Erath - Chapter 10

“Hey you!” a voice shouted from behind.
Erath didn’t bother turning around. Shoving another body out of the way, he made his way to the door quickly.
“Stop! You still have to pay your tab!”
Finally stopping at the door, Erath turned around slowly. The spherical bald innkeeper bustled up to him, his face redder than usual with indignation. He held aloft a long wooden spoon, dripping with stew from the kitchen. At last he reached Erath.
“You did not pay for that meal, and I intend to get it from you,” he said, anger spicing his voice.
“I’ll be darned if I give it to you,” he retorted.
“Don’t use language at my inn, lad!” the owner nearly roared. “Just pay your bill and get out of here.”
“The only thing I’m giving you is this,” Erath swung a clenched fist into the innkeeper’s prodigious girth, following it up with a swing to the nose. The man keeled over, moaning as Erath made his escape out the tavern. He couldn’t have been a stone’s throw away before he heard a bellowing noise from behind him.
“After him, boys! That’s the one!”
Erath swiveled his head around. Three lanky men were running after him, two with clubs, and the third with a sharp, leather-making tool. All were fast runners. Erath doubled his speed, racing through the crowded town. Very soon though, his breath ran short and his legs cramped from the sprinting. He managed to get out of the town, but there was no place to hide. The road led on a broad plain devoid of trees, and miles away loomed the mountains.
Stopping, Erath doubled over, hands on his knees, panting. Weariness flooded his consciousness. Rising to his full height, he turned to where the town’s gates were. At once he could see the three men, still running hard, but behind him were at least a dozen other men. Apparently the innkeeper was a very popular man, and the incident he made at the tavern upset several men of the town.
He picked up his weary feet and began to run again. The scorching heat drew sweat from his body and sapped the little strength he had left. A sudden pain jabbed him in the shoulder and he went sprawling. At once he felt a heavy weight on his back, then a voice crying out.
“I have him! Come quickly before he gets away!”
Erath struggled, but his attacker didn’t budge. Just above his shoulder blade, he could feel something running and sticking to his tunic. Once again he felt the sickening nausea of capture and potential death approaching. Grunting heavily, he forced his shoulders up, not caring about the wound. The man above him started with a cry, but before Erath could use the man’s surprise against him, he felt another shock, but only in his other shoulder.
“Ah!” he cried aloud and fell back on his face.
“Is this the lad?”
Erath could hear another voice from behind him. The other men were near. He turned his face to one side and could see a pair of boots. He exhaled loudly, admitting defeat.
“Yes. What do you want to do with him?” came his attacker’s rasping voice.
“Let him stand on his own feet,” the other commanded.
“Yessir.”
The weight lifted from Erath’s back. Two strong hands gripped his shoulders and yanked him to his feet. He grimaced as the hands grasped his wounds, but refused to cry out. Immediately, he felt lightheaded and wavered as if about to fall, but the two men on both sides grabbed his arms and held him in place. He raised his head, looking at the great man before him straight in the face. Although he tried to appear unhurt and defiant, he could tell the other men could see he really was the opposite.
The huge man in front of him took another step closer, bending his head a little to be on a level with Erath’s. “You have stolen food from Glutundon, and he demands it back. Will you give it to him?”
“And if I don’t?” Erath asked haughtily.
“I and these men will take it from you by force.”
Erath stole a glance around him. Several men, all wiry with muscles rippling up and down their arms, surrounded him. Looking back at their leader, he spat at his feet. “I have nothing to say to you,” he snarled.
At once a man ran at him, his bloodied leather tool upraised. Erath darted away and swung his fist into the man’s stomach, making him double over. That seemed to be the signal for the others to attack. Blows were showered on Erath, but he refused to give in. He continued to fight, an unarmed lad against a dozen armed, seasoned men. Suddenly a knife was thrust into his thigh as if out of nowhere. Erath gave a loud cry of pain and fell, clutching the hilt. As soon as he was on the ground, dozens of feet started kicking his body. He looked up as a cudgel came hurtling toward him. Not knowing what else to do, Erath turned his head to the side and squeezed his eyes shut. The blow sent showers of sparking light into his head. Darkness flooded his senses and he stopped moving.

