Three days passed.
They were not notable in any way - indeed, the group
did not pass near a civilization in that time. Eric still had more
than enough supplies, and neither Chrystle nor Alexis seemed overly hungry.
The days passed quickly, with relative peace. Alexis no longer seemed
as afraid of Eric as she had been initially, though she continued to spend
the majority of her time closer to Chrystle.
At nightfall on the third day, things changed.
The sun had set two hours before, and both the younger
Andrews sibling and Alexis were soundly sleeping close to the campfire,
where Eric could keep a good view of both of them. He was reflecting,
thinking about where their eventual destination might be, when he heard
the sound of voices down the path.
This was likely not a good thing. He had camped
a fair distance from the path in order to avoid attracting the attention
of any passers-by, but not so far away that he lost sight of it altogether.
The only thing that might alert travelers to his presence was the campfire
- currently burning low, but still giving off enough illumination to rouse
the interest of a curious traveler.
Eric strained his ears to make out the conversation.
Most else was quiet in the night, and the sounds traveled relatively well,
but the most he could gather was that they were searching for someone.
Bad news, no matter what. Even if they weren't searching for him, they
would likely stop by and ask him if he had seen who they were looking for.
He climbed to his feet and moved so he was between the road and their campsite.
The men generating the noise were making absolutely
no attempt to conceal themselves as they tromped off of the path and toward
Eric. One held a torch, which made it all that easier for Andrews
to identify them.
They were all Tyrant Knights - their armor gave
that away. Andrew cursed underneath his breath. In all his
traveling, he had yet to escape the influence of the Tyrant Knights.
Yet another thing he attempted to forget, they were the one institution
from the Old Kingdom that still existed. It was just as corrupt now
as it had been in the past.
He stood where he was, attempting to look as hostile
and unwelcoming as possible as they approached. They stopped a good
distance from him - not as much as he would have liked, but it would have
to do. Their leader stood forward to speak.
"Are you Simon Richard?" he spoke up harshly, his
glaring eyes matching those of his comrades. Eric had to think for
a moment - yes, Simon. That had been the name he had given the innkeeper.
So that's what this little visit was about.
"No, I am not. Who is this man that you seek?"
Eric retorted, just as harshly. He wanted to give the impression
of someone who was rather annoyed at having been disturbed, a portrayal
which would not be too hard under the circumstances. It came out
more defensive than he wanted it to.
"Just someone who had himself some trouble with
our Mentor, that's all." He squinted and took a step forward, his
lackeys on both sides doing the same. "You sure you're not him?"
"He's lying, it's got to be him!" the knight holding
the torch bellowed. "Even from here, I can tell he's got those eyes!
How many people have that?"
Damn. Eric thought to himself.
He was entirely too identifiable. He had also given the knight that
he fought at the bar incomplete instructions - he had made Blackend forget
Alexis, but not Eric himself. Now the man was going to try to find
out what it was that had happened to him.
The lead knight grimaced. "Now there, that
wasn't very kind of you to lie to us, was it? Tyrant Knight Blackend
has some questions he'd like to answer, and he figures you're the man to
do it. You can come with us, or we can bring you along...." the knight's
sinister voice indicated he would much rather rough Eric up than move him
peacefully.
"I am not coming with you." He stated, rather forcefully.
Even this statement, without any special emphasis, seemed to affect at
least one of the knights. The torch-bearer blinked and stepped back,
looking confused.
"We can't bring him with us." he said, looking around.
"He's not coming."
The leader looked back at his comrade as though
he were making very little sense at all. "Come now, we've got our
orders! He comes with us, awake or no. And... " with this,
the lead knight turned to grin malevolently at Eric "our master thinks
that this bit of fog that's seem to come over his mind might leave him,
if perhaps you were to be further... incapacitated. It's your choice."
"I will not go." he said again, this time putting
his own emphasis on it. The torch-bearer closed his eyes and rubbed
at his temples with his free hand.
"Boss, I don't think - " he began.
