Mia's Stand

  Chapter 14

  Marigaff walked with Aaramerielle about the perimeter of Scheramm's Lake. They had been out a week or so. Marigaff assured Aaramerielle that they surely were being watched and that their plan was working. The thick groves of trees that grew at the edge of the hundred miles of the lake's southernmost shore made good cover from anyone who might advance on them from the treeless plains to the south. During the day, the air was warm; scant undergrowth and trodden paths made the going easy. A fire at night was not an uncommon sight, since many travelers camped on the shores of Scheramm’s Lake en route to wherever they were bound. They even ran in to several small groups of wayfarers each day. They camped in a thicket of trees where they built a small fire, thus having a means to ward off the spring chill. They took turns standing watch, backs to the fire so to not ruin their night vision; one could not be too careful. They were, after all, very close to where the Plains of Rhammahadra met the mountains of the dark land of Slagg, where, as everyone knows, unexpected things happened.

  Marigaff had taken her turn at watch. The air was cool at that wee hour of the morning when she awakened Aaramerielle to relieve her. Not that she needed relief; she could go days without sleep, and had never been sure if the ability was a gift of Saa or a curse of immortality. Her motivation was her novice in training: this was part of that training. Marigaff had just turned on her side in her bedroll to try to go to sleep when she heard Aaramerielle gasp. She reached for her knife as she bolted into a sitting position. Aaramerielle was captive, held by two Slagg humans dressed in uniforms of the dark sorceress' army. Marigaff sprang to her feet into a defensive position, but her attempt was quickly thwarted. Two more soldiers subdued her from behind. Their rough grips knocked the knife from her hand. She struggled, yet in vain, for the soldiers easily overpowered her. From the forest came their commanding officer, a young, rough-looking Slagg, filthy more from lifestyle than travel. He laughed wickedly, a dry, raspy laugh as he picked up the knife Marigaff had intended to assault them with. His laughter grew. His comrades joined him. They had been hiding in the surrounding trees with a host of darkhounds. Soon the whole group of assailants were laughing, some a little too hard. The officer held the knife he'd taken from the sorceress in the air and the laughter slowly died, a decrescendo over many minutes. The officer waited patiently, hand with knife aloft. He spoke only when silence was total.

  "You wage war with one such as I with this?" he said through clenched teeth. Sweat matted his long black hair to his narrow face as he held the knife inches in front of Marigaff's eyes. She didn't flinch. He slowly lowered the knife. He spat in her face. Still, she did not move. He turned as if to walk away, then spun to deliver a solid fist to her stomach. She doubled over. He stood her upright, lifting her by a handful of hair. He backhanded her with great force. The slap hurt. Her neck muscles shocked and she nearly vomited.

  The two who held Aaramerielle had hoisted her off her feet. They held her aloft, then slammed her to the ground. They held her as she struggled uselessly, then tied her hands to her feet with a long rawhide leather cord, leaving half of a meter of slack cord between the feet and enough slack between the hands and feet so that she could stand straight, yet could not raise her arms. Her captors likewise tied Marigaff, the leather cords tight, sharp, abrasive. They were then tethered together by a four-foot long stick two inches in diameter, each of them bound by the neck to either end of the pole. The Slaggs took their horses, ransacked their belongings and threw those items which were not of interest to them into the fire. Despite the dark of night, they forced march on the two women. They weren't twenty feet when Marigaff, behind Aaramerielle, saw one of the Slaggs trip her. When she went down, she pulled Marigaff with her by the thin strip of hard leather cord around her neck. The Slaggs laughed. They struggled to stand, being ordered to do so by the shouting officer, who kicked them as they tried to regain their balance. For two days they walked thus; Marigaff had to be thrown belly down over a horse for some time when she collapsed. The Slaggs allowed them little water and no food at all during their trek across the plains to the evil land of Slagg.