Chapter 1_Bound

BOUND

BOOK 1 OF THE TORNCOGINT SERIES

Chapter 1

“This has to be the worst idea in the history of bad ideas,” Lee thought to himself as his stomach grumbled angrily in seeming agreement.

When was the last time he had eaten something more than old hard bread and moldy cheese, or scavenged roots and berries from the forest? When was the last time he had gotten restful sleep? Or had even seen a bed? It all seemed so long ago. But this was the last chance he had. And if he failed, well, at least he would fail as a warrior. There was dignity in dying in battle rather than dying of the starvation that would likely set in soon.

He stared down at the wanted poster clutched in his gauntleted fist that stated “CHAINER - WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE” in big printed letters with a reward, a detailed description, last known location, and a list of crimes. And of course, the warning at the bottom, “ARMED & EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!”

When he first saw the reward, he had nearly choked in shock. It would be enough to buy himself a small farm, a horse, and maybe even hire some help. No more traveling looking for work and odd jobs. No more mercenary jobs that never paid what they promised. No more scared or curious stares at the scars on his face by the townspeople as he asked around for work or just passed through. All he had to do was bring in an extremely dangerous criminal whose crimes filled half the parchment including multiple murders. Not to mention he had been avoiding capture for over a year. The idea that he would be able to bring in the brigand was absolutely preposterous with the shape he was in.

His brown hair was shaggy and pulled by with a thin leather thong since he couldn’t afford to have it cut by someone else. His dark green eyes were starting to sink in from malnutrition and dark rings lined them from lack of sleep. His androgenous features only seemed to be accentuated by both. It was hard to say which kept him awake more, hunger pains or nightmares. His clothes had been patched so many times that it was hard to tell where the original fabric started and where the patches began. The only things that weren’t completely a wreck were his heavy leather boots (though the soles were thin enough he felt every rock or twig) and his thick wool cloak dyed a deep green with black embroidery.

It was late spring and the night was just cool enough to need the cloak and a lovely full moon was lighting the sky. The leaves rustled softly in the breeze as the rest of the woods stayed silent except for the occasional scamper of feet. He sat down for a moment, staring at the campfire in the distance. He had been tracking Chainer for over a fortnight. A few times he thought he had lost his trail but he still managed to pick it back up. It was now or never. He wouldn’t last more than a few more days before he finally gave into exhaustion and became food for the forest creatures.

He checked his equipment carefully, the knife in his left boot glided out easily and silently. The sword at his side did the same and checked the edge against his thumb with satisfaction. A length of rope was tied to his belt with a quick release knot, ready to be used to apprehend his foe. Taking a deep breath, he stood. He was as ready as he would ever be.

Chainer sat by the fire, a rabbit roasting on a spit over the fire. He stared at the flames as he slowly turned the meat. All was silent until a cloaked figure with a drawn sword approached him.

“By the lawful order of Duke Rochfort, I pronounce you, Chainer, under arrest for a list of crimes including murder, kidnapping, resisting arrest, and theft just to name a few. You can come with me peacefully or I will have to use force to apprehend you. What say you?” Lee announced with a confidence he wasn’t feeling.

The man stared at him with grey eyes for a moment before laughing loudly.

“What’s so funny?” Lee proclaimed, face heating with anger.

“Really? You are going to take me in? You know, if you actually wanted a chance you should have snuck up on me. You moved pretty quietly. You might have actually managed to at least lay a hand on me then,” the man said, a smirk gracing his lips.

Lee studied the man, eyes narrowing in annoyance. He had met men like him. A handsome face framed with black hair and well trimmed beard. Even his smile could be considered dazzling by some. How many had died seeing that same face staring down at them? He wouldn’t let it fool him.

“My father always said the best way to lead a horse is with a sugar cube but sometimes you need a rope and smack on the ass. I figured I would try the sugar cube first.”

“Yeah, well I’m not a horse now, am I? Go away kid. You look like you’re about to fall over anyway,” he said, waving a dismissive hand at him.

“Kid? Kid? I am no child! I am a grown man! I am the grown man who will be taking you into custody!” Lee yelled, rage painting his words.

“Fine. Fine. You're not a kid. Just how about you scram. I’m not going to fight you anyway so put your sword away. It’s a waste of time. If you really want to die that badly, why don’t you just go off yourself elsewhere. Preferably far away so I won’t have to be bothered by the stink.”

