A/N: Hellooooooooooo everybody! Just wanted to say thanks for all the great reviews you all sent my way and to let you know that the next chapter is finished so you won't have to wait that long at all:) There are some issues about the next chapter that I want to discuss, but I'll wait till I post it and ask for your opinions.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Malone or any of the TLW characters, rub it in :P. However, Ilaya, Gressan, and Syko are mine, so hands off:D Enjoy the story and don't forget to review!
Lost but Now Found
Chapter 5
Malone stirred and slowly opened his eyes. He did not recognize his surroundings and was highly disoriented. "What happened?" The memories of the recent events, including his battle with Gressan, came rushing back. "I must have lost consciousness." He looked around again. "Where am I?"
Malone groggily looked around the room and he was amazed at what he saw. The room was adorned with tapestries full of rich and vivid colors. Many depicted daily life, but some were older than the rest and portrayed images of past Protectors and Chosen Ones, along with some more symbols from the old language.
As Malone shook himself out of his haze, he realized that he was sitting down and tried to stand only to find he was tied to his seat. He struggled to break free, but the ropes were tight and the more he struggled, the more the ropes dug into his injured side. He gave up his struggle and decided to save his strength. He saw that he was seated at the hall's long dining table. He also saw that at the head of the table and center of the room, there were two thrones. They were both beautifully carved with many of the plateau's animals, and they were accented with jewels for style. They were both equally beautiful, but for some reason, one of the thrones was cast off to the side. From what he had heard about the history of the city from Ilaya, those must be the seats of the Two.
Malone heard the doors behind him open and tried to twist and have a look but the rope hindered his movement and only aggravated his injuries. He couldn't see the person yet, but he could hear their footsteps approaching slowly from behind.
"I hope you have been enjoying your stay in my wonderful city."
"Oh, of course. You've been most hospitable. Why don't you untie these ropes and allow me to return the favor!" Malone tried again to break free of his bonds, but once again met with no success.
The man chuckled at Malone's threat and his worthless struggling. The tone of his voice was light and cheerful, but Malone could easily distinguish friend from foe. A man's voice spoke volumes about his intentions. Once the man came into view, he could see he was tall and had the build of a warrior. He was obviously a very vain man considering he was wearing the finest of silks and was wearing more jewels than necessary. The man might be considered attractive, but his other qualities outweighed his looks. His smile did not look charming, but rather more like a sneer and his eyes showed a devious intent. His false pretenses could not hide the man Malone saw reflected in his eyes. They looked wild; like the eyes of a man with only a slight grasp of reality. This was a man who ruled through greed and fear instead of compassion and a genuine desire to help his kingdom.
The man sat down in the chair directly across from Malone and helped himself to a glass of wine. He took a generous mouthful and smacked his lips in delight. "Aaaaaah, delicious! Nothing like a good glass of wine." He looked over at Malone and frowned. "Oh goodness me! Where at my manners? Here you are, an honored guest in my kingdom, and I have not offered you any refreshments." The man shook his head. "Well, you are a little tied up at the moment" he laughed heartily at his own joke, "perhaps I can help with that. GRESSAN!"
Malone heard the loud hall doors open again. This time instead of the light graceful steps of before, he heard a heavy, purposeful set of footsteps approaching him.
"But before I allow Gressan to untie you, we are going to have a—what's the word I'm looking for?—conversation, there it is."
Malone knew what type of conversation these two had in mind. "Oh good, I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you. Syko right?" Malone glanced at him and laughed, "Well your parents certainly picked the right name for you, great foresight on their part." Syko looked at Gressan and clearly did not understand what Malone meant. Malone kept talking, "After all I've heard about you Syko, I thought, 'I must meet this wonderful fellow.'" Gressan quickly grabbed Malone's head and beat it forcefully onto the table. Malone winced and picked his head up. He saw several spots in his vision and tried to focus back on his host as the room started to spin from the force of the blow.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You do not want to upset Gressan. As you see he has a wild temper and when he gets upset, I feel it is better for him to let out his frustrations. Not a very wise move on your part, I say. So, I see you have heard of me, all good I hope?" He laughed and helped himself to another helping of wine.
Gressan growled, "From that wretch Ilaya, no doubt! I knew she was helping him! It sounds exactly like something she would do!" Syko nodded his head, "Yes, we will deal with her later at a more suitable time. For now, our guest must be feeling ignored." He looked back at Malone. "I don't even know what to call you, do you have a name?"
