Hey people!
No dodging rotten fruit of any sort today; I'm actually on time! Yaaaayyyy!
I don't own any of John Flanagan's stuff. All credit for anything that was invented by me that is enjoyable goes to God and the only stuff that I claim as my own are the bad stuff. (Spelling mistakes I blame on the computer)
Enjoy the story and remember; God made you special, and he loves you very much. (I like vegetales)
Gilan greeted Umar with the traditional Arridi greeting.
Umar repeated the gesture, smiling at Gilan's effort.
He sat down opposite the Ranger and poured himself a cup of coffee, sipping appreciatively on the steaming beverage.
"Are you aware of the traditions concerning how we deal with Scorpion prisoners?" He asked Gilan.
Gilan nodded, "Yes, Bargo told me." He replied, curious to know why Umar was bringing up the subject.
Umar nodded and continued. "Tomorrow morning we will start the interrogations and, if all goes well, the combat will happen in the afternoon."
Gilan nodded his understanding.
"I was wondering, would you like to be the first combatant?" Umar asked, knowing what the answer would be.
"I would love to be the first combatant." Gilan replied, a glint in his eye.
Edward would pay for taking his sister prisoner.
Umar nodded again, "Very well, tomorrow morning meet me at the tent where the prisoners are being held. Emily will be taken to a tent on the other side of the camp during the interrogation. Arrive at the ninth hour."
Gilan frowned as he processed the information, and then nodded consent.
Umar stood up and, making the greeting/farewell gesture, left the tent and headed for bed.
~H~H~H~
Edward slept fitfully. Eventually he gave up and roused himself.
He pottered around quietly so as not to wake Emily and then, when he couldn't find anything to do, he sat down and thought about things.
A few minutes later he heard hoof beats as mounted men approached.
In the other tent, Emily stirred and sat up, listening intently. She moved to Edward's tent and listened further.
"Thirty or forty desert ponies at least, all with riders." she commented.
Edward considered asking how she knew, thought better of it and settled down to listen.
The riders drew reign and slowed as they came closer to the camp, then stopped as they arrived.
The two captives heard Umar's voice but couldn't make out the words. They heard another voice reply, then Umar's again, this time with a welcoming tone.
Edward turned to Emily.
"Any idea of what just happened?" he asked her.
Emily thought for a few seconds before replying,
"I would guess those horsemen were the ones left to wait for your fellow scorpions to emerge from the sand. They've come back empty handed. Probably because that wadi they jumped into was quicksand." She added as an afterthought.
Edward jerked his head up, "What? Quicksand? How do you know?"
Emily shrugged dismissively. "Oh, nothing important. I brought a map from a hermit guy I passed and memorized its landmarks. He warned me about that particular wadi. He said it was the only source of quicksand for miles."
Edward shifted in his seat. "Can I see the map?" he requested.
Emily nodded and rummaged through her bags, then passed the map to Edward when she found it.
He rolled it out and frowned, confused at the seemingly blank page in front of him.
Emily passed him a square piece of glass with a purple tinge and showed him how the glass could be held at different angles to make the map show.
Edward was fascinated by the accuracy of the map. If the glass was held on one angle it would show the map of Arrida. If it was held on another angle it would change to Toscana.
He frowned at the map, trying to find Scorpion Mountain.
Emily saw his confusion and guessed the reason. "He said Scorpion mountain wasn't going to last very much longer so he had made the map what it would be in five years. Anything that isn't there currently is in lighter ink." She showed him some marks in lighter ink and some in darker ink so he could compare.
They poured over the map for a further twenty minutes before Emily held up her hand for silence, head cocked to one side.
"Bargo's coming. He isn't in a great mood but he isn't grumpy either. He's just reluctant." She said precisely.
Edward raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
The tent opened and Bargo entered, forcing a smile and making the traditional Arridan greeting.
"Good morning, I trust you slept well?" he said cheerfully, then, not waiting for a reply, he continued, "I'm sorry to say this but Emily; you need to come with me." He held up a blindfold and a rope.
Emily sighed but rose to her feet, smiled reassuringly at Edward (who had grown slightly pale) and submitted to being tied and blindfolded.
Bargo covered her ears with the blindfold too so that her hearing was muffled.
Emily sighed again but didn't panic. She had her necklace and its blade in a hidden pocket on the inside of her jerkin.
