A long moment passed as I thought about what needed to be done because something had to be done, “I think its faulty thinking to keep secrets such as these around that could end up destroying our own people, if we were to simply use them for our own benefit, and if the intention is to never use them, why keep them around so that they could be potentially used against us?”
Thaddeus was looking at me intently, as if his next breath hung on my unspoken words, “So what would your course of action be Roric?”
“I would destroy this room and all its contents and stop playing this game of hide and seek.”
Thaddeus’s scrutiny of me did not waver in the slightest, “And what of the council’s demands for the preservation of these works and the possibility of needing some of these secrets to defeat the Zoarinian invasion of our land?”
“My first duty is to the people and not the well being of the council’s political motivations. Second I will live and fall in this life according to my own merits and the strength that the Creator endows me with and not rely on dusty secrets of questionable origin to deliver me the victory.”
Thaddeus smiled and I saw him relax visibly, “Good that is what I hoped you would say. It relieves me to hear you say what you just did.”
“What did my father say?” I asked softly.
A dark look came over Thaddeus’ face for a moment and he didn’t answer right away.
“Your father agreed with you about the council’s political motivations, as do I but he thought that the knowledge should be left to the people to decide what they wanted to do with it. I could not condone that. I saw the release of such dark tainted material to my own people as a recant of my sworn duty to protect them from something I could prevent so I persisted in hiding the secrets of our past from them. I fear that was also the wrong strategy. I have come to believe in my old age and by the experiences gained over a lifetime that if something is of a dark nature don’t shake hands with it and don’t keep it in the closet. Instead take it out and burn it and let the ashes fall where they may.”
Thaddeus rose from his chair as did I.
“Congratulations for arriving at the decision that you have, which I believe is the right one. It is regrettable that I did not arrive a lot faster at the conclusion that you have or this whole crisis could have been averted long ago. Roric it is not going to be easy to get rid of all of this.” Thaddeus said gesturing to the room around us.
“Why?” I asked.
“None of this you see is real. This room is a technological façade of the original. I used the technology to put the images that you see in this room. The originals are hidden at another location unknown to the council.”
I looked at Thaddeus and we both said at the same time, “The Attorgron Forest trip during the last war.”
Chapter Twelve
Upheaval Begun
Krista watched the minnows congregating around the piece of bread she had thrown into the brook. She hadn’t done much of anything today, but laze around in the coolness of the forest. Being out here alone in the forest almost made her think she was as free as the songbirds fluttering around in the branches overhead. Until she remembered that in everybody’s eyes, except maybe Sansa’s, she was nothing but a slave. She was something to be used, sold and discarded at an owner’s whim.
Oh well life was what you made of it and at least hers for right now was the best it had ever been. She was living in the moment as tomorrow was no guarantee in her world. She ambled back towards the cottage regretting her laziness. Sansa had probably needed her for something hours ago.
Her route back brought her within site of the village and she gave it but a passing glance. Her eyes flew back to it in surprise at what she had seen. There were columns of smoke billowing into the sky from many of the town’s buildings which were wreathed in flames. She could see people running around in the town, but mostly they were fleeing from it! Instead of fighting the fires their only purpose seemed to be escaping the town. Other figures in the scene seemed more purposeful.
Attorgron Slavers!
The thought occurred to her and she was immediately sure of it. Rarely did the slavers venture so far into the west for fear of angering the Zoarinian controlled interests to much, but apparently they had thought it worth the risk for the prize of the loot the town offered them.
“Oh no! Sansa!”
Krista tore off through the forest towards the cottage. She leaped over fallen logs and dodged tree trunks. Her feet were steady and sure in the dense littered undergrowth of the forest even in her haste. She could see smoke ahead of her in the clearing where the cottage was, which made her pace quicken even more. She burst into the clearing and she saw Sansa weakly protesting as several men carried the medicinal wares of their healing trade from the cottage. One of the men, a big swarthy skinned brute back handed Sansa so hard that she was thrown backward several feet and fell across the doorway of the cottage.
Krista screamed in heartfelt pain at the sight and ran to Sansa’s side. Sansa was still conscious, but barely. She recognized Krista and smiled softly and reached up to brush some of the fiery curls from off of her forehead.
Weakly she said, “Remember what I told you dear, the Creator is going to keep you! Remember?”
Tears streaming down her face and with her lips quivering from unspoken cries of sorrow Krista nodded her head yes.
“Good. You have been the joy of my later days child, God bless you! I have to leave you now. He’s waiting for me.”
With a look of peace wreathed across her face her eyes closed and the breath left her body, as she was held clutched in Krista’s arms. Krista started shaking uncontrollably tears streaming from her eyes as short strangled gasps for air forced her lungs to open and close.
“Hey look at this one mates! She’s a ripe one for the picking! I saw her first!”
