Shadow Kingdoms | Book 1 ✔ (REWRITTEN AS 'THE EXILED KING')

Chapter 11 - A Royal Prisoner

Light flooded the dungeon and a face peered over the edge. It was Gerin. His face was twisted in disgust and he held tightly onto that silly purple hat that he always wore.

"Which of you filthy maggots are the two foresters Glyffhill caught this morn'?"

Robert and Myrk stepped forward.

"What do you want?" Robert called out.

Gerin motioned to some guards who lowered the rickety ladder.

"Come on up. You'll be my foresters now."

Robert looked up at Gerin then at Myrk. Then he smiled and climbed up the ladder to freedom. He climbed the whole way up and stepped into the torchlight. Then Myrk crawled up. Robert stealthily walked behind the first guard and clubbed him unconscious with one of the spare iron bolts. The guard crumpled and the other turned, but not fast enough to avoid the same fate as his fallen comrade. Gerin stared at him with wide eyes.

"Wha-" He sputtered.

"You didn't honestly think that I would just accept, did you?" Robert scoffed.

Myrk grinned stood by Robert's side as they advanced towards Gerin. He was still rather disgruntled to be called a 'filthy maggot' and had not quite gotten over it. Gerin backed away and nearly tripped over the hem of his purple robe.

"Yo- you won't kill me." Gerin stuttered still backing away.

Robert gave him a feral smile.

"Don't be too sure. I don't kill men of gods, but my friend here has a slight grudge against you. Besides, you did call him a 'filthy maggot'."

Myrk, too, gave Gerin an unnerving smile and stepped closer to Gerin, pointing a stolen sword at him. Gerin visibly paled. He didn't doubt for a moment that Myrk could have killed him, despite Myrk's youthful and innocent looks.

"I am the Abbot of Starfire Abbey and you can't kill me!" Gerin tried to speak with authority.

Robert laughed, "Relax. We won't kill you. I'm sure you won't mind missing a few fingers and toes, though."

Gerin paled further.

"But I wanna kill 'im!" Myrk protested.

"Yes. But we need him alive to collect a large ransom to feed our families." Robert reasoned. Myrk was angry and unafraid of killing, but later when he regained his senses, he would despair. The anger gradually faded from his eyes as he saw Robert lead Gerin out with a dagger at his neck.

"Wait! We want to come with you!" A fellow prisoner shouted. Myrk halted and gestured for Robert to stop as well.

All the prisoners dressed in their rags stood in a rough line facing Myrk and Robert, who was holding Gerin.

"Let us come with you. We have lost everything and have nothing more to lose." A tall, burly man introduced himself as Will Sarvus, a former King's Guard. One by one the other prisoners introduced themselves. The youngest was a teenager about fifteen, who introduced himself as Rillan. He was dressed in finer clothes than the rest and was not half as filthy as the others.

"Rillan. How long have you been in there?"

Rillan though for a while and then said, "I'm not sure. I'd say about a fortnight, but it could be less. Time ceases to exist when you are stuck in that hellhole."

Robert nodded.

"What family do you come from?"

Rillan paled.