Escana (56 page)

She
stopped edging toward the exit, once again the reality that she
couldn't run from him had imposed itself and furthermore, she
discovered that his words rung true. Would she rather the Emperor
mandate mass imprisonment instead of hope? If El-Vador were to sweep
in and clear Sah'kel of any opposition, assuming he could, what would
the Emperor then do with the criminal element of his subjects?

'Every
moment you sleep, I am out there in the great expanse beyond.
Righting wrongs and settling disputes and administering justice in
places that previously had never known the word. It is my duty to the
people I have helped nurture and it is something I feel obligated to
do while humanity grows into fruition as a race. I am the silent
watcher that executes justice throughout the land, that maintains the
balance amidst the threat of chaos and protects man for their own
betterment.'

It
was upon those words, staring back at him as he stood in front of a
curtain of light, that she saw El-Vador entirely for who he was. He
was the hero from her book, the deathless champion from her dreams
become flesh before her very eyes.

H
e
yelped as the guard prodded him forward, demanding that he pick up
the pace yet again. He was the only new addition to what Tub
derisively called C-Company, the other potential entrant having died
at the ugly man's brutal hands.

The
sandy stone walls flew by in a blur as he leapt forward, hoping that
his speed was enough to convince the guard not to punish him any
further out of amusement. He had no idea where he was going.

The
command to halt finally came as they were passing a small wooden door
to his left. There were few doors that he had seen in the fort so
far, then again there was nowhere for a thief to go and precious
little worth stealing.

The
guard rapped the door with the butt of his spear and fumbled in his
belt for a set of keys. After unlocking the door he demanded that
Jimmy push it open.

Having
little choice but to comply, Jimmy was prodded into a surprisingly
well-lit room with a series of crude beds and a hole cut in the wall.
Most of the occupants didn't bother looking up at him, they continued
lying there as if dead.

The
door slammed shut and the sound of the lock sealed Jimmy in with the
rest of these strange men. He cautiously looked around him, they were
a desperate bunch even by the standards of the cage he had been
brought here in. Those few that weren't white-haired either sported
severe injuries or were bed-ridden. All except an emaciated-looking
foreigner who sat in the corner of the room, staring at him.

'Only
one of them this time,' a weary voice croaked to his left. 'Either
the scraps are getting better or Yalem and Tub are getting more
ruthless.'

If
the comment had been directed at anyone else there was no
acknowledgement, Jimmy was uncertain as to whether he should respond
or not. There was something oddly intimidating about a few of these
decrepit men.

'I
am Jimmy, is this C-Company?'

The
old man who had spoken nodded at him sadly. 'That it is boy, what is
a hale young thing such as yourself doing in a shit hole like this?'

The
cursing sounded strange coming from such a friendly voice.

'I
am a political prisoner,' Jimmy finally ventured. 'My name is Jimmy,'
he added as an afterthought.

He
got nodded at once again. 'You must have upset someone very powerful
in order to be taken to Greyhawk. In spite of your journey you seem
curiously intact, why have you been sent to C-Company if you survived
the cage?'

Jimmy
figured that honesty was the best policy in these cramped
circumstances. 'I did not travel unaided, my friends came to my
defence on a number of occasions.'

The
sound of a throat cleared from the other side of the room. 'So you're
a coward then? Letting others fight your battles for you. We have no
time for cowards in Greyhawk.'

Another
old man with heavy-lidded eyes and a crooked nose had propped himself
up on his elbows. He looked Jimmy up and down as if he were a piece
of meat for inspection. 'You won't last the week, I can smell it.'

'Now
Darinnis,' the other man chided. 'Jimmy is feeling isolated enough as
it is without his friends, no need for you to demand he become a
warrior.'

Darinnis
scoffed. 'And no need for you to be all kind to him in the hopes
he'll share your bed, Eigani.'

Jimmy's
new found friend showed no signs of denying it, there was a strange
hunger in the old man's eyes. Darinnis let out a laugh that subsided
into painful coughing. 'None of us are good men here, young Jimmy.'
This received a faint chorus of agreement from everyone but Eigani.
'Get used to it, a coward like you'll be spending the rest of his
life in this room.'

The
emaciated foreigner rose to his feet, the rest of the men in the room
lost interest in goading and fell silent.

He
stared at Jimmy through strangely narrow eyes, as if noticing his
arrival in the room for the first time. Stretching an arm out, he
beckoned him to come closer.

Jimmy
looked at Eigani in askance but the man had fearfully averted his
gaze, no longer wanting anything to do with the boy.

He
hesitantly walked the short distance of the room, utterly alone and
without a friend in the world as this strange man with questionable
intentions continued to look at him.

The
foreigner closed the distance and stretched out toward him, clamping
his finger and thumb over Jimmy's cheek and giving it a squeeze. He
nodded at him and silently smiled. Jimmy smiled back nervously,
unsure of what to do.

'You
are still flush with youth, boy. Your appearance could be mistaken
for that of a girl in my home city. Do you know how many girls there
are in Greyhawk, Jimmy?'

Jimmy
didn't like where this conversation was going at all, he didn't
answer the stranger.

Releasing
Jimmy's cheek, he shrugged as if the lack of response was not a
matter of importance. 'There are no girls in Greyhawk, we are all men
here. Though some of us look more like girls than others, do you
understand?'

He
nodded back at the stranger, his mouth feeling very dry.

'Yes,
you have the soft skin and pretty features, you will do perfectly.'

