Betrayal's Hands

He knelt down next to her and looked at her, amazing her more with his size. He was surely strong enough to break a tree in half with his bare hands! He sniffed a couple of times and then stared at her face. Finally he spoke in a voice that was as deep as she had expected it would be, yet the rumble of it still made her gasp.

"What's your name?"

"T-" she started. She realized she did not want them knowing who she was or even that she was noble. T'lerin was a noble name, and letting them know it would give them power over her. "Teri," she said, hoping he would mistake her hesitancy as a frightened stutter. It would not have been so far from the truth.

He frowned. "You wear a fine dress and fine jewelry, Teri, who's daughter are you?"

T'lerin knew that he did not believe her. Terrified, she knew that she could only plunge deeper into the deceit. "No one important... I am a servant."

"Ha!" He barked, laughing scornfully. "You do not wear the clothing of a servant. Your hands and your feet would not be so soft either. You are noble."

She shook her head, tears of fright spilling from her eyes.

"Tell me who to send the ransom note to and you'll be spared the affections of my men," he said, encouraging her. Then he grinned, terrifying her with his sharp toothed smile. "Sven here seems to have a crush on you."

T'lerin could not stop the trembling of her chin, the tears continued to flow and she sobbed as she struggled to bring in breath enough to speak. The giant scowled at her, scaring her further.

"Crying won't do you any good, my pretty. Sven here likes it when his women cry... but some of the others prefer to hear them scream."

She gasped and hiccupped, closing her eyes and shaking her head, hoping to make it all go away. His hand, a meaty fist as big as her face, grabbed her jaw and pinched it mercilessly to silence her. "Speak, wench!"

Her mouth opened and she muttered the first thing that came to her mind, "tutor!"

His hand fell away and he leaned back some. "Go on," he urged her.

She took a ragged breath, pulling herself back from the precipice of madness, and continued with her lie. "I tutored children, I taught them numbers and how to read."

The man chuckled. "Well boys, we've got ourselves a smart woman on our hands!"

Many of them grumbled in return, a few chuckled nervously, not knowing what their leader had in mind. He laughed sharply before saying, "Here I thought no such thing existed!"

That brought laughter and cheering from the rest of the bandits, even Sven. "Can I have her now, boss? She's worth nothing if that's all she is."

"She's mine, Sven. I'm taking her. I don't believe her, yet, but we'll see. Until I'm sure I don't want any of your filthy paws on her, you hear me!" He said, turning his malefic stare upon them all.

"But boss, I found her!" Sven whined, pushing the issue when he knew he should not.

The large man grabbed T'lerin's hand and yanked one of her rings free. He stared at it, noting the small colored gemstones set in the gold, and then tossed it to Sven. "That's for your troubles, now get back on watch!"

Sven stared at T'lerin for a minute longer, his gaze promising her what would happen if he ever had the chance, then he turned and skulked back into the woods.

The leader reached down and picked Teri up. He threw her over his shoulder easily, frightening her with his raw strength and size, then turned and walked out of the firelight and over to where he had his bedroll set up beneath a crudely constructed lean-to made of pine boughs.

He dumped her unceremoniously on the ground and knelt next to her, tying a rope around her wrists and then around a tree. For safekeeping he tied another rope around her ankles, hobbling her.

"Now tell me about yourself, Teri," he said, picking up a large chunk of venison from the ground and flicking some dirt off of it before biting in. Juice ran down his chin, making Teri squeamish but also reminding her of how hungry she was getting.

Teri had no choice but to sink deeper into her lie, inventing and struggling to remember everything she created about the person that she was masquerading as.

*****

"My Lords, our scouts have returned and found few signs," a worried soldier said to Barons Makan and Darleth.

The two Barons stood in the morning air that was beginning to grow chilled with the onset of fall. Makan was staring at the lands that unfolded before him, looking to the north as though if he looked hard enough he could pierce the distance to find his quarry. Yet, in truth, he did not know for certain if they went to the north. Still, his instinct told him that was right, and seldom was his instinct wrong.

"Few signs are not no signs. Tell us what they discovered," Darleth said. Makan remained staring to the north, his bones chilled beyond the morning air.

"He brought this back, My Lord."

