Bloodsword: War of the Leaf

Captured

Tev groaned under his break as the sharp pain returned, jabbing him without mercy in his short ribs. Still half-asleep despite the late morning sun that was washing over him, he batted half-heartedly at the spot where the pain was manifesting itself, thinking to scare away a persistent insect or small animal. Only to find his hand brushing against the smooth shaft of a javelin.

“Eh?” He grunted, cracking open an eye as he instantly recognized the feel of the weapon, hoping to catch sight of who was holding the long shaft. Then his eyes were narrowing as they caught sight of a pair of worn boots only a couple of spans from his face.

A thrill of panic washed through him and his muscles tensed. But before Tev could move, rough hands were dragging him to his feet only to slam him against the trunk of a nearby tree. His air leaving him with a whoosh, Tev found his head swimming on the edge of consciousness even before he was fully awake, the back of his skull having cracked sharply against unyielding wood. Then, as the first hands held him in place, others quickly ran over his upper body, brushing off dried mud.

“There’s no marks, sir!” A voice with a Mardish accent spoke loudly in Tev’s ear and he shrunk away from it.

“Well, an unbranded human!” Answered another Mardish voice in the clipped tones of a noble, somewhere to Tev’s left. The human forced his eyes to open against the stars that now danced in his vision.

Only to find himself staring at a full dozen Mardish soldiers, regular troops in camouflaged leathers, heavily armed and looking rather grim as they stared at him. Their commander, a lieutenant sitting on a horse several paces away, spoke again, marking himself as the elf with a noble’s tongue.

“Thank whatever gods you pray to, human, for allowing us to find you unmarked. For it’s the noose for any escaped slave found!”

“But I’m a, . . .” Tev began, his voice thick still with both sleep and confusion. Only to be cut off brutally by a sharp blow to the left side of his face, the force of it laying open his cheek and splitting his lip even as it snapped his head around. Blinking away even more vision blurring stars, he tenderly probed at a new gash on the inside of his mouth where his teeth, aided by the trooper’s fist, had cut into his flesh. Those same teeth ached dully, somewhat loosened in their sockets. He then spit out rapidly accumulating, coppery-tasting blood and looked up at the officer with a cold glare. Only to see the officer smile slightly.

“Well, a bit of spirit, eh? A winter in the Troska mines should cure that!” As if the officer’s words were some sort of signal, gloved fists began to rain down on Tev’s aching body, striking him in the face, shoulders, chest and abdomen. He managed to stay conscious long enough to feel two sharp blows to his right eye and nose before another blow coming form his left smashed into his temple, shattering the world into a thousand fragments that skittered frantically beyond his grasp and he slumped unconscious in the soldiers’ hands.

The troopers continued to work Tev over with their fists until his blood darkened their leathers, splattering wetly with each blow to the face. His nose was now a shapeless mass and blood trickled from a dozen cuts. His body too bled as the vicious attack opened up half healed wounds from his sojourn on Kuosh.

Finally the officer gestured and the beating stopped. Two troopers, their leathers soaked with Tev’s blood, put their hands under the battered human’s arms and together they began to drag him bodily through the forest, following in the footsteps of their fellows as they marched in single file behind the mounted officer. Within moments the thick jungle swallowed up the grim procession, leaving behind only blood splattered leaves and ground and Tev’s cloth wrapped discovery from Kuosh’s city of tombs.

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