Danica lay on the ratty old mattress, staring blankly at the ceiling. It was pitch black in the room, and her dark vision had taken over, but there wasn’t really much to see. It was all just shades of gray nothingness, and she was trapped there waiting for the next night of horrors to unfold. She didn’t know where she was, or even how long she’d really been there. All she did know was that horrible man had forced her to do things that Matron Stenouse promised they’d do to her.
She got off the bedding and wrapped the blanket around her slender frame like a cloak, trying to keep warm. She fought so many emotions now as she paced back and forth across the room, trying to get the blood flowing again to her frigid hands and feet. Depression, anxiety, anger, they all vied for control it seemed. Her own mind was a maelstrom of chaos, clouding any plan of trying to free herself from such a horrible situation.
She grabbed the wooden bucket they’d brought earlier for her to wash off with. The cold, soapy water sloshed around as she carried it back to the dirty bedding. She wiped down quickly, cringing as the icy liquid touched her already cold skin.
As she dipped the rag into the bucket, she felt something strange inside of it. It felt almost as if one of the slats of the bucket was splintering lengthwise. She fidgeted with it for a few moments and then broke it completely off the bucket. There in the darkness she studied the crude wooden spike, pressing her finger lightly against the tip. It was rather sharp, and sturdy enough despite the water logging of the wood.
“There might just be a way out of this place yet,” she whispered quietly.
She gave her makeshift weapon a few practice swings, knowing this was the only chance she’d have for it. It was gut wrenching to think about actually doing it, but what choice was there? She would rather die trying to escape than to ever suffer another torturous moment in this hellish place.
Danica set the bucket over in the corner and waited for the moment to arrive. Thankfully she didn’t have to wait long as the sound of a key began fumbling in the lock. She quickly ran into position and took a deep breath, preparing for the do or die moment.
Badger was so shocked and caught unaware by the suddenness of a bucket hitting him that he dropped the plate of food and his candle lantern to the floor, snuffing out the only light source available to him. Immediately Danica's vision went back into the shades of gray that’d grown so familiar recently. This was the darkness and it was her element to thrive in.
With a quick thrust, she rammed that wooden spike directly into his good eye. He never saw it coming and had no way of even defending himself to the attack. It bit deep into the socket, guaranteeing he would never see anything ever again.
He hit the ground, screaming in agony, but she had already jumped over him and was desperately hoping to find an exit. Up ahead she glimpsed a figure with light approaching at a fast pace. She ducked into a small alcove to the left and held her breath, hoping they would pass without noticing her. She knew it had to have been Slade, but she didn’t dare to take him on right now even if she had managed to secure another weapon.
After he went by, she took off towards the direction he had come from, hoping to gain enough of a lead should he turn around. She saw a small area ahead of her where they had been stationed, and a doorway on the far side of the room. She quickly ran to it and flung it open, fresh air gusting over her scantily clad body. Hearing Slade yell out from behind her, gave her even more incentive to run blindly into the darkness ahead.
She ran through the sparsely wooded field, stones all around her sticking up from the ground, many in odd shapes and angles. Grave stones. She stopped for a moment to try and gain her bearings and figure out where exactly she was. A wooded cemetery, and the outline of a grand stone building against the night sky.
“The church of light,” she whispered quietly. “But, why?”
She looked around and saw no other signs of life nearby and it gave her just a moment of respite. If she were at the church, on the edge of town, then she wasn’t far from home after all. So close, and yet so far still.
She saw more lights and heard yelling coming from within the cathedral. Probably disciples of the church being alerted of her escape. She had no idea how many were in on her kidnapping, nor did she have the desire to find out. It could have been the entirety of the religion for all it mattered.
Danica turned and ran to one of the walls surrounding the cemetery, and with the grace of a cat, easily hopped over it. Her bare feet landed softly on the cobbled street, barely making a sound. Across from her were a number of higher classed houses meant for the well to do citizens of Norport. Few lights still flickered in the windows at this late hour, but she dared not seek them out for help.