Makan turned and nearly choked when he saw the broken and torn slipper. It was his daughter's, he had no doubt of it. He had never noticed it before, but it was clearly of quality fitting a noble lady.

"Where was this found?" Darleth asked, his voice growing cold.

Makan ignored the look Darleth sent his way, desperately hoping that the baron would not understand the link.

"Near Halburg, My Lord, a few hours ride away. They found it in the woods but could find nothing else save a campfire that was abandoned. Whoever left it covered their tracks well, but the scouts think there were many of them."

"Then look again, fool!" Makan snapped. "Move the men that way, clearly they must not have gotten far."

The soldier saluted and hurried away. Darleth turned to Makan and studied him for a moment, searching for some telling sign. Makan shook his head slightly in disbelief of the unfolding events, then turned to stare hatefully to the north again.

"Why would the soldier find T'leren's sandal near Halburg, Makan?" Darleth asked quietly, although intently.

"I've no idea whose sandal that is," Makan said, not bothering to look at him.

"But I do," Darleth persisted. "It is one of her favorites, she wears it often. I ask again, My Lord, why would T'leren's sandal be found so remotely?"

Makan turned, his expression one of an exhausted man. "She took her," he said. He shook his head and looked anywhere but at Darleth. "The northland bitch told me that if I did not kill her and every one of her so-called warriors that they would be back to hunt down my family and destroy every last one of them, leaving me for the last."

"That's why I found you trussed up like a pig," Darleth said, nodding thoughtfully. "It seems they mean to make good on their promise."

"And my daughter is already gone. I have another, Darleth, and she'll be glad to have someone as powerful and wise as you, don't worry!" Makan said, trying to sound convincing and to keep Darleth his ally.

"No body has been yet found," Darleth said. "We must assume they mean to use her as a hostage until they can escape the Kingdom."

"We will find them," Makan said, suddenly filled with hope and conviction. "I'll not let my daughter suffer in the hands of such barbarians!"

"Indeed," Darleth said, seeing opportunities opening for him before his very eyes.

Chapter 6

Anna's moans and whimpers came with more regularity as dawn approached. Suddenly she let out a shriek and sat up in her bedroll. She saw Cor sitting near the fire looking at her with pity, and turned her face away from him.

'I'm so weak. He should just leave me here to die.' She thought to herself. She crawled up out of the pine bough bedding and moved off into the woods to relieve herself. The whole time she was alone, she shook and stared around her, wondering when the attack would come. Mentally berating herself for her cowardice, she hurried back to the camp. She would admit that although she could not bring herself to face Cor or let him touch her, she felt better in his presence.

"Are you feeling any better today, Anna?" Cor asked, genuinely concerned, both for her welfare and for the speed it would allow them. He worried that if Makan had managed to escape, the search parties would be well on their way to catching them. Cor had tried to circumvent that somewhat by heading west from the city and taking a longer route to sympathetic Nordlamar cities, but he still worried that they would send parties this way.

Anna flinched when Cor spoke, not looking in his direction. She walked to a stump near the fire and sat huddled, as though she could not get enough heat. As Cor moved closer, her shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably. He stopped a few paces away and set down a tin mug of tea and a chunk of bread with nuts, meat, and fruit baked into it for her breakfast.

"We have to get moving Anna. You know the risks if we stay." Cor made an effort to avoid mentioning Makan's name to her, knowing that it would cause her pain.

When he moved away, Anna snatched the travel ration, wolfing it down and washing it away with the tea. Cor had already saddled the horse, and she moved to it, resigning herself to the fact that he would have to lay hands on her to help her into it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she reached up for the saddle horn.

Cor reached for Anna's waist, lifting her into the saddle quickly. His heart broke a bit each time she whimpered.

"It's OK Anna. We'll get moving." He took the horse's lead rope and made his way back to the road. Setting as fast a pace as his legs would let him, he headed out towards the west.

The following days were much the same. Anna seemed unable to come out of the protective shell she had built around herself. Cor gave her the space she seemed to need, all the while growing increasingly angry at what had happened to her. They traveled long hours, tiring the horse as well as Anna and Cor, and they slept only as much as they had to.

"The pack on your horse holds a Kingdom sword," Cor informed Anna after they had been traveling for over a week. Both were weary, but they were coming up on the fens that ran along much of the border between Aradmath and Nordlamar. The marshy lands were full of things best left undisturbed.

