Torren felt the weight on his numb and tingling hand lift away. Managing to roll himself onto his side, Torren looked upwards and saw Ellis’ sword hanging in the air, a few inches from his wrist. The two locked eyes for a moment before Torren turned his face away and shut his eyes.

Ellis sheathed his sword, much to the dismay of the crowd. Looking down on Torren he felt a twinge of pain in his throat. He wondered if Torren knew how freely the tears were streaming down his battered and mud covered face.

“Ellis! Lester!”

Ellis turned to see Byles march onto the scene, surrounded by several guardsman. Jerg was currently being detained by one of the guards; he had several bruises on his face which seemed new, but at least he was no longer bleeding from his nose.

“What happened?”

“Byles!”

Lester tried to run over to him, but before he could make it he was seized by the guardsman.

“Get off me! Byles!”

“Release them! These men work for me!”

“Captain, this is the merchant Byles. He is the one these boys stole from.”

The captain looked down at the small boy who he still held in his grip.

“I don’t care who they are to you, merchant Byles, they assaulted my men.”

“I will pay the fine for their transgression,” Byles insisted, “Let me speak with Mayor Rothwell.”

“Even disregarding the fine for these two. That one over there is another story entirely.”

Byles followed the captain’s outstretched arm as it pointed to a nearly unconscious boy lying on the street.

“Torren!”

Byles ran over and tried to comfort him, but it only seemed to make his pain worse.

“You did this?” Byles asked as he looked at Ellis in shock.

“This young man kept that wild animal at bay. He protected the citizens of Viemen from his frenzy. And when he drew a blade and threatened the lives of our people, that young man bested him.”

Even the words of praise that Ellis had always longed to hear were not enough to rescue him from the sinking feeling in his gut.

“What is to be his punishment?” Byles asked, keeping one hand on Torren’s body.

“He will be detained and tried for his crimes. Then he will accept a punishment befitting a thief.”

“No! Please!”

Timmy struggled desperately against the captain’s grip but couldn’t break free.

As Ellis watched him struggle, he noticed something strange; the boy seemed to only be using his right arm. He wasn’t using the left arm at all. In fact, it was simply hanging there, dangling at his shoulder.

It was then that Ellis realized that the boy’s arm was broken. The same arm that Ellis had grabbed in a fit of rage and used to throw the boy off of himself.

“I beg your pardon, sirs, but what crime exactly is he guilty of?”

Ellis felt the weight inside him grow a little lighter.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“And who are you, girl?”

“I work with the merchant Byles,” Mary answered calmly.

“Then you are aware that this boy and his brother are accused of stealing coin and other objects of value?”

Mary walked past Ellis, past Byles and over to the pile of coins on the ground. She bent down and scooped each one up and placed it back in the coin purse. Lastly, she took the purple-silk bag in her hand and stood up. Mary then walked over to Byles and handed him the coin purse, before turning to Ellis and handing him the purple-silk bag.

“Forgive me,” she said again, politely, “But what crimes exactly is he guilty of?”

The captain glared at her, then tossed his head to the side.

“The crimes of causing a public disturbance, assaulting town militia, and drawing a weapon on town’s folk.”

“I will pay the fine!”

Byles stood up suddenly and turned back to steal a look at Torren and Ellis. “I never meant for this to happen…Please, I will pay the fine on behalf of this boy.”

The captain seemed annoyed.

“It will take more than that coin purse you have to settle this debt.”

“How much!?”

The captain smiled greedily.

“At least double what you have in that purse of yours.”

“But that’s ludicrous! It’s too much!?”

The captain shrugged.

“That’s the price, merchant Byles.”

Byles bit his tongue. Even if he wanted to help Torren, the cost was just too high. Byles turned towards him with misty eyes.

“I’m sorry. But I just can’t…”

“You heard him!” the captain called out to his men. “Grab the older one and let’s go.”

“Wait.”

Ellis stepped froward from behind Byles and held out his arm. He then began to undo the buckles that secured his leather vambrace in place, unraveling the straps one at a time. Ellis grabbed the vambrace, slipped it off his arm and tossed at the feet of the captain.

The other guardsman looked between the two of them.

The captain gave a sour look at the heap of leather beneath him.

“If you think one—”

A second vambrace landed with a thud next to the first.

Ellis continued to undo the straps of his chest plate one at a time, shirking it off his body and tossing it into a pile with the rest. He continued, undoing the binding of his leather greaves before tossing them over as well.

“And what am I to do with this?”

“Sell it. Use it. I don’t care. But its at least a noble’s worth.”

The captain seemed unconvinced.

“And if you should need anything further,” Ellis added, “You may make a formal request with Sir Perry Mannigold. I am sure my uncle would be more than happy to negotiate.”

At the mention of Sir Perry’s name, a visible tension moved between the guardsman. The captain looked from the pile of armor to Ellis and back again.

Finally, he let go of Timmy’s arm and bent down to scoop up the leather.

“Consider it settled.”

Without another word, the captain turned from them and rejoined his men. The other guards released both Jerg and Lester, then followed their captain down the street. Free from their restraints, Jerg and Lester ran over towards Torren who was still lying on the ground.

“How is he?”

“I— I think he’s unconscious.”

“Is he still breathing!?”

“He is,” Byles assured them.

“Let us take him back with us,” Mary offered, “We have medicine at the barracks.”

Lester and Jerg shared a look.

“We cannot afford to be indebted to Sir Perry Mannigold,” Jerg said, bitterly.

“Please,” Ellis insisted, “It’s not like that!”

Jerg shook his head.

“I’ll make sure it costs nothing,” Ellis pleased. “Let us help—”

“You’ve done enough.”

Lester’s words cut through Ellis like steel. Dejected, Ellis backed away and let the two men handle Torren. With a little help, Lester was able to position Torren on Jerg’s arms so that he could hold him securely. Even while missing a hand, Jerg was still able to carry the weight of Torren’s body. After all, he was skinny and weighed very little. Jerg turned from them and began down the road, followed close behind by Lester.

Byles folded his hands behind his back and approached Ellis carefully.

“I am terribly sorry, truly I am. And…” Byles paused for a moment, unsure if he should continue. “Regarding Sir Perry, I only thought you were in his employ. But rest assured, I will not speak of this. Please, tell your uncle that I am grateful for his services and for the services of the Starspawn.”

Byles gave a small bow of the head and departed, leaving Mary and Ellis alone on the street.