She imagined for a fleeting moment how odd she must have looked right then if anyone had seen her. Pale skinned and draped only in a filthy, once white blanket. They’d all be claiming that ghosts were now haunting the city. She imagined Landon reading that report with some amount of confusion. Her eyes began to tear up at the thought of seeing him again.
She ran harder now than she ever had to before, knowing she was so close to home and safety. She wailed with joy and tears burst forth when the barracks came into view. She pushed herself forward just a little further, legs burning with horrible pain like fires consuming her flesh. Her weakened body had apparently reached its breaking point though and she collapsed right in front of the gates, sobbing in agony and overcome with emotions.
A guard came running up from his post and knelt beside her. She could see him, but she couldn’t recognize who he was. “By the gods of light,” he breathed.
She was too out of it to really say anything but she wanted so badly to admonish him on that phrase. She’d had enough of the gods of light to last her a lifetime.
“Go get the captain,” he yelled to his partner, who’d be on duty nearby. She felt a hand at her neck and almost panicked from the touch. She quickly realized he was simply checking her pulse, and that she’d be ok. “Are you injured?”
She tried to speak but found it too difficult. Instead she simply shook her head, that she wasn’t. She could scarcely do more than lay there on the cold stones, huddling under the blanket. Her vision was still blurry and swimming, she had no idea who was around her now, and was really too tired to care anymore. She began to pass into unconsciousness, and was only barely aware of the arms that picked her up off the ground.
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“Go get Angela and tell her to meet me in the girls room. Be quick about it. Rest of you, return to your posts. Keep an extra sharp lookout.”
She wrapped her arms around Landon's neck and faded into the darkness.
****
Danica awoke, feeling sore, dizzy, and horrible exhausted. She looked around her small room to see Angela in the corner, reading a book. She tried to call out to the woman, but it felt like her mouth had been stuffed with cotton.
Angela set the book down and brought Danica a glass of water. She sat beside the bed and helped the young girl sit up to drink. “We’ve worried ourselves sick this last week.”
Danica nodded, still having trouble getting the words out. She wondered how to even begin to explain it all. She again tried to talk but broke down in tears immediately, sobbing into the woman's chest, soaking the soft cotton of her shirt. It took her some amount of time to get herself back under control and regain any sense of composure.
She explained the festival and the kidnapping in the alley, trying to convey all the details she could remember. As she spoke, she could vaguely even recall the stink of the men in her mind. It was nauseating to try and remember these moments so clearly, but she knew that details often mattered in these moments. Danica tried to go on, but began to choke up again.
Angela pulled out a vial and poured a couple of drops into Danica’s water and bade her to drink. “This will help you relax.”
Danica took a drink of the mixture. It smelled of some sort of flowery herb, but she trusted Angelas judgment with remedies and finished the whole cup. A moment later a tingle went through her body and it began to relax away the fatigue and pain. She nodded to Angela, handing her the empty cup.
“I was in a room, trapped in the dark. A man came in, he was gluttonous and foul, he… well, he held me against my will. I was forced…,” she trailed off that sentence, leaving it to hang in the air. The meaning was clear enough.
Angela nodded in understanding, tears coming down her cheeks. Danica had never seen the woman cry and felt horrible about everything that was happening. They held hands a moment in silence, until Angela finally spoke. “Do you know who he is?”
Danica nodded. “I heard them talking outside the door. I think his name was Sombec.”
****
Landon turned the handles of the large double doors and pushed as hard as he could. They echoed throughout the large chamber like a clap of thunder after slamming into the wall, a very symbolic sound considering his mood. Hundreds of eyes turned in unison at the sound as he entered the Norport cathedral. He’d brought nearly a dozen of the guards with him, all of them dressed like they were going off to war.