The
fear that had been creeping up on Jimmy throughout the conversation
started to take control. He turned and sprinted desperately toward
the hole in the wall, stumbling over a blanket and nearly braining
himself on the wall. In his panic he had forgotten how small the hole
was, far too small for anyone to escape through. He searched
desperately around the room for a weapon or exit or anything to get
him away from this ill-intentioned stranger that advanced at a
measured pace, nothing presented itself. Finally he bolted for the
door, knowing it was locked. He hammered on it and yelled for the
guards at such a volume that it split his voice. Nobody came.

A
powerful hand pressed him face-first into the door, a chest pushed up
against his back and he felt the man's breath in his ear.

'Do
you know who Corporal Dyson is, Jimmy?'

Jimmy
nodded. 'He's the man in charge of all of Greyhawk.' He hoped his
brief answer would satisfy the man, he had no idea why he was being
asked in the first place.

'I
want you to gain his confidence with your girlish features and
demeanour. Then you will tell me everything he tells you. Will you do
this for me, Jimmy?'

Jimmy
nodded swiftly, not knowing how he was going to accomplish this but
knowing he wasn't in any position to argue.

'Good.'
The pressure on Jimmy's back eased. 'Rest yourself, you've had a long
journey.'

That
was it? Was the stranger now expecting Jimmy to share a blanket with
him? Jimmy shuddered, but the man gave no indication that he wanted
to be followed. If anything it seemed as if he made his way back into
the corner as if nothing had happened.

He
picked a spare blanket equal distance away from both the stranger and
the perverted Eigani, who had gone back to staring at him now that
the stranger was done with him.

Jimmy
curled up and shut his eyes tightly, the implications of what he'd
just agreed to hit him, there was no way out no matter what he did
now. He started to sob.

Yalem
walked away from the door, he had heard more than enough.

C
orporal
Dyson paced back and forth behind his desk, if what Yalem had alluded
to was true then he had bigger problems on his hands than the
strange-looking beast-tamer plotting against him to contend with.

A
familiar knock came on the door and he muttered that they may enter,
seating himself he turned his gaze upward to Tub, who remained at
resolute attention with salute firmly in place. 'Why do you think
I've brought you here at such a late hour, Tub?'

Unimaginative
as always, Tub refused to take a guess. 'I don't know sir, why have
you brought me here?'

Dyson
inspected a sheet of paper on his desk, letting the man sweat
somewhat. He liked to instil a bit of fear into Tub as he found that
was when the man worked best, and a most effective best it had been
until now.

'I
have been informed by my capable bodyguard that while dividing the
new acquisitions into companies you made a mistake. In all the years
you have been tasked with this, not once has he accused you of such
incompetence. Do you feel you have made a mistake, Tub?'

The
look of shock and puzzlement on the man's face made it clear he had
no idea what Dyson was talking about, he opened his mouth to speak
but was silenced by a raised hand.

'Yalem
claims that you placed a member of B-Company into A-Company without
any suggestion on the prisoner's part as to why he'd merit that
position.'

Tub
creased his brows, clearly unenlightened by the further explanation.
'I'm sorry sir, I have no idea what you're... what Yalem is talking
about.'

Dyson
smiled dangerously, it wasn't often that Tub and Yalem were on a
different page, this could prove interesting.

The
second knock on the door was immaculately timed, at Dyson's beckoning
it opened to reveal Yalem returning with the prisoner in question.

He
was a scrawny youth with charcoal black hair and deep blue eyes that
surveyed the room swiftly, the boy's gaze flashed over him briefly
and then affixed itself firmly upon Tub.

'This
is the prisoner Yalem claims you elevated to A-Company without so
much as a trial, what do you say to this?'

Tub
looked at the boy up and down, his eyes narrowing as if in fierce
concentration or perhaps suspicion. Then his countenance cleared.
'This prisoner was selected to be in A-Company, yes. I remember it
clearly.'

Yalem
shook his head, Dyson didn't need any other indication.

'Thank
you Tub, you're dismissed.'

The
repugnant little man fired off a quick salute and exited with as much
haste as his dignity could muster. Dyson let the silence linger for a
time, staring back down at his papers as if the matter were settled.

'Tell
me stranger,' he finally said. 'How exactly did you bewitch my man?'

The
prisoner shut his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Dyson
strained to hear it but it was inaudible.

Yalem
grabbed the boy's arm and squeezed it mercilessly. 'Answer the
Corporal.'

He
stared straight at them then with an odd intensity, Dyson felt
unsettled by his gaze, it was if he had cornered some vermin only to
find the eyes of a snake staring back at him.

I
will remain in A-Company, you will not question this. Your bodyguard
will escort me back to my rooms.

The words hit him like a slap in
the face, embedding themselves in his skull and refusing to come
unstuck until he complied. He ran his hands through his hair and
clamped his fingers over his scalp protectively, he could feel the
boy's eyes still on him, burning holes in his precarious defences. He
was under no illusions as to why Tub had placed this boy in the
A-Company. This newcomer would remain in A-Company, he wouldn't
question that. He'd get Yalem to escort him out of here and back
to...

He caught himself then. Was he
thinking that or was his mind reiterating what it had been told to
think? All he knew was that to think otherwise caused a blinding pain
to erupt behind his eyes.

He looked up eventually at Yalem,
who bore a confused expression on his face, then finally forced
himself to stare at the stranger once again. He hadn't stayed alive
this long in Greyhawk without knowing when to play it safe.

'You will remain in A-Company.'
The words seem to come to him seamlessly. 'I have no further
questions about this. Yalem here will escort you back to your rooms.'

The boy nodded back at him and
turned to leave, Yalem gave him a distrustful look but didn't open
his mouth if he was considering gainsaying anything.