Coruld: Chapter 2: Journey to a new home
Runi sat alone in a cage on wheels, pulled by two ambling mules; one guard sat on top of the cage while another, on his own horse, followed behind. The town got smaller behind him as they moved East to Coruld. No one could be seen outside or in windows. It would be like this for hours; he remembered from past Trials. He tried to prove his purity and damned himself for it. "May Thoyou forgive me." He said to himself.
"Thoyou threw us away." responded a voice out of nowhere. Runi felt alarmed when a pile of raggy blankets began to move. They were flipped over to show a girl underneath. Runi was indeed confused. He only remembered one being damned to Coruld: him. The girl must've noticed his bewilderment. "I was second in line." Runi's mind sharpened to the names before his.
"Casey of the Tanner Clan!" He'd forgotten her in his fear and thoughts. She as well had been damned but for reasons unknown.
She nodded, her long hair covering most of her face. He couldn't see her very well in the shadows of the cage, but he knew she was well taken care of. The Tanner Clan was one of the richest in the city. "And you are Runi, of the Inn Clan. I'm not the only freak." The last being said more to herself. Runi winced a little, still sensitive about that word. Casey apologized quickly. They looked out between the bars and watched the farming lands and fields slowly give way to woodlands.
"Casey, what do you mean he threw us away?" It was the first time Runi had heard something like that.
"I mean Thoyou has no use for people like us!" Her anger heated her words while the look in her eyes burned Runi's soul. "Why do you think this is allowed to happen? Why would any god that actually cared, send us to the Hell on Earth?!"
Casey's words stunned Runi, but his teachings forced a stuttered answer from him. "They- Thoy- he wants us to be pure again."
"And who says we're unclean?" Her voice continued to rise. Farmers looked up and watched as they passed by. "We-"
"The marks on you face say so," came a gruff answer from one of the guards. "Now sit down and shut up!" Casey listened, but the flames of her fury could still be seen burning in her eyes.
The sun was close to setting before Casey finally put her hair behind her ears and Runi saw what had damned her. Five rivets along the cheek on both sides of her face. He said nothing though, so not to disturb her. He looked out to the free land beyond the iron bars. Runi's eyes began feeling heavy, and hopes of freeing dreams entered his mind. He was about to drift to sleep when a quick movement caught his eye. He sat up and watched closely. He squinted but could not see what it was. Runi began to settle again when he saw the movement once more. He looked out carefully, watching behind trees and bushes and saw many dark shapes about. They moved easily and swiftly through the trees, their steps easily camouflaged as shadows of animals, or plants in the breeze.
Sometimes the dark shapes would stop and blend with the natural shadows around them. "Casey, what-" Runi looked over to see her watching as well, her eyes wide. They seemed to be following the cart but to what purpose? The Shapes disappeared behind the foliage, out of sight but not out of mind.
Runi and Casey looked at each other, unsure what to make of what was out there when one of the mules let out an agonizing bray. The cart jumped and jerked to the side as the mule toppled over, an arrow sticking out of its shoulder. The second beast fell with the full weight of the first pulling on it, the cart went with. Runi and Casey fell on top of each other as the guard on top jumped off, ready to fight. Nothing could be seen in the direction the arrow came from. The children scrambled to stand up and see what was happening. A flash of silver flew past the forearm of the first guard and into the floor of the cart. Runi flinched back, barely missing the tip being buried into his skull. Him and Casey slid to the opposite end, huddled together.
The two guards unsheathed their swords preparing for attack. All was quiet, not even birds sang. They stood back to back watching all sides. Through a patch of trees closest to them, three men clothed in black with cloaks covering half their faces came charging, their own swords drawn. Two of the men hit the guards head on. The chime of metal upon metal rang throughout the area. The light armor the militia men wore helped very little against the fierce blows their attackers used. The attackers chopped and swiped crudely as if not trained for the use of a sword, but with enough skill to cause damage.
