Hiatus.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to give you a heads up, that for the rest of the month I will be inactive on this blog. This is so I can focus on other important things in my life, and generate enough content to not be behind schedule again. Thank you for your patience and understanding! Happy holidays!

Tales of Erelith: The Exile (Chapter 5, Part 2)

By the time the sun rose, the coastline reeked of death. Holden watched the open sea, sitting atop a log in the cover of the jungle. Planted in the dirt next to him was his last two arrows. He took great care of them, so they would last the night.

“See them yet?” Honler asked, focused on wrapping a bandage around his thigh. It was but one of several wounds he received through the numerous skirmishes under the moon. However, he seemed ready to fight, despite the injuries.

Holden frowned, as the sea was absent of any kind of ship. “Not yet.” Plucking an arrow from the earth, Holden examined it. The arrowhead was dull from constant usage. Sighing, he set the arrow back down, knowing full well that the other was no better. “Are you feeling any better?”

“We’ll avoid discussing how I feel.” Honler closed his eyes, and rested his hands on his chest. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll have the doctors examine me when the forces reach us.”

Holden glanced over at Honler, as he felt a sense of disgust with himself. The growing daylight made it apparent how much of a bloody mess Honler actually was. It made Holden feel somewhat like a coward, since his pains much pale in comparison to what the sergeant felt. He moved off of the log, taking a seat on the ground and resting his back against it. He felt exhaustion start to take over, after so long. The adrenaline of battle had been enough to keep him awake for hours on end, but with no dangers lurking nearby -- after having killed so many Rnyrtians, he hoped that was the case -- he was finally falling victim to sleep. His eyelids grew heavy, as he managed one last glance at Honler, before drifting off.

***

Holden opened his eyes, finding himself back in Perona. He stood on a wooden platform, surrounded by countless citizens; all with angry expressions. He tried to speak, but no words would leave his mouth. He was not suppressed in any manner, however his voice held no volume. His arms and legs were bound by rope, making it impossible to do anything. Then, a rope fell over his head, and slithered tightly around his neck. Holden’s eyes shot wide; was he being hung?

He cried out for his life, before the platform gave way, silencing his mute screams. Fighting desperately to breathe, Holden felt the pressure building up in his head, and the air trapped in his lungs. His useless struggling became more and more taxing, until he stopped moving altogether, falling asleep.

***

In cold sweat, Holden sat up, looking about the area. Everything was as he left it, spare the sun was much higher up. Breathing raggedly, he felt his neck, glad to find nothing constricting him. As real as it felt, the execution was a mere dream. “How long was I asleep?” he asked. When Honler said nothing in turn, Holden looked over his shoulder, and felt the blood in his veins chill. All there was in his absence was a bloody, soiled bandage on the ground. Getting up, Holden drew an arrow from the ground, and readied his bow. “Honler?” he called out, looking around as a sense of anxiety crawled up his spine. Someone took Honler, and he could just as easily be taken.

What did the Rnyrtians do to prisoners? To those they knew killed their brothers and sisters, and in mass numbers? He shuddered at the thought. There was no civility with savages, no rules or limits they were not meant to surpass. For all he knew, being hung would have been a grace compared to what they had in store for him.

The snapping of a twig behind Holden made him jump, before he whirled around and fired his arrow. It whistled through the air before hitting a tree with a meaty thunk.

“Easy, easy!” Someone cried out from behind the tree. “Scout Alnharte, disengage yourself!”

Dawning on him that it was a Sea Tiger, Holden lowered his bow, but not his guard. “I understand,” he said, “ you can come out.”

The Sea Tiger came out of hiding, approaching Holden slowly. “Sergeant Honler came out to us a while ago, and he told us to send for you, after the doctors evaluated him.” He clasped Holdens shoulder. “He told us how the two of you eliminated so many Rnyrtians in one night. Impressive, I might add.”

“Is Honler alright?” asked Holden.

“You can breathe easy. His cuts are numerous, but none are deep. He has thick skin.” The Sea Tiger motioned for Holden to follow him. “He’ll have plenty of time to recover. We’re still setting up the camp. That, along with waiting for you to gather information involving the whereabouts of the Rnyrtian capital.” As they walked towards the coast, Holden could hear orders being shouted. Soon to come into view was the Sea Tiger’s camp. Even in such a short amount of time, a few tents were already completed.

