Chapter 35
Ben never touched his food. He cleaned himself up and set the plate aside. For what seemed like hours, he sat in the dark while the men drank and laughed the night away. Finally, one of the men said that he was going to bed. The rest agreed and got their stuff ready for bed. After a half-hour, Ben heard snores coming from the fire. He sighed. He was finally ready to get out of here.
Ben was just about to try to untie the ropes again when he heard a cough and a mutter of curses about the cold. His heart skipped a beat. The men had set a watch. Immediate disappointment spread through Ben. He would have to find a more quiet, less struggling escape. Otherwise he would be fighting in an arena.
Ben got to thinking. He didn't have his knives, he didn't have his arrows or anything sharp to use. Then he saw the tin cup. The cup was discarded by the plate. It was the cup the pirate had dumped water on his head with. He must have dropped it on the ground as he walked away.
Ben carefully used his feet to pull the cup in towards his body. Thankfully, the men were drunk and too dim-witted to remember to retie his hands to the trunk. The only ropes restricting his body now were the ropes around his neck and waist.
He grabbed the cup and started to mold it. The thin cup was easily moldable with his hands, and he molded it to a sharp edge within minutes. Now, he worked at the ropes with the cup/knife. The cup didn't cut at first, but Ben carefully moved it to get maximum contact between the rope and the sharp edge of the knife. Within minutes, the rope restricting his waist was gone.
Now came the fun part; his neck. With even more care then last time, Ben worked the knife on the rope around his neck. He winced as his hand slipped and made a small cut on the side of his neck. He wouldn't let that stop him. It took him fifteen minutes, but Ben finally worked the knife through the thick rope. The rope fell and Ben crept his way to a standing position. Carefully, he poked his head around the trunk. The man was facing the other way watching what Ben guessed to be the direction of the road.
He slid around the trunk and kept in the shadows towards the pile of his weapons stacked on the left side of the fire. There were indeed five of them, four sleeping and the other watching the road. When Ben came to his pile of gear, he immediately donned his cloak. He then grabbed his saxe knife, bow, and a blunt-end arrow.
He stepped back and nocked the arrow into place. He took aim, drew, and fired, all in one smooth motion, using all of the techniques that Will had hammered into his head. It was a perfect shot. From fifteen yards away, the arrow shot through the air and slammed right into the man's head. The blunt arrow did not penetrate, but as it was meant to do, it knocked the man out cold. Ben slowly moved forward, saxe knife in hand, and checked the man's pulse. He was alive, but there was already a large bruise forming on his face where the arrow struck.
Ben collected his gear and ran towards the road. He saw an old sign that he could hardly read. Araulen, North: Picta, South. The arrow on the sign indicated that Araulen was to the left. Ben immediately headed left.
The sun had risen by the time Ben thought he could go no further. His head drooped, eyes nearly shut, and stomach aching for food. It was then, that Ben looked up and saw a rider coming over the horizon. Not just a rider, a rider and an extra horse. The man looked harmless enough, but Ben dove into the trees, not willing to take any chances. He nocked his bow and prepared to fire if the man was hostile. A couple moments later Ben heard an unmistakable whinny.
"Night!" Ben thought. With that he burst out of the trees and ran onto the road to intercept Will on his path down the road. The sudden burst of movement to Tug's left made him lurch upward and step back to avoid possible danger. Will was so surprised by Ben's entrance that he flew off of Tug, completely unprepared for Tug's lightning fast movement. He landed on his back with a thump. Winded and surprised, Will sat up to Ben's grinning face.
"Ben!" Will said, discarding the pain of flying off your horse and landing on the ground on your back. "Where in the world have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you." He eyed the bloody bruise on Ben's forehead.
Ben smiled. "Lets get some food first, I'm starving. I'll tell you on the way. Come on." He said as he mounted Night. Night whinnied with joy as she saw her master safe on her back.
I knew we would find you. Ben smiled and patted his horse affectionately. He wondered if Tug talked to Will the same way Night seemed to communicate with Ben.
And with that, they headed back, Ben explaining everything on the way.