As the four fought, the third man ran around to the cage opening. He looked in to the children then worked quickly at the lock. Runi watched, afraid of what he wanted. One of the guards looked back to see this. He hit the temple of his attacker with the hilt his sword then went after the lock-picker. The other fighter only had a second to watch before the guard came at him full force. "Nayu!" was the only warning he could give. The man at the lock turned to dodge as the guard's sword came down. It hit the lock with enough force to snap it off. Runi and Casey kept back, not wanting to get in the middle.
The man fell and rolled across the ground. He stopped when the guard got within range, and kicked him in the pelvis. A crack sounded out then a gut-wrenching scream as the guard fell, some of his bones broken. Runi watched as the man got back up and ran back to the cage. He opened the door and spoke a strange language at them; the kids wouldn't move. He motioned for them to come near but still they wouldn't move, finally he grabbed Runi and pulled him out. He was reaching for Casey when a dagger stabbed through his foot. He let out his own scream and looked at the wounded guard, smiling with blood dripping out of his mouth. The man pulled out the dagger and stabbed it into the guard's throat. He grabbed Runi's arm and limped back through the trees with him, the other man following quickly. Runi looked back at Casey, she was being grabbed by the standing guard before she could move.
The trees and undergrowth were thick but somehow, these two men found their way to a clearing. A camp waited for them there, a small batch of red-hot coals surrounded by rocks was in the middle, three piles of animal skins lay around it and three bowls with food in them sat in the coal bed. Runi stared at this. He didn't know what these people wanted with him, he wasn't even sure if they were better than the guards or not, he preferred not to know. He pulled at the grip of the man holding him, but it only made him squeeze harder.
The uninjured man took Runi and sat him down on the third pile while the other slowly sat down. The man spoke to Runi softly and nodded his head. Runi stared, unsure of what to do; the man's eyes looked angry. He grabbed a bowl and handed it to Runi, repeating himself. Runi took the bowl carefully, not realizing how hungry he was but unable yet to eat, the sight of blood spewing out of the wound wouldn't leave his mind.
Both cloaks came off to reveal their faces. It was hard to make out features since they weren't exactly facing him. The injured man laid down as the other began cleaning him. A hiss of pain came through clenched teeth whenever the hole itself was touched. They spoke with each other, looking over at Runi now and again. The word "Nayu" came up again. It was suspected to be the name of the injured man. Nayu stared at Runi while they ate. When night filled the entire forest with shadows, the other one walked away, leaving Runi and Nayu alone. They stared at each other for a while until Runi looked away. Nayu tried speaking to him in first his tongue, then in Runi's.
"You, us, saved." his words were labored and didn't make too much sense. "Us, know?" He pointed first to himself then Runi. Verbs seemed to always come last in their thoughts which made it difficult but not impossible to make out.
"You are forest-dwellers." Spoke Runi, unsure what else to say. Nayu stared at him again.
He began to shake his head. "Not one, not one." He repeated, each time lower as if to himself. Nayu laid his head down and spoke in his own language until he fell asleep. By that time the other one had returned with small sticks for the fire. He looked at Nayu then at Runi but said nothing.
* * * * *
Runi was shaken awake by the other man. He looked scared and spoke fast. Runi looked at Nayu and saw he was awake and attempting to stand. The other man moved swiftly over to help Nayu to his feet. The fire was already put out and buried. The animal skins were no where to be found, even the ones Runi had been laying on. Nayu motioned for Runi to follow as they moved deeper into the forest; with no where else to go, he listened. The tracks they left were soft, almost nonexistent except where Nayu faltered. Runi attempted to do the same but did not succeed.
They followed an invisible trail to an unknown place, much quicker than an injured man should be forced into. Far off branches snapped behind them, Nayu looked back at Runi, "Up, run!" not needed to be told twice, Runi ran on ahead. A hill sloped up in front of him; it was steep but filled with indentations perfect for footing. Upon reaching the top, Runi could make out his surroundings. To the North-West he saw Dumovin and his home. To the south was a city he did not know. He looked back at Nayu and the other. Nayu pointed in the direction of the city. "Us, help!" He shouted straining some.