The lurid meaning of the slaver’s slurred out statement broke the solitude of Krista’s grief over her kind hearted care taker.
Krista listened to the voices of the slaver, as he approached from behind her. Something crystallized and snapped within Krista and suddenly with a scream of rage she turned from Sansa’s lifeless body to face the big slaver who had killed Sansa. He approached her now with nothing but evil intent in his small beady eyes. She grabbed the small paring knife from her pocket and fairly sprang upon the surprised slaver.
He tried to protect himself, but to no avail. The small blade of the paring knife flashed again and again in the fiery light of the burning cottage that couldn’t compare in intensity to the rage that had befallen Krista. The slaver crumbled to his knees and then pitched over onto his face already dead from a dozen or more stab wounds. Lost in her hate filled rage Krista continued to stab the inert form of the man, until a terrific blow from behind hit the back of her head, and knocked her over onto her face. Not wanting to succumb to the enshrouding darkness Krista fought to keep her eyes open, but failed more than she succeeded.
She felt herself being picked up and slung over what felt like a shoulder. Battling unconsciousness she lifted her head and looked back. The cottage was engulfed in flames now. Everything she loved gone within a few pain filled moments. Giving in to the darkness she collapsed devoid of any hope for the future as her world burnt once again behind her.
Krista grew conscious of a rough jolting motion and painfully opened her eyes to see the cause of the strange jerky movement. She was in a farmer’s cart surrounded by half a dozen other young girls. She closed her eyes again knowing without further explanation the conditions of her new reality.
She was a slave once more, except this time with a different intended purpose. She wished vainly for a moment that the boards of the cart would melt and the ground below would swallow her up and that her life would be over.
Sighing she accepted the fact that she wouldn’t be that lucky in this life to die so easily. Slowly she got to her knees and leaned back against the side of the swaying
cart. Looking around she could see that all the eyes of the other occupants of the cart were on her. She recognized some of them. The milk man’s daughter was a buxom blond, who looked like she was about to die of fright, a city councilmen’s daughter, as well as two other prominent citizens’ daughters and two other girls of lesser birth that she didn’t recognize.
The councilmen’s daughter even though looking afraid as to what her fate might be, could not hold back from the snoodity that seemed to go with members of her social status.
“We thought you were dead. I’m glad to see that you’re not.”
Gesturing to the slavers she said, “Now they can make sport of you and leave us for ransom.”
Krista smiled grimly, “Elise, you’ll soon find out for yourself that they’ll be no ransom other than that which your future owner pays for you. And that will only be for the privilege of doing whatever he wishes with you. Welcome to the life of being a slave, Elise.”
Krista regretted the words as soon as she had said them. She had only meant to take Elise’s cocky high and mighty attitude down a few notches, but in doing so she saw that she had heightened the fear in the eyes of the other girls, which she hadn’t meant to do. The facts were the facts though and they would all find out the reality of them soon enough.
Later that day the slavers stopped to make camp in an abandoned village. The girls were herded into an old shack and made to stand against a wall stretched out in a line. Krista was the farthest one from the door of the shack. Standing at the door to block any attempt at escape stood a wiry evil looking slaver with crooked dirty teeth. He did nothing but grin and wink at the girls suggestively.
Fearful whispers began to rise among the girls as to what was about to happen. Their whispers were interrupted abruptly by the opening of the door. Surprisingly a woman stepped through the door and the brief moment of hope that rose up within Krista swiftly turned cold and died painfully.
By her clothes and the manner in which the woman displayed herself Krista recognized the woman for what she was. She was the madam of a whore house or something close to it. She had come to buy new product for her customers.
Krista turned her eyes away and stared straight ahead seeing her fate sealed. The woman came closer to inspect the scared girls.
“My what a pretty bunch of girls we have here and unspoiled yet at that! You’ll bring a good price. Congratulations gentlemen on restraining your beastly natures!” She said with a raucous laugh, which was echoed by the men who had come in with her.
“We know how you like them Esmerelda!”
“Excuse me?” Elise said speaking up.
The bunch by the door turned back to the girls amused at the query. Elise spoke again pointing to the two noblemen’s daughters, who appeared to want no part of what she was about to say.
“Excuse me Madame, but there’s been a mistake! I and these two girls here are daughters of wealthy men. We would be worth far more to you, if you ransomed us back to our families than being sold as slaves. Ransoming us back would still leave you with four girls to do with as you pleased too.”
The madam studied Elise for a moment with an amused sly look on her face. Turning back to the headman she held out a heavy purse, which she dropped into his hand.
“I’ll take them all Ran except for that one.” She said indicating Elise. “She can keep your men company, while you plan to ransom her back to her dead family.”
The men all laughed and one reached forward to grab Elise and drag her out the door, as she loudly protested against such treatment.