She was guided outside and across the sand for about two hundred metres before stooping and entering another tent.
Her blindfold was removed and her hands untied and she found herself in the nomad version of a family living room.
Bargo invited her to sit and brought coffee and two mugs to a small table.
Emily gratefully accepted the drink and laced it generously with honey before sipping appreciatively.
"Ah, that's good coffee" she said blissfully.
~H~H~H~
Edward watched in dismay as Emily was bound and led away.
He rolled Emily's map and replaced it and the purple glass in her bag.
He heard footsteps approach and he wished Emily was there to tell him who it was and what they planned to do.
He wasn't sure if Emily actually knew about any of that stuff or if she was just guessing but it was still comforting to think you knew what was going on, and if Emily was only guessing, she was a very accurate guesser.
The tent opened and two men entered.
The first was a tall Bedullin man who had the look of a leader.
The second man was a foreigner. He had a huge longbow and a quiver of arrows slung across his shoulder. At his belt he wore a long, straight-bladed sword and a strange scabbard with two knives.
He wore a cloak identical to the one Emily wore and his face was in the shadow of the cowl.
The two men approached Edward and the first one made a gesture for him to remain seated.
The cowled stranger stood close behind him and the Bedullin man sat opposite.
They stared in silence at Edward for several minutes before the Bedullin man spoke.
"We will have a little discussion. Once you have answered our questions Emily will return. It's up to you how much she suffers. We will know if you lie."
He waited for a while to make sure his message had sunk in. Then, satisfied it had, he continued.
"How many victims do the scorpions have and who are they?"
Edward hesitated. It was a serious crime to reveal any information to an outsider but Emily was probably being tortured or something and it was up to him to end her pain.
He drew breath to answer, stopped, let it out again then resolved what to do. Emily needed him to answer quickly and truthfully. This was his chance to prove to himself that he could do good in the world rather than just hurt people.
"We only have two victims at the moment. The Gallic Lord Felix of Hightower and an Araluen Ranger."
The first man raised an eyebrow at the second man and made a note on his sand pad.
"How many Scorpions were with you before the sandstorm?"
Edward stopped to consider then replied carefully, "Nine originally but one of them was killed by Emily, I believe. I was unconscious at the time. Just before the sandstorm there were eight- plus me."
The man made another note while the stranger continued to stand in silence.
"Where are those eight Scorpions now?"
Edward picked his words carefully, "I last saw them just before the sandstorm. They dived into a nearby wadi. I don't know for sure, but Emily thinks there was quicksand at the bottom."
The Bedulin man raised both eyebrows and looked at the stranger who remained ominously silent.
"How many years have you been a Scorpion?"
Edward answered promptly, "Nine years training."
The man nodded and stood up, turned round and left. The stranger following close behind.
Edward listened as the footsteps became fainter.
He didn't know if he should be pleased that he had stopped Emily's torture or disgusted that he had broken the Scorpion's most basic rule: Don't give out information.
He decided it was worth it for Emily's sake.
Then he thought about what they might have done to her. Maybe beaten her or left her tied up in the sun.
He shook his head and started pacing, thinking about all the possible ways of torture that she could have been suffering while he was questioned.
He looked down at the ring on his finger, a black scorpion with a white line down its back.
He thought about the fact that he would never get the red backed Scorpion and secretly was glad about it.
The tent opened and Bargo entered, followed by the blindfolded Emily.
He watched as Emily had her hands untied and her blindfold taken off then started forward to greet her, glaring daggers at Bargo.
He raised an eyebrow questioningly, but Edward ignored him.
"Are you alright Emily? They told me Bargo was torturing you."
Emily laughed and patted him on the head.
"No, he chopped my arms, legs and nose off. Of course I'm alright! Bargo wasn't torturing me. He took me to his tent, gave me coffee and introduced me properly to his daughter. Who're they anyway?"
Edward drew breath to reply but Bargo interrupted.
"While we were having coffee Edward had a little chat with Umar, our Leader."
Emily nodded and smiled at him.
"You better get home for lunch. Tasha really wanted you to taste her cooking." She said to Bargo.
He nodded grimly, "Ah yes, the joys of being a father."
Emily patted him on the back.
"I'm sure it's not that bad" she said comfortingly.
Bargo grinned and made the greeting/farewell gesture before going to lunch.
Heh, Kitty is so adorable!
~ATGTJ~
