Hopeless Liberation Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Dante
I discovered the main road rather swiftly and began trotting south as the newborn orange haze of the sun filled the cloudy sky to the east. It was absolutely refreshing to be walking and inhaling air that was filled with the fresh fragrance of trees once again. Surprisingly, no parts of my body hurt, or were even sore. My legs weren't stiff and didn't squeal in agony every time I took a step, despite being completely immobile for almost an entire day. And, even more surprisingly, the part of my chest that had been shot with arrows didn't ache. I thought for sure that there would have been a little discomfort when I began walking again, but it was as if the previous day had never happened. It's practically a miracle. That gave me faith in the idea of Tess being able to help save Peter. Her adept magical talents would be very useful, especially if Fort Balther didn't have any salt inside of its walls as she had claimed.
Peter and the seemingly hopeless liberation I sought for him filled my thoughts for the entirety of my walk. Was he injured? Had the captain of the fort been torturing the poor otter? Or was he already dead? These thoughts gave me nothing but sweltering sensations of fear that made my fur burn. But I was unable to cast them out of my mind, for they had latched onto me like leeches on the body of an unsuspecting swimmer, slowly draining my being of energy and a great deal of optimism. Yet, despite these feelings of bleakness, I walked faster down the road. If Peter was still breathing, every moment that he spent in Fort Balther brought him closer to a horrible fate that I had no intention of allowing him to face. I won't let another one of my friends die.
Eventually, Sleeping Sun came into view down the road and between the rows of trees on both sides of me. The walls were constructed of grey stone and seemed to reflect the melancholy clouds above, as though the City were made of mirrors. A few towers were scattered along the City's wall, reaching so high that they almost seemed to caress the grey mists in the sky. I wonder if Gwen is in one of those towers. She's a witch, so it would make sense if they wanted to keep her away from the other prisoners.
_ _ Soon, I came upon the northern gate of the City and three knights that stood guard in front of it, their breastplates proudly displaying the head of a wolf howling to the tops of two trees that imprisoned it. All three men were around the same height as me and their visors were all down, so I had no idea what species they were.
Suddenly, I realized that I probably should have asked them about becoming a knight. Then again, they would have just laughed in my face and sent me away. I'll just ask where to find their captain.
_ _ "Pardon me, gentlemen," I said, politely, stopping closely enough before the knights so that I could smell that two of them were hyenas and one was a wolf. "Where may I find your captain?"
The one wolf asked, "Are you reporting a crime?"
"No,"
"Then what do you need?" he wondered.
After realizing that I couldn't avoid revealing my purpose for visiting Sleeping Sun, I answered the question truthfully. "I want to become a knight of the City,"
As I expected, all three of the knights laughed, which stung me worse than any hornet ever could. Remember, it's for Peter.
_ _ I stayed silent, biting my tongue for the sake of my friend, and waited for the laughter of the three men to finally die.
When he ceased his cackling, the wolf who had been talking with me said, "Are you actually serious?"
"Yes," I told him.
After a fleeting moment of consideration and a single snicker, he pointed behind him with his thumb. "Take a left once you go through the gate. Go straight, turn right at the tavern on the corner and walk until you see the two knights standing in front of a door. That's our barracks. Tell them you want to see the captain,"
"Thank you," I said, keeping my tail stiff and preventing it from bristling.
I passed by the knights and entered into the City, my throat already beginning to gag from the overbearing scents of multiple species that burned my nose like a clump of warm snot. Give me the overuse of perfume in brothels over this stench any day.
Following the knight's instructions, I turned left and headed straight, walking alongside the wall of the City, only to turn right at a tavern that was bizarrely named "The Fox's Balls."
Momentarily, I came upon a wooden building to my right that was about five stories high and had been painted dark brown. A few windows were scattered across its wooden faces and, just as the wolf at the northern gate had claimed, there were two knights standing guard at the front door.
But, as I was about to turn and face the barracks, I realized that there was a small courtyard to my left, which had a stone floor and was located between the row of buildings that were also to my left side. The courtyard was placed inside of a wooden fence, which reminded me of stables that hold tamed horses. Finally, a grey cobblestoned path encircled the courtyard and led directly to the steps of a grand building that certainly had to be Queen Talis' palace, which seemed to produce an almost angelic glow of white that dreary morning.