* * * * *

“Ellyn, stop being so paranoid.” Gavin rolled his eyes at his twin. “Just because there was a fight at the inn a couple hours ago doesn’t mean we’ll meet up with that man. And if we do,” he patted the young man on the shoulder beside him, “Brynn will take care of him.”
Ellyn chuckled. “I think you’re the one who’s being paranoid,” she retorted good-naturedly. “I only said that once as we were leaving, and you’re still going on about it.”
Brynn sighed. They had been going at it for twenty minutes now. He was walking in between the twins to keep Ellyn from roughing up her docile twin, but he could not stop her talking. Although he liked Gavin immensely, he was beginning to tire of their constant bickering.
“Those beds were really uncomfortable, don’t you think?” he asked, abruptly changing the subject.
“Yes,” Gavin agreed heartily, glad for the change, and rubbing his shoulder. “I am sore all over.”
Ellyn shrugged. “I was really tired so I fell asleep pretty quickly. I didn’t notice anything about them.”
“I usually sleep well anywhere,” Brynn commented, “but that bed was harder than most rocks I have slept on during hunts.”
The three of them had finally left the little bustling town and had made their way a little down the road. Before them was a wide expanse of plain, brown and cracked by the recent drought. Ditches lined the roads, apparently to drain them of water when it rained. But now they were filled with dust and debris from travelers; no sign of water anywhere near them. Far away in the distance, the purple mountains shot up from the ground, their peaks so high they looked as if they would soon scrape the blue expanse above them. Thin wisps of clouds hung thousands of feet above them, giving what little shade they could to the three travelers and baggage pony. Nearly a hundred yards away though were a band of men.
Ellyn grabbed her twin’s sleeve. “I told you,” she whispered, “they are bandits around here!”
Gavin didn’t reply. As the men came closer, he noticed they were all armed … and that their weapons had blood on them. He forced himself to go on though.
Soon enough, the men passed them and went back into the village.
After they had been in the town a while, Gavin shielded his eyes with his hand. “Do you see any place farther out where we could rest for the night?”
“You’re already thinking about stopping?” Ellyn asked, leaning over to see her twin around Brynn.
Brynn’s keen eyes spotted a small copse several miles away. He pointed in its direction. “If we go far enough we can reach those trees over there and spend the night.”
Ellyn drifted and began walking nearer to the side of the road.
Tapping Brynn on the shoulder, Gavin gave him the reigns to the pony with one hand and held his finger to his lips with the other. Then, slipping around Brynn with a sly smile playing on his lips, Gavin edged over to Ellyn who was gazing at the vast flatness around her. He walked past her, tripping her with his foot as he went.
Startled, Ellyn gave a little cry and fell down, rolling off the road and down the small incline to the ditch below. She grunted as she landed on her stomach and pushed herself up with her hands. The ground gave a little, and as she gazed more closely at it, she started up to her feet, screaming. “There’s a body here! A dead body!”
Gavin’s laughter ceased; his head snapped to where she was. Quickly skidding down the hill, he pushed Ellyn aside with sudden energy. “Get back,” he ordered, then knelt where the corpse was. He grasped the dusty wrist and felt for a pulse. His face relaxed and he set the arm down.
He looked up at Brynn and Ellyn who were both with him now. “He is alive, but hurt badly.” As Gavin ran his finger down the side of the unconscious man’s face, the dirt came off, revealing a black and blue spot on the man’s temple. Blood covered him in various places, mainly around the temples, nose and back.
“I’m sorry I pushed you over,” Gavin stood and turned to Ellyn. “I did not want you near him if he really was dead – or even decaying.”
Ellyn pushed the stray red locks out of her pale face. “It only scared me a little,” she said.
“What are we going to do about him?” Brynn asked, pointing to the man lying in the dust.
“Take care of him until he is better and then allow him to go his way,” Gavin said simply.
Ellyn took her gaze off the unconscious man and looked at her brother. “Then I suppose we must get him out of this hole and take him to the place Brynn said we would stay the night.”
Both boys looked at her in surprise.
Ellyn glanced from one face to the other. “What?”
“That’s the first time you haven’t argued with something he’s said this whole time,” Brynn said, pointing at Gavin.
Ellyn gave him a quirky smile. “I can do things willingly, you know. Come on, let’s just get him out of the dirt.” She went to stand at the crumpled up body’s head. “I will hold up his neck while you two carry him.”
Within a few minutes, they had carried him to the road and, after moving some of the luggage off the pony, had the stranger sitting on its back, leaning on its soft mane. Gavin led the horse while Ellyn made sure the man didn’t slip off; Brynn carried the bags.

