Halflord: Thief

Chapter 5

He was lying. It turns out he really was stupid enough to steal me.

Saras and I were dragged away from the camp, past two dead bodies on the ground outside, the remains of Hagrim's sentries. I assumed the guard watching us that night was dead also, though it wasn't Atan, who likely deserved it. My hands were still tied behind my back, only now another rope was around my neck, just in case I decided to struggle. Clever.

Once outside the camp, we stopped and waited until three more men showed up. Arnum had arrived at Hagrim's camp with two, but I counted six standing around Saras and I, including Arnum. But then I recognized one of the new arrivals as the other bidder, the one whose face I couldn't place. Suddenly, it all made sense.

"Everything clear?" Arnum asked the other man.

"Aye," he said. "Still quiet. We killed the sentries to the north."

"Good. Go back and get the gem. And take care of our other problem."

They disappeared into the woods, just as fast as they arrived. Arnum and his two men wasted no time in dragging us off the ground again and marching deeper into the woods. As we moved, he saw me looking at him, and he must have decided it was safe enough to let me talk. He pulled the cloth out of my mouth.

"Something to say, halfman?"

"I'm impressed. You sent your own man in as another bidder, to give you extra men to pull this stunt. Very clever. You're smarter than what I've been telling people."

Arnum stopped and punched me in the face. Hard. If the man holding me hadn't grabbed me under the shoulders, I would have fallen to the ground in a daze. Arnum smiled, and flexed his hand. "I've been waiting to do that for a while. Get used to it because I'll be doing it a lot now that you're mine."

I groaned, then popped my jaw back into place. "You never intended to buy me, did you?"

"Why waste the money when I can just take you?"

"You'll die for this, Arnum. Hagrim will kill you for stealing from him."

"Hagrim will be dead in a few minutes. And that gem of yours will be mine. I look to make a small fortune from this adventure. Turning you in, returning the gem, and claiming the bounty on Hagrim, which is paid whether he's dead or alive. All thanks to you. You thought you were so smart, escaping from me in Harfort. All you did was make me work a little harder to become a whole lot richer. I may retire after I turn you in."

He motioned, and the man holding me propped me back up on my feet. Arnum pushed deeper into the forest, Saras and I dragged along behind him. To our doom.

But then the gods of fate stepped in once more.

The sky lit up, lifting the darkness from the forest. We all turned to see streaks of orange and red fly into the air behind us, followed a moment later by a boom that rattled my bones. An explosion of fire, in Hagrim's camp. Is this how Arnum meant for Hagrim to die? The light faded as quickly as it came, but an orange glow remained, illuminating the thick plume of smoke left behind.

"Gods protect us..." one of the men said, in awe.

"Move," Arnum barked, his confused expression clearly indicating that he didn't expect this. "Now!"

Arnum ran through the woods, his men hauling us behind as fast as they could manage. We began to separate, thinning out in the trees in the rush to escape, and I realized that now was as good a time as any to try and get away. Unfortunately, Arnum thought the same thing. He stopped and waited for us.