“I will give you no choice then,” he said, approaching swiftly but vertigo quickly overtook him and fell to a knee.

“See? You can barely stand. Gods man, you are really desperate aren’t you?” Chainer said with a sigh.

The outlaw pulled the rabbit from the spit and made quick work of slicing it in two. He watched as the other man tried to stand again but ended up just falling back onto his rump with a defeated sigh.

“Catch. Careful. It’s hot,” Chainer said, flinging one half of the carcass to his would-be captor.

Lee easily caught the food staring at it in surprise, holding the hot meat in his leather wrapped hands. “What?”

“There are a couple potatoes in the fire too,” Chainer said, nodding to the campfire, “Not a good idea to just eat rabbit. It’ll make you sick.”

“You’re feeding me? I just proclaimed my desire to bring you in for your crimes which no doubt will result in your hanging.”

“Yeah. But you wouldn’t be able to do it. And you also didn’t try to kill me with stealth. More than I can say for most who try to bring me in for my bounty. I guess one good turn deserves another.”

“You’re clearly mad,” Lee stuttered, still staring at the meat in his hands.

“And you aren’t insane for coming after me in the condition you’re in? You could be one of the king’s greatest knights and you still wouldn’t have a chance.”

Lee stiffened visibly at the comment but decided to dig into the rabbit. The meat was bland and gamey from lack of seasoning but it was warm and filling which meant he couldn't really complain.

“So you know my name,” Chainer said, watching him as he slowly picked at his own food, “You mind telling me yours?”

“I suppose it is only fair since you are sharing your meal with me,” he said, “Lee.”

“Lee. Any last name?”

There was silence as Lee seemed to hesitate, unsure of whether to give his real last name or a false one. ‘What’s the harm? No one else around here has heard or recognized me this far west.” he thought to himself before answering, “Tonus. Lee Tonus.”

“Tonus…” Chainer said, racking his brain, “I think I may have known a Tonus once. Nice enough guy.”

“Probably no relation,” Lee said with a shrug as he began to clean the bones of their meat.

“Potatoes are probably done. If not, who cares, right? Food is food.,” he said and began to dig around in the coals until he had managed to pull a few hand sized potatoes from the coals. This time he left the cool before tossing more than half to Lee.

“So this is a bribe then?” Lee said, staring at the bones and the root vegetables in front of him. “You feed me and I just walk away.”

“You could think of it that way. The old ways used to be if you accepted hospitality under someone’s roof, you would not attack them unless you wished for the gods to bring down their punishment upon you.”

“At least for that day,” Lee said with a bit of smirk, “You’re lucky I still abide by the old ways.”

Chainer grinned back, “Well, it gives me a day of respite then. And you get to live for another day as well then.”

Lee scratched at the deep scars on the left side of his face, “So how is it that someone who still observes the old ways is wanted for so many egregious crimes including murder? I was always taught the gods do not abide murder and those who do end up being tortured in the after life untli they become Xiny.”

“There is a difference between killing in self defence and murder,” he said simply, “But the powerful are the ones who get to decide which is which don’t they?”

“I suppose they do,” he said, his fingers once again tracing the scars.

Chainer shifted a bit and bent to pick up a potato that had cooled and a flash of ink was visible on his shoulder. Lee instantly recognized the symbol in the middle of what looked like chains wrapping his arm with an open padlock.

“That’s not something you see every day. Not many people know the old runes and especially one as complex as the Torncogint rune.”

Chainer’s eyes flashed with anger and the padlock appeared to close on his arm. Lee instantly felt a strange tug in his mind as if he was suddenly attached to something.

“What did you just do?!” Chainer roared, leaping to his feet. He threw an arm out at him and a thin chain flew from his wrist, aimed at Lee’s neck.

Lee felt his veins burn with the familiar adrenaline rush and he quickly rolled, the chain missing him. He scrambled to his feet and pulled his sword, “Okay. I am not sure what the big deal is. I was just admiring your tattoo!”

“Are you a warlock?! A sorcerer?!” Chainer yelled, flicking the chain up at Lee who quickly deflected it with his sword, “I knew something felt off about you. It would explain how you found me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?! Do you think I would be starving if I could perform magic? Speaking of which, how the hell are you doing that? I’ve never seen a sorcerer do what you are doing!” he asked, trying to block another blow of the chain with his blade.

