A Warrior's Redemption (The Warrior Kind) (18 page)

The woman, who was assisting the doctor watched close
ly as Roric’s eyes drifted shut in much needed rest. She leaned forward and brushed the hair off his forehead, as a mother would a young child’s.

“Thank you so much Lord for your provision! We needed a Godly minded young warrior such as this, who seeks not for his own gain. Glory to You Heavenly Father for in our hour of need You
have provided!” She finished saying softly as tears fell.

The old doctor glanced up at her words and then back down at where he was working on cleaning out the wound, “Amen.” He said softly.

I felt the breeze on my cheek before I heard the accompanying sounds of a bird’s call echoing in its wake. Opening my eyes I took in my surroundings. I wearily admitted to myself that this was beginning to become something of a habit of sorts waking up completely disoriented in a strange
place. I didn’t care for it. From the looks of it I was still in the governor’s mansion I had entered earlier.

That must have been yesterday, as there was a new sun risen outside. I sat up in bed wincing as I did so. My ribcage was wrapped in bandages. It felt a good bit better than it had yesterday, but it still smarted painfully, if I twisted too much.

“Decided to join the land of the living again I see my boy.”

The words emanated from a darkened corner of the room. Peering into the corner I heard a chair scrape against the stone floor and I saw a figure rise up and come towards me. The shadowy figure used a cane to walk. He came into the light and I was shocked to see the resemblance of myself in his face, how be it more timeworn and wrinkled.

It didn’t surprise me when he said, “As you might have guessed we’re related you and I. Your father was my son, which makes you my grandson. Long have I wanted to see you, but I feared to never see the day come.”

He leaned heavily on his cane for a moment, as his eyes rested on me. “Oh to God that your father, mother and brother could be here too, but at least I am not without com
fort in that I at least have you!
Come
my boy! It’s time that you saw your new home, that is if you choose to make it so.”

I got to my feet stiffly and before I could resist, aged but still strong arms enveloped me in a bear hug that caused the pain in my side to intensify slightly.

My arms closed gently around the older man which caused me more pain, but I could tell he needed comforting and I was the closest he could ever come again to experienc
ing the embrace of his own son.

Breaking off from me suddenly he stepped back, “Enough of that! I’m getting as sentimental as a woman in my old age!” He said as he cleared his throat.

Looking at his eyes I could see the hint of tears there, but I would never have shamed him by mentioning them.

“As I said I’m your grandfather, Thaddeus Ta’lont. Come with me boy I’m sure you’re full of questions and I’ll answer them as best as I can, but first I believe these gentlemen wish to have a word with you. They have been most insistent even to the point of waking you, but I wouldn’t hear of it. A wounded man needs his sleep! It’s the best thing for him. I should know since I’ve been in that predicament enough myself to know!”

On and on he prattled incessantly, but I didn’t mind. Pulling on a shirt and pants, which were lying on a nearby table, I followed him into the other room. There were three men gathered there.

The youngest one of the bunch said to Thaddeus, as he limped forward with the use of his cane, “Good to see you out and about away from that mountain fortress you keep yourself cooped up in Thaddeus.”

“Wish I could say the same about you Oswald, but I can’t bring myself to.”

The remark brought a dark look to Oswald’s face. Something about the man put me off and I had to admit I didn’t care for him either.

The older of the two remaining men, the councilman from the court yesterday nodded his head respectfully at Thaddeus, as a slight smile touched his lips while his companion’s face was wreathed in a huge grin at Thaddeus’s snub of Oswald.

Thaddeus nodded deferentially to both of them and turned to gesture at me, “Gentlemen, if I may let me have the honor of introducing my grandson Roric Ta’lont, my sole heir.”

Again Oswald’s face tightened up as he and the others welcomed me. He would bear watching more closely.

Later as I stood on a porch of the government building I gazed at the breadth of the wall that dominated the one end of the town, and I couldn’t but help reflect on how much my life had changed once again. I had a grandfather and a castle with extensive lands that I was to inherit one day. I was a wealthy man, with a family and a place to call my home if I wanted it.

