Chapter List
Chapter Eighteen
The ground was cold and damp. My head throbbed with pain as I finally came to. I couldn�t remember what had happened the day before. I didn�t want to. All I wanted to do was get myself off the ground.
I couldn�t move. Why couldn�t I move? Ugh�Jesus� where am I? I slowly opened my eyes but quickly shut them, the sunlight blinding me. I could barely breath. Why? Everything was so confusing. I found the reason for my trouble with breathing. After going slower to open my eyes I found I was on the bank of a river. I moved my muzzle off of the mud and rolled over onto my back. I groaned, I ached all over and felt queasy. I tried to move my arms but they were bound behind my back. Tha� explains why I can�t move� I found that my legs were bound at the ankles. What happened? I still couldn�t recall the events from earlier.
I struggled to sit up. As soon as I did I felt the sudden rush of blood to my head and I groaned of the sudden pain. I went to lie back down but the sudden movement brought on my nausea. I turned my head to the side and vomited right there. I was in horrible condition.
I closed my eyes and tried to work on the knots with my claws. A soft whine emitted from me due to all the confusion going through my mind. I found that whoever did these knots was not very good. I had my arms free in a matter of minutes then began working on my ankles.
Once free, I slowly and carefully stood up. I still felt sick and stumbled over to a tree to vomit again. I wiped my mouth off with my sleeve and looked around. I had no idea where I was. I stumbled back to the river and sat myself down on my knees by it. I washed some blood mixed with some mud off of my muzzle. The water felt cool against my sun-baked fur and flesh. I sat on the edge and looked around. I didn�t recognize where I was at all. I sniffed the air a few times; nothing familiar to help me find where I was would register in my scent chamber. No familiar sights and no familiar scents. I was completely lost.
I took a few minutes to sum things up. I was totally unarmed, I had no idea where I was, and I had no idea why I was here. The wind picked up from the south. I took another deep breath, hoping to find some faint sign of something familiar. Nothing� wait� there! I picked up the slight scent of other animals. It was far away but it was there. I slowly got to my feet and tried walking. Instead I simply stumbled over, landing halfway into the river. I got up and my knees and hands and shook my head side-to-side, getting the water from my face. I was still too weak to go anywhere.
The change in wind not only brought the scent of animals but also made it impossible to pick up the scents from creatures to the north. Five humans watched from the bushes.
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The humans were crouched behind trees and bushes. They whispered to each other quietly.
�Is that it?�
�It has to be.�
�How should we go about this?�
�Well, e�s no� armed. Ih� wou� be easy t� jus� go an� grab �im.�
�No, we were ordered not to seem threatening. Let us leave our weapons here. After all, there are five of us against him. And he doesn�t seem in fit shape either.
�Right, good idea.� The five men took their swords off from their belts and laid them down quietly. They watched Renard for a minute longer, testing him, then stood up. They made their way one by one out of the bushes towards him.
* * * * * *
I didn�t catch their scent but I heard them. I turned around quickly to face five humans. In doing so I had once again brought on my nausea because of the sudden movement. I shook my head slightly and fought back the urge to vomit. I carefully stood myself up and tried to look formidable to any attacker. It wasn�t a very good act but it seemed to work as they stopped advancing towards me. I looked them over, no weapons.
�Can I �elp y� gentlemen?� I asked calmly, knowing well I couldn�t do anything about it if I offended them.
�Perhaps. Are you by any chance the leader of the group of animals known as the AFAS?� One of them asked, taking a small step forward. I watched him for a moment; they didn�t appear to be threatening. Still, I kept my guard up.
�Aye, tha� I am. Why?� I asked them. The one gave a friendly smile at me.
�My name is Sir Richard the Fourth. I have been instructed to escort you back to our castle for a chat. You will be given food, shelter, and anything else to make you comfortable while with us.� he said to me. I raised my eyebrow, suspicious of this. No human of such obvious importance would be this generous without cause.
�Why so generous?� I wanted to know.
�We�re all quite sick of this fighting and my master would like to speak with you. He believes you could be the key to stopping it.� He replied. That wasn�t much of an answer.
�And who is your master?� I asked him. He glanced back at the others then back at me.
�Emperor Diable.� He answered. I had a really bad feeling now. I knew that I would be going with them whether I liked it or not. I decided to save my strength, the little amount of it I had now, instead of trying to run.
I pretended to not know who that was. I shrugged a little then nodded.
�Alright, I�ll go. Jus� give me a minute t� rest. I�ve �ad a long night.� I told them. They nodded and I sat myself against a tree. They waited patiently. Well, Richard did anyway. The other four seemed to want to just grab me and drag me there. We waited a good ten minutes, the whole time I was busy thinking. What to do? If I go with them willingly I�m as good as dead as soon as I try and escape. An� if I don�t try and escape I�ll be forced t� let on abou� the AFAS. But if I don�t go willing then they�ll simply beat me and take me anyway� I sighed to myself then stood up.
�Alright, I�m ready.� I told them. Richard smiled at me.
�Alright, let�s be off then.� He said to me. The six of us started off through the forest. They picked up their swords that they hid earlier and latched them to their belts. They kept me in the cent of them. It was obvious I would not be getting away.
We walked on for an hour. I took in my surroundings as we went. I used my dizziness to my advantage. Every time we changed direction I would fall over, blaming it on my condition. But before I would get back up I�d rake my claws against a close by tree trunk while using it to get back up, marking the trail.
We stopped by a river to get a drink. I cupped my hands and took some water into them and drank it down. I knew I couldn�t use my dizziness for an excuse much longer. I looked over at Richard.
�So, �ow much further is it?� I asked him. He looked at me then pointed north.
�Not much farther, just about a mile north of here.� He answered. I nodded then looked back at the river. At least now I knew where to go from this spot. The wind changed and my ears perked up. I sniffed the air quietly, not wanting to alert the humans. I caught the scent of several animals near by to the left. I took a quick glance in that direction and my eyes met another set of eyes, hidden in the bushes. My sharp eyes then caught the tip of an arrow protruding from the bushes. I looked around it and saw seven other arrows sticking out of the bushes. I then looked back at the humans and thought. I nodded to myself slightly then slid slowly into a crouched position. I looked at Richard and he looked right back at me. I grinned slightly then dove strait into the river, disappearing below the surface. Richard blinked then cursed under his breath.
�He�s trying to escape! After him you morons! But don�t kill him!� He yelled at the other four. They pulled their swords out and headed for the water.
There were several twangs of bows and the sound of arrows zipping through the air. All five men fell to the ground. Four of them were dead. Richard pulled the arrow sharply from his shoulder and cursed loudly as he started off at a quick retreat north. I was unaware of what exactly had taken place. I couldn�t see a thing. The dirt was being stirred up as my heel slid across the bottom of the small river as I tried to stop myself. My head broke the surface and I swam towards the shore. I was once again drained of energy from swimming as quickly as I did. I lay on the water�s edge, halfway in the river.
I slowly caught my breath. I then saw a boot stop right in front of me. I looked up to see a furred face looking back down at me. It was welcome relief to see another animal.
�Whoever you are, young fox, I hope you were worth our arrows.