Thread: Kyv of Blackhall

“Show him in.”


The heavy doors swung open, the shadows within deep and sinister. The two nervous guards dragged the unresisting man between them to the doorway, then shoved him into the room beyond. As the man staggered forward, the heavy wooden doors ponderously swung closed again.


“You know why you are here.”


The haggard man looked up, his eyes slow to adjust to the dim light. At a desk sat a dark figure, silhouetted against the only source of light, a large window. He nodded.


“If any other man had done what you have, he would have been drawn and quartered to be displayed at each gate of the city.”


The man nodded again.


“But with you, we have a . . . conflict of interests, of sorts. You're worth so much more alive. What you hold in that remarkable brain of yours . . . well, we can't just kill you, now can we. However, neither can we let your crimes go unpunished. Why, it would cause untold upset. After all, if you can do that and go free, what's to stop common thieves from assuming there should be no consequences for their actions? This presents a small problem. I'm sure you understand.”


The man, now looking even more haggard in the harsh shadows, nodded.


“So I'm afraid we're going to have to have your legs removed. Along with the castration, of course.”


The man started. Well, it stands to reason, I suppose. They need me to be able to see and hear, and use my hands. I don't much need to be able to walk, though. And I already knew they'd emasculate me. Or try to. I'm a dead man if I stay here anyway, they'll soon enough decide I'm not worth the trouble and kill me. Might as well go down with a fight. They won't expect that. He nodded, faking a sob under his breath. Quite well, too, he thought.


“Good. I'm glad we've got that settled. Now, about that equation I asked you to work on last fortnight.”


The man had the gall to ask him about an equation after just telling him he was going to be castrated and have his legs amputated. He was going to enjoy killing this man. He smiled inwardly and stepped forward toward the desk. “Oh yes. Well, I'll need paper and quill . . .” he started meekly.


“Of course.” The man behind the desk reached forward and pulled a piece of white paper from a stack, set a goose quill on top, then pushed it and an inkwell to the front of the wooden desk. Oh, how easy this would be . . .


“Thank you,” said the haggard man as he, in one swift move, smoothly picked up the sharp quill, stepped lightly around the corner of the desk, and drove the pointed end of the writing instrument into the side of the large man's thick neck. The man gurgled in surprise as the expertly aimed quill punctured his carotid artery, first once, then twice, and finally a third time. The fat man's straining hand nearly reached the pull-string at the side of his chair, but fell just short as he convulsed one last time before going still forever.




*****


He'd made it out the window all right, and down the wall without incident. There he ran into the first snag. The stone wall that surrounded the castle, low though it may be by defensive standards, was still twice as high as a tall man's head. The wall was well-made, too, with no noticeable gaps between the stones for a ready handhold. He was going to have to circle around to the gardens. There was a small gate in the wall bordering the gardens, usually unguarded. The caretakers used it to come and go. He cautiously made his way along the wall, keeping close to the castle itself in the hopes that anyone looking down wouldn't notice his slight figure hugging the stones. He was getting close to the gardens when his scanning eyes noticed a heavy vine running up the side of the stone wall, and over the top. Oh, such fortune. The powers that be were smiling upon him today.


He grasped the vine firmly and used it to pull himself up the wall. Speeding up as he reached the top, he was soon over the edge and dropping lightly down to the soft loam on the far side. The free side. Just as he landed softly on the balls of his feet, though, the alarm sounded. Well, he hadn't really expected the body to remain undiscovered even this long. Even his considerable luck had limits. No worries, though, he was mostly out of harm now. All he had to do now was disappear into Tremshire forest. The castle was situated right at the edge of the huge forest, and no one could find him once he got deep enough into the dark wooded realm.


Smiling quietly to himself, Kyv Black sprinted into the deep shadows of Tremshire forest.


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It's not done yet, nowhere near, but this is what I've got written so far. What do you think?