Wychling

Chapter 40

Sunlight. Ulrich could have cried. Sunlight and an unguarded gate. It seemed too good to be true after that terrifying melee in the dark. He didn't like tight spaces at the best of times.

Darkness he was fine with, it was the unknown most people feared. He didn't fear the unknown, it just was. What he feared was dying unable to move and clawing for breath, helpless. Perfectly reasonable thing to get nervous about. Especially when the tight spaces that you were in contained a few dozen heavily-armed fanatics trying to bludgeon you to death. Perfectly reasonable.

He didn't care how long they chased him outside, he could outrun any town citizen and his bow would make most think twice about following him. It was so close he could almost feel its warmth. Still, they had to be careful, no sense losing his head when they were this close, he didn't know how many were left, or if they were waiting just outside the bloody gate. That would put a real raincloud on his horizon. They hadn't seen further sign of their attackers since the ambush, but it had been a tense crawl through the dark, literally, in some places.

-I can relax when I'm home- he thought to himself.

He had been thinking a lot these last few days. There was no doubt that whatever had happened to his Brother, he wasn't coming back this time. It amazed him how little he felt gazing at the scummy waters that Dietrich had sunk into. It wasn't clear exactly what had happened, or what he had become, but he wasn't the same man anymore. Ulrich couldn't imagine having that...thing, around his children. No, whatever he had come here for, things had changed.

He thought back to that moment in the tunnels. He had drawn his bow looking past Shimon, seeing him fighting two at once. He had hesitated for half a heartbeat, uncertain. He told himself he had shot the Fat Monk because Shimon hadn't seen the mace coming for his head. Not because Dietrich was his Brother, nor because the Fat Monk was almost certainly responsible in some way for his fate.

He realised that he didn't consider that thing a family member anymore. It wasn't Dietrich; Dietrich was fierce, passionate, short-sighted, bluff, and loved large. Ulrich smiled sadly, remembering how he had fallen in and out of love with damn near every girl in their village a dozen times. It wasn't that he was insincere, that was the problem. He meant things with every fibre of his being...for a few moments or months, then he was off chasing the next thing that caught his attention.

Whatever had happened, that man was dead, and all that was left in his place was a cold, emotionless monster. He angrily wiped the tear away, unformed in his eye. There would be time for mourning later. Now was about getting home to his Family and telling them the news. For all he knew, the Fat Monk, and his creature were dead. A wound like that going into that putrid water. Even if he hadn't drowned, he would sicken soon enough.

-I hope it's slow, you horrible, fat bastard- he thought viciously.

Shimon and Suma ran out of the gate and turned aggressively, finding nothing and Ulrich stepped out into the blessed light. He looked at the mace that Shimon had strapped to his back, across from his long-handled axe. He had said that it looked evil, but weapons were meant to look that way, and the craftsmanship was too fine to simply throw into the sewer water.

He was right, but something bothered him about that weapon. He would deal with that later, right now they had bigger issues. Ulrich looked at Suma, with Tal tied on top of Corby, held in a way that mirrored the way Corby was tied to Suma; Tal sandwiched between them securely. They looked like they were cuddling in their sleep. Cute.

-Gods, if she wakes up like that she'll be pissed- He thought smirking to himself.

After her actions in the sewers, that was actually a scary thought. He gulped. Whatever magic she had; he had never seen it before. The instinctual manner in which she used it worried him too. It reminded him too much of his brother. Too strong headed for her own good. Too talented, too soon. Someone's going to have to knock some sense into her head. He could almost see his Wife smiling at him, in that knowing way she had.

-I guess I know who that'll be then- he sighed to himself.

One more problem on his list.

"Suma says...there's nobody around that he can smell. After that sewer I'm not sure I'll smell anything for a week, but he seems sure." Shimon looked at Ulrich. "I believe this part of our great escape was your plan?" he asked.

"I have an inkling of what to do from here, aye." Ulrich replied.

Shimon raised an eyebrow. Ulrich couldn't tell if it was his magic prompting him for the answer to his unspoken question, but if it was, it seemed so instinctual that, after a pause, he decided he wasn't offended.

"Run like hell, Shimon. Run like we are being chased by an unruly mob of terrified people, because...well...we most likely are."

He closed his eyes briefly to enjoy the gentle wind on his face, there really was nothing like an unlimited supply of air. Suma nudged him gently with his head. Ulrich scratched him behind the ears absent-mindedly and returned to briefing his plan.

"We go south, for everyone to see from the wall. There's a big forest out to the east which we can lose any pursuit in. Then we turn North East and get over the mountains before the weather turns. After that I can travel across the plains back to my home in the foothills of the Wanderer's Mountains, far to the East."

"There's plenty of places to lose pursuers in the forest, and once we cross the mountains we are free across the Northern edges of the plains. You could go your own way from there once we are free from pursuit but...you should come with me, to my people." He looked Shimon in the eyes.

"You could learn of your magic and find a new life for yourself in the Wilds. Seems like town life wasn't suiting you." He finished with a small smile.

He paused waiting patiently for Shimon to think that through. Not too long ago this was a man he thought would hang him personally out of a sense of principal, truth be told he still thought that would be the case given the right context, but he was also a man that had given everything to save a boy that he felt responsible for. That was the kind of person he wanted in his village, in his tribe.

-Damn few of that sort wandering the world- he thought, as he waited for Shimon's response.

"It's been a while since I've travelled. I've a mind to see some new places...I'll walk with you a while, Wildman. Besides, I think you're right, I've out stayed my welcome in this place." Shimon finally said.

He returned Ulrich's small smile tenfold. He had that same fierce wild joy back on his face as he looked at the horizon.

"I hope you're used to a little physical effort. We may have to set a fair pace for the first part of this journey" said Ulrich still smiling.

He turned and started jogging across the wide-open fields next to the canal, following the edge to the south east, towards the distant treeline. He heard Shimon pacing him to his right and near jumped out of his skin as Suma landed on his left, easily pacing them with his powerful strides, Corby's head lolling gently in rhythm beneath him. Poor kid's neck was going to ache something fierce when he woke up, but there was no helping that now.

-Poor me, too-

It wasn't often he indulged in self-pity, but as he felt the aches and pains of fighting, lack of sleep, and general terror from the last few days, he had to acknowledge just how bad it had been.

-I guess it could be worse though-

They ran towards the treeline that he could only make out from the slight difference in shade it had to the dark clouds above. He was exhausted. He'd slept for maybe ten hours in the last three days. He had killed enough folk for a lifetime, and he had lost his older brother forever; but there was something about knowing you had a friend, and that you had their back.

The others couldn't see in the half-light of dawn, but Ulrich's crooked smile never left his face as they left Darkport behind. None of them looked back.