by Perrin, Don
“Sure, thanks, Cheldon. Say, I’m sorry about losing my temper over that affair with my assistant. I was worried about the boy, that’s all. I’ll bring my men back, but first I was wondering if I could get some food, at least some bread, for the prisoners?”
Cheldon Sarger looked at Theros as if he had suddenly grown three heads. “Food! Prisoners! What for? They sure aren’t going to need food where they’re going!”
Theros didn’t understand. “What do you mean? Aren’t we going to ransom them back to their kin?”
Cheldon laughed. “And get what for them? Those knights are poor as rats, most of them. No, we’ll have some fun tonight. I heard from Captain Ibind that these knights aren’t going to last the night. They’re to be this evening’s after-dinner entertainment! Great fun, eh?”
Theros couldn’t believe he’d heard correctly. Moorgoth was going to torture these prisoners!
“They need water, at least,” Theros growled. “I can’t believe that Baron Moorgoth would allow such a thing. I just can’t.”
But Theros could believe it. That was the problem. Unfortunately, this news about Baron Moorgoth didn’t surprise him all that much.
“Just remember that to the victor go the spoils, and tonight, we’re victorious!” Cheldon spoke loudly. “Bring your lads around in about an hour.” This said, he drew Theros off to one side, continued in a low voice, “Look, I don’t like this ‘entertainment’ business any more than you do. But what can we do to stop it? I say we stay in here and eat and drink ourselves into a pleasant stupor.”
Theros mumbled an agreement, turned and left. Cheldon was right. If Theros protested or tried to protect the prisoners, Moorgoth would suspect the smith of being a traitor. He might even figure that Theros was the spy.
Head bowed, lost in thought, Theros wasn’t watching where he was going. When he fell over a tent peg, he looked around, found himself among the tents of the women. He turned on his heel to make a quick departure, when he heard voices coming from one of the tents.
Theros recognized one of the voices.
“We’ll escape tonight,” a voice said, “when everyone’s drunk …”
Theros walked up to the tent, ripped open the flap.
Frightened eyes stared back at him. Yuri and Telera, seated together inside the tent, shrank back at the sight of Theros’s anger.
“What is the meaning of this?” Theros demanded.
Yuri jumped to his feet, came surging forward, put himself between Theros and Telera.
“I’m the spy, sir. I confess it. Take me away. I’ll—”
“No, don’t, Yuri!” Telera was on her feet, too, clinging to Yuri.
He attempted to say something, to argue. She shook her head, stepped in front of him and faced Theros.
“I am the spy, sir. I’m the one you want. Let Yuri go. He didn’t know anything about it. I’ll swear to that—”
Yuri started protesting. Telera was shaking her head.
“Shut up!” Theros said in a low, impassioned voice.
Both of them, startled, fell silent.
Theros raised the tent flap, peered cautiously back outside. No one was around. He lowered it again, turned—seething—to the two in front of him.
“Tell me the truth, damn you,” he said.
Telera licked her lips, swallowed. But her voice was strong and steady. “I am the daughter of a knight. My father was murdered by Baron Moorgoth and his men when they raided our castle. I escaped by hiding in the woods. When I came back home, I found the bodies …”
She blinked her eyes. Yuri took hold of her hand.
After a moment, Telera continued. “I swore revenge on Moorgoth. But I’m a female and am not trained as a warrior. What could I do? I decided I would join his band, and whenever I could, get word to my father’s friends about what the army was doing, how many men it numbered. I used Yuri to get information. He didn’t know—”
“I found out, sir,” Yuri added. “I was glad to be able to help, even though Telera didn’t want to put me in danger. And I’ll keep on being glad, no matter what they do to me. Only please, sir, see to it that no harm comes to Telera.”
“I’ll die at their hands before I’d leave without Yuri!” Telera said firmly. “I could not die in better company than with Yuri and the gallant knights. My only regret,” she added bitterly, “is that I failed. Moorgoth and his army live still.”