"Quiet!" the leader roared. "I don't care
what you think! He's going to... come... with us!" he was struggling
against Eric's suggestion.
Eric tried a different tactic. Pulling himself
up and mentally preparing for the moment, he then faced the three of them
and spoke.
"You have fallen asleep while on patrol. You
are all dreaming, and none of this is real. You have not found me,
and you do not know which way you need to go. You no longer even
wish to discover Simon Richard. You should go back the way you came
to awaken." He could feel whatever power it was that fueled his own
in effect, and the three knights staggered back in unison. Struggling
to speak, all three turned and began walking back to the path. Eric
did not return to the fire until he saw them trudging down the road, back
the way that they had approached.
Eric turned swiftly and sat down near the fire,
feeling his body shaking. He despised having to rely so much on this
one ability that had been granted him. Of course, he still had his
old training. If he had possessed a sword, he could have easily finished
off all three of them before any of them had gone far. Even without
one, it would have been trivial for him to disarm the lead knight and then
commit the deed. He couldn't however - he had sworn to himself that
he would never again use a weapon. His weapons had already killed
too many.
He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself.
When he reopened them, he nearly let out a shriek - Alexis was standing
immediately before him.
"You startled me." Eric said, standing up.
The instant he saw Alexis' face, he knew something was wrong.
"What was that?" she demanded heatedly, waving in
the direction that the knights had departed.
"You were not asleep." Eric whispered, more to himself
than to her. He didn't like where this was leading.
"No, I wasn't! I had awakened and was going
to see if there was a bit of food I might have when I heard you talking
to those knights." her eyes blazed with fury. "You made them
go away! I don't know how you did it, but I don't like it.
If I was saved by such black sorcery as you just used, then I have no desire
to be any part of it! Better to be a slave then to auction my soul!"
she was visibly trembling, partly from anger and partly from fear - for
if Andrew was the sorcerer she suspected, there was no telling what he
might do.
"I am no sorcerer." Andrew began. "And you've
nothing to lose by traveling with me. I was merely using the one
gift I was given to protect my sister.... Except this time, I used
it to protect you both. If you wish to leave, you are free to do
so."
Alexis cooled off quickly upon considering a return
to the life she had known. Damnation was a vague concept, while the
slave's life had a more concrete quality to it. Finally, she spoke
again. "Who are you?"
Eric sat, and Alexis did the same. He remained
silent for a few moments, contemplating what to say. Finally, he
spoke.
"You know me as Eric Andrews, and that is indeed
my name. I was born in Antaxis Centra, of the Old Kingdom, then the
Great Kingdom. You accused me of being a sorcerer, but I have been
much worse than that. My father was Paul Andrews, the third Andrews
king of the Great Kingdom."
A gasp from Alexis interrupted him. "King
Andrews III was your father?" Her breathing sped up as she sought
to control her fear. "That means you're...."
Eric nodded. "King Andrews the Fourth, also
known as Andrews the Last. Better known to most as the Tyrant Master
Andrews."
Alexis believed him. After witnessing what
she had, and seeing the hostility that the man could display, he might
well be the Tyrant Master. Even if he wasn't, he believed he was,
and that made him a very dangerous person. All she wanted now was
to find a way out. "But... Tyrant Master Andrews died, with the fall
of the Old Kingdom..." she stammered.
Eric nodded, looking over to make sure Chrystle
was still sleeping. "She doesn't know." he explained.
"And I'd like for her not to know." he looked back at his charge,
and thought for a few more moments. "You are right. All reports
that most people have heard are mostly correct. A well-trained militia
of about thirty men attacked a previously unknown hole in the defense of
the Kingdom's palace. Everyone within that palace was killed, and
the building itself was burned to the ground. People remarked that
the tactics had been on par with those used in the Kingdom's most daring
conquests.... And they were." Here, he looked directly at Alexis,
to make sure she understood. "I was killed that night. For
all the treachery I had practiced, for all the deceit, and all the death
I had caused in my conquests.... I was killed. Yet I am here,
now, for a reason. Alexis, I have been given a second chance."
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