The Zafara Assassin 3: Swamplands of Tisitan - Part Three by meratocat |  |
The Krawks bound my paws, not so tight as to that I couldn't
move them, but they still bound them fairly tight. Two Krawks stood to either
side of me, and if I ever slowed, they gave me a slap on my flank with the flat
of their weapons.
We walked for probably almost an hour before
we came upon a village, which I guessed to be home to the Krawks. There were
many huts all littered around a cleared out area. The funny thing was that at
first there seemed to be no one there, but as we walked into the confines of
the village I noticed eyes looking out at me, and small whispered voices, but
besides the Krawks that led me, I saw no others.
The Krawk with the orange face paint turned to
face me, "We are going in to see the head of our village, and if you try anything
funny while we are in there, I have given my men orders to stab you through
the heart on a moments notice. Hear me good Eyrie, all you are to do is to answer
our questions." And with that I was led inside of a hut, larger then all the
others.
As I walked in there was a hiss, "Who is it that
you bring in here! An outsider!" and then a large brown Krawk jumped in front
of my face, and then hissed looking at my belt, and my sword, which the Krawk
with the orange face paint was holding. "Kill him! He must be a spy of the white
Kougra! Khsssss." The brown Krawk hissed grabbing a spear from one of the other
Krawks, and preparing to shot it into my flesh.
"Stop Taloum!" said a female red Krawk stepping
up. "Killing any outsider who comes into our realm won't bring back Kath."
The brown Krawk recoiled at the mention of that
name, and then backed away from my face, and sat down in a chair. For a second
his eyes looked ready to tear before becoming a burning red inferno once more.
"Thiowa, look at his belt and sword. They have materials, which only come from
the high mountain where the white Kougra lives. That proves that he is part
of that group, that he is a murderer deserving death. We cannot let him go crawling
back to that demon of a Kougra, reporting our location. He has already slaughtered
many of our people including our father, and… and…"
"And Kath," Thiowa the red Krawk said slowly.
"I know that Jown destroyed so much of our family, but we cannot let it lead
us to murder without reason, can we? The Eyrie may have stolen the items from
one of Jown's men for his own use, and he could hate that Kougra with all his
heart for all we know right now. I am just asking you brother to act fairly,
and give him a chance, at least to state his case." She pleaded with Taloum
the brown Krawk, her amber eyes sparkling with a touch of gold.
Taloum looked into Thiowa's pleading amber eyes,
and then with a sigh said, "Tomorrow… tomorrow, I will hear him." Then he glared
at me with hatred, "But don't expect any mercy from me you winged rat! Your
fellows killed my son, and my love, my Kath. If it weren't for my loving sisters
mercy, you would be dead now." Then Taloum turned to the Krawk with the orange
face paint, "Heshrou, take this… scum, into the dungeons. Yes, and bind him
tightly, with meagre portions. Better then he deserves."
Taloum added looking into my eyes before with
a swish of his tail turning, and heading off down the corridor of the dwelling.
Heshrou looked down at me with a depressed look,
and then he looked up once more, tall and proud, but I could still see the sadness
in his eyes as he turned to his men. "You heard Taloum, off to the dungeons
with this Eyrie" And then he along with a few others led me off.
They took me to the outskirts of the village,
to a beat-up looking building made of mud brick, and then they pulled me inside.
They slowly opened up the door, and as they did, the horrid stench of within
came flooding into my nostrils. It smelt of grime, and decay, but even so, Heshrou
and his men forced me inward.
The groans of pets filled the air, and my ears
fell to the side of my head as I looked at a bony Krawk who was chained to the
wall. I looked up at Heshrou trying to figure out in my mind how he could bear
this burden of condemning pets to death, but when I looked into his eyes; two
large orbs bearing the pains of doing this ritual many times past. The light
blanked off of them, and I saw the wetness of their insides, but then he noticed
me looking at him, and he quickly looked away, and when he looked back, his
eyes were carefully held almost close. Here was one who hated his job, but knew
how to make it look as if he didn't.
They locked me away in a large cell, and as I
later learned was better then most that you receive. Heshrou's men walked away
leaving Heshrou standing alone with me. His green scales were shimmering with
the little bit of light in the room, much better then when he had first grabbed
me with all that mud over him. The spike-like hair of his was orange, and two
of them upon his head were pierced with small golden rings, one with an emerald
jewel upon it. His arms were crossed over a brown jerkin that he wore over a
whitish shirt. "It appears that Thiowa has taken a liking to you Eyrie,"
he said, and I saw the start of a smile as he mentioned the red Krawk mistress,
though it quickly disappeared, and turned to a sad look. "Though I doubt that
it matters much, not with Taloum as your judge anyway. He may seem bad, but
he's not really. His story is a sad one, and not for the telling of now." Then
with a swish of his tail he turned, but then seeming to remember something looked
back at me. "The food may be bad, but I'll try and get the cook to make you
something. I, well…" then he looked around as if looking for a spy, then he
turned back and whispered, "I wish you luck tomorrow. I believe you, it's in
your eyes you know." Then with a quick wink he turned away from the room.
Heshrou was true to his word. Sure enough, a
servant came in with a tray of soup-like stuff. Like he said, it wasn't very
good, but I was so hungry that I ate it quickly without complaint, and then
with a small bow, the servant collected my empty bowl, and took it back to the
kitchens, and I just lay there, and tried to get a bit of sleep.
