Sword and Urn (Edited & Revised)

Chapter 14

Fear and anger mixed together inside of us like a red potion bubbling in Fezdon's black cauldron. There was no way they saw us. Their wagon was much louder than our horses at a distance. We were still afraid enough to stop in silence for some time though. I could tell Dalwark was scared, but he was also concentrating on something. His eyes never left the men. His chest that was once rising and falling like I had at first in the saddle now calmed to a slow pattern. When he finally spoke, even though the men had crested a hill and were out of sight, it was barely above a whisper.

"I say we follow them, but not close enough for them to see us. Then when they make camp at night and have fallen asleep, we'll make our move."

"That sounds good. I believe the cage door is only held closed with ropes."

"Yes it is."

"I've a fine blade here I purchased before I left. I'll make quick work of that rope. As I cut you grab that gate and open it once I'm done. Then you guys will head for the horses and I'll head north on the road. I'll have to come back and visit you some time."

"Yes, that would be nice, you must come visit us. My son will want to get to know you. I would offer to ride up with you, but we need to get back to our farm and tend to our animals."

"I know. It's how you make your living. I never expected to have anyone with me on the road. You and your son ride to safety."

"You're a good man."

"Thank you. No one has ever called me that before."

"What, good?"

I laughed.

"No—a man."

He did not laugh, but gave up a hint of a smile. Then that look of concentration returned to his face and he looked back at the empty road ahead of us.

"Well, they are far enough away now to continue forward, but we must keep our distance."

"We'll follow you," I said and patted Speckles on her soft neck. She snorted through her nose as if in agreement. Dalwark started his horse back down the road. Speckles dropped back into step and we were once again heading north.

At long straight stretches we waited until we could hear them no longer before continuing on. As soon as they came into view we would stop again. Once it was dark they pulled off to the side of the road and built a fire. We stopped too, but were not able to build a fire for fear they would see it. Dalwark packed plenty of food for us, though, so we did not need to cook anything. I could tell that being so close to his son but not being able to free him yet was getting to him.

Once it was dark we continued a bit further on our horses. When we could see the men with enough clarity to know they were asleep, we got off our horses and tied them to a nearby tree. I took my pack off of the horse Speckles and slung it over my back. We continued on foot in silence, trying not to make a sound.

With the horses secure we crept across the moonlit road. It seemed the men did not think they had anything to fear. Neither of them were staying up to keep watch, but the boy was still up. We could see him moving around in the cage. We made gestures to him to try and let him know that we were friends. Once we were close he could perceive, perhaps only by the way his father walked, that it was his pa coming to rescue him. It was good because he then knew not to cry out and wake the men. My heart started to beat faster as we approached the wagon gate.

I got out my knife and started working on the rope right away. The boy crept toward the door, not saying a word. I cut through the rope and pulled it free. This would be the hard part; the door could be loud enough to wake the men. I gave my knife to Dalwark and pulled out my sword. At least we had weapons, and would be ready for them. Dalwark tugged on the gate, opening it ever so slightly. A huge groan from the metal scraping against itself rang out. It echoed across the mountain peaks. The men stirred. A scream almost escaped my lips when I saw them move. I froze in place. They wiggled around a bit, but then I heard them go back to snoring. I looked over at Dalwark. A look of relief pulled his features down and he whispered to us.

"I'm just going to pull it open enough for you to sneak through, alright my boy?"

He nodded.

Dalwark gave it one hard tug, and again it shrieked out, this time waking one of the men. He sat up and looked over. We stood still and silent.

"Go to sleep boy. It won't be easy to sleep on the road with the wagon bouncing all over the place. You might as well try and sleep now."

"Alright," Dalwark's son said, and then he lay down like he was going to sleep. Dalwark and I had ducked down behind the wagon, out of sight. The soldier lay back down and was soon snoring. He must have not been able to see that the door was slightly open from where he lay.

The boy jumped down and hugged his father. I embraced them both. I looked at Dalwark and whispered to him.

"Should we kill them?"

His eyes spread open wide in surprise. He didn't say a word, just looked over at them thinking. I spoke again in a whisper.

"I don't think I could do it either, and they might wake and get the best of us. I just thought we'll never have an opportunity like this again," I said.

"Let us hope we never see them again. Now we all best be on our way. Please come and visit us someday. We would love to have you for as long as you'd like. And Drade, safe travels my friend," Dalwark said.

"To you as well," I whispered into the night.

We parted ways there in the dark with our enemy close at hand, asleep bytheir dying fire. They weren't dying though, like my father had lying in hisbed. I suppose they might have killed us if we tried to do the same to them.Especially if we started and weren't able to go through with it but woke them.Dalwark was right. It was best to just leave and let them discover their lossin the morning. It had to be enough. Dalwark and William crept toward theirhorses as I continued north on the road.