After speculating that the courtyard was probably used for sword practice, I approached the two knights that stood guard in front of the entrance to the barracks.
"What's your business here?" the knight to the right asked, the scent of a tiger pouring through his armor.
I stopped, nearly blindsided by the knight's bluntness, and took a breath. "I'd like to become a knight of Sleeping Sun,"
Much like their comrades at the northern gate, the two knights before me broke out in condescending laughter.
"I'm entirely serious," I said, trying my best to not speak with indignation.
"Do you even know how to use that sword?" the knight on the left, who smelled like a cougar, wondered as he pointed at my sheathed rapier.
"I bet he just bought that today," the tiger added. "Or stole it,"
"Why would I steal a sword just to become a knight?" I stipulated, inferring that the men weren't going to let me inside to see their captain unless I was insistent.
"Because you want gold and a place to sleep," the tiger said. "Just like any other beggar,"
"I'm not a beggar,"
"Even if you aren't," the cougar on the left said, "do you really think you can become a knight just by asking?"
"Well, not exactly," I answered, "but-"
"Then what the hell are you doing here?" the cougar demanded, his tone growing sterner.
"I just want to talk to your-"
"I don't give a shit what you want, you deaf bastard," the cougar hissed, rudely interrupting me. "Get out of here before we toss you in a cell!"
I imagined Peter sitting in a soggy prison somewhere as he called out for me through the eroded metal bars that entrapped him. I can't just give up. "If you'll just let me talk with your captain, I can prove that I-"
The cougar drew his sword and so did his tiger companion. The steel of both their weapons glowed hungrily for the taste of blood.
"Get out of here," the cougar commanded, "or else I'll have to cut out that annoying tongue of yours!"
As I stared at both of the knights and their swords for a moment, I reviewed my options. I couldn't have fought them. That would have made me a criminal, which meant that saving Gwen would be impossible. I would also most likely die in a skirmish with the two knights, who were protected by their suits of armor. And there were undoubtedly more knights prowling around nearby that would come to aid their comrades if they heard a scream or a cry for help. Shit.
_ _ Remorsefully, I turned away and began to walk in the same direction that I had come from not more than a moment ago as my tail cowardly ducked between my warm legs for comfort. Tess and I needed to come up with a better plan to rescue Gwen, if the girl was even still alive. The only problem is I can't think of a better plan than this! If only I could have gotten past the guards. The captain surely would have listened to me if I spoke with him.
Shortly, after taking a few steps down the street as guilt stabbed at my belly, I heard the door between the two knights open.
I felt my ear perk up as I turned to gaze at the now open doorway. Out of the barracks stepped a coyote, who was almost as tall as me and had eyes that were bright blue. He was fitted in a suit of armor, except for a helmet, showing off his hazel fur that was sprinkled with the occasional white hair, and wore the purple armband of a captain.
I stopped in my tracks and turned my body as I continued to stare at the captain, noticing that three other knights in full suits of armor closely shadowed him. Well, isn't this a fortuitous turn of events?
_ _ As I was reflecting upon my tremendous luck, the two knights that had been guarding the door sheathed their swords and made room for the captain, as well as his companions, to pass.
"Why were your swords drawn?" the captain wondered, stopping to intermingle with the door guards.
_ _ The cougar dutifully replied to his superior, "We were just chasing away a beggar, sir,"
Hurriedly, I scurried towards the captain, whose right side faced me, and tried to search for whatever words that might have convinced him to enlist me.
As I neared the coyote, the three knights who had exited the barracks behind him all grasped the pommels of their swords.
"Sir," I said, coming to a complete stop only three paces away from the captain.
_ _ The captain's ears shifted and he rotated his head. His blue eyes glanced up and down along my body before he then turned his entire figure to face me, his armor clinking with every movement. "Yes?" he asked, courteously.