“Not all of them. Not by a long shot. At least you’ve accomplished that much,” Theros muttered the words and he hadn’t realized he’d spoken them aloud until he saw the two looking at him with dawning hope.
“Do you mean that, sir?” Yuri could scarcely talk.
Theros didn’t answer. He was thinking. “Listen, Telera, do you know your way around this countryside?”
“Yes, sir. I was born and raised not far from here.”
“You could find your way, even in the darkness?”
“Yes, sir. And it won’t be that dark tonight. The moonlight will be bright enough to walk by.”
“Good. On the other side of the hill is a line of trees. No one’s around. You won’t have a better chance. Head for those trees. Wait there. You’ll be joined by others.”
“By you, sir?” Yuri was gazing at Theros with the respect and admiration Theros had long sought from his apprentice. “Will you meet us, sir? You’ll be in danger yourself if they discover that I’ve gone.”
“Never mind me. Do what you’re told for once in your life.” Theros growled, but he smiled at the same time.
“Yes, sir,” Yuri said softly. “Sir, I want to thank—”
“No time.” Theros cut him off. “Belhesser will be looking for us. I’ll cover for you. Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
Telera rested her hand briefly, hesitantly, on Theros’s big arm.
“Thank you, sir,” she said, simply.
Theros grunted and nodded. Then, lifting the flap, he went back outside, looked around. No one was nearby. He motioned for the two to come.
Yuri took Telera’s hand, and together they slipped out of the tent and dashed into the forest. Theros waited for a moment to be sure that they had made good their escape, then he turned back to his smithy. He had the feeling that, no matter what happened, he would never see Yuri again. Theros wished him and Telera well.
At the smithy, the soldiers were sitting around, waiting for the chance to eat. Theros waved his hand.
“Go on, men. Get in line. We’re to eat inside the commissary tent tonight with the quartermaster’s staff. He’s saved some wine for us, too.”
The soldiers jumped up, grabbed their bowls, and rushed off to get in the food line.
Theros took his own cup and dropped it into one of the buckets sitting beside the water barrels. He filled the bucket and walked out of the tent. He looked around to see if anyone was watching. On the far side, he could see campfires, with men sitting around them, eating and drinking and celebrating.
No one was paying attention to the prisoners in the center. There was no need. The knights had given their word of honor that they would not try to escape. Moorgoth respected the knights’ word, even though he obviously thought them fools for making such an absurd promise. The baron would teach them their folly tonight.
Perhaps the knights are fools, Theros thought, but only because they believe that other men are as honorable as themselves.
Carrying the bucket of water, Theros walked up to the knights. Most had cast off their metal breastplates and other armor. Theros went to Sir Richard, who looked up warily.
“Here, take a drink,” Theros said.
The knight grabbed the cup from Theros’s hand and drank it dry. He passed the cup to the next knight, who refilled it from the bucket. One of the knights held the cup to the lips of the injured man.
Sir Richard was on his feet. “Thank you,” he said grudgingly. “Perhaps you can tell us what’s going on. No one has spoken to us about ransom or prisoner exchange—”
> Theros interrupted. “That’s why I am here. There will be no ransom. No exchange. Tonight, you and your men are to be made a form of ‘entertainment’ for the troops. I think you can guess what that means.”
By the grim look on his face, it was clear Sir Richard knew what was in store for him and his men. “Baron Moorgoth promised—”
“He is a man without honor,” Theros said, ashamed. “As an officer in this army, I cannot stop what he means to do to you, but as a man of honor, I cannot condone it. I advise you to do whatever is in your power to preserve your command. I know you’ve given your word to an officer that you will not escape. Well, I’m an officer, and I release you from your word.”
“Are you suggesting that we—” Sir Richard began.
Theros halted him. “I wish you well and hope that Sargas sees you through the night. If you happen to be walking around over by that line of trees, you’ll find people there who can aid you. You can trust them.”
Theros turned and walked away quickly.