“Have them ready to go in the morning. I want to get back to Tantarkus as soon as possible.” Esmerelda said making her way out of the shack.
The door slammed shut, but it didn’t shut out Elise’s screams or the raucous jeers and laughter taking place outside the door in the camp beyond.
The girls started crying and moaning upon hearing the despicable acts taking place outside, as each of them imagined themselves in Elise’s place. Krista sunk down with her back to the wall. The milkman’s daughter beside her was trying to hold back sobs of fear, but failed miserably as the sounds from outside penetrated through the thin walls of the shack they were locked up in. Krista reached over and pulled the girl close to her and held her.
The girl collapsed against her chest and sobbed openly in Krista’s arms. At some point, after the screams had finally stopped and the noise had died down the girls mercifully fell asleep.
They all had a fearful start to awakeness just a few hours later when the door crashed open and they were dragged out into the early morning light and herded back onto the cart.
Krista briefly glanced over at last night’s fire pit only to look away quickly, as tears came to her eyes at what she had seen. She hadn’t cried once last night, but the sight of Elise’s mangled and lifeless body lying discarded on the ground like mere trash was too much. Elise had always treated her meanly, but no one deserved what had happened to her. Thankfully the others didn’t see her or maybe they had just been too afraid to look.
The oxcart carrying them broke off from the main group and headed out with a smaller escort towards the Attorgron capitol buried deep within the forest.
They entered the forest two days later. Krista had never seen such a forest as this. It made her own beloved forest look puny and incomparable to the unmatched majesty of the forest that pressed in all around her now. How she would have loved to find its hidden secrets and pathways instead of being chained to the side of this cart bound for a destiny to hideous to contemplate.
Five days later after passing through small villages almost swallowed up by the forest that encroached around them they reached a larger city called Santarus. It was the main economic hub of the Attorgron Empire. The capitol of the Attorgron Empire was another three days journey beyond it through the forest. For the first time in days the girls were herded out of the oxcart and into an establishment that must in these parts qualify as an inn. Again they were lined up forcefully against a wall.
Esmerelda came into the room to stand before them to regard each of them directly with a hateful glare. It was hard to look at her and not be disgusted, as her greasy looking facepaint began to run down her face, because of the oppressive humidity of the day.
“Alright girls listen up. I have an extremely influential and wealthy client in this city. Who from time to time purchases fine products such as yourselves to use as he pleases. You would do well to impress him as he pays me very well. If none of you catch his fancy it will go badly for all of you! Do I make myself clear?”
The girls for the most part resigned to their fate nodded their heads hoping at least for an easier outcome than Elise’s had been, but Krista remained still. She would play no games of appeasement to the whore mistress, who controlled their fate even if it made things worse for her. Esmerelda seemingly satisfied with what she saw retired to a chair in the room to wait for the wealthy buyer to appear. She didn’t have to wait long.
The door opened and a dangerous looking man stepped into the room and surveyed the room’s occupants. Seeming satisfied that all was as it should be he stepped aside and held the door open for another individual. The man beyond the door stepped into the room. He was an older man, but he still had a look of strength to him despite his evident age. He was richly dressed and moved with a commanding presence about him that spoke of an extensive experience of leadership, perhaps even some time in the military.
Esmerelda rose to greet him, but he cut her off with a terse statement, “These are the girls from which you expect me to make a selection for my new consort?”
Esmerelda looking somewhat shaken nodded yes timidly.
“Very well then.”
He started at the beginning of the line looking intensely at each girl and steadily progressed down the line, with disapproval written all over his face at what he saw. Each girl fairly cowered under his intense scrutiny, until at last he came to the end of
the line and Krista.
Krista however did not look at him, but stared straight ahead and showed no sign of cowering under his study of her. The man reached out and grasped Krista’s chin with two fingers and turned her head to meet his eyes. Forced to stare at him she hoped that her gaze remained enigmatic and didn’t betray the loathing that she felt for him and all the members of his kind.
He released her chin and turned towards his man and said, “I’ll take this one. Pay her what she’s due.” Her new master said indicating Esmerelda.
Krista somewhat shocked watched as her new master’s hired man dropped several pouches into Esmerelda’s greedy fingers. Then the hired man came over to her and grasped her left arm in a grasp that was to the point of leaving bruises and half pulled her behind him, as he followed his master out the door.
Krista got one fleeting look at the other girls, as she was pulled from the room. It was likely to be the last time she saw any of them again.
There was a carriage pulled up outside the inn, which she was thrust into. She landed on the seat behind the driver, which put her opposite of her new owner. She struggled to regain her composure, as the man was watching her very closely. But she couldn’t control the rapid rising and falling of her chest, which betrayed whatever calm she could portray on her face. She felt so out of balance.
A Warrior's Redemption (The Warrior Kind) Page 17