Visions of Zarrel and Kirin and their two youngsters
whirled around my head as I slept. Strange to have a peaceful night in a most
dour of situations. I was woken up by something rubbing against my side. I opened
my eyes, and saw a large yellow eye looking right at me.
I bounded up, to try and find out what it was
that assaulted me, but with a slight croon, the thing bounded away like lightning,
and disappeared in a small opening in the wall, hardly big enough for my paw.
I looked at that spot for what seemed an eternity until I decided that it was
not to come back, and then I turned to lie back down. There next to me however
was a small note, which I picked up and read.
Dear Eyrie whom
resides in this cell,
I have had enough
of the Krawk Taloum's antics to last a
lifetime, and so
I will finally stand up against him. At one time
he was a wise and
honourable ruler of our village, but after the
loss of his beloved
Kath, he practically lost his mind, and
spends more time
feeling sorry for himself then he does
thinking of ways
to protect the village, which I am worried
will come under
siege of Jown soon.
I have talked
my friend into getting you out also my friend,
for I believe your
story.
Stay at your
cell door, we will get there as soon as we can,
but you must be
awake, and ready to run if necessary.
Good luck.
~Anonymous~
'Weird,' I thought to myself, but even so, if
this message were to be true, it would mean that I had my passageway out of
this forsaken place. So I walked over by the door, and waited, waited for whoever
my rescuer may be.
I have no idea how long I waited. It may have
been several hours, or it may have been ten minutes, but it still seemed an
eternity before I heard the first sound of anyone coming. I heard the rustle
of keys, and the small tap tapping of claws ringing against the rocky ground.
So I knew one thing, if that was my rescuer, that he was a Krawk
He paused outside of my cell door, and I silently
cursed the fact that their wasn't enough light to see more as with a jingle,
the Krawk unlocked my cell door. He walked in a few steeps, and then laid a
black-gloved hand upon my shoulder. I looked up at him, able to see him because
of the close distance between us. Now that I saw him, it really didn't matter
much that I could. His face was covered with a black veil that made it impossible
to see more then just his eyes. The rest of him was also covered with the baggy
black clothing. Even so, with a gloved claw to the spot where his mouth should
be indicated silence, and then with a motion of the hand, which said 'follow
me' he started on his way out. I followed.
He walked through the passages and around areas
where we would most likely not be noticed like he had been there many times
before. 'Probably a guard or one of military position who has to take creatures
down here often' I though looking up at him, even though his flowing movements
made him look a little too graceful to be just a military personnel, but I should
know. Appearances could sometimes be deceiving, for all I knew he might just
be a hired assassin from someone to get my head. I never let any option pass
my mind.
He stopped in a room filled with all sorts of
stuff. Most of it just trash taken from prisoners, but even so there was some
pretty good weaponry in the room. "Here ya go. You'll probably need this,"
he said in a scratchy whisper, almost like he didn't talk much, and then he
tossed me a sword. My sword, I saw looking upon the etched out picture of Zarrel
and I upon the handle. I turned to mouth a thank you, but the Krawk had already
started on his way, and I silently, but quickly went after him.
He then led me around a few more turns before
coming before the door, which led outside. "My friend in out there. In the bushes."
And then he started to walk out the door, but a yellow Krawk came out in front
of him holding out a sword.
"Who are you!" he hissed, and then looked at
me with a scowl. "Jail break is it?" and he held out his sword in a stance.
"Give yourselves up, or else prepare to fight." All my guide did in response
to this was pull out a gold handled raspier out of the folds of cloth that created
his garments. "So it is a fight…" said the yellow Krawk, and then they prepared
for battle.
My guide fought with all the skill of Zarrel
Charmain, and I didn't even need to pull out my blade by the time he had knocked
the blade from the yellow Krawk's hand, and put him to the ground with a leg
wound. "Good job," I said flabbergasted to my guide before he started to
make his way towards the bushes with me in follow.
We walked through them, and once out of sight
of all prying eyes, my guide turned to me, and spoke in a clear, pure voice,
"He should be here soon, but until then we will wait." And then he reached up
and pulled off his head coverings, and then I found that he… was in truth a
she. She shook her head, and her hair like head spikes shook with her. "That's
a lot better. It was stuffy in that thing." Her scales shone a fine red, and
her amber eyes shone with a touch of gold.
"You're Thiowa?" I said with question in my
voice. Why would the kings sister want to enrage him?
"Yes," she said with a bit of sparkle. "Who'd
you think I was. A common guard?" and her laughter rang out like light in the
dark. A laugh that could make even the darkest heart fall instantly in love.
"Actually," I said with some embarrassment,
"I thought that you were, and a guy too."
She smiled towards me. "I can see why. That is
what I tried to appear as." A small rustle from behind made her turn with a
smile. "He's here now." And a green Krawk came into view.
"Heshrou?" I said, looking at the orange on
his face. Their letter spoke true; the princess and the head of the militia
would be missed if they left.
"I see you already know both of us." Thiowa
smiled. "But we don't yet know your name Eyrie?"
"Dorono," I said slowly. "My name is Dorono."
To be continued... |
