Curse of The Seventh Sword: The Gauntlet of Feona (4 page)

“I always knew
Jaynea had great taste.”  He said laughing to himself.

“Indeed.”  Said Matilom as he made his way towar
ds the fruit bowl and plucked some grapes.  “Your beauty is a sight to behold from afar.  It is indeed hypnotizing in person.”  He put the grape fruits into a bowl and handed them to her.  “Here you go.”

“How did you know I like these?” 
Vannera asked, pleasantly surprised.

“
Jaynea talked quite a bit about you.  As I’m sure you know; she was very fond of you.”

“So I’ve been thinking.”
Davydd got up suddenly.  “You found Matilom and told him what you know.”  He said addressing Vannera.  He then turned to Matilom.  “You probably assume that King Sidion knows where this gauntlet is.”  He finally turned to Max.  “So why am I still here?  Take me back.”

At that moment, the door opened and a man in blue tunic, black pants, blue boots, blue gloves and a blue hat stepped inside the living room.  His clothing apparel was very identical to
Max’s with the main difference in the colors and the fact that while Max had two small sheaths for the daggers he carried on either side of his waist, this man had a long sword slung across his back. 

Matilom turned and addressed the man.

“Well, I see you have returned Leo.  Are our fears confirmed?”

“
Yes they are.  Ovar’s been captured.”

Davydd
clenched his fists in anger.

“I knew I shouldn’t have stayed.”

Matilom walked over to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“You wanted to find out where you fit into all of this right?”

Davydd nodded.

“Well, you will mo
st definitely find out once Ovar is rescued.  I haven’t told you anything because it is not my place to, but his.  Now then, let us prepare ourselves.”

Ovar’s head hung low as another drop of blood fell to the floor adding to the pool that had gathered beneath were he sat.  8 of his fingertips had been punctured with spikes.  Only his smallest fingers remained untouched, though he knew that wasn’t going to be the case for long.  His face was swollen and bruised to the point that he could barely see from either eye.  His mid section felt like it had been turned inside out twice over and his joints were still on fire from being raked.  It was very possible he could be put on the rake again.

“Are you ready to talk?  Look at you.  Subjecting yourself to this.”

Ovar slowly raised his head and rolled his eyes.

“I…have been subjected… to this…”

“You had a choice.  You still have a choice.  Tell me who you really are.  For some reason, there is no record of an Ovar Tardust before twenty-three years ago.  Now why is that?”

Ovar hung his head low without saying a word.  He had to hold out and hope that
somehow, Davydd had made it to Matilom.  He wouldn’t be broken, even if it meant his death. 
I won’t fail you again Rikard. I won’t.

Ovar heard the sigh of his interrogator. 

“I didn’t want to do this, but I suppose I have no choice.”  He brought out a small but very sharp serrated knife and brandished it in front of Ovar.  “For every question that goes unanswered from here on, you lose a finger tip.”

At that moment, the door opened and Farok entered. 

“We have a carriage approaching the gates.”

“It p
robably brings more prisoners to this wretched outpost.  Nevertheless, tell the gate guards to find out who it is and then report back to me immediately.”

Farok nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door.  The soldier turned back to Ovar.

“It seems fate has given you a bit of a respite.  If I were you, I would use this time to reconsider your defiance.  When I come back, for your sake I hope you would have made the right decision.”  With that, the soldier walked out of the room.

The carriage was a cheap one, drawn by a horse and made of dry wooden frames that were covered in a torn, black ragged cloth with cut out squares in it for makeshift windows.  Concealed inside the carriage were Matilom, Davydd and Leo.  Max sat outside and steered the horse.  “So, how do you plan to rescue my father from an outpost populated with fifty guards or so?”

“Wits my friend.”  Replied Leo.  “Wits
and a lot of luck.”

“This must be awkward for you Leo, but you know what you must do.”  Matilom couldn’t help but smile mischievously as he lowered his head.

Leo sighed.  “Sam should still be in position.  Don’t tell him about this.  He’ll die laughing.”

“Tell him what?”  Asked
Davydd as Matilom burst into loud laughter.

“I’m sorry my friend.”  Said Leo. 
Davydd looked at him inquisitively.  Suddenly, Leo lashed out and landed a right-handed punch square on Davydd’s cheek.

“You bastard!” 
Davydd yelled as he returned the favor, landing a punch square in the middle of Leo’s forehead.  Davydd pulled his hand back for another punch but Leo caught it.

“That’ll do.”  He said laughing.

“What was that for?!” 

“Strong physi
cal contact.”  Matilom replied still chuckling.

The chariot approached the large steel gates of Gor’s military outpost and slowed to a stop. 
Max stepped off the carriage horse and made his way towards the gate.  Almost instantly, there was a whooshing sound and a man was suddenly walking beside Max.  Max turned around and saw a thick trail of dust behind him.  He turned and looked at the man walking beside him.  He had dirty blonde hair hidden underneath his red hat, a light layer of beard that covered most of his lower jaw and the sides of his face, and light aqua blue eyes.  He wore a red tunic and black pants with red boots and gloves and carried a sword with a sheath hung low on the left side of his waist in traditional fashion. 

“Show off.” 
Max said smiling as he looked back at the settling trail of dust.

“I was a bit far away you know.” 
Sam said returning the smile.

“So what’s the plan?” 

“Leo goes in and we make sure he comes out with Ovar alive.”

“Ah a three man job as usual.”

“Four man job.” Max corrected. 