How strange were the ways of the Creator to elevate an escaped arena slave like myself to a position of such wealth and honor.
I had told the three men earlier all that I knew.

The news of the betrayal of Lent was a sore point that I could see bothered Romnan the older man and Elim the other councilman greatly.

I left nothing out, especially about how Wilton’s reports had been fabricated lies told to him by the Zoarinians through the years and how everything had been a setup in order to get Larc so they could control his mother.

Thaddeus had sat quietly staring at nothing in particular most of the time and at Oswald the rest of the time, which seemed to annoy Oswald. Which was probably the intent of my grandfather all along. Romnan had ended the meeting,

“Thank you Roric, your information is most valuable to us, as is your heroic deed in rescuing the children. We’ll leave you now in the care of your grandfather, as I’m sure you have lots to talk about.”

As he made to leave the room he pulled to the side and waited for the other two to leave first before saying, “Roric, when the time comes I hope you will consent to join in the fight for our freedom. I need men like you. There are few left short of Thaddeus’s age that know
what war can truly be like.”

“He’s right Roric, there are few who have the ability and strength to lead and do what needs
done!” Thaddeus added.

Not wanting to disappoint them, but feeling the need to slow things down I said, “I need some time. A lot has hap
pened to me recently, but this I can tell you. I will do all that I can to defend the right of people to worship the Creator.”

Romnan and Thaddeus both smiled.

Thaddeus patted me on the back, “That’s all we would ever ask of you my boy. If the people remain faithful to the Creator then He’ll be faithful in continuing to take care of us.”

That conversation had taken place hours ago and now I watched the activity on the wall and in the town as the sun set behind me. A sense of responsibility weighed down upon me for everything and everyone I saw, but I resisted it. What could I do? I was just one man. In the morning I was heading out with Thaddeus towards my family’s ancestral home, which I was looking forward to. The fortress lay at the base of the northern mountains and was an area known for severe storms. Fittingly the castle was called Thunder Ridge.

Chapter Eight

Escape into Peace

12 years earlier

The streets of Zoarestran, a small town situated on the eastern side of the Plains of Zoar, were dark and deserted as the rain hammered down in the early morning hours. The only light came from the night lanterns that glowed dimly in the gloom of the night.

A shadowy figure flitted from doorway to doorway seeking shelter from the rain that beat down mercilessly, a figure that had come from the direction of the slave holding pens.

The night watchman standing in the stoop of a bakery shop came to the likely conclusion that the figure was either an escaped slave or a thief, as nobody else would be out on such a night.

Somewhat reluctantly because of the heavy downpour the watchman stepped out into the rain, “Hey you stop there!” He yelled out.

The slim figure froze in place at the voice of the watchman. The watchman noticing a bundle in the arms of the figure hastened his pace towards the shadowy outline in the rain. He was sure he’d caught a thief in the act. This meant good things for him. Apprehending thieves in the act was highly looked upon by his superiors not to mention the gratitude of the shop owners, who would fatten his pocket with coin for his good work on behalf of them.

Krista stood still, as fear froze her in place as the watch
man approached. She shivered as the icy rain drops fell on her head and trickled down under the worn rag of a tunic she wore. She clutched the bundle tighter to her trying to shield it from the storm. Krista’s teeth threatened to rattle out of her mouth, because she was so cold.

“You’re but a slip of a girl!” The watchman said somewhat disgustedly seeing his reward vanish before his eyes.

“What are you doing out in this weather girl and what have you got there?” He asked making a move to grab the bundle in her arms from her.

His outstretching hands jarred Krista out of her fearful trance. She jumped back out of reach the sudden move causing the bundle in her arms to cry out weakly.

“Hey, what is this?” The watchman exclaimed in surprise.

Seeming to notice her shabby attire for the first time the watchman came to a swift conclusion, “You’re a slave ain’t yuh?”

