Kings Game

Chapter 16 - The troll's gambit (5)

Perth poked his head out. Roran waved at him. Carefully, Perth descended from the maze and slid down to the bridge. Roran was tempted to cross the bridge again to help him across, but decided against it. He was already risking his neck for the kid.

Slowly but surely, Perth made it across the bridge. A pair of gladiators eyed him as he made the crossing, but Roran squared his shoulders and raised his sword. The gladiators left them alone.

Once Perth was across he collapsed to the ground shaking. The kid was pale and drenched in sweat.

"Are you okay?" Roran asked.

Perth nodded. "Yeah, I just need a moment."

"We don't have a moment. We need to get these into our basins."

When Perth didn't respond, Roran bent down and dragged him to his feet. Perth's skin was clammy and cool to the touch. He was in shock. Roran started dragging him along, heading back towards his basin.

"Did you see how I handled them?" Roran asked, trying to keep Perth conscious.

Perth nodded. "You tricked them."

"I didn't trick them, I just got them to fight each other. My mother did the same thing, she told the trolls she would only surrender her gold or her body, and forced them to fight to see who would claim their prize. In the end the one asking for gold won, so she took a gold coin and threw it into the river. The troll dived in after it."

"Your mother sounds like an amazing person."

"She was, she really was. Stay here for a moment."

They had reached Roran's basin. He took his medallion off the hook and gently placed it inside. Relieved to be rid of the weight, Roran rolled his shoulders and tossed the hook into the basin as well. Above them, the crowd roared and Kell's whistle split the air again. She was waving at him, a giant grin plastered onto her face. Beside her, Nul was staring at Roran with a grim expression.

Turning back to Perth, Roran asked, "Where is your basin?"

"This way, four over."

Roran nodded. Perth's basin was between him and Morena. "I'll walk with you."

As they walked, Perth started stumbling side to side. Roran put a hand on his shoulder to help steady him.

"Thank you for helping me," said Perth. "My village needs the favors. People are dying and won't survive much longer without food or medicine."

"My people are in a similar situation."

"How many people do you have?"

"Forty seven," said Roran.

"We're down to thirteen, mostly kids. It will be twelve soon."

Roran wasn't sure if Perth was referring to his own impending death or if there was another person in his village that was going to die soon. Unsure of how to respond, Roran placed a hand on Perth's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

Arriving at the plaque with Perth's name, Roran watched as he haphazardly dropped the medallion into his basin. Perth's body slumped with relief seeing the medallion settle into the steel basin.

"It's over." Turning to Roran, he said, "You're not murderer, are you? You're actually a good person. I think your mother would be proud of you."

Roran swallowed the lump in his throat. "You're wrong. I am a murderer. I've killed people. I killed them for money."

"Your mother would still be proud of you," said Perth, smiling. "You seem like you need to go do something."

Roran nodded.