"What did I tell you, beggar?" the cougar on the left side of the door shouted, taking a step forward as he slithered the first few inches of his sword from its scabbard. "Now I have to beat some sense into you,"
The captain, with his gaze remaining on me, raised his left arm and held up a flat hand. "That won't be necessary, Fredrick,"
Fredrick, after an ephemeral pause, removed his hand from the grip of his sword and allowed the blade to dejectedly sink back into its home.
"Is this the beggar you were telling me about?" the coyote asked Fredrick, lowering his hand as he continued to stare at me with inquisitiveness. "He doesn't look thin enough to be beggar,"
"You're correct, sir," I answered, hoping that being confident would impress the coyote. "I'm not a beggar,"
The captain blinked and his ears stood tall. Now that I was close enough to examine his face, I realized that he couldn't have been more than twenty-one years old. "Are you here to report a crime?"
"No," I said with poise. "I'd like to join the ranks of Queen Talis' knights,"
The three knights behind the coyote chortled inside their helmets.
The captain seemed to hardly notice the reactions of his subordinates. "Do you know how to fight?" he skeptically asked while gazing down at my rapier. "Just owning a sword isn't enough to make someone a good knight,"
"Yes," I said. "I know how to fight,"
"How did you learn?" the captain asked.
"Probably from hitting trees," Fredrick mumbled.
The captain snapped his head to the side so he could shoot Fredrick a look, only to turn his silent attention back towards me.
"My father," I lied, the words pouring between my lips as easily as water flows through a brook. "He was a blacksmith and had me fight with him whenever he finished a sword. He wanted make sure that the blades were strong,"
"And how did your father learn to fight?"
Fuck. "We lived in a small town not far from here," I continued, while trying to keep all of the intricate details of the story in my memory. "Talth are always trouble, as I'm sure you know, especially for smiths that don't live inside the Capitals. They're easier to steal weapons from,"
"And you helped him fight off Talth?"
"Yes. It was either fight or let the Talth take away our steel and starve us,"
"A sword to the belly would be a more merciful death," the captain agreed, his eyes ever so slightly softening. "I can see why your father chose to fight,"
"They eventually got the better of him when I was fifteen," I added, hoping to exploit the hint of sympathy that I caught in the coyote's eyes. "It was a lynx that did it. He was half my father's age, but he fell just as easily as my father did when I buried my sword in his neck.
"I've been wandering around Alpis ever since. My father never taught me enough about forging steel to become a smith myself, but he did teach me how to hunt. I've lived purely off the prey I've caught and the gold I find on dead Talth.
"Lately, I've thought about my father, how he was taken from me. Nobody should feel the pain of watching a loved one be murdered in front of them. I want to try and save as many people from experiencing that as I possibly can,"
The captain's eyes had grown even more solemn now, openly pitying me like a mourner does to a widow at her husband's funeral.
_ _ But it seemed as though my lie had not been enough when the captain shook his head. "I'm sorry. Killing a few Talth doesn't mean you're skilled enough with a sword. You seem like a decent man and I can't imagine what it's like to go through what you have, but I can't just let anybody become a knight,"
Wordlessly, the coyote turned and signaled with a wave of his hand for the three knights that followed him to begin walking. After the trio of knights passed me, the captain followed them and gave me one last remorseful gaze as he began to march away with his men, leaving me to watch the four knights stroll down the street.
I couldn't let him leave. No. Not when I'm this close. I saw the sympathy in his eyes and I knew that, if I could just push a little harder, I could have convinced him to let me become a knight. But what do I do? Tell him that I've been the personal bodyguard of Peter Gannish these past few months? There had to be something that I could have said to impress the captain. All I needed to do was concentrate hard enough and think of some decent answer. Yet, with every step the captain and his men took as they walked away, my thoughts seemed to have failed me. Nothing came to mind. All I had done was travel across Alpis and fight Talth that I met on the road. Although, I did kill some of Capres' knights, but I doubted that the captain would have liked to hear about that. He probably would have hanged me. But, besides killing knights, I had nothing. Only Talth. Talth and...
"I killed Osric," I shouted at the captain, who was now several paces ahead of me.