He entered his tent. He’d done what he could for the knights. They were on their own now. All Theros had to do was make certain that no one noticed Yuri was missing for at least a day or so. As Belhesser had said, Moorgoth would be in a good mood following his victory. He wouldn’t be worrying about spies now.
Picking up his bowl, Theros left for the commissary tent.
Chapter 24
Theros entered the food tent with his bowl in hand. Theldon Sarger and Belhesser Vankjad sat at a table to one side. The rest of the tent was filled with workers and soldiers employed by the commissary, quartermaster and smithy. His four assistants were sitting with women from the commissary, laughing and drinking, happy to be away from their duties for a while.
Theros went to join them. The soldiers, seeing him approach, jumped to their feet.
Theros waved them down. “No, that’s all right. Stay seated. Have a good time tonight. Don’t worry about the forge. I’ve posted Yuri on sentry duty at the forge tonight. He’ll wake one of you at sunrise to take over.”
Erela answered for the group. “Yes sir. Thank you, sir.”
Theros turned back to the officers’ table.
Belhesser looked up. “Ah, Theros, I was wondering where you had gotten to. We saved you some food and wine.”
The officer handed Theros a goblet full of rich red wine. Theros accepted it and sat down with the others.
Cheldon leaned back in his chair. He looked up at Theros. “I saw you over with the prisoners. I trust you were just there to make certain that their chains were still good and tight.”
“I took them some water,” Theros answered, refusing to lie. “They fought well, from what I’ve heard. They were suffering from thirst.”
Belhesser frowned, displeased. He stared hard at Theros. “It’ll all be the same when Baron Moorgoth puts them through their paces. They’ll wish they were never born on the face of Ansalon after tonight!” He laughed.
Theros nodded. “I suspect you’re right.”
Hoping this would end the conversation, he dug into his food. Two helpings later, he felt better. The wine was starting to take the edge off the day. He pushed the whole issue of the knights out of his mind, while he tried to work out a way to deal with Yuri’s disappearance.
It was getting late. Outside, he could hear the sounds of drunken revelry. Inside, the men were just as loud.
Cheldon nudged Theros. “Cheer up, man! Have s’more wine.” He was working hard at getting drunk. “Don’t sit there and sulk. What’s the matter with you?”
Theros realized he’d been sitting, brooding in silence for an hour, on a night when he should be celebrating. He attempted to make conversation. “I heard that today was a stunning victory for the baron!”
Belhesser nodded, waved his wineglass in the air, sloshing the liquid all over himself. “Damned right. I heard that we inflicted over fifteen hundred casualties today. We had only one hundred dead and another hundred wounded. That’s incredible, considering that most of the Solamnic force was mounted knights!”
Cheldon agreed. “They must have really been surprised when ol’ Dargon showed up with an army nearly three times the size of their army!”
They all laughed, Theros included.
“Yes, it must have really been a fine sight to see. Captain Ibind told me that they used the forest to break the cavalry charge. Moorgoth feinted with a battle line in front of the woods, but then had them dive into the cover of the brush when the cavalry came too close. The knights stopped cold, their horses refused to budge. Our boys ran right back out of the woods, and the fight was on! I even heard—”
The sound of a man screaming in agony shattered the night and the merriment. Inside the tent, everyone stopped talking. The scream came again. They all stared at one another. Theros tried to look as if he were as baffled as the rest.
“Maybe the fun started early,” Belhesser suggested.
At that moment, Uwel Lors came bursting through the far tent flap.
He strode up to the officers’ table and saluted. “Sirs, I have to report that several of the prisoners have escaped.”
“Then what the devil was that yell?” Belhesser demanded.
“Ah, sir. Some of the prisoners didn’t quite make it. They had a wounded man with them, you see, and—instead of abandoning him—a few of the fools stayed with him. Now, sir, I have received information that one of you was seen speaking with the prisoners earlier this evening. Is that true?”
Belhesser and Cheldon both looked over at Theros.