"We were harried by a tribe of trolls when we came through to rescue you and your warriors," he explained, continuing because she showed no response to having heard him. "We must expect more of the same heading back through."

Still Anna showed no response, but she did reach behind her and unerringly find the sword in the rolled up bundle behind the saddle. Cor nodded and smiled faintly, it was good to know that some of the old Anna was still there.

Anna, for her part, was looking forward to a confrontation with something not human. She hated Makan with a passion, but she was also terrified of him. It made no sense to her, and she knew she needed to get over her fear, but the thought of him made her tremble at times still. Maybe a troll would do her the favor of ending her miserable life.

The next day, at mid-morning, they entered the fens. A haze surrounded them, thickening the further in they went. Her horse whinnied nervously, catching scents of things unfamiliar and entirely unwholesome. The sound of his hooves splashing into the growing puddles was muted by the thick air, yet both riders knew that sound carried far into the distance.

The ground fell away from them gradually, leaving the horse to wade through water nearly halfway up his legs. Cor gripped the stirrup so that the horse could help him through the bog. The horse snorted and shied often when a splash would sound somewhere in the distance. Then Anna was nearly unseated when the horse reared up under her. Directly ahead of it something large and sinuous swam beneath the surface of the water, rippling the surface with it's passing. Only Cor's weight on the stirrup kept the animal from bolting.

"That's why I'll take a steady chariot or a ship any day," Cor muttered, having settled the horse back down enough to continue. "They're predictable and dependable, not skittish!"

Anna ignored him, peering into the depths and silently challenging something to attack them. More than challenging, begging.

An arrow whipped past Corillius startling him with how close it was. He cursed and ducked low beside the horse. "Anna, get down!" he hissed, moving forward into the mists.

By the hand of the Gods alone Anna was uninjured. Arrows flew around her, three striking her horse and making it scream in pain. He cursed and moved back, coming up alongside of his hesitating charge, and grabbing the reins from her.

"Ride, cousin!" He snapped, flipping the reins and urging the horse forward. Forced into action, Anna crouched low over the mane and let the horse surge forward, its pain and panic putting it into action. More arrows came at them, but they quickly fell behind. Then Anna's horse collapsed under her, sending her sprawling in to knee deep water. She came up spitting and coughing out the tepid water.

Cor, following behind, ran up to help her. Cor patted the horse reassuringly, as he would a soldier. It was breathing hard, as though it could not get enough air, and the foam at its mouth was flecked with blood. Cor nodded to himself and pulled his sword, giving the horse a merciful death.

"Leave me," Anna said, making Cor turn back to face her, surprise on his face.

"What?" He asked, elated that she had spoken but concerned about what he had thought he heard her say.

"Leave me, I'm no use to you, I'll only drag you down, get us both killed."

Her defeated tone upset him more than her words did. He walked over to her and stared at her face, and felt even more rage when her head dipped down and her eyes stared at the muddy water.

"Men and women died for you, Captain," he spat out, urged to slap her to knock some sense into her but knowing better than to try it, in her condition. "Don't let their sacrifice be for nothing!"

He turned and pointed at the path into the fens "Get on that path and move, the People need you. Our people! If anyone stays behind it will be me, giving you time to return. Even if you've lost your nerve, they need you if we're to fight this war!"

She sniffed and started walking towards the path, obeying him. Cor clenched his fists in anger. The old Anna would have yelled back at him. She would have fought him kicking and screaming for saying such things. He despaired that she might forever be broken.

Heavy splashing alerted him a moment before a lumbering figure emerged from the mists. Cor pulled out his sword and slashed out, cutting the crude spear that had been thrown at him in half. He couched low as the troll drew a club and charged. The troll was larger than he was by two heads, and more suited to fighting in the swamp. Anna could see more of them emerging from the mists as well.

"Run, fool woman! Get back to Nordlamar!" Cor cried, dodging the first powerful swing from the troll and using his longer Kingdom sword to cut into the tricep of the troll.

It howled in pain and dropped its club into the water. It tried to back away but Cor lunged forward, sword striking it in the belly and digging in deeply. He backed away as the other trolls slowed their approach.

