Return of the Stormcriers

CHAPTER 16 - THE HIDDEN VALLEY

"Hold here!" The man who led the group that had abducted Matt and his friends, Edric, as they had come to learn he was called, stopped suddenly as he spoke, raising his right fist in a signal for his men to stop. The command was quick and direct, but not unkind, as everything had been since their kidnapping. Matt slowed to a halt, thankful for the chance to even temporarily rest his weary legs. They had marched for four days since their capture, for every hour of daylight. They had continued due south, out of the Great Plains, across beautiful rolling hills, and into the foothills of the Sünderin Mountains that stretched all the way to the Östilche Ocean to the East. Of the three mountain ranges that covered significant swaths of Verden, the Sünderin were composed of the shortest peaks with only the highest mountaintops approaching the size of the northern expanse. Various species of oak trees now sprung up from the landscape, a welcome respite to the endless waves of grass that had perpetually filled their every step as they crossed the plains; even the rolling hills had only brought sparse relief to the monotony. The foothills had brought a rockier terrain that sent a wave of homesickness crashing over Matt, making the crags of his home province feel so much further away. According to Anthony they had crossed the border into Deepshade Province a couple hours prior.

  Matt wished desperately that he could reach his aching calves and feet and give them even a brief massage, but with the exception of their paltry meals when their hands were placed in front of their bodies, their arms had remained bound behind their backs. Ironically, they now had a steadier supply of food and water as prisoners than when they had been on their own, and it hadn't cost them a thing. Unlike Klaus and Anton who had gleefully eaten a hearty meal in front of Matt his first night with Nathan, these men ate the same miserly portions that they doled out to their captives. They wore no insignias and carried no banners to declare their allegiance, which coupled with their southern heading and the lack of conversation only added to the mystery of who these men were and where they were being taken. 

  "Place your hands in front your body," Edric commanded as their bindings were unfastened. A shiver ran down Matt's spine as he felt the cool metal of a sword blade touch the back of his neck. No matter how briefly their hands were untied, a blade was held against either he or one of his friends to ensure the cooperation of the rest of the captives.

  It's too early for a meal, Matt thought worriedly looking into the sky, tracing the sun's path across the heavens. They had subsisted on two meals a day for the duration of their journey and it was not yet noon. This was something else entirely. Grudgingly he placed his hands in front of himself, holding them together at the wrist. The silent man who had removed the rope just seconds before, replaced it deftly, pulling the knot tight. A thick cloth was placed over his eyes, tied around the back of his head and obscured his vision completely. Renewed panic washed over him as his sight was taken.

Why now? His mind raced through dozens of possibilities. What were they about to do to them? It made no sense to take them out this far just to kill them.

Their forced march continued at an order from Edric, albeit slower and more carefully as they were now navigating the increasingly rocky terrain while blind. The man marching beside Matt kept an arm on his shoulder the whole way, ensuring that he remained stable and upright, correcting his course with gentle pulls on his sleeve. Knowing he looked ridiculous, Matt lifted his feet a good three or four inches higher than he needed as he walked, paranoid of catching his toe on an outcropping and falling onto the hard ground. Without his vision he concentrated on listening to their surroundings, praying that he could hear something that could give him a clue as to what was happening to them.

It took them at least ten minutes to traverse what would have taken them only a third of that time if they had not been blindfolded, taking several twists and turns as they continued the path up into the mountains before Matt's listening paid off. His feet struck solid stone giving off a faint echo that seemed to grow louder with each step he took. The temperature dropped noticeably as they continued to walk and the tone of flickering flames was added to the concert of sounds as several of the men lit torches. They must have been taken into a cave system with a hidden entrance, that explained the blindfolds.