much longer and there was no use fighting it.
“Get some rest”, Tradok advised as if he had read her mind. “We will be here another night and if he comes out of the sleeper fully energized, we’ll want to get moving at dawn. You being drained of energy at that point will only do the group a disservice. Nevit and I will split watch duty tonight.”
“Thank you”, Alejade said wearily. “You make a good point, and I’m not accomplishing anything by just sitting here and observing.”
Alejade spread her cloak on the ground, laid down and almost immediately fell asleep. Tradok instructed Nevit to do the same. The sauronoid’s mind was preoccupied and he knew he wouldn’t get any sleep now even if he tried. Everyone being well rested was the best strategy they could put together for now.
Nevit wasted no time in falling asleep as well. Tradok took a moment to look over the Mortoptera, then Alejade and finally he brought his focus back to the torrid sleeper. A difficult decision would have to be made if Fenrit didn’t emerge by dawn. Tradok would have to open up the torrid sleeper and then they would have to gauge Fenrit’s status. They couldn’t hold up here forever and if Fenrit was unable to travel under his own power, then a whole combination of options needed to be considered. Would they attempt to carry Fenrit along with them? If they left him behind, who, if anyone, would stay behind? Would the quest succeed with any less than the original four member group? They were all vital to the success of the mission, but it was Fenrit who had initiated the quest. Tradok forced himself through the somber thoughts that accompanied Fenrit’s essence of life hanging in the balance.
Tradok was deep in thought and staring into the bright center of the lighting device when the torrid sleeper began to rustle. Signs of life came from within the sleeper, but it was struggling to find its way out. The noise was minimal and failed to gain the attention of Tradok, so the struggle continued unaided.
Fenrit was not sure what he was trapped inside o
f, but there was plenty of light and plenty of heat. The heat was tolerable given that he was wearing no clothes. The enclosure was slightly larger than his body and allowed for a little movement. Fenrit looked around at first to see if he could find a way out, but didn’t recognize anything as a release to a door or opening. His visibility was restricted as far down as his chest, so he decided to start feeling around with his hands for anything that could get him out of the tight area. He took slow, deep breaths so the feeling of claustrophobia didn’t turn into full blown panic. Fenrit began to drag his hands along the inside surface eventually finding what felt like a release point for a seal. He grasped the object and began pulling it in all different directions. The seal eventually released and the torrid sleeper opened up. All the heat that had built up since Fenrit was sealed inside erupted into the cool night air. Fenrit felt a slight shock as the cool air hit his system, but he quickly adapted as the temperature equalized among the heating packet that was still feeding the torrid sleeper and the nearby lighting device that Tradok continued to focus upon.
Fenrit took a few moments to reconstruct his memory and recall where he was and who he was with. He remembered diving into the lake and forcing his arms and legs to keep swimming forward even when they felt like they had nothing more to give. He vaguely recalled crawling onto shore and Alejade finding him. He didn’t remember making it back to the camp let alone inside the torrid sleeper. The group must have decided this was the best course of action for a body that was nearly frozen at the time.
Fenrit looked up and saw Tradok staring at the lighting device. Tradok paid no attention to Fenrit and appeared to be caught in a daze. Fenrit peered around the camp noticing that the other two had fallen asleep. He looked up in the sky for Jorius’ position. It was not quite at its height, which would indicate it was still early in the night.
“I don’t know how you get any sleep in that thing”, Fenrit called out to Tradok.
