A Thief's Shadow

A Flourish of Skill

The snow crunched underfoot as if complaining about how heavy the horses which trod on it were. The prisoner's footsteps were silent. The General had decided that, since he'd given them so much trouble, the thief would walk the entire journey. His handcuffs were currently tied to Cal's horse's bridle with rope. He'd been searched for weapons – they'd found nothing but a dagger along with every single jewel and gem they'd put on the packhorse – so they wouldn't have to worry about him cutting the rope. They'd also found a notebook and pen with many one-sided conversations written out proving that he was, indeed, mute. Along with the pen they'd found a piece of black chalk, but chalk couldn't cut anything.

Cal felt bad for the thief. He'd run much further and faster than Cal, and Cal's legs burned with every step he took. Yet while Cal could ride a horse, the thief had to walk. They would be going a long way, too. If he challenged the General again he wouldn't get away with it as easily. Despite being handcuffed and walking, the thief walked in the center of their circle of knights. They'd determined he was clever, so they were taking no chances.

As the sun rapidly dropped towards the horizon behind the clouds, the shadows grew longer. They were in the middle of a forest, not a good place to camp, but they didn't have much choice. Nobody would attack a party of elite knights and the General himself. The General pushed onward in the dark until they reached a clearing in the forest. It wasn't very difficult to find places to camp in the forests during winter. Whole patches of trees died from the cold, creating perfect rest spots for weary travelers. It was called the killing cold for exactly that reason. And it killed those who didn't bring enough blankets.

While the others set up camp, Cal kept an eye on the prisoner. They couldn't tie him to the horses at night otherwise he could steal a horse, and there was nothing else sturdy to tie him to. The tents were flimsy enough to break, which was the cost of being lightweight. So someone would have to watch over him all night. It was Cal's idea to handcuff him to another person instead of forcing others to stay up during the night, so now he suffered. The silent thief wasn't very good company. As soon as his left hand was free he swept the still un-melted snow from the border from his coat and pants. Then he sat down, pulling Cal to the ground next to him. Literally pulled. The thief was easily the lightest person Cal had met, and when he attempted to sit Cal's arm was merely tugged down a bit. The thief had to actually jerk on the foot long chain to force Cal to sit.

As they sat on the icy ground, Cal was grateful he'd had the chain lengthened. Otherwise he would have to sit right next to the man in black. Despite being captured, the wraith thief still seemed to have a supernatural essence to him. It was the eyes. The nearly glowing silver, not gray, eyes with slightly cat-like pupils. If he could talk with him, being handcuffed to him wouldn't be so bad.

A distant memory tugged at the back of his mind. His girlfriend, Tyja, often would drag them to her father when they were bored. This memory was of her father, but he wasn't talking. He was moving his hands. Sign language! Cal still remembered all of the sign language he'd learned, though he had to think a bit to remember some of it. He hoped the thief knew sign language. The prisoner was clever, so he had to know a few things. Cal turned to the thief instead of watching the other knights do much more useful tasks. "Do you know sign language?"

Slowly, the thief nodded. He moved a bit closer to Cal in order to give the chain a bit of slack then moved his hands in a rapid succession of movements. He knew sign language alright. He was so fluent that Cal couldn't catch up. "I know it, but I can only translate it if you do it slowly. I'm not extremely fluent." Cal shrugged apologetically. When he was little he and Tyja had used it as their own secret language, but he was very out of practice.