Abruptly, the captain -along with his three men- ceased his walking and turned to face me once more, his eyes brimming with marvel.
Slowly, the coyote drew near to me again, leaving his men standing alone in the middle of the road. He stopped only four steps away from where I stood. "How?"
I took a deep breath and recalled the night of the event that took place only a few weeks ago. "I found his hideout just outside of Ansil. I set the building on fire with Devil's Nectar and shot the Talth that didn't burn to death with arrows, except Osric. He and I fought with our swords. I cut his shoulder open, stabbed his stomach and drove my sword through his face a few times,"
A brief silence passed and then died when Fredrick, who was still behind me, asked, "Is he telling the truth, sir?"
The coyote continued to stare at me with astonishment, as if I had delivered him a mountain of gold. "It matches the reports I've received,"
_ _ A growing sense of relief began to take hold inside of me and it took all of my willpower not to smile with joy. I haven't failed Peter.
"Why did you kill him?" the coyote asked, managing to finally collect himself. "Not that I judge you for it. The man was a Talth and had a...preference...for little girls. But what did he do to you?"
The temptation to smile quickly evaporated and I sighed, realizing that I had to answer this question honestly, or at least as honestly as I could have without revealing that I was the one Osric had placed a bounty on. "His men killed my friend. They stabbed her before I could do anything. I killed both of them and discovered they had been staying in Osric's hideout. I was upset over my friend's death and then sought Osric out to make him pay,"
The coyote's blue eyes grew even softer than before and I realized that he was dumbfounded by my story. "That couldn't have been easy," the coyote said, his ears folding back. "Losing a friend,"
"It wasn't," I said, sensing that the captain was won over by my story. The best lies have fragments of truth in them.
_ _ "Tell me," the captain said. "What's your name?"
For some reason, the only name I could think of was Aaron, which belonged to my brother, the only brother that had ever been close to me. Better than nothing. "Aaron,"
_ _ "He doesn't have any proof, captain," Fredrick pointed out, still lingering close enough to my backside to make my tail twitch with uneasiness. "He could have just heard about Osric's death from some drunk Ansil knight in a tavern!"
The captain blinked, his eyes losing a touch of their gentleness. "Maybe,"
"It's not a lie, sir," I proclaimed. "I swear!"
The captain thought for a moment, his eyes glancing at the space over my shoulder. Then, he looked back at my face. "If you can disarm one of my men in combat, I'll allow you to join the City knights,"
"Really?"
"Of course," he assured me.
The captain turned around and faced his three men that stood further up the road. "Which one of you wants to challenge this wolf? If you win, you don't have to do guard duty today,"
Immediately, the knight on the right, who was a good couple of inches taller than me, raised his hand. "I'll do it, Sir Orin,"
"I knew you would, Dillon," Orin said with a chuckle.
Orin turned to face me, motioning to the courtyard with his thumb. "You'll be fighting in there. First one to be disarmed loses. Do you understand?"
"Yes,"
Orin spun back around to face Dillon. "Get in there,"
Without a word, Dillon walked over to the wooden fence that surrounded the courtyard and slid his legs over it. He then walked to the far side of the courtyard and nearly pressed his back against the fence post that was closest to Queen Talis' palace.
I followed his example and walked towards the fence that surrounded the courtyard, just before I pulled myself over it and brushed my trousers against the coarse wood.
Dillon drew his longsword, which appeared to be just as lifeless as the drab clouds above us.
Meanwhile, I drew my rapier and positioned my paws as I moved into a defensive stance.
"Don't kill him, Dillon," one of the knights said. "He's not wearing any armor,"
A few chuckles burst behind me and I realized that all of the knights were standing directly on the other side of the railing, watching Dillon and I as if we were about to preform a play. Fighting's probably the only entertainment they get.
_ _ Dillon only laughed at the remark as he casually walked towards the center of the courtyard.
In the midst of the knight's laughter, I sprang forward and swiped at Dillon's sword with my own, hoping that the surprise attack would send the weapon flying out of his hands. Sadly, it wasn't enough and Dillon pressed his sword against mine.
