The Thief and Prince

Chapter 13: The Outpost

Warning: slight adult content in this chapter and potential trigger warnings

The next nine days drag by, with nothing to do but to sit in the cart—gagged, as they grew tired of our talking rather quickly—and watch the countryside pass by. Each day we would ride nonstop, pausing briefly for breaks. At night, we were allowed to eat; forced to hold our tongues as cruel jokes of us are spoken loudly. Most are criticisms of Crispin and Amiri's sizes given how large these slavers were, saying they needed protection from the "big woman" meaning Laria. Then there are the innuendos about the two of us that makes my skin shudder and crawl, but surprisingly they have made no advancements towards us.

Jasper noted how surprised he is at our good behavior considering the start we had and has since allowed us a blanket to sleep at night. It still gets rather frigid and the four of us keep close together for body heat, but the nights are now at least bearable.

In our travels, we have passed through numerous outposts where the men stop for the night to drink and collect a few supplies when they do not camp out under the stars. From my understanding, tonight we will stop at one of the larger ones and pick up two more "assets" that were found trying to make their way into Rorik. From what I've gathered from listening to their conversations, it's two men who have been at this outpost for the past three weeks or so but that's the limit of my knowledge on the matter.

Currently, its midday and the group of men seem to be in good spirits as they sing some song about some man drinking whisky with his brother in a cabin. I have to admit at first it was quite catchy and they sounded rather good, but after twenty solid minuets of them singing it on a loop I've become rather annoyed.

Looking around, I see that Amiri and Laria lay on their blanket—eyes closed in hopes to get some rest. Her head rests on his chest that sways with each bump of the cart. Even in our predicament, a strange ghost of a smile rests on her lips.

Crispin leans against the iron bars, his once white shirt now stained with dirt and old blood from our first night. He hasn't spoken much when given the chance during dinner and I assume he is too lost in his muddled thoughts. At least his throat looks a lot better, with only faint bruising left where the rope dug into his skin. His dark eyebrows are furrowed together as he stares down at his leather boots, almost as if whatever he is thinking brings him pain. I want to ask him if he is okay but that would be redundant—of course he isn't. Besides, the gag in my mouth halts me from doing so anyway.

Eventually, their silly song ends and we stop next to the overgrown road we have been traveling on. In the past nine days, I've seen only an insignificant handful of travelers and when they passed they made sure to keep their heads down. Come to think of it, I haven't seen much wildlife either that we were warned about—wolves, bears, boar, even cougars. Just rodents and deer. Shaking my head, I wonder if these were all just scary stories to keep us from venturing out on our own, a ploy to keep the Paevian kingdom wealthy.

I guess the tales of all the dangers the lurked outside the safety of kingdom's walls were true to an extent. There are indeed those that seek to rob and murder on these roads, but it's not the ones that travel in small groups on horseback. It's the ones that are in caravans such as these, carting around wagons of human beings.

In the distance about fifty yards away there is a wide, shallow river that flows quickly. The men dismount their horses and one of them—I believe his name is Darko—unlocks the latch and swings the heavy door open. Already knowing the drill, I lightly kick Amiri and Laria awake and we slide out, jumping on to the ground. He removes our gags and gives us each a few sips of water. At first I was reluctant, feeling uncomfortable drinking unknown substances thanks to the bottle that got us here in the first place. But after a day of refusing water, I knew I had no other option. Besides, what would be the point of drugging us again?