The Taleweaver

Sea of Grass, part six

Arthur looked up from the fire as Harbend arrived. The man looked grimly satisfied. At least something good must have come out of the meeting earlier.

"And?" Arthur asked before Harbend had a chance to sit down.

"We continue tomorrow. We are going to visit the town the scouts found."

Arthur slowly sighed with relief. So they'd managed to come to a constructive conclusion after all.

"And all are happy?" he asked more as a joke than anything else.

"Of course not, but everyone continuing has promised to work for the same goal."

"Then I guess some are returning."

"No, no one shall return. We came to an agreement on that as well. A bit costly, but we decided we could not have anyone undermining the positions of the remainders."

Arthur nodded. Some politicking he could understand.

"Then I guess the ones forced to continue will make little noise from now on?"

Harbend shrugged uncomfortably rather than replying, and Arthur gave him a quizzical glance. When Harbend refused to answer the silent question Arthur frowned and voiced it. "And? How are you going to keep them from making trouble in the future?"

"It has been taken care of." Harbend rose and left the dancing circle of light. Arthur started to get to his feet but changed his mind and sat down again. He looked at Gring, but she said nothing. They sat in silence until long wails in the distance forced Arthur to his feet. The cries were almost inhuman, almost. He made for the darkness but a heavy hand on his shoulder forced him to turn.

"Sit!" Gring hissed.

"But, don't you hear?"

"Yes, I hear. Better than you do. Three of your kind and six dragonlings."

"But what's happening?" Arthur tried to pry himself free, but Gring's grip was too strong.

"Master Garak promised you that the problems had been taken care of. For an oath breaker he is strangely honorable."

Somehow Arthur knew what was going on, but his mind denied it, and he refused to believe it could happen, refused to believe it was happening right now, but from the darkness the wails of fear, pain and desperation continued until they subsided into a silence possibly even more ghastly.