Runi stood still thinking, unsure what to do. This could be his chance to escape. With no one able to say if he was alive or not, he would be safe; long enough to find a new home anyway. But that would mean leaving Nayu, injured and stranded in the forest. He wanted safety but he couldn't live with himself if he left like a coward. Runi ran swiftly down the hill the other side of the hill and back into the forest in the direction of the unknown city.
* * * * *
Runi ran through crowded streets looking for someone to help. "Please someone's been hurt." He'd say to a person but they would avoid contact. "They're in the forest please." He would try but no one acknowledged his presence. He's an outsider and they don't understand his language; two drawbacks in finding help. Someone had to know him "Nayu!" he began to shout, pointing in the direction he came. "Nayu! Nayu!" He repeated over and over. A shadow passed over him as a hand grabbed his shoulder hard.
* * * * *
Darissa sat on a wine barrel in the shadows of a warehouse on the outskirts of Daelyn. Absent mindedly, she picked dirt from under her fingers with her dagger. A boring day for training. She thought. She looked out at the mixture of passing noblemen, and at the small band of urchins she was in charge of. They moved about unnoticed, working together to steal bits and bobbles no one would notice; this group learned quickly. I'll make note of that for Dianna tonight.
She thought smiling. Her mind was about to wander again when a strange bustle broke through the mundane activity. A strange boy ran through shouting strangely at people. He looked worried and out of breath. Odd kid. Darissa ignored him until he began shouting "Nayu" then she sharpened focus. The urchins looked at her and quickly she gave the signal for them to return home; they listened and made haste. Darissa walked swiftly to the kid and grabbed him from behind.
He spun around fear in his eyes. "Where is he? What's going on?" The kid spoke back but she didn't understand him and he couldn't understand this town's language, the only one she knew. All they had was one word and few gestures. "Nayu?" She pointed in the direction he came from and he nodded. Why send a kid? It can't be good, but I can't reach anything helpful in time and I called off the group too soon. Damn. Darissa bit her lip then grabbed the kid's arm and began running through the forest as fast as her only guide could lead.
It was close to nightfall before they discovered Nayu, lying on the bank of a small creek. Darissa ran over to check on him. The boy stood till, greatly winded from the lengthy run. "What happened?!" She checked his bandage and the wound. It had yet to be cleaned this day. She cleaned the bandages in the creek and the wound as he spoke.
"We tried to rescue two from Coruld transports. These guards were more skilled than usual. One was able to take down Carrn then come after me. I killed him and was able to rescue the boy. We had to leave the girl behind. I couldn't go any farther than this so Tyman hid me here and went back to see if he survived." Nayu looked over at the boy who leaned against a tree, ready to fall over. He motioned for the boy to get closer and he did so, shakily.
* * * * *
Runi's last few steps were unsteady from a full day of running. He could hardly believe that he was capable of that much endurance with his tiny body. He dropped to his knees next to the young brunette that made him run so hard. Her face revealed no emotion to him and she wouldn't look at him so he watched Nayu closely. This man saved my life, and hurt himself doing so. I have to repay him. I'll work for him until he no longer needs me, then I can find a home.
Runi started by memorizing his features. In what was left of the light, warm brown eyes and dark hair could be seen. A small patch of grey was forming above his left temple. A few scars covered his face, but did not detract from his friendly attitude. His cheeks and chin were covered thinly with stubble, a sign that he hadn't needed to be well kept for a time. This made Runi smile oddly. He was a tall man; even lying down it could be seen and had no obvious disfigurements on his limbs. Except for the one he might have because of me. Runi kept his head low until Nayu began to speak to him directly.
"Nayu," he spoke his name slowly. Runi looked up and noticed him pointing at himself, and then at Runi. "Nayu, Darissa-" He pointed at himself then the girl. Both stared at him now until he understood what was being addressed.
"Runi," he pointed at himself the way Nayu had. Nayu smiled then laid down his head for sleep. Runi laid near by, watching Darissa start a small fire before his eyes forced shut for the night.