“How dare you enter with such violence,” Sombec yelled in anger, his face turning red. He stood at the podium in his finest vestments, hands gripping the sides of the lectern as if to steady himself upon it. “This is a holy sanctuary, and I will not tolerate its defilement.”
Landon pulled his sword and pointed it at the priest. “Sombec Martin, I hereby levy these charges against you. Attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, and several other charges that will be drafted up later officially.”
The people in attendance gasped audibly hearing that and began talking excitedly. They had just seen their beloved priest accused of some of the most horrible crimes in the books of law. It was scandalous that it could be possible, and yet here was the captain of the city guard levying those charges personally against their spiritual leader.
“This is outrageous and slanderous,” Sombec yelled. “Lord Rowan will be informed of this. Guards!” Some of the men near the priest, dressed as attendants, pulled their swords from the sheaths at their sides.
Landon nodded appreciatively at them. “Men at arms,” he commanded his troops. A few pulled their swords and the rest crossbows. Trained and hardened men, none of them had a look of nervousness or wanting to back down. “You can come alive, or I can drag your filthy corpse through the street.”
Sombecs overbearing confidence waned as he looked at Garwin. The mercenary hadn’t even drawn his blade but simply stood there, listening and assessing the situation. Finally the muscled man just whistled to the others and turned his hand in an exaggerated circle. In battle it would have been a sign to retreat, but in this case it indicated to the armed disciples to stand down.
Landon watched the movement of the man and saw it for what it was. Something about him seemed dangerous, but he had no idea what it was yet. He could at least tell that the man was a veteran in the way that he carried himself. A dangerous opponent indeed, he would need to keep an eye on him in the future. For now, he had this situation to resolve.
Sombec sputtered incredulously at the unwillingness of his guards. “You can’t just abandon me….”
Garwin cut him off. “We’re not. But there’s no point in pissing our lives away for nothing.” He nodded towards Landon and the guards in the group. “They’d cut us down and you as well in the crossfire most likely.”
Sombec slammed his meaty fist upon the podium, knocking a candle over the large open book. Hot dripping wax coated the page, marring an illustration of Myrra, goddess of light, before falling on the floor and extinguishing. He looked around the room at the congregation with their eyes now upon him.
“Lies,” he proclaimed loudly. “The dark gods' evil influence has infected the hearts of Norport’s watchers it seems. Be at ease good people, The gods of light and goodness will protect me from such baseless claims.” He stepped down and made a grand spectacle of his sacrifice to the audience.
Landon wasted no time tying the portly man's arms tightly behind his back and marching him into the streets. Everywhere they went, the people stared in amazement that such a holy figure could be arrested by the guards and treated in such a way. They spoke in hushed tones and ran to tell their neighbors what had just been seen. He walked the prisoner through the busiest street to ensure that everyone would know. He wanted the people to see that no one, regardless of their societal status, was above the law.
Sombec looked back at Landon, “I hope you realize, captain, that…” A swift punch to the kidneys dropped him to the ground like a sack of filthy laundry.
Landon had known from the very start that there wouldn’t be much time until Lord Rowan or the Judicial Council stuck their damned noses into the matter. As much as he’d like to walk their newest prisoner through every side street and alleyway in Norport, he knew that he had to get back to the barracks and deposit Sombec into the dungeons beneath. He angrily grabbed the man, and with some difficulty, managed to set him back on his feet.
By the time they had arrived back at the barracks, a sizable crowd had gathered behind them. Landon separated his group and put them to assisting the men trying to hold back the onlookers. He looked over at the masses of gathered men and women, all trying to be a part of the spectacle, and nodded in approval.
Landon grabbed the collar of the gate guard on duty and yelled over the voices of the crowd, “We’re going to have some very important men arriving soon. Let them through of course, and send for help if this crowd gets too out of hand.”
“Sir,” the man responded in affirmation.
Landon pushed hard on Sombec’s back, nearly sending the head priest to the ground. They had business to attend to together and little time left for it.