Engraved - The Hunted Warrior

Chapter 10.2 - The King of the Endless Plains

When Alam regained consciousness he was back in the cage, but with manacles that chained him to the back bars. A groan escaped his throat. He tentatively opened his eyes, but looking at the world hurt too much so he quickly shut them again and let his head sink back into the pile of straw beneath him.

"Well, your plan to break us out was a good idea," he heard Tajar saying somewhere nearby.

Alam was too tired to respond so he kept his eyes closed and tried to ignore the pounding inside his head.

The few hours that remained of the day passed quietly with Alam hoping that his headache would disappear. Darkness came, and eventually sleep.

He was startled awake in the middle of the night by shouting.

"The water is poisoned! I know you're trying to kill me! Poisoned! I'm not stupid! I'm not blind!"

It was the large, filthy man in the first cage. Even in the dim light, flecks of spittle could be seen spurting everywhere. He was savagely shaking the cage door. Everyone was awake in the cages. He was loud enough that anyone within a hundred paces would be awake.

"What's going on?" Alam asked Tajar.

Tajar shrugged. "Must be a crazy man."

"I can see through your lies, you cowards!" the man screamed.

"Hey crazy!" shouted Tajar. "Be quiet! You're waking up the whole of The Plains!"

"Leave him be," said a voice behind Alam. It was the man in the large cage with the furniture. It was too dark to see his features.

At the other end of the room a guard rushed in holding a torch. He had a large nose that was twisted to the side from some long lost fight. His hair was dishevelled and with his free hand was trying to straighten his clothes.

"Shut your stupid mouth Prall, you crazy idiot, or I will shut it for you!"

"I know what you are trying to do!" screamed the filthy man. "You can't take it away from me by poisoning me! I swore to take it to my grave! To my grave!"

"Fine with me. Let me help you get there faster," replied the guard. He put the torch into a socket in the wall and picked up a club. As he stepped towards the cage he pulled out his key. Prall, the filthy man, backed away wide-eyed.

"See what Khashbal has come to!" he screamed. "Cowards with clubs that come to assassinate people in their beds!"

"I don't want to hurt you, Prall, so just shut up and go back to sleep! If Tolegan comes it will go badly for you!"

"Let him come! He's the one who poisoned the water in the first place!"

"Guard! Listen to me," said the man in the large cage beside Alam. "You must let me speak to him."

"Please. Go ahead if you can make a difference."

"...next it will be poisoning upstream of the river so we all get sick!" Prall continued a stream of ranting.

"He will need to see me, not hear me," said the man in the large cage to the guard. "Unlock my door. I will return."

"That's a terrible idea. I'll get in trouble, and you'll get beaten."

"It will be fine if we are fast. I will not escape."

The guard dithered.

"Tolegan! You fat assassin!" screamed Prall. "I know it's you! And now the whole town does!"

"Be fast!" The guard relented and hurriedly unlocked the large cell door.

The prisoner walked over to Prall's cell. The torch light cast enough illumination for Alam to make out his features. He was beyond middle aged, was of average height and slight of build. His salt and pepper straight hair was shoulder length and not tied in a plait as Khashbal warriors customarily did. His face would have once been handsome but it looked like years of cares had stolen the better part of his appearance. He had a strong nose, dark intense eyes, and wrinkles across his brow. He walked with a straight back and a high chin. He stood against Prall's cage bars and pushed his hands through them. All the while the curses and accusations spewed from Prall's mouth.

"Prall. Come closer."

"I will not, you viper!"

"Prall. It is me."

"Stay away, fiend!"

"Look at me Prall. It is me."

Prall hesitated. Confusion interrupted his ranting.

"Is this some trick? Some devilry?"

"No. It is truly me. Think back. I am in the cage at the end of the room."

"You? It must be a trick! You were killed."

"No. Think back," said the man from the large cage. "I was put in the cages the same day as you."

"Can it be?"

"Yes it is. We are together."

"Surely this is some trick."

"No, hold my hand. Look in my eyes."

Prall slowly moved forward, but did not trust to take the offered hands. Suddenly his face cleared.

"My Lord! It is you!" he whispered in awe.

"Yes. It is me Prall."

"What must I do, Lord?"

"I am thirsty. Can I have some of your water?"

"But it is poisoned!"

"Then let us both drink and die together, as was our bond."

Tears glistened on Prall's filthy cheeks. "As was our bond." He lifted up his bowl and took a deep drink and handed it to the older man who drained the remains of the bowl in one long drink.

"Thank you Prall. Now to bed. For if we are to die, let us die in peace with smiles on our faces."

"As was our bond." The big man grabbed the open hands and fell to his knees. He buried his face in his Lord's hands and wept.

"Yes Prall. As was our bond."

Minutes passed in this way. Prall quietly wept until his tears were spent.

"Now to bed," repeated the older man. He gently removed his hands from the cage, walked back to his cage, and closed himself back inside. The guard turned the key in the lock.

"Thank you, Lord Danat," Alam could just barely hear the guard mutter to the man.

"I am not your Lord," Danat muttered back. "And to say, or think such a thing, is not good for you. Please take Prall this pear. I don't need it." Danat grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl in his cage and pressed it into the guard's hands.

As the guard walked past Alam's cell he faintly heard him whisper to himself.

"Yes, my Lord."

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-Y. V. Qualls