He wondered how long he had been there.
He and Sydney had started out for the abandoned castle just after dawn. The trek through the woods had been long and arduous and definitely explained why the castle was still abandoned. Since its glory days, nature had taken its course and overcome any paths formed by people or animals. They had spent their hike batting at branches, climbing over fallen trees, and making enough noise to scare away any animals who might have considered them a snack (that last one had been him, with Sydney teasing that the area wouldn't have any brown bears, just black ones. At least, he thought she was only teasing.)
The castle itself was over 900 years old and hadn't been the subject of any large restoration project since the last inhabitants had left it only 200 years ago or so. Most of it was still intact, although it was crumbling in some areas exposed more to the elements. They had been stepping carefully, aware that the foundations had been left to the environment around it for far too long. The two of them had been on the verge of finding a necklace worn by Queen Ann and lost in the siege that occurred in 1207 when Aelfgar, the man who had directed them to this very spot, had shown up with his brother Ryvar demanding that they find the necklace and hand it over to them. The brothers had also correctly assumed that threatening to kill Nigel if Sydney didn't do what they asked would get them further than anything else, which is how Nigel had ended up here.
Aelfgar had pushed Sydney out, gun to her back, while Ryvar held his own gun to Nigel's head and had him move to another room to make it harder for Sydney and Nigel to find each other should they escape. The two of them had walkie talkies to communicate with as they were aware the mobile signal out here was non-existent, and Aelfgar would order his brother to kill Nigel if necessary. About half an hour into this arrangement, there had been a loud crash that echoed through the castle, and no response on the walkie talkie. Wanting to go see what was happening, but not wanting to risk Nigel escaping or reuniting with Sydney, Ryvar had locked him into a pillory he had found, and then left. At least he had left the door open.
A pillory! What an unconventional restraint in this day and age.
He could safely say he'd never been locked into one of these before, and never wanted to be locked in one again. Give him a cage, or a tomb – they at least had a way out, and usually a bit of wiggle room. The pillory was uncomfortable for several different reasons to say the least. His head and hands were sticking out of the three holes available in the wooden plank, which held his neck and wrists. The height of the pillory was too tall for him to kneel, but too short for him to stand properly so while he would have to bend at an awkward angle no matter what, he had his knees bent as well.
The way his wrists and head were positioned meant that he was unable to check the time to see how long he had been there. The room he was in had minimal indirect sunlight (at least he had light he supposed), which meant that while the room was lit, there was no way for him to really tell the time. He could hazard a guess that the window faced North but that wasn't going to help him out much.
He heard a scratching sound, and twisted his head as much as he could to look around. He couldn't see anything that would make that noise. The scratching stopped and the only thing Nigel could hear was the pounding of his heart. The scratching came again, and this time Nigel thought he saw movement at the edge of his vision. Then he was certain he felt something across his foot. He immediately moved both his feet, and the scratching grew louder before receding.
Rats. He shuddered as he realized what they were, and panic began to take hold. How long would it take them to realize he couldn't get away and started gnawing on him with their little teeth? His breath started coming in shorter gasps, and Nigel had to fight the fear that was threatening to take over. Think about Sydney, she'd get him out of this. His breathing and heartrate seemed to slow automatically with that thought. Then another occurred – several others in fact.
"Syd?" he called out, just in case. No answer.
Where was she? Since she had left with Aelfgar he had no idea where she had gone. What if the crash was something happening to her? What if she had found the necklace and the brothers didn't need her anymore and decided to kill her? What if she was injured and needed help and he was stuck here? She was self-sufficient, and there was no one he believed in more to get themselves and him out of danger, but she was human, and sometimes even she needed help. He could feel his breathing start to pick up again and let out a sound of frustration. He needed to get out of here. As he focused on that thought, his breathing once again evened out. What did he know about pillories?
Last used in Europe in 1832, they were planks of wood on a tower with holes for the head and wrists. The holes could be made of wood or iron – the one he was trapped in was only wood – and the boards of wood were fasted together using a clasp. The clasp was out of reach of course, or the pillory wouldn't have been as effective. This Middle Ages punishment hadn't really been a fatal one, depending on what exactly was thrown at the prisoner – usually fruit, vegetables, or excrement, but could also be rocks. He grimaced at the thought that he was encased in something that might have had excrement on it. His biggest threat was blood circulation from the bending he was doing, or thirst. Usually, people were left in the pillory for about two hours, who knew how long he'd been or would be in this one. At least there was no one around who was going to whip, brand, or mutilate him as part of his time in the pillory. He sighed.