Cor glanced behind him and saw Anna standing next to the path. "I can fight, you can not! Run or I'll kill you myself and save the trolls the bother!"

Anna shrank at his rebuke. He hated to say it to her, but it had the desired effect. She turned on the path and started running. Three trolls surrounded Cor and two more tried to reach her but she was moving then. She was away, fleeing again as though possessed.

Cor circled slowly, waiting for an opening. The trolls were wide and possessed long stringy arms. As such only the three could surround him, though he expected that was more than enough. He dodged a spear thrust, then ducked under a club. The third troll grazed him with his spear, making Cor grit his teeth at the line of fire that had suddenly flared across his lower back.

He spun and grabbed the spear behind the head with his free hand, pulling himself into the troll's reach. He held his sword out as he turned, cursing the longer length of the Kingdom weapon. It cut a shallow wound in the trolls arm and chest, however, making the troll let go of the spear and back up a step to draw its club.

Cor turned rapidly and thrust the spear out, catching the other spear wielding troll in the stomach and stopping its advance instantly. He yanked the weapon free and thrust blindly out at the third troll, coming nowhere near him but buying him time.

Cor turned again in time to see a club swinging in at him. He tried to slip the blow but grunted in shock and pain when it crashed off of his shoulder. His arm went numb and he dropped the spear in the water from unfeeling fingers.

The man lunged forward, instead of falling back as a sane warrior might. He dropped his other shoulder into the troll's midsection, rocking the larger creature back a step. He fell to his knees then in the water, feeling the wind whistle over him as the troll tried to grab him with its free hand. He thrust up with his sword and was rewarded with the hot and coppery splatter of blood upon him.

He yanked the sword free in a sawing motion and turned to face the remaining troll. The other two had given up their pursuit of Anna and were returning as well.

"Alright, let's get this over with," He muttered, not knowing if they could understand him or not. He pointed at the one with the club with his sword and nodded. "You die first!"

The troll sneered at him and spat out something in a guttural voice at him. The flowing language was beyond Corillius' ability to understand, but the tone and gesture were not.

Cor heard the splashing from the other two trolls running towards him. He cursed and threw his sword at the troll he faced. It brought its arms up and tried to dodge the blade, which deflected harmlessly off its arms, and then felt Cor shoulder slam it in the torso as well.

This troll was not off balance as the other had been. Cor was knocked back into the water, once again on his knees. He was where he wanted to be though. He reached down and his fingers gripped mud. A second grab and he found the spear he had dropped earlier. He grabbed it and waited for the troll to raise its club high above him.

Corillius lunged upwards, driving the spear from the water up and into the chin of the troll. His left shoulder ached but some of the feeling was returning to his arm, allowing him to steady the spear with that hand as the wooden point pierced the bone and brain of the swamp troll.

He turned to see the other two trolls come to an abrupt stop and then look at each other. The spoke to each other briefly then split up, each one coming from a separate direction towards him. Corillius cursed. These last two seemed smarter.

Then he heard the splashing in the distance again of something approaching. The trolls laughed and Corillius had a fresh reason to curse. He was running out of ideas and weapons, plus his shoulder was beginning to really ache with the return of feeling to it. Thinking about his injury he again felt the flare of the cut across his back as well.

Something came charging out of the mists, surprising Cor and one of the trolls. The other one could not see it, but it felt it when it bumped into it and sent it stumbling. Then it felt Anna leap onto it and latch onto its back, her hands going around its neck to hold on.

Anna bore the troll to the ground, keeping her head above water by driving its head under it. She put her hands on the back of its head and drove her knees into its lower back. The troll thrashed under her, much stronger normally, but unable to get any leverage with her repeated knee strikes on its spine and kidneys.

Cor seized the initiative, stepping up to the other troll that was stunned by the turn of events and using his spear to send the troll's spear into the water. He stabbed forward next, but the troll was on the defensive and ready, and was able to dodge the blow. The troll knocked the next lunge aside, and tried to close with Cor. He stepped back quickly; swinging the sharpened point across in front of the face of the troll and making it pull back. He thrust again, feinting and fooling the troll. He drove it home after the troll's missed parry, making the creature howl as the six foot shaft of wood sank several inches into its thigh.