* * * * *

“I’m so tired,” Brynn remarked as he set down the heavy gear and sat.
Gavin took a seat beside the newly built fire and drew his knees up, sighing deeply.
Ellyn was the only busy one among them. The boys had laid the man out on the opposite side of the fire, and Ellyn was gently bathing the wounds around the invalid’s face. He was a pleasant looking fellow, she thought. Black hair that came to his shoulders, a muscular body, and a tawny face all appealed to her. Perhaps she would get to know him better once he woke up.
The wounds on him were immense. Many of them were bruises, but some were cuts, dried and cracked blood covering them. She dabbed her dirtied cloth with water from her canteen and continued wiping the blood and dirt away. As she washed his face, his eyeballs stirred under their lids. They fluttered and finally opened, staring up at Ellyn with a mixture of fear, wonder, and anger.
“Don’t worry,” Ellyn said coaxingly, “we are friends. We found you at the bottom of a ditch, so we’re making sure you get better.”
“I don’t want your help,” he said, pushing her hand away and getting to his feet. He staggered with weakness and sank back to the ground.
“Here, lie down,” Ellyn said, pushing his shoulder a bit. “You’ll make yourself worse if you try to get up.”
“Get away from me,” he said scornfully, smacking her hand this time.
Ellyn’s face turned crimson with indignation. With a flick of her wrist, she rapped sharply on Erath’s bruised knuckles. “I was just trying to help you,” she snapped. Tossing her head, she stood and looked down on him condescendingly. “See if I ever help you again,” she retorted, and went over to Brynn and Gavin, sitting down between them with a humph.
Brynn got to his feet and stood over the ailing man. “What’s your name?”
“Why do you want to know?” he retorted. “Who are you anyway? Where am I?”
“What’s your name?” Brynn persisted. When the man refused to say anything, he gave in with a short sigh. “I am Brynn, that lad over there is Gavin, and that’s his twin, Ellyn. You have no right to brush her aside when she was only trying to help you. I ask again, what’s your name?”
After a silence, the young man gazed straight ahead of him. “Erath,” he mumbled.
Brynn nodded and looked at the twins who had fixed their eyes on him. Turning back to Erath, he spoke again. “Where do you come from? And what happened to you?”
Erath sat sullenly, refusing to speak.
Brynn was getting tired of dealing with this man already. “Look. We rescued you from the ditch you were tossed into. Ellyn dealt with your wounds, Gavin and I carried you all the way over here, and believe me, you are no featherweight. I believe we have a right to know who you are and where you’re going.” His words were simple, spoken calmly. He took a step toward Erath. “So, who are you?” Erath didn’t answer but stared coldly at Brynn. He took another step. Erath sprang to his feet, fists clenched.
Gavin stood quickly. “What happened to you, Erath?” His tone was so commanding it forced Erath to lower his hands. Ellyn gazed up at her brother. Gavin had never spoken in that tone before.
Erath swung his haughty gaze at him. “I did not pay for my food at an inn, so they came after me.”
“Where are you from?” Gavin asked in the same commanding tone.
Erath’s eyes lowered a little, the pride leaving them. “A ship called the Freedom. I deserted.” Then his eyes darted up and his fingers clenched into fists again. “But if you try to make me go back or report me to the authorities, I’ll kill you.”
Ellyn looked at her brother, frightened.
Brynn had had enough. He pulled his knife from his belt and hit Erath on the head with his pommel in one quick motion. Erath groaned and fell to the ground, unconscious.