Dillon tried twisting his blade over my own and hitting it away. Only, instead of striking my sword, the knight cut through the empty air, since I moved my blade down in time to avoid the attack.
Seeing another opening, I swung my sword again, colliding against the side of Dillon's, making both pieces of steel sing a metallic song. I thought that the combined force of my attack and the speed that Dillon swung his sword through the air would cause the knight lose his grip, but all my attack did was make him pull his sword back and adjust his grip.
Damn it.
_ _ Prudently, Dillon crept to my right, circling around me like a scavenger. I mimicked his movements and circled to the left, always keeping Dillon in front of me and allowing myself to watch his every move.
After Dillon and I had done half of a complete rotation, I could see all of the other knights behind the fence, noticing that some of them were intently leaning forward onto the wooden frame. Orin, however, stood upright and stared at me with reserved interest.
During my moment of distraction, Dillon brought his sword down upon me, attempting to smack my rapier down to the stone ground beneath us. I moved my sword out of the way just in time to leap back. However, since I had changed the position of my sword, Dillon's blade cut through my tunic, splitting open the fabric that ran from the collar to my belly.
Once I was out of Dillon's range, I glanced down and examined my ripped tunic, finding a small streak of blood dripping through the torn strings.
"Are you hurt?" Orin called out to me, clasping the top of the gate with both hands as he squinted to try and see my wound.
Dillon noticed what he had done and lowered his sword, hanging it limply at his side in one hand. He then reached his free hand up and raised his visor, revealing that he was a cheetah and about twenty years old. His hazel eyes were drenched with concern. "Jesus Christ, I'm a dumbass. I never wanted to actually cut you! I was going for your sword and didn't have enough time to-"
"It's all right," I assured him, after giving the petite wound on my chest a careful examination. "It's just a scratch. I didn't even feel it,"
"Are you sure you're all right?" Dillon asked, his voice flooding with regret.
"Yes," I said with a smile, showing that I was not greatly wounded. "What's another scar?"
I unlaced my cloak, allowing it to fall onto the ground behind me. Once the cloak had slid off of my back, I held my rapier in my right hand and strategically used my left to pull my ripped tunic off. After pulling my head and left arm out of the damaged piece of clothing, I took my sword into my left hand and allowed my right arm to wiggle free. When the tunic was completely off of my body, I tossed it back over my shoulder.
As my tunic flew over me, I noticed that everyone in the courtyard -at least, it felt like everyone- was staring at my chest.
"You sure as hell weren't lying about being a fighter," Dillon noted, gazing at my torso.
Somewhat confused by everyone's bafflement, I looked down at my stomach, wondering what had been such a big spectacle. Then, I realized that everyone was staring at the multitudes of scars that ran along my torso, some of which were freshly red while others were faded and pink.
"It's because I don't wear armor," I explained, raising my head to look Dillon in the face once more. "I don't like being weighed down,"
"Well," Dillon said, smiling as he looked back up at my face, "if you beat me, you'll have to get use to wearing the damn stuff,"
I smiled in return, showing that I understood the truth in his words. "I know,"
"Worst part is the heat," Dillon said. "You can get used to the weight, but nothing's gonna save you from burning up,"
The cheetah closed his visor and held his sword upright once more.
I raised my rapier and awaited the knight's next move.
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait very long, since Dillon lunged forth and slashed his weapon horizontally through the air. Unlike his previous attack, I blocked Dillon's blade and tried pushing it off to the side, hoping that it would at least slip a few inches from his fingers.
Unfortunately, the knight's grip remained strong and he struck his blade against mine once more, forcing me to take a large step backwards.
As I persisted to hold my ground and block more of Dillon's attacks, I realized that my fingers had become incredibly sore. No matter what way I curled them around my rapier's grip, they creaked with tension, as if they were nothing more than pieces of hollow wood. If Dillon had been a Talth, our skirmish would have concluded already. But, unlike a typical Talth, Dillon was excellent with a sword and seemed to have a great deal of endurance, which I had been able to deduce because he didn't even seem to be breathing heavily. It was also much more arduous to try disarming him, rather than go in for the kill. If it were a real fight, I was certain that I would have fared much better. Especially if I had my gun.