Theros stood up. He cleared his throat. “Yes, it is true. I took them water earlier this evening.”
“And did you notice any of them missing then?” Uwel asked, flicking the handle of his whip casually against his leg.
“No, all twenty were there.” Theros shrugged. “They must have escaped after that. How many got away?”
Uwel eyed Theros in suspicion. “I’m going to have to report this to Baron Moorgoth. Fifteen of the knights have escaped. Five were recaptured. We will make an example out of them.”
As if to emphasize his point, another scream echoed across the camp.
Uwel saluted again, then left the tent.
Belhesser turned to Theros. “Thanks a lot!” He was bitter. “You’re under my command. What were you thinking?”
“Look, I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble. I’ll take full responsibility. I’ll tell Moorgoth it was my fault and I’ll resign,” Theros offered.
Belhesser continued to look grim. “If you had anything to do with those knights escaping, you won’t be given a chance to resign. It’ll be the Abyss for you. Those knights will get off lucky, compared to what Moorgoth will do to you and probably to me, too. Maybe I can go head off Lors, come up with some sort of excuse.”
The shocking sound of the scream and the knowledge of his own danger had sobered up Belhesser. Glaring at Theros, the officer rose from the table and dashed out of the tent.
Theros rose. He didn’t want to go out there, but he was afraid that it would look suspicious if he didn’t. He glanced over at Cheldon.
“You coming?”
The scream had badly unnerved the officer. He was gulping down more wine. Shivering, looking sick, he shook his head. He managed a strained smile.
“N-no. I wasn’t cut out for this sort of thing. Baking bread. That’s what I do.” He gazed up at Theros. “Don’t tell anyone though. Will you?” He gulped more wine.
Theros walked out of the tent and into a scene straight from a nightmare.
The five knights were strapped to large wooden tripods. Each man’s wrists had been tied together, then hung over the center joint of the tripod. Their legs had been spread apart and tied to two of the tripod’s legs. Their armor and outer clothing had been removed. They were clad in just breechcloths and undershirts.
One of the knights had already been tortured. He sagged limp on his tripod. His face was battered almost to a pulp. His shirt was soaked w
ith blood.
Baron Dargon Moorgoth was addressing the troops. “We’ve won a great victory today, but at a high cost. Many of our comrades suffer from wounds inflicted by these knights. Many of our good friends are dead. It’s too bad that their comrades were so unknightly as to play the coward and run away. But these will be made to pay the price.”
A soldier took a burning brand from a nearby fire and brought it forward. Uwel Lors took the brand.
“Time for a little fun!” Uwel announced.
He walked to the unconscious knight and held the flame under the man’s left foot. Suddenly, the knight’s head jerked back. He screamed and tried to move his foot out of the flame. The ropes held fast.
Even though he was some distance away, Theros could smell the stench of burning flesh. It sickened him, but it pleased the drunken crowd. They yelled for more.
Uwel took the brand and turned to the next knight. By the light of the flame, Theros could recognize Sir Richard.
Of course, he had stayed with his command, remained behind with the wounded knight, though he knew full well what his fate would be.
“Sargas honor him,” Theros said quietly. “And grant him a swift death.”
Uwel lit the knight’s loincloth on fire. Sir Richard tried to twist right and left to get away from the searing flame, but to no avail. The skin was bubbling and melting, finally turning black all around his midriff. He tried bravely to stifle his agony, but the pain was more than he could bear. His screams caused the drunken men to laugh more loudly. Mercifully, as far as Theros was concerned, the knight soon lost consciousness.
The crowd loved the show. Uwel moved from knight to knight, burning their feet, hands and undergarments. The first knight didn’t move. Theros guessed he was dead. Uwel took his fighting knife and slit the man’s stomach. The body lurched and strained, but the knight never regained awareness. Within moments, the body stopped twitching. The knight’s soul had moved on to whatever god awaited him.
The torture lasted for another hour. Three knights were still alive, all of them writhing and twisting in their bonds. The sight was ghastly.
