Blood of the Merciless

Chapter Twelve

12.

Florian felt a slight warmth as he woke up. He had been laying on a stone table of sorts. He had been shirtless, the Rixa amulet hung cooly against his chest. Green leaf-like objects had been wrapped around certain parts of his arms. He noticed that this was where the warmth emanated from. He had been in a small stone room that had been dimly lit by a torch. He had not been alone, there had been an older woman alongside him. She had been bald with black symbols on her head. When she realised that he woke up, she began yelling in a different language. A few moments later a larger man entered the room. He had been bald as well. He lifted Florian easily and carried him over his shoulder. Florian tried to fight back but quickly learned that he had not been strong enough. The larger man carried him through stone corridors. Eventually, they reached a stop in front of a large wooden door. The man opened the doors slowly. Beyond the doors was a wide stone platform that stood before a large opening. The opening had revealed three cages dangling over nothingness. The large man placed him down on the ground. Florian heard the man chant. Mist gathered at the man's fingertips and swirled around his forearms. The man held his mist-covered arm forwards. The mist stretched and collided with one of the cages. The man retracted his arm as if he had been pulling on an object. The cage got yanked towards them. The man opened the cage carefully observing the figures within them. Now that the cage had been moved closer, Florian saw Ashe and Thorin sat in it. They had not attempted to escape. The man grabbed Florian and tossed him violently into the cage. "You could be a little bit more careful, he is injured. Asshole." Thorin yelled. The man closed the cage. The mists pushed them back, once again dangling over nothing.

"I am glad you are okay," Ashe said.

"There was a lady that healed me," Florian explained. His arms were numb. "Why didn't you attempt to escape?"

Thorin pointed at the cage adjacent to them. Florian finally noticed Alaric.

"They took our weapons and we don't know how many of them there are. Fighting now will be foolish." Alaric explained.

Florian smiled. "It is nice to have you back."

"Can you explain why we are here?" Thorin asked.

Alaric shook his head. "You shouldn't have come here."

Thorin scoffed at Alaric. "Are you going to keep saying that?"

Alaric nodded. "Tomorrow, they are going to execute me. I will do my best to make sure that you three get to leave safely."

"What nonsense are you spewing? We all are going to leave together." Ashe said.

Alaric remained quiet.

Florian piped up. "What about that promise you asked of us? We will help you when you need saving."

"It seems that will not be necessary anymore." Alaric smiled.

"I did not come here just to see you die and leave. I was told that I could learn from you but it just seems that you are a selfish prick."

Alaric laughed. "I guess that is true."

The quartet could not sleep that night. They watched the platform as light began to flood slowly into their senses.

Ashe sat with her face tugged into her knees. She had still been puzzled about the revelations of the Scaev. Now she had more things to worry about. How would she save her brother from certain death? Ashe thought and thought, to no avail. Every method she could come up with ended in a full-on battle in which they would probably lose. Then she thought about Alaric. In many ways, they had been opposites. He had always been quiet and broody while she had been loud and carefree. He rarely laughed and she spent hours trying to make him. He had always stood up for her when she did something wrong but then turned around and lectured her behind Priest Able's back. But above all, he had been her older brother, one that despite everything. she will standby until the end. She then remembered one key aspect of Alaric.