A loud crackle of thunder resounded through the camp. Some of the soldiers swore or groaned to express their discontent at the noise. Those who had yet to erect their tents moved closer to the treeline first. It must be to ensure that their camp would not be swept out to sea during the storm. Holden took note of a large, important-looking tent as the Sea Tiger led him towards its entrance.

“This is the officer’s quarters,” the Sea Tiger explained. “The General of Foreign Campaigns himself disseminates his messages through the personnel here. The current Colonel running things has requested you by name, Scout Alnharte.”

“By name?” Holden blinked. There were only a few people who knew his name already.

“Head inside when you’re ready. I need to help with the tents, lest we all be at the storm’s mercy. Just be careful when dealing with him, he can come off as intimidating.” With a salute, the Sea Tiger departed, leaving Holden alone in front of the officer’s tent.

Pulling the tent flap open, holden stepped into a dimly lit space. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, before he found himself standing in front of a man with broad shoulders, a grizzled beard, and armor-clad.  He almost jumped back as the man chuckled.

“So, you’re the fresh meat under my wing,” the man said. He turned around, and beckoned Holden to come closer. “Alnharte, you will address me as Colonel Marius. As long as you’re with the Sea Tigers and this campaign you’ll treat my word as if is the holy commandments of Hino himself.”

“Understood,” Holden replied, but he quickly regretted opening his mouth as Marius gave him a glare that could have shattered stone.

“Count your blessing that we need you,” Marius growled, “else I’d break every piece of you until you were a properly disciplined soldier. When you talk to me, it will be ‘yes sir,’ ‘no sir,’ or any proper variation of the two.”

“Yes sir!”

“Now, I trust that you were briefed on your upcoming role beforehand, with locating the Rnyrtian capital. It appears that the weather has taken a turn for the worse, so the terrain will be difficult to traverse. Keep in mind that there are routes through the marsh that composes the inland laid over with wooden planks, but avoid them. They’re highways for the Rnyrtians, and jeopardizing your anonymity amongst them is a surefire way to get yourself killed.. That, along with the host of creatures in the wilderness, and Rnyrtians lurking about, will prove if you’re worthy of our place among us.” Marius’ tone was almost spiteful; each word was a snarling beast, bading ill fortune to wrap itself around Holden. “Go on, prepare yourself and set off. Report back to me when you’ve uncovered the capital.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re dismissed.” Marius watched with his scorching glare as Holden exited the tent.

Once outside, Holden gave a small sigh of relief, before wandering about the camp. Of all the emotions he felt, fear was the one Marius had a strong grip on. It made sense. As Yerryn explained, the Sea Tigers were an unruly bunch. Having such a fierce leader made it easy to keep them all in line. Holden searched the camp for Honler, to ensure that he was recovering. When he stopped in front of a tent composed of white cloth, Holden peered inside to find a couple rows of cots lining either side of the interior. They were all empty, spare one near the back.

“I see they found you,” Honler said, with a slight grin. “Sorry I didn’t wake you up when they arrived.”

“It’s fine,” Holden said. “If you hadn’t, they could have moved on to a different place along the coast in search of us, and find warriors of Rnyrt rushing to greet them.”

“Aye.” Honler shifted in bed, his new bandages as white as the tent. “Don’t let me keep you from your duties, Holden. I’ve suffered far worse and pulled through. Besides, the few days that you will be gone gives me plenty of time to recover.”

“Few days?”

“What were you expecting?” Honler chuckled heartily. “You weren’t going to simply travel through Rnyrt and back in a day. You’ll be fine, though.” He sat up, and clasped Holden’s shoulder. “Just don’t fight anything that can easily kill you; jungle stalkers, Rnyrtian patrols, Hino forbid any mix of the two.”

Holden could not help but smirk. “Don’t worry, Honler, I’ll keep myself alive.”

“Then I have only one more favor to ask of you.”

“Yes?”

Honler grinned wide. “Pack an adequate amount of arrows, this time.”