The feast at the Suevian village had been full of fish dishes and draft beer. Alana remained in a corner of the town square, watching the soldiers and townspeople dance to frenzied lutes and harps. She sat, eating so much fish she could no longer take it, and almost at the break of dawn, she fell asleep. Alana was one of the last to wake up, with her neck against a tree, close to the town square, glancing around. A few Suevian guards remained on each corner, squatting and rolling dice, with their spears on the side. The bonfire that had lit the night lay still in the centre, now turned to ash. Ira was within her range of sight, slowly chewing on cheese and chatting with a dairy farmer with little hair and a big belly under a brown tunic.

“Good morning, Alana,” Ira said from the barn across. Her hair was tied on a bun, not to make it messy.

“Morning,” Alana said, quickly realizing she had slept in public and her hair was probably a mess. She carefully arranged it, or intended to in the absence of a proper mirror. She finally decided to cloak up and hide her hair under the hood, although the day was not even chilly.

“What time is it?” Alana said, clearing the sleep from her eyes.

“Almost noon,” Ira said from afar. “The soldiers were wondering how much more you’d like to stay. They really liked it last night.”

Alana stretched her arms, then placed them on the side, feeling the short grass. She moved her hand around, then turned her body, looking down.

It wasn’t there.

She stood up.

“What’s wrong?” Ira asked. The dairy farmer next to her nodded, quietly said goodbye and went back into his barn.

“Have you seen my sword?” Alana asked, looking behind the tree, and throwing glances around the town square.

“The sword?” Ira approached her, raising an eyebrow. “It was with you, wasn’t it?”

“I… I think we should get going,” she said, scratching her head, trying not to panic. Probably one of the soldiers had taken it to guard it well. Hopefully. If not, she would have to ask the town mayor. “Where’s Elkas?” she asked first.

“Right here,” Elkas said, his voice coming from behind her. Alana turned and found him walking toward her with arms crossed, his full armour on. Alana stood to her feet, barely reaching his chest. He looked down at her.

“I need to talk to you,” he hissed.

“Me too,” Alana blinked in surprise. “You go first.”

“I mean in private,” he whispered.

“What’s wrong? You can say it out loud.”

“Come on, it’s not that simple,” he said through clenched teeth.

“We have nothing to hide.”

“Alana, please.” He turned around, as if to disguise it. “It’s something else, something that concerns you,” he whispered as softly as possible.

“Well, this better be good,” she followed him to the bonfire, where the logs were ashen white and red. Elkas stared down with an icy glance.

“They don’t want to let us go.”

“What do you mean?” Alana asked, narrowing her eyes.

“They’ve got the entire camp surrounded, no one can move from there, not even to the toilet. They’ve left it like that since yesterday.”

Alana felt her heart turn inside her chest.

“And did you talk to the mayor? What about your men?”

“Yes, they were waiting for you, I told the guys to stay alert before they...”

The sound of marching steps through the plaza echoed, Alana turned and saw the village mayor striding toward them, his belly wide, bulging from his tunic. More than a dozen bodyguards marched behind him, all in chain mail, halberds and bronze helmets.

“So, you show up, our generous host,” Elkas said, lifting his chin and crossing his arms.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Good morning, guests. I hope your night was restful,” the mayor said with a wide smile, hands on his wide hips.

“It was, we’re ready to go now, so please give us our weapons back,” Alana said.

“As you wish, we shall return them to you shortly. There is only one thing we wish you do,” he said, lifting a short and fat finger.

“What is it?” Alana said, crossing her arms. Ira stood next to her, shielding her, along with Elkas.

The legionaries, who remained in the plaza quickly formed next to them.

“There is no reason for threats and, being all defensive, miss,” the mayor explained, while in the meantime, the men around the town square emerged from their homes wielding butcher knives, swords and rusty spears. Alana glanced around, squinting her eyes. She started to feel dizzy.

“Well, we’re the ones who are unarmed,” she said.

“These are just precautions,” the mayor said, smiling even further.

“What do you want?” Alana asked.

“Your tall friend knows already. We, as a people, have an oath with the gods that visited us from the water below. Everyone who steps inside this town, no matter if he came through land or through sea, must kneel and declare allegiance to the Giants and the Dragon.”

Alana laughed.

“Great...”

“Over our dead bodies, you fat traitor!” Elkas shouted, pointing his finger at the man.

“You can’t do this to us! We came in respectfully, and respectfully disagree.”

“Then, you shouldn’t have come here in the first place. Please, young travellers, it is only a small bend of the knees, and a few words of allegiance.”