At those words Krista turned and fled.

“Hey stop you slave!”

His fingers narrowly missed grabbing a hold of her shoulder, as she slipped past him down a dark alleyway. She ran as fast as she could with the bundle in her arms stumbling over cans and refuse left in the alleyway in her haste.

The watchman stopped at the alleyway entrance. He wasn’t about to go in there after her, as the light from the street glinted off the red eyes of hundreds of disturbed rats.
It had only been one little slave girl holding a baby. She wouldn’t have brought much at auction anyway.

Krista didn’t stop running, until she was several blocks away. Wheezing from the exertion of running through the darkened city, she looked behind her for any signs of pursuit, but there were none. She pulled back the edge of the blanket that was wrapped around the bundle in her arms. The baby’s blue eyes were closed and it had turned very pale.

“Oh, no!” Exclaimed Krista.

She had seen that look of pale stillness before. Franticly she put her hand on the baby’s chest, but she could feel no movement there and the skin was cold. Big tears welled up in her eyes and then spilled down her cheeks, as she gently rocked the still baby in her arms.

Later she got up as dawn’s first rays started to brighten up the gloomy morning and made her way towards the wharf, which was nearby. Making her way down to the shore of the river she lowered the baby into the murky waters. For a moment the baby’s face was visible and then it was gone.

She had been making her way past the guards last night intent on escaping the holding pens and the short hard life of being a slave, when out of the dark a hand had grabbed onto her feebly. Gasping in surprise she had spun towards the unseen hand to see a thin woman with dark shadows under her eyes standing there in the gloom.

“Please! Please take my baby with you!”

“ I…. I….I can’t! I wouldn’t know how to care for it!” Krista stammered out stepping away from the woman.

The woman had followed her though and pressed the bundle she held into Krista’s arms despite her protests.

“My baby is dying here, as am I. Take my baby so that he can at least die free. Won’t you please do this for me?”

The woman begged falling to her knees before Krista, as she held onto Krista’s dress. Krista wanted to refuse, as her chances of escaping were slim enough already. Having a baby along only made the likelihood of being caught all the greater. She had looked down at the bundle in her arms and a pair of blue eyes had met her own. She had tightened her hold on the bundle instinctively and met the desperate gaze of the baby’s mother and nodded.

“Oh thank you dear sweet child! Thank you!” The grateful mother had said.

Krista had stepped back into the shadows and crept along the wall leading to the last guard post holding the baby to her hoping that it wouldn’t cry out.

She’d heard the woman briefly say something before she was out of sight, “May the Creator protect you.”

Krista broke from her reflection of the night before and reached one grubby hand up to wipe the tears from her eyes.

“I wonder what his mother would say to me now?” Krista said softly to herself in sorrow.

Shaking her head she made her way up from the river’s edge to the wharf above. Lost in her sorrow she was not as careful as she should have been. The morning had progressed more quickly than she had thought. Workers and tradesmen were already busy about their business. She gasped realizing her mistake. She was noticed almost at once by one of the field masters that she worked under in the firan cane fields.

“You there!
Stop slave! Get her! She escaped from the slave stockade!”

Everyone suddenly became an enemy to her. She ran trying to elude the outstretched hands of the people all around her.

She slid under a table holding produce and bounded up on the other side of it. There up ahead of her was an alley, if she could only reach it she might be able to out run her pursuers and find a hiding place until nightfall, when she could sneak out of the town under the cover of darkness. She sprang for the alleyway, but a hand grabbed her by the calf and flung her backwards. She landed in the middle of the street hard. Muddy water and refuse splashed up at her land
ing and soaked her in its filth.

An angry mob had gathered around her and she was cut off from any chance at escape.

She turned around on the ground trying to avoid any of her would be assailants as the field master, who had first seen her spoke up loudly, “Let’s just kill her! She’s not worth much and we’ll make such an example out of her that no other slave will even think about escaping!”