The smell of roasted hog stew brought Appo to his senses. He would have salivated if not for his profound dehydration. His mouth was dry, and his lips cracked. He tried in vain to spit out the sand that had fallen in his mouth. He shivered as he got to his feet.

For a moment, Appo was convinced he had awoken from a nightmare. His mind was scrambled, but he wasn’t feeling any pain. Appo looked down his left arm, expecting to see his hand unscathed. Instead, he saw a charred stub of flesh, just a small promontory where his palm used to be. His forearm was stained red, but it was cracked and dried. He had stopped the bleeding. His forearm ached, but he felt no pain in it anymore. He made a motion that would have normally extended his fingers, only to find a soreness that extended up to his elbow.

After catching his balance, Appo walked back over to the pot. He was starving. He didn’t care how cold the food was. He lifted the lid, finding only dust within. With horror, Appo realized he was awoken by the smell of his own burnt flesh.

“Not so hungry anymore.” Appo tried to speak his thoughts, but his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

He wondered how long he had been out. It could have been a while, but he was unsure. Regardless, the guards hadn’t found him yet. He thought that he had been leaving an obvious blood trail, but other than a small stain near the fire pit there was no evidence that he had even been there. Most of the blood was on him. He rubbed his foot over the sand, mixing the stain into it.

“Alright... head is still working,” Appo thought. “Promising. Now I need the elephant. Shouldn’t be far.”

Appo grabbed his blood-stained tunic and wrapped it around his forearm. The sand irritated his charred skin, but the deep throbbing pain had lessened considerably. He was still drowsy, yet alert enough to know that he needed to keep moving. He thought about what he must have looked like: a shirtless man, covered in sand from head to toe, his left arm wrapped in a bloody cloth. He must have looked horrifying, though not unusual compared to other ascetics.

Before Appo could shuffle very far, he heard the distant clanking of metal boots. “Guards!” They were very close. Appo looked around. There were a few homes, most of them boarded up. The house he was in front of was as well, except for one of its windows. Appo lumbered to the window, rolled over the ridge, and fell into the house.

The house was completely empty. There were a few broken chairs and matted cloth on a raised slab. It looked as if no one had lived there in years. Appo vaguely recalled the guards mentioning this area of town, West Shell, had been abandoned for a long time. Appo tried to get to his feet, but the clanking of the metal was much louder now. He lay flat where he fell.

“Any sign of him?!” Appo recognized the voice. It was one of Juddken’s guards. From the rustling of their armor, it sounded as if they were right outside the house.

“No sir! Could be anywhere though, he’s been gone for at least an hour.”

“Shit! Check the slave’s quarters! Coulda gone back there!”

Appo couldn’t believe how long he had been passed out for a long time in open view. He heard the clanking of armor again, there must have been several standing outside now.

“Ipa!” another voice said, “Adok and I will look here. Check a few of the buildings for the prisoner. Could be hiding.”

“Fine. He’s probably dead in the streets. Let us know if you find his corpse.”

“All they need to do is look,” Appo thought. “I’m done.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Appo heard most of the guards leave, diminishing to just a few footsteps outside. They were circling the firepit.

“Okay Heikk,” Appo recognized Adok’s meek voice. “Where should we start?”

“How about we start by you telling me what the fuck happened back there?” The other guard, Heikk, held his voice to a whisper, though he sounded furious. “I’m hearing that some of the cursed escaped their cells. That we have two escaped prisoners. And now Juddken has been attacked? What madness is going on?”

Adok sighed. “The healer escaped. Jere is in the cells. He broke away for a moment but I managed to lock him inside.”

Appo was devastated: Jere was dead. Or he was about to become a screamer. He didn’t know which fate was worse.

“Jere?” Heikk replied, his tone unamused. “So the reports I’ve been hearing about throwing prisoners in the cells are true. For Okkan's sake, why would you do something so moronic?”

“We were under orders. From Juddken and Boah.”

Heikk laughed. “Juddken I get, but Boah? Seems a little extreme for him, no? You sure it was his idea, and not the little one letting power run to his head?” Adok didn’t respond. Heikk continued, “Who all have you thrown in there?”

“Before tonight?” Adok hesitated. “A few of the guards loyal to Mendalla.”

“You don’t mean… Penzer is in the cells too?”

“Not me. But others did, yes.”

“Shit. He must’ve done something really bad then... That geezer taught me everything I know… Bastard.”

The two paced for a moment. Appo lay on the ground, holding his breath. It was getting hard. He needed to cough but suppressed it with all his will.

“In regards to Juddken,” Heikk continued, “I heard he was hit by an arrow. Does he draw breath?”

“He was alive when I saw him. Not sure how... He was shot in the neck by the largest arrow I’ve ever seen. It brushed against my hip from the ground.”

“You think the prisoner had someone watching over them, then? To help them escape?”

“There had to be. There was a lot of blood… Juddken chopped off one of his hands before he was rescued. He had to have escaped on a beast, the others say escape on foot is impossible in that condition.”

“We’ll have to keep a lookout then… there could be others. Maybe they’ll come for the slave?”

“Doubtful. There are several of us posted outside the cells. No one else is getting in or out.”

“Good.”

Appo was shocked. He couldn’t believe that Juddken was still alive! From what he could recall, the arrow had gone right through Juddken’s throat. He could still see him rolling on the ground, gurgling through the blood. Boah’s son was tougher than Appo had given him credit for. “Makes two of us,” Appo thought with some satisfaction.

“Okay,” said Heikk, “Don’t bullshit me. The cursed… did they get you?”

“No. I’ll swear to that on my family name.”

“What about the others?”

Adok hesitated. “One of them was on top of Taipo for a long time. Another was scratched.”

“Who?”

“... He won’t let me say. Told me if I breathed a word he’d throw me in the cells themself.”

“Shit.” Heikk barely repressed his frustration. “I bet it’s Ipa, that bald prick. Only looks out for himself.”

“But the witch is dead, right? Enlil and Boah both said that the curse would be lifted after the witch was exiled.”

Heikk grunted. “They also said Okkan would bring water to Ash… I wouldn’t count on it.”

The two wandered out of Appo’s earshot, moving around the corner of the home. He allowed himself to clear his throat, keeping his cough at bay, but he didn’t move. He was prepared to sleep all night if he needed to. He was glad he didn’t make any rash actions, as the clanging of their boots returned.

“So we shouldn’t alarm the Heads?” asked Adok.

“Without Penzer, Ipa is in charge of the Corps. And considering everything I’d rather not be on Boah’s bad side.”

“Understandable, especially with what happened to Juddken.”

“Ha! You have much to learn. The holiday is more important to him, nothing will stop that man. No, he wants Okkan's favor. People are already starting to wake, Adok. No one saw the accursed and no one knows of anything other than rumors. They won’t even close the gates.”

“Oh. Will you not say anything?”

“And join Penzer in the cells? Would you?”

The two fell silent. They wandered a little more, but Appo was beginning to doze off. He pinched his ear a few times, but he wasn’t sure how successful he was at staying conscious. Eventually, Appo heard nothing. No conversation, no footsteps, not even the wind.

Appo rose to his feet again. He looked outside the window. He was completely alone. He awkwardly crawled through the window, this time keeping his balance as he left his hiding spot.