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Authors: Keith Keffer
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impact of a rock. I staggered forward and
raised my hand to my scalp. It was covered in blood.
“He serves the Dark Lord!”
Another rock flew at me and struck my shoulder. A third caught me in
the middle of the back.
“NO!” screamed Garit as he
rushed to my aid.
The guard was armed and these people
weren’t.
I yelled, “Garit! Stop! Don’t
hurt anyone!”
To my surprise, Garit ran right through
the crowd and tackled me. I collapsed under his weight while he
covered me with his body. He grunted as he took each blow meant for
me. I could barely move beneath him.
The blows continued to rain down on us.
A few reached me but most struck the guard. With my head trapped
under the guard’s armpit, I couldn’t make out the muffled
shouts coming from the crowd, but I knew immediately when they
stopped. In the silence that followed there were a few more attacks
on us but they didn’t continue for long.
The attack couldn’t have lasted
more than a minute.
Garit rolled off of me and I gasped for
fresh air. The big guy just laid there, panting like a dog. I got to
my knees when I realized that someone was sobbing.
I climbed to my feet and looked around.
The prisoners were backed against the building. A trio of armed
guards faced them. Their swords were drawn. A pair of bodies sprawled
on the ground at their feet.
Talia cowered behind the guards. A dark
skinned, bald man was holding her as she cried into his shoulder.
“Stop!” I shouted, although
it came out more as a gasp. I stumbled forward, the world spun around
me as my eyes struggled to focus.
I got between the guards and those they
were holding at bay and said, “They’ve suffered enough.
Leave them be.”
The closest guard spat on the ground
and said to me, “They’re animals. They would have killed
you and that fat oaf if we hadn’t jumped in.”
“They are people!” I
snapped back. “And you will never hurt them again!”
“Or what?” replied the
guard. “We don’t answer to you. Get in my way boy and
I’ll stick you like a pig.”
The guard might have wanted to say
more, but a rock like fist slammed into his jaw. The guard collapsed
without a sound. Garit kicked him when he was down to make sure he
didn’t get back up.
“Master Vatrale said they aren’t
to be hurt,” growled Garit as he looked down at the two bodies
then at the remaining two guards, “Do you have a problem with
that?”
The armed men wouldn’t make eye
contact with Garit. Instead they knelt down, grabbed their
unconscious spokesman, then dragged him away. Garit never took his
eyes off of them as they slunk off.
Talia and the man with her rushed to my
side, but I waved them off. I turned to the people who attacked me.
The ones who might have killed me if Garit hadn’t stepped in.
This was my doing. I asked to have
these people released, and now they were my responsibility. I needed
to make things right.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry
that you are trapped here. That we are trapped here. I want to help
you. I can help you if you let me. We need to work together.”
A plain looking woman in her mid
forties stepped forward and asked, “Why?”
I wasn’t sure, but I think I
swayed on my feet. It was hard to tell with the way things were
spinning around me. I wiped my forehead to try to keep the blood from
running into my eyes.
“Someone has to stop the bastard
who did this to you.”
The woman stepped forward, placed her
hands on my shoulders and steadied me.
“We will see young man. We will
see.”
-o-
Counting the older woman, there were
only seven of them. She led me through her people into the building
where Garit had tried to get them to go earlier. I was wrong to think
of it as a building. I meant it was a building, but it was in such
poor shape that it was little more than a shack divided into a series
of rooms. They looked like stalls from a stable. In each of the rooms
there were two wooden frames for beds.
That’s it. That was all there
was. It
raised my hand to my scalp. It was covered in blood.
“He serves the Dark Lord!”
Another rock flew at me and struck my shoulder. A third caught me in
the middle of the back.
“NO!” screamed Garit as he
rushed to my aid.
The guard was armed and these people
weren’t.
I yelled, “Garit! Stop! Don’t
hurt anyone!”
To my surprise, Garit ran right through
the crowd and tackled me. I collapsed under his weight while he
covered me with his body. He grunted as he took each blow meant for
me. I could barely move beneath him.
The blows continued to rain down on us.
A few reached me but most struck the guard. With my head trapped
under the guard’s armpit, I couldn’t make out the muffled
shouts coming from the crowd, but I knew immediately when they
stopped. In the silence that followed there were a few more attacks
on us but they didn’t continue for long.
The attack couldn’t have lasted
more than a minute.
Garit rolled off of me and I gasped for
fresh air. The big guy just laid there, panting like a dog. I got to
my knees when I realized that someone was sobbing.
I climbed to my feet and looked around.
The prisoners were backed against the building. A trio of armed
guards faced them. Their swords were drawn. A pair of bodies sprawled
on the ground at their feet.
Talia cowered behind the guards. A dark
skinned, bald man was holding her as she cried into his shoulder.
“Stop!” I shouted, although
it came out more as a gasp. I stumbled forward, the world spun around
me as my eyes struggled to focus.
I got between the guards and those they
were holding at bay and said, “They’ve suffered enough.
Leave them be.”
The closest guard spat on the ground
and said to me, “They’re animals. They would have killed
you and that fat oaf if we hadn’t jumped in.”
“They are people!” I
snapped back. “And you will never hurt them again!”
“Or what?” replied the
guard. “We don’t answer to you. Get in my way boy and
I’ll stick you like a pig.”
The guard might have wanted to say
more, but a rock like fist slammed into his jaw. The guard collapsed
without a sound. Garit kicked him when he was down to make sure he
didn’t get back up.
“Master Vatrale said they aren’t
to be hurt,” growled Garit as he looked down at the two bodies
then at the remaining two guards, “Do you have a problem with
that?”
The armed men wouldn’t make eye
contact with Garit. Instead they knelt down, grabbed their
unconscious spokesman, then dragged him away. Garit never took his
eyes off of them as they slunk off.
Talia and the man with her rushed to my
side, but I waved them off. I turned to the people who attacked me.
The ones who might have killed me if Garit hadn’t stepped in.
This was my doing. I asked to have
these people released, and now they were my responsibility. I needed
to make things right.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry
that you are trapped here. That we are trapped here. I want to help
you. I can help you if you let me. We need to work together.”
A plain looking woman in her mid
forties stepped forward and asked, “Why?”
I wasn’t sure, but I think I
swayed on my feet. It was hard to tell with the way things were
spinning around me. I wiped my forehead to try to keep the blood from
running into my eyes.
“Someone has to stop the bastard
who did this to you.”
The woman stepped forward, placed her
hands on my shoulders and steadied me.
“We will see young man. We will
see.”
-o-
Counting the older woman, there were
only seven of them. She led me through her people into the building
where Garit had tried to get them to go earlier. I was wrong to think
of it as a building. I meant it was a building, but it was in such
poor shape that it was little more than a shack divided into a series
of rooms. They looked like stalls from a stable. In each of the rooms
there were two wooden frames for beds.
That’s it. That was all there
was. It
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