Alana pursed her lips, she looked at Ira, as if asking for guidance, but her glance was fixed on the men.

“Come on, guys, I cannot be held up for such a little thing,” Askar said from behind them. He stepped forward, the sun reflecting on his segmented armour, and dropped to his knees.

“What are you doing?” Elkas strode toward him and forced him to his feet. “Are the deaths of those thousand in vain?”

Alana gave Ira a short piercing glance. Ira winked her eye. It was time for one of Ira’s stealth operations. Ira slowly stepped back through the walls of the houses, her eyes always forward, went to fetch water at the well, all perfectly innocuous. She would change her clothes and disappear, to ride back and find her bandit friends. Alana watched from the corner of her eye, to see whether she made it.

In the meantime, she had to keep the mayor and his men focused.

“Well, I think we need good reasons to do it,” Alana said. “Those giants are not to be trusted.”

“Yes!” Elkas scowled. “I spit on your fecking giants. I wipe my ass with their fingers, and your words. Feck your giants. We will never bend, only if you mean squatting to soil in their faces.”

The mayor’s grin immediately turned into a face of disgust.

“You ate their food,” growled one of the soldiers. “Now you better be thankful.”

“Just do what they say!” Askar screamed.

“It’s about loyalty,” the mayor crossed his arms. “These are gods; gods shall not be mocked with half-hearted oaths. And shall not be blasphemed.”

“My point exactly,” Elkas said. “Alana, we shall fight for this!”

“Wait! What if you let us think about it?” Alana said. “We came here in peace, we expect the same thing.”

The man took a deep breath, as if containing his ire.

“We shall show our mercy to you,” he muttered, his face still red at the offense. “Our gods are merciful. Then, you shall stay here, you cannot go. You shall not eat of our food, until you bend your knee.”

“No one of you guys,” Elkas interrupted them. “Not one of you dares to swear fidelity to them, not one. That, we will count as treason.”

“The question is what you will be waiting for,” the major smiled with confidence.

“Summon the God of the River!” said a devoted woman from the crowd of pan wielders.

“Yes!” the voices of the townspeople echoed around. They called for it, Alana looked around and felt like a mouse, or part of a family of mice surrounded by a cat pack. And there was no way out.

“Oh, our masters will come,” the mayor said with a sly smile.

“Alright, deal is done!” Elkas stepped forward, clapping his hands. “Now let us go back to our tents in peace.”

“As you wish!” the bald mayor bobbed his head slightly.

“Come on, Alana,” Elkas said, almost reaching for her hand, but she took it away quickly. What was Elkas thinking? That would be embarrassing even for himself, in front of the company. The soldiers kept marching on.

“Hey, this one was trying to get out!” they heard a villager shout. Alana looked back only to see Ira being held by two muscular men, they held iron spikes against her sides, and one of them had a hand squeezed against his own rib. “She cut me with a spoon,” that villager said.

“They attacked me!” Ira exclaimed.

They pushed her to the ground, and she fell on one knee, she lifted her eyes.

“Tie her to a pole,” the mayor scowled.

“No!” Alana yelled and ran toward her, she held her by the hand and lifted her to her feet.

“Leave her alone,” Alana said.

“What happened here,” the mayor strode toward them.

“Spoon,” the wounded man said, his face contorted in pain, and a single tear sliding down her cheek.

The mayor directed a poisonous glance toward Ira.

“You injured one of our villagers. An attempt on a life is no laughing matter. She will be punished. Take her to the rack!”

“Stop it!” Alana shouted. “Stop it now, she is one of us, we won’t let you touch her! Take me, if you want, but do not take her.”

“Alana, don’t do that!” Ira screamed at her, still on the ground. “Don’t put yourself at risk.”

Two halberd-wielding guards stepped forward in unison, like choreographed dancers, pushed Alana away and grabbed Ira by the wrists. They pulled her to her feet and bound her with ropes.

“Let her go!” Alana screamed, as they dragged her to the centre, behind the bonfire, where they shackled her arms to a pillar.

Elkas and the legionaries stared in anger as her arms were pulled up. She closed her eyes, and remained silent like a lamb.

“Do you want us to let her go? Swear your allegiance!” the mayor screamed. “This is for your own good.”

Alana tensed her fists.

“Don’t do it, Alana,” Ira screamed, her hands up, tied like a virgin sacrifice to a cruel god. “I’ll be fine.”

“I am sorry, you know I had to do it to her” the mayor let out a smile. “We are being forced to do this, by you. You are being stubborn and cruel, we gave you everything, the gods themselves did. And now, you reject their alms. Thus, you shall be punished.”