"How else would you know what the symbol is called?! I'm sorry, you seem like a nice enough man but I will not become a slave again!" Chainer yelled, finally managing to whip the chain around Lee's left foot and giving a good pull.

Lee felt the wind get knocked out of his chest as he hit the ground hard. His grip loosened on his sword and it bounced with the impact out of his reach. How had he missed that? So stupid! This man was clearly insane. No one wanted to make a slave out of him. The duke, and by extension, the king, wanted to make an example out of him. That example would be the macabre spectacle of his corpse hanging in the gallows. He saw the chain pull taught on his leg as Chainer made his way towards him, his own sword drawn.

"All right, stop for a minute! We can work this out!"

Lee felt a slight pull on his consciousness and the man in front of him instantly froze, his mouth open as if to speak but nothing came out. He was left staring in confusion at what was clearly an insane man. Who the hell froze like that when told to stop? Why was the man not moving? Thinking quickly, he pulled the knife from his boot before working at the chain around his foot. Still, the man stood frozen until what felt like an eternity passed but in reality was likely only a minute.

"You bastard!" he growled, once again lunging at him as time seemed to resume for the outlaw.

"Stay where you are!" Lee yelled, again feeling the strange tug in his mind as if he were trying to bring a horse to a gentle stop. It almost made him feel a bit light headed.

Chainer seemed to attempt to move closer to him but his feet seemed to be rooted to the ground by some invisible force. He still swiped and tried to latch his chain around him again.

"For the gods' sakes, would you stop doing that?" Again, a tug and Chainer stared at him with a look of pure fury.

"All right," Lee said, slowly standing and backing away, "Would you like to explain what is happening now that you seem to have gotten control of yourself."

The outlaw gave a sardonic laugh, "That's rich coming from the one who is controlling me."

"What? That's impossible. I don't know any magic. I mean, I was tested as a child. They taught me the ancient runes in the hopes I might be able to but..." he just shrugged his shoulders, "I'm spectacularly non-magical."

"It doesn't matter," Chainer said bitterly, "You managed to reactivate the curse somehow."

"Torncogint... Torncogint... It's been so long. The only reason I remember it was I thought it was such a beautiful and intricate rune. So many lowly curves compared to the normal lines and slashes."

"Do you remember the meaning?" Chainer asked, looking annoyed.

"To grasp? No... To control?"

"To bind. As in to bind one to one's own will.”

"So you are saying by speaking the rune on your arm aloud that I have bound you to my will?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Lee just stared at him for a long moment before he burst out laughing, "That has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life!"

"You kept me from killing you so I would think you would be happy to have a new slave to control."

"Whoa whoa. Slow down there. Slave? No thanks. I have enough trouble taking care of myself let alone having to look after a slave. Not to mention I am pretty sure slavery has been outlawed in this kingdom."

"You're right. This is worse than being a slave. A slave has free will. They can disobey. Of course, they could be beaten for disobeying but they can still act of their own free will. I'm more like a glorified meat puppet."

Lee shook his head, "Ok. Say I believe you. Shouldn’t I just be able to, hypothetically, relinquish control back to you?"

The other man scrubbed his face with hands in frustration, "Really? You still don't believe me? I was stuck frozen for a full minute. I still cannot move from this spot. Ateshi’s blood, how can you be so stupid! You could make me hop on one foot right now if you wanted."

"Sure. Go ahead. Hop on one leg," Lee said sarcastically.

There was the strange tug again. And Chainer was doing exactly what she had said, clearly annoyed by it. Lee just stared in slack jawed shock as Chainer grew angrier and angrier.

"You mind telling me to stop?" he growled, "This is getting very tiring."

"Oh.... Yes. Of course. You can stop now. Oh and I suppose you can move from that spot again."

As soon as he spoke, Chainer lunged at him again, his chain flying out to try and grab him again.

"But you are not allowed to kill me!" Lee said quickly.

The chain fell to the ground as if all momentum had been taken away. He stared at it in horror realizing that he had just narrowly avoided death. It was clear that if he only intended to do him harm that chain would have kept going. No, Chainer had intended to try and kill him. The aim appeared to be for his neck. He rubbed it to check that the flesh was still intact.