It suddenly occurred to him that the boards making up the pillory would likely be decaying, especially if the rats had decided to chew through it, even if the clasp was still in good condition. He hadn't had a good look at it before he was placed into the structure, so there was a chance.
He tried to lift his head and arms, his neck and wrists straining. Nothing happened. He relaxed the tension and waited a moment before trying again.
He pushed up again, teeth gritted as he focused. Finally, he heard a bit of a snap, and let out a huff of air in victory. He relaxed the tension and twisted his head and rotated his wrists as much as he could to ease the pain. He wondered for a moment how much pressure he would need to break the board, and how much would be required to injure him. He winced at the thought but doing nothing and dying were still the worst of the options he had in front of him.
He lifted up again, and felt the tension throughout his body, from his feet to his neck. He let out a yell and thought he heard more snapping but couldn't hold the position. He let out another yell of frustration. He might actually die here. On top of everything he was also getting a headache from using his neck like a lever. How much more pressure did he need to use?
"Nigel?" he heard faintly. His head jerked up as much as it was able at the sound of his name. He noted with surprise that the room was darker than it had been. Had he fallen asleep?
"Syd," he tried to call out, but his mouth was dry and his throat was sore from resting in the hole. He coughed, which didn't help the pain in his throat, and tried again, "Syd! I'm here!" There was nothing for a second, and then he heard the sound of footsteps getting closer.
Sydney stepped through the door and looked around. "Nigel," she exclaimed when she saw him.
"Hi Syd," he said. He tried to sound jovial but couldn't quite manage.
She undid the clasp and lifted the top board from its resting place and put her hand on Nigel's shoulder. "Can you move?"
"I don't think I can," was the answer. Nigel felt strained and cramped. His body was clearly unhappy with the position it had been in.
Sydney stepped behind him and wrapped one arm around his chest. She cupped his chin in her other hand and pulled him up and off the pillory. Her body took his weight as he fell back, and Nigel felt himself being lowered to the ground, Sydney behind him. He let his head fall back onto Sydney's shoulder, grateful that his neck was no longer cramped. His knees felt locked. His hands landed listlessly beside him – they were completely numb.
"Are you okay?"
"I can't feel my hands," he admitted. "And my legs have cramps. And my throat and neck hurt from being in that and trying to lift it. And I have a headache," he listed.
Sydney reached around him to take one of his hands and began to rub it until the feeling began to come back. He winced at the pins and needles sensation.
"What," he coughed, "what happened to the brothers?" He flexed his legs to make sure the blood was flowing properly again.
"They fell over a wall," she said. She didn't sound concerned. "This place is falling apart." She picked up his other hand and rubbed it as well. He flexed the hand she had dropped relieved that it seemed to be okay. He began to rub his leg to get the cramp out. If he had to hazard a guess, they probably had some help falling over the wall through a fight with Sydney. He didn't say anything though, just glad that they didn't need to worry about them anymore.
"Did you find the necklace?"
"It's in my satchel. Aelfgar had it in his hand when he fell, but I grabbed it back." She released his hand and began to massage his neck and shoulders to try to release the tension. Nigel sighed into her touch.
"I'm glad you're okay," he told her.
"Of course," she said matter-of-factly. "Were you worried about me?" she teased.
"Always." In a state of tiredness and relief he answered more honestly than he meant to. She paused in her ministrations and Nigel feared he had gone too far.
"Likewise." She squeezed his shoulders. "I think we're going to have to stay here for the night," she told him after a moment. He opened his eyes and realized that he could barely see in front of him. "Do you have the backpack in here?"
"Left it in the other room."
"I'll go get it." Sydney got up from behind him. He was relieved not to need her to hold him up anymore, at least in a sitting position.
"Erm, Syd," Nigel said. "Help me up? I need to uh…" He had forgotten that he had to go, but now his bladder was insistent. He just wasn't quite sure he could stand without falling over yet.
"Oh, Nigel," Sydney said as she reached for his hand and helped him up. He staggered into her but she held him steady as she always did. "Just go in here and we'll spend the night in the other room."
He made a sound of agreement and did his business towards a wall when he thought she wasn't looking.
As they laid down to sleep, each of them using their respective bag as a pillow, his last thought was that he was probably one of the luckiest people alive.
