The Forgotten Rogue

Chapter 6

Emeric lay on the ground staring wide eyed as the sword traveled down and impaled the ground a centimeter away from his head. He shut his eyes and swallowed to try and rein in his nerves that were running wild. The laughter of the Elites only made it worse. They were just messing with his head.

Emeric calmed his breathing as they turned their backs and walked back to the rest of the group. He felt anger rising up inside of him...These men were more like beasts than they claimed the Rogues to be.

"Emeric?" His father questioned in a concerned voice. Emeric opened his eyes again and turned his head towards his father, "I'm alright." he said in a deflated voice.

They didn't get much rest that night. Sleep was slow coming with there arms uncomfortably tied behind their backs.

The Elites were up before dawn and started preparing for the journey ahead.

Emeric watched them with scrutinizing dislike as the moved about gathering their sleeping rolls and other camping materials.

When everything was packed, they came for Emeric and Rayhan. The leader stood by, keeping a strict watch on events as the Elites got to work retying Emeric and Rayhan's hands in front of them. Emeric winced as his shoulders complained against the sudden relief of tension.

They also untied the binds that were tightly bound around Rayhan's ankles.

And with that down they started moving off into the woods with Emeric and Rayhan in tow.

Emeric did his best to ignore the hammering in his head that reverberated against his scull with each step he took. He had a bad limp, his injured ankle could hardly carry any weight.

When the thick bush started swallowing the group, Emeric gave one last look back at his burnt down house. He had grown up there and it was the only bit of civilization that he knew. So many memories had been formed in that single building. Leaving it behind felt like leaving a part of himself behind. He felt out of place and incomplete.

With a weary sigh he turned forward and limped hesitantly with the group of Elites that was escorting him.

The traveling hours were grueling. They barely rested and walked from dawn till dusk. Emeric would have been able to match the pace easily, but considering that by noon he wasn't able to put weight on his ankle anymore, things got a bit complicated.

After unrelenting urging from Rayhan, he had been allowed to walk next to his son and was able to help him get along.

Emeric made slow progress, much to the dislike of the Elites. He had to lean heavily on his father's shoulder in order to take even the smallest step.

Finally after a dozen horrendous hours, the Elites halted the journey to rest for the evening.

Emeric gratefully sank down to the ground and examined his ankle. It had an off blue tinge and the swelling had worsened. He frowned, wondering if it would be able to heal if they kept up the fast pace.