"All right. So, clearly this is very real and very serious," Lee said carefully, "So, how do I relinquish control back to you?"

Chainer grumbled under his breath in frustration and began to pace, "You think you aren't the first person to think of that? You think you are my first master? Or even second?"'

"Well, obviously not the first since you said this was a curse. A very poorly performed one at that. Who uses the rune's name as the trigger?"

"The witch was in a hurry. I was about to kill her."

"Well, why don't we just find her and have her undo it."

"Because I killed her before she could stop me. She wasn't as clever as you and many others."

Lee stared again, trying to process the information, "I see. So, there is no way for me to just, you know, declare 'I release you from your binding!' and then we go our separate ways?"

"How are you so clever yet so stupid at the same time?!" Chainer yelled, scrubbing his face again, “Busere’s bollocks, I've told you already it is not that simple. People have tried it before. It is a fail safe to keep me from torturing my master into releasing me. There is one sure way to release me and that is for you to die and clearly you are not interested in that option."

"Clearly."

“So, that means we’re stuck together.”

“I mean, we could in theory just go our separate ways I suppose,” Lee said, taking a seat at what he felt was a safe distance. He hadn’t commanded Chainer to not harm him so he wasn’t taking any chances. He also did not feel like he wanted to give any more commands. It just felt wrong.

“Until you think about me for some reason and say, “I wonder what that guy is up to? Maybe he’s running right now and then suddenly I’m stuck running for no reason and unable to stop.”

“Well, wouldn’t that kill you?”

“I am quite hard to kill once I am bound to someone. And even if someone does manage to kill me, I somehow keep coming back.”

“How is that even possible?” Lee asked, clearly horrified. One near death experience had been enough for him. He couldn’t imagine the feeling of actually dying and then coming back to tell the tale, let alone multiple times.

“Hell if I know,” the outlaw replied with a snort and took a seat near the fire, “All this magic stuff is…” he made a waving gesture around him with his arms, “I mean, that’s why they call it magic right?”

“Well, magic kind of has rules,” he said, scratching at the scars on his cheek, “Or it is supposed to. I don’t know. I didn’t get much more into theory once they found I had no innate talent.”

“I see. Well, trust me, innate magical talent isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. If I didn’t have magic, I doubt I would be in this position. No one wastes a curse to bind a nobody.”

“Gee, thanks. That makes me feel a lot better,” Lee said with an eye roll.

“Happy to help,” he replied with a smirk.

“So then, I guess from what you said about me making you run by just thinking about it, that means two things. One, you don’t trust me to just go off and let you lead a somewhat normal existence. I suppose that is fair as we have just met and I did try to bring you in for your bounty. But that means we will be traveling together and if you haven’t guessed, my funds are pretty much extinguished. I doubt yours are much better.“

He shrugged a bit, poking at the dying flames with a stick, “I manage to get by.”

“And it’s not like I can turn you in for the bounty,” Lee said with a groan, “They’ll likely just hang you and when you don’t die then they’ll figure out something is wrong. Or you do die and come back and that is a whole other issue to deal with. I would rather not be accused of performing illegal magic. Because unlike you, I can very much die. Though I suppose that would solve our curse problem.”

“Eh, for a time. Until the next time someone figures out how to reactivate the curse.”

“So that means, we just have to find a different way to break the curse then.”

A sharp laugh broke out and startled Lee. The man across from him continued to laugh as if he had heard the funniest joke ever told. And maybe it was to him.

“What?” Why is that so hilarious to you?”

“You don’t think I haven’t tried? Do you know how many before you have tried? Men and women with better resources than you. And obviously, none of them have ever succeeded. It’s always the same. At first, they are absolutely sure they will break it. It will be simple. But then they work at it for a bit and get discouraged. Then they start to find it is quite nice having someone they can command to go fetch fire wood or make them a cup of tea. And afterall, they are doing their best to free me so why not have me help them with a simple chore that I would otherwise refuse.

“And one thing leads to another and I am doing all the chores they need done because I should be earning my board and keep, right? And oh, I can’t die so why not hire me out for dangerous work so I can bring us extra coin. Afterall, finding the cure for a curse can be very expensive. And they found that well paying job so they should get a finder’s fee. And controlling me just becomes such a second nature that they no longer wish to break the curse. Why would anyone ever wish to free someone so useful?”

