Engraved - The Hunted Warrior

Chapter 10.3 - The King of the Endless Plains

The next day a bucket of water was thrown on Alam and Tajar to wake them up. The other prisoners were not given the same courtesy.

"Good morning, Empa spies. I trust you slept well?" Neither Alam or Tajar chose to respond. Standing before them was the squat, solidly built man with the long warrior's plait that had pulled them from the horses. "My name is Tolegan. I am King Kirill's man. If he wants something to happen, I make sure it does. I have a feeling that the three of us are going to get to know each other very well, starting with this morning. Once you've had some breakfast we'll have a chat."

"We can chat now if you wish," said Alam.

"No." He smiled a smile that had no happiness in it. "I would prefer you to be fed first."

He slid two large bowls of milk tea into the cages.

"Poisoned?" asked Tajar.

"No, they are not poisoned," he replied as if addressing children. "Eat. I will return in a few minutes."

Alam sniffed the bowl. It smelled normal, and it looked normal, so he ate. The milk tea was surprisingly good and there was plenty of it. It even had generous amounts of beef and cheese curds in it. They gulped it down. Faithful to his word, Tolegan returned a handful of minutes later. Once he was satisfied that they had eaten well he and a few other guards escorted Alam and Tajar through various rooms and corridors until they found themselves blinking into the early morning sun at the back of the sprawling building.

"So," Alam began. "What do you want..."

Tolegan's fist exploded into his stomach. The guard accompanying Tajar did the same. They both threw up instantly. Tolegan's foot connected with the back of Alam's knee while he pushed on his head. Alam fell into the pile of sick he had just splattered on the dirt. A thud next to him indicated that the same had happened to Tajar.

"This is what happens to spies who enter our land," snarled Tolegan as he landed a kick in Alam's ribs.

The next half hour was a string of pain and humiliation. They were beaten, dragged through the dust, spat upon, urinated on, beaten again, and finally tied to tall posts with their hands above their heads. The tight bonds dug painfully into their wrists, but the worst was their own stench. The smell of sick and urine had both of them gagging.

The sun beat upon them throughout the morning. Many people came to stare at them. A handful of youths decided to improve their aim by throwing rocks at them from a distance. One boy was a particularly good shot and left a large welt above Alam's right eyebrow. A few people shouted insults at them but most looked on them from a distance and shook their heads with pity as they turned away. Only one, an old woman with a bowed back, and a face more shriveled than a prune, dared to come right up to them.

"Poor boys," she said with sad eyes. "Here. Drink this. You will feel better." She lifted a water skin to their lips. Both drank deeply. It tasted of strong herb tea with a lot of ginger and some other herbs that Alam could not make out.

"Thank you," said Alam. "But I don't think you should be here. The guards..."

"Oh, don't worry about me. I am just an eccentric old lady. I'm no threat to anyone." Once they had drained her waterskin she shuffled away.

At midday Tolegan and a handful of guards, including the big nosed guard from the previous night, came out to them. Tolegan pulled out a knife and held it under Tajar's nose. It was a long curved blade set in a bone handle.

"Time to fix a little problem we have."

He played with it, rubbing the flat of the blade against Tajar's bruised and swollen face.