“Of course. 
Davydd.  How is he dealing with all of this?”

“He still has questions.  Time will tell.”

As they got up to the gate, a small viewing window in right side of the gate opened up and a face underneath a helmet looked through.

“What do you want?”  He asked in the
most unpleasant manner he possibly could.

“We caught someone sneaking back into their house
this morning right before curfew was lifted, so we apprehended him and came here.  Maybe he has valuable information concerning the princess’s murder.”

The viewing
window slid shut for a few minutes, and then opened back up.

“Bring him in.  We’ll open up when he arrives at the gate.
”

S
am put two of his fingers between his lips and whistled.  Leo and Davydd came out of the carriage, with Davydd’s hands bound together behind his back by a strong rope.  Leo kept shoving Davydd ahead.  When they both got to the gate, Max knocked on it one more time.  The viewing window slid open again and the same unfriendly face was seen peering at all four men outside.  The viewing window slid shut and a few seconds later, the gates slowly swung inwards, opening up.  Just behind the gate on either side, were two concrete watchtowers, accessible by a long ladder that went all the way to the guarded room at the top, through an access hole at the bottom of the room.  Each watchtower room had four windows on either side.  The entire outpost compound was square shaped and hidden behind high reaching stonewalls.  There were three main buildings in the compound.  The largest building was the furthest away from the gate.  It had one upper level and was used to carry out official matters such as trials and sentencing.  It was also where the Overseer stayed, as well as high-ranking military officials when they passed through Gor.   The other two buildings were on either side of the largest one and at 90-degree angles to it.  The one to the left was used to house the soldiers living at the outpost, while the one on the right was used to house prisoners.  It was midday and as such, most of the soldiers were out patrolling the streets of Gor, leaving the outpost less protected.  As Davydd walked through, he was escorted by one of the soldiers in the compound, while two others including the one who had answered the gate, blocked the path of Max, Sam and Leo.  They waited till Davydd had been escorted into the administrative building and then spoke. 

“Thank you for your service to your kingdom.  You may leave.”

“How many men did you see in the compound Sam?”  Max asked.

“I think I counted fifteen hea
ds.”  Sam replied.

“Ah so with these three down and out we are left with twelve.”

They turned and looked at each other as the three soldiers stood perplexed by their banter.

“TWELVE” they both said simultaneously. 

“Alright, out you go.”  The unfriendly gate guard moved in with his spear.  He and the other guards swung the long handles of their spears at Max and Sam.  By the time the guards had finished their swings Max and Sam were already behind them.   Two of the guards fell to their knees and then to the ground unconscious.  The gate guard turned around surprised to see that his spear had been sliced in half.  His eyes widened in fear as he pulled out his sword and violently rushed towards Max.  Max quickly opened up a portal and was again behind the guard by the time he had swung his sword.  The guard turned around in a sideswipe but had his swing deflected downwards by one of Max’s daggers. He looked up only to meet the handle of the other dagger rammed fiercely into the side of his head.  He too fell unconscious.  Max glanced at Leo who had been standing there in shock. 

“He was yours to take out you know?”

“Well… well… I…”

“Don’t explai
n yourself to him.” Sam interjected smiling. “He’s just teasing.” 

“Gentlemen.” 
Max said, stripping one of the unconscious guards of their armor.  “It is time to become proud soldiers of Angweleth.”

              Davydd stood in front of the lead death class soldier who had been interrogating Ovar, with his hands bound in front of him by chains and a metal lock.  The soldier stood with his hands behind his back, appraising Davydd.  He walked behind him slowly and deliberately, and then circled his way back around.

“This is indeed a pleasant surprise.
  Though in some ways, I’m rather disappointed.  You see I was looking forward to the chase… looking forward to hunting you down like the animal that you are.”

“My apologies for ruining your fun.”

“Oh not to worry.  There are other ways to have a good time.  You see, I have questions for you.”

“And I will answer them as best as I possibly can… on the condition that you let my father go.”

The soldier shrugged.

“Depending on the vali
dity of your answers, that can be arranged.”

“Fair enough… I understand that
I am in no position to make demands but before I answer any of your questions, I have one more request.”

“And what might that be?”

“I’d like to see my father first.  I want him to know that I am alright.”

The soldier looked at
Davydd for a while.

“Very wel
l.”  He finally said.  “Guards!”

Two other soldiers stepped into the room.

“Take Davydd to the prison quarters.  After he has exchanged a few words of reconciliation, bring him back here.”

He turned to
Davydd.

“Do not mistake my generosity as a sign of wea
kness.  Indeed if you come back here making demands or refuse me the answers I seek in any small capacity, I will visit upon you a kind of pain that would make even Feona herself flinch.  Now be gone.”

One of the
soldiers grabbed Davydd by the arm and led him out of the room while the other walked in front of them.  They walked down a flight of stairs and out the door of the main building.  At the gate and watchtowers, Leo, Max and Sam watched with the utmost concentration, as the two guards led Davydd into the building where prisoners were kept.  The interior of the building was dark and dreary.  Cobwebs hung precariously low from the wall corners and ceiling.  The door led into an open space that had been converted into the dungeon warden’s office.  There was a wooden table with a slow burning oil lamp on it, as the only source of light.  The warden was writing into a big black book he had in front of him.  When he saw the soldiers enter with Davydd, he closed the book, which had a lock built into it.  He picked up a key, inserted it into the books keyhole, and turned.  There was a clicking sound.  The warden shoved the book aside and stood up addressing the soldiers.

“Another prisoner?”