There was a long silence as the two men stared at each other. It was clear that Chainer didn’t trust Lee as far as he could throw him and he couldn’t say he blamed him. That still didn’t prevent Lee’s heart from aching at the thoughts of another being treated as a slave. Or worse really. A puppet. A marinette on invisible strings that pulled his limbs to dance as they pleased.

“Well, I suppose you’ll have to take my word against my honor that I will not do such things. I cannot guarantee that I will not accidently control you against your wishes or possibly control you on purpose. Such as now. Drop the stick you are holding.”

Chainer dropped the stick and scowled.

“What in Ankena’s holy name?”

“Look,” Lee said simply, nodding to the embers that had been creeping along the branch towards his fingers without this notice.

“Oh,” he said simply, a look of pleasant surprise gracing his features.

“You may not realize it but this could be useful too. I could make you move out of the way of a blade that you don't see coming. I vow I will try to only use this power to help you. But I cannot in good conscience give my word when I fear it is likely I will break it. I will give you my word that I will do my best not abuse this great power.”

The cursed man just shook his head, “Whatever. Only time will tell. You’d be the first in over two-hundred years.”

“Two-hundred years!”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I look amazing for my age. And before you ask, the curse. I can’t die and I can’t age. It’s not as great as you’d think it’d be. Watching everyone age around you while you stay the same is far from a pleasant experience. Life just doesn’t have the same meaning when everything around you changes and you stay exactly the same.”

“I suppose not,” Lee said, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of not aging. He was barely past thirty and already he felt the slight twinge of stiffness in his bones when he rose in the morning. Not to mention old injuries were starting to pester him more than they had in his prime. A few weeks ago he had even plucked his first silver hair from his head with disgust from his brown locks. His hair had always been his one vanity and already it was changing colors.

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“Well then, how about this? You have my word on what I said earlier as well as this. I promise you with my word as my bond and in my honor, I will find a way to break this curse.“

His new companion just snorted, “Sure. Whatever. I’ll believe it when I see it. Anyway, you were saying something about two things earlier. What is the second?”

“Oh. Yes. Well, I suppose you won’t like my possible discovery but it is probably best for me to know rather than discovering it later when it might do you harm unintentionally.”

“Agea’s tits, you sure use a lot of words when you could just say you don’t want to fuck up and piss me off.”

“Uh, I suppose,” he said, ears flushing with embarrassment at both the cursing and the truth of the statement, “Well, you mentioned you didn’t want me to think to myself about you running. So that must mean I can command you without having to speak a command aloud then.”

Those grey eyes bored into his before he looked away out of discomfort. He should have just kept quiet about it. There was no reason to piss the man off. ‘Way to blather on like a fool Lee. How many times did Sir Reginald warn you about keeping your mouth shut and letting people only wonder if your head was full of rocks?’ he thought to himself.

“Again, this could be useful,” he continued carefully, “I could make you move out of the way of something or someone without them knowing that you are aware. Like, suppose I told you to move right quickly and you did so. You would then know someone or something was coming there quickly while they might think you had moved for another reason.”

“Maybe.” he said, clearly unconvinced, “Well, this has been ever so pleasant,” he added, doing his best impression of Lee which received a scowl in return, “But I am absolutely exhausted after such excitement and I think it is best for us to turn in for the night.”

“I do not sound like that!” Lee proclaimed, face red with a mix of anger and embarrassment.

Chainer just smirked, “Clearly you do if you realize I was mocking you. Either way. Get some sleep. It’s getting late and I’m tired.”

“But what about the curse? What about how we are going to break it?”

This earned a snort, “It’s not like I’m going to be able to rid myself of you anytime soon. I can’t kill you so we’re stuck together for the foreseeable future. So why not get some sleep? The problem will be there in the morning.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Lee said.

“Lee, if there is one thing you are going to learn soon, it’s that I am always right.”

“We’ll see if that holds true in the morning,” Lee said as he began to roll out his bedroll and settle in to sleep, “I seriously doubt it will.”

Chainer just chuckled, readying his own sleeping spot, “I guess we’ll just have to see won’t we?”