_ _ I sidestepped another one of Dillon's slashes, dodging the blade and giving his hands a swift kick. Yet, the cheetah's fingers did not even adjust their grip on the sword's handle. Maybe if I keep dodging his attacks, he'll get too exhausted to continue.
_ _ The thought had barely left my mind before Dillon swung his sword against mine, sending tremors running down the metal and causing my fingers to sting as though a swarm of crows were pecking at them.
I tightened the grasp of my screaming fingers and parried the cheetah's attack, just before hopping to the side. His sword quickly followed me and slashed across the air, missing my blade by the length of a finger. If it weren't a rapier, he would have hit his mark. I then became unsure of whether or not my now deadened fingers could withstand another attack.
Swiftly, I swung my sword down against Dillon's, just as it missed my rapier, striking the flat side of his blade with a vertical swipe that used all of my remaining strength. If this doesn't work, Peter may be beyond saving.
Dillon's sword cried an ungodly screech as my rapier cut its flat belly, almost like how an infant screams for its mother when it's in danger. The sword, in the midst of its tormenting shriek, abruptly broke and fell onto the ground between us, leaving behind a jagged piece of metal that was barely longer than a thumb, which stuck out of the sword's guard.
I couldn't see the cheetah's face, but, based on his frozen position, I assumed that he was just as dumfounded as me.
_ _ The cheetah opened his visor and held the broken sword up for examination. He then tossed me a smile, desperately trying to appear nonchalant as he hid the surprise in his eyes. "Serves me right for hardly ever sharpening the damn thing,"
I returned his smile with a laugh, hoping to avoid further embarrassing him in front of his comrades. He seems like a nice guy. "We all make mistakes,"
I glanced at the captain and was unable to read his expression. Yet, his eyes were fixed upon me and clearly had thoughts working behind them.
"Are you gonna let him join, sir?" one of the knights to Orin's left asked.
"He didn't really disarm Dillon," Fredrick groaned. "It was just luck,"
"He's good with a sword," Dillon swiftly defended me, which took me by surprise. "And quick. I can see why he doesn't wear armor. It was like fighting the wind,"
"But he still just got lucky," Fredrick snarled.
"At least he beat me," Dillon persisted, his kind words causing my tail twitch with embarrassment. However, I feared interrupting him and remained silent, deciding that his opinion may have been the key to me becoming a knight. "And none of you cocksuckers can say that,"
Aside from a few grumbles of unhappy agreement, the knights around Orin soon fell silent.
"Give him the position, sir," Dillon said, as he stepped to my side and patted me on the back with his searing armored hand. "A good swordsman like him would make the City much safer,"
Orin's crystal blue eyes continued to stare at me, their soft colored rings shifting back and forth across my figure. _He'd be taking a big risk by letting me join. I'm just some stranger. Who's to say I'm not some spy from the South? _ "Well," Orin said, crossing his arms, "he did technically disarm you. And a promise is a promise,"
None of the knights beside Orin commented on his decision, yet their silence was just as cold as any words that they could have spoken.
Dillon, much to my disbelief, gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder and smirked. "I knew he couldn't turn you away. Now we get to go to Silvio's tonight!"
"Silvio's?" I said, my ear twitching with puzzlement.
_ _ "It's a tavern we bring the new guys to," the cheetah explained, laughing at my ignorance. "We pay for all their drinks,"
"Sounds like fun," I said with a grin, wondering how long it had been since I had a good drink of wine.
"Don't drink too much, though," Dillon japed. "We're knights, but we're not rich,"
"It's a deal," I laughed, actually looking forward to sharing a drink or two with the cheetah.
I then remembered that my torso was bare and I turned around to fetch my clothes, which were still on the cobbled ground. Once I sheathed my rapier, I bent over, picking up my tunic and cloak.
"Don't get him too drunk," Orin joked, as I stood up and rotated. "He's going to have his first guard duty tomorrow morning,"
I hope it's in the cells. If Gwen's still alive, that's where she'll be.
_ _