BERT WOKE TO extreme heat on his arm. He screamed, his eyes opening quickly taking in the early morning sun.
“I thought you’d never wake, boy!” the guard laughed. He pulled the hot metal cage of the torch away from Bert’s skin. “Almost there, you’ll thank me for waking you early, you will, you will.” He smiled a smile almost devoid of teeth and rubbed Bert’s hair roughly.
Bert tried to rub at the still-burning skin, before realizing his hands were still tied. He looked around quickly. The man and woman were awake and looking as terrified as they had the night before. Sana was still asleep, or unconscious on her horse. The guards probably thought it best to leave her like that. Bert took another look at the guard who had burned him. It was the same barrel-chested man who had caught him sleeping last time. Bert supposed it gave the man some perverse joy to wake someone with pain.
Sighing, Bert looked around the area. The forest had been cleared leaving nothing but grasses and stumps as they rolled up a wide dirt and stone road. Just like the solhara farm they had burned from the sky, this one had a creek running through the center. Bert assumed it was the same creek he had fallen asleep beside. He also wondered if solhara required more water than other berries, or if the farms were made near creeks and rivers to water the humans and animals of the farm instead.
The farm itself had a massive wooden palisade surrounding it and Bert was disheartened to notice several of the massive bows and larger arrows meant to hurt a dragon stationed at wooden platforms. Worse, he could make out several large ballistas jutting out above the walls. Even if Yellow did arrive, he wouldn’t be able to fly in or burn it down as simply as they had the other farm. From what he could see, this farm looked to be several times the size of the other. It looked more like a small town than a farm. The other had seemed like an outpost compared to this setup.
Perhaps Sana had been right about their chance of escape. Getting out would require getting past the walls, the bowmen and likely other guards inside. Bert didn’t doubt that they had horses and dogs to chase escapees down as well. One thing was for sure: he wasn’t getting out before getting in. He’d have a chance to take a better measure once he was inside. Perhaps Sana could add some insight as well. She had managed to get out once. Thinking of that gave him some small sense of hope. He had been in some bad situations before, but had come out of them. He just needed to trust himself, be smart, make some allies and wait for an opportunity. Acting out like Sana would probably get him killed. It was one thing to allow a smaller woman to bite and scratch you, but Bert was taller than most of the guards he could see. It wouldn’t be a smart idea to push these men to action.
Looking back to Sana, he saw she was finally awake. She didn’t look good. Last night, she had talked to him and had been wild, but also witty and quick. Today, it looked like she was feeling the effects of her wounds. Her eyes were open, but glazed and she was staring at the ground.
Nothing else to do, Bert attempted to memorize the road and look for places he could hide if he got out the gate, but there was really nothing taller than his knees. It looked like they even cropped the grass here. A smart idea to stop both attackers and escapees from sneaking through the field. He noticed a few smaller windows and holes in the wall besides the large gate, but they looked too small to fit through: likely for archers or to dump oil from.
They pulled up to the still-closed gate and one of the guards talked while another took notes on what they had. Bert overheard a terse discussion about which guard claimed which prisoner. The guard who claimed Bert was named Baldwin Badger and Bert memorized the name. The man had treated him roughly and Bert felt a burning desire for revenge. Bert knew that going down a road of revenge might be a mistake, but if the opportunity arose to pay the man back for his evils, he would take it.
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The gate guard gave an appreciative whistle when it was mentioned they had recaptured Sana and the guard walked over and slapped her full in the face. “That’s for my knee, you she-devil!” he spat walking away.
Bert noticed the guard had wrapped his knee tightly and had a limp. He smiled imagining what Sana must have done to him while escaping this place. His smile faded as he saw Sana was still struggling to look even halfway awake. Bert recalled a man in Wyrmgate who had been kicked by a horse. He had looked like Sana looked now, and had never recovered. Bert hoped her daze was temporary.
Finally the wagon rumbled to life again and a single guard now led them as the rest had peeled off to eat or rest. Bert was shocked to see just how much solhara was growing here—easily three or four times what they had seen at the last farm. Workers walked up and down the rows of bushes. Some harvested, some watered, some worked in the dirt. None looked happy. Guards wandered in twos and threes, but didn’t interact much with the workers. The main thing keeping the workers in line were the many archers manning the walls. About three in four actually look inward, watching the prisoners rather than out for potential attack. Just as they had cleared outside the gate, there was a clearing before the inside of the walls about three horses long. Anyone trying to rush the wall from the inside would need to move fast and avoid arrows in order to even reach it, let alone climb it.
Bert sighed as his plans for a potential escape got worse the more he looked.
The wagon came to an unceremonious stop at a large wooden cage. There were about twenty-five people in it, sleeping or resting on the edges. A few ate something from rough wooden bowls. The guard opened the cage, using the only piece of metal Bert could see in the cage: a lock. A second guard came around the wagon and cut the leather holding them to it. He gestured to the open door of the cage. The man and woman practically jumped through the open door quickly, earning a nod. Bert started to move, then hopped over the side to help Sana instead.
“Easy, boy!” the guard shouted and made a move towards Bert. One hand was on a cudgel made of a dark wood, the other a long dagger.
“Ah, let him carry her,” the other guard said quickly. “Save us the trouble of getting bit.”
Seeming to agree, the first guard moved slowly, keeping his eyes locked on Sana. He cut the bonds holding her as quickly as he could, always watching. He moved away without turning, backing away carefully. As he backed away, he ripped Bert’s eating knife from his belt and pocketed it.
Bert moved in and looked Sana in the eyes. “Hey, Sana.”
No response.
“Sana, I’m going to carry you now, okay?” he asked. “Better me than them, I’ll be gentle,” he added quietly.
She mumbled something he took as assent.
Placing his hands under her carefully, he tried to hold her in a gentlemanly way, but it was hard with how much skin she had exposed. He hoped she’d understand he was trying to help. He lifted her, surprised at how little she weighed. She had proved how tough she was, but it seemed her imprisonment, escape and recapture had taken more of a toll on her than he could tell at a glance.
“Thank you,” Sana muttered.
He carried her carefully through the wooden gate and walked toward a corner that had a bit of shade still. “Move,” he said simply to the man sitting there. He tried to say it as deeply as he could and did not smile.
The man glanced up at him, clearly noticing Bert’s height and seeing the wounded woman in his arms.
Bert could feel the man considering what to do, but he eventually shrugged and moved on. Bert placed Sana in the shade, sitting beside her and keeping his head up. He wanted it to be clear that she was not to be trifled with. Several eyes met his, but most looked defeated and looked away quickly.
That was good, because Bert felt much more scared and much less confident than he was showing. This was not going to be easy.
