[podlove-web-player]
That night they stopped in the shade of an aspen grove well away from the road.
Nillan posted Nolder as watch on the road so the crew could indulge in a campfire. As soon as Tunbloth finished his dinner, Nillan sent him to take Nolder’s place while the rest of the group ate. During the afternoon, he had carefully gone through Allabva’s bag while she watched from behind the wagon. He had handed her knife to Qurast with a sarcastic declaration of “Happy birthday,” but after laying everything out and confiscating a block of his favorite variety of cheese, he was satisfied that there was nothing she could use as a weapon or as a means of escape.
Now by the campfire they handed Allabva her bag and waterskin, and she ate some wedding leftovers. Bless Fiewren for that. And Banduchy, too, for that matter. He had warned her about the Disaffected. She had no idea at the time that they would capture her so soon afterward.
Qurast burst into her mental space as she was putting her remaining food back in the bag, chewing on her last bite of dinner. “Hey, where’s that new knife?” he asked nobody in particular, checking his pockets and turning about as if to discover it lying on the ground next to him.
“What, that new knife that I ordered to be shipped all the way from the Cleft, just for your birthday?” Nillan feigned being upset. “That was special. I had it planned for months!”
“I had it right here, I thought. It was sheathed, and it was sitting in this pocket.” Qurast groped at the front of his trousers at the hip, then his jacket as well.
“How could you be so clumsy?” Halmon scolded him. “That knife wasn’t too shabby, after all. And now you’ve gone and lost it. I bet you dropped it on the road three hours back.”
Tunbloth joined in the sport of mocking their youngest member. “You need to pay more attention to what you do with your stuff. And you need to value better what your wise leader has the vision to give you as a gift.”
Tunbloth, Halmon, and Nillan All laughed for sport at Qurast’s expense. Then Nillan got serious. “Check the girl. Little girl, give me your bag now.” Allabva handed it over without protest. “Tunbloth, Halmon, make sure she doesn’t have it in her clothing.”
“My pleasure,” Halmon seethed, picking up on Nillan’s tone.
Halmon and Tunbloth rose and came forward to Allabva while she had flashbacks to the night before last, when those same two men had stopped her on the road.
“Cloak.” Halmon held out his hand.
“And boots.” Tunbloth grinned and waited.
Allabva removed her cloak and boots, handing them to the two men with fear in her heart. Halmon searched the cloak for anything hard and Tunbloth quickly checked the boots.
“You’re probably right, Halmon,” Qurast said. “I likely wasn’t careful enough with the knife, and dropped it on the road.”
“Nothing here.” Halmon tossed the cloak to the side, landing it in the fire. Allabva reached forward and snatched it immediately, checking it for burns.
“Nor here.” Tunbloth tossed the boots far behind himself in different directions. “I guess we’ll have to examine your clothing a little more…closely. Coat, please.” He took another step closer.
Nillan laughed. Qurast said, “In fact, I think I must have dropped it when I climbed into the wagon after our last break. It must be back there.”
“You know how to say ‘please.’ I’m impressed,” Allabva said to Tunbloth. She removed her coat and handed it to him. He crumpled it in a manner that would quickly reveal if it had anything inside, then tossed it far behind Allabva. Both men took another step closer.
“You must have it hidden under another layer,” Halmon said.
“No!” Allabva protested. She didn’t have any more layers that she could remove without beginning to bare herself in front of them.
“Men, enough!” Qurast shouted, moving to place himself in between Allabva and the two men who were searching her for the knife. “I said I’m certain I left it on the trail. Now leave her alone. We got her valuables from her, and we’re taking her to the encampment so she can be properly questioned. I don’t see how bothering her more about the knife is supposed to help free people’s minds from the deceit of the unicorns.”
“Fine, fine.” Tunbloth backed off sullenly. “Quit overreacting. It was just a bit of sport.”
“I don’t call it sport when somebody suffers unnecessarily,” Qurast rebuffed.
“Know your place, boy,” Halmon counseled, giving Qurast a sidelong glance. “Be careful when you choose to interrupt me in what I’m doing.” But, he also backed off from Qurast’s stare, returning to his seat.
“Alright, you’ve had your fun, boys,” Nillan said. “It’s time to head to bed. Halmon, it’s your turn to get a full night’s sleep, you already know. Nolder’s already on post and it’s time that I should join him. Let’s tie the girl back up and fix her in the wagon. For our two-man watch, have one visit camp frequently to make sure she’s still tied up. Tunbloth and Qurast, we’ll wake you for your turn on watch in a few hours, so bed down now and get some rest.”
The crew did as he said. The two younger men helped tie Allabva up and put her in the wagon, repeating their method of tying her wrists behind her and attaching that rope to the wheel spokes. To Allabva’s chagrin, they didn’t forget the gag. Then they lay down in their bedrolls. Despite being tied up as she was, Allabva was barely aware of the others bedding down, because she herself was already falling asleep, once again drained by the exercise of jogging on and off throughout most of the day. Lulled by the wind in the aspens, she drifted off to dreams of being torn from her home again and again.
Leave a Reply