Malone's wounds were not tended to and left to bleed. His strength was drained and he was dizzy from his blood loss and the blow to the head, so it was understandable that he was not in a mood to be cooperative. "My name? Why does it matter? You don't need my name to torture me," Malone once again struggled to break free. Gressan pushed him back down in his seat and Malone reluctantly gave up and slumped forward in his chair.
Syko feigned shock. "Torture? What you must think of me! I will have you know that most people enjoy chatting with me. I am exceptional conversationalist. Isn't that so, Gressan?" Gressan nodded. "You see? I'm sure you will enjoy yourself."
Malone's breathing was shallow and haggard. "Oh yes, barrels of fun. Stop me please, I'm having too much fun." Once again Gressan retaliated. This time with a sharp grip on the slash on his upper arm that caused Malone to cry out in pain.
"I warned you about upsetting Gressan. Why must you be difficult? We were having such a pleasant conversation" Syko pouted and shook his head.
"You want to chat? I can do that. Let's see…my, this is lovely weather you have here. A little too hot for my liking, but then again, this is a jungle, heat is to be expected. I really should look into getting a hat. My friends always wondered"
Syko slammed his glass on the table and stood up. "Enough! I want know what you are doing in my city, and I want to know now!"
"But we were just starting to have a lovely chat. How about that glass of wine?" Syko reached across the table and grabbed Malone's face. Syko's face had murder written all over it. "I do not like visitors in my city I do not know about. I especially do not like it when they try to appropriate things that clearly not belong to them. Now I will ask you again, why are you in my city? I should let you know that spies are often caught and dealt with here. They are sent back to their families in nicely wrapped little packages, a gift from my wonderful city." Malone glanced at Gressan and saw him smile and start to play with his sword.
"I…did not... come here…to spy." Malone was finding it very difficult to form coherent thoughts, much less speak. "I came here by accident. This was all…a misunderstanding."
Syko eyes got wild again as he stared at Malone. "A misunderstanding was it! So we misunderstood when we found you coming out of the room that holds the kingdom's ancient texts, including our war strategies and many maps? We misunderstood when we found this," Syko picked up the book Malone found and tossed it on the table, "in your bag? I do not know why you chose this particular book, but I will have answers! Now you can either speak to me, or you can speak to Gressan, it's your choice."
"I will tell you right now, you can torture me all you wish, but I will not be telling you a word. At the end of all this, I die either way, so why should I tell you anything?"
Syko frowned and nodded to Gressan. Gressan untied Malone from the chair and made him stand up. He kept a steady grip on him to prevent escape, but Malone wouldn't have even been able to walk a few steps in his current condition.
Syko shook his head in disappointment. "I warned you there were consequences for not cooperating. I will give you until dawn to come to your senses." He waved his hand and Gressan escorted Malone out of the hall.
He led him to the palace's dungeon and shoved him into an empty cell. "It is a shame. I was looking forward to using my new sword on you."
"Maybe next time."
Gressan laughed and locked Malone into his new quarters. It was dark and small, with only a small cot in the corner. Malone sat down and tried to tend to his wounds. He took off his shirt and tried to stop the bleeding that had yet to cease on his side, but he gave up. "What's the use? I'm dead at dawn. Ilaya was right, I am going to die. He found the book and I have no chance to escape now. But I still don't regret it, I had to do this."
The time passed by slowly and dawned approached. Malone heard the lock of the door shift. The door opened and Malone was met with Gressan's smiling face. "Time's up."
He was removed from his cell and taken to a new location. Instead of the hall, this time he was taken to the city's main outdoor court. There was already a crowd gathered and Syko was there as well. He had the book that Malone had found in his hand.
"Have you changed your mind? Are you going to tell me what I want to know and what you were doing with this?" Malone's silence was his answer. Syko sighed, "You have left me with no choice then. Kill him. It was nice chatting with you, whoever you are."
Gressan took him to the center of the court where there was a large flat stone. Syko sat down in his chair and clapped his hands in delight. "It has been a while since our last public execution." Malone looked at the crowd and noticed that Syko was the only one that was enjoying himself. Why do these people let this mad man stay in power?
"Any last words?" Syko asked. "I am quite the benevolent man."
Malone once again looked at the crowd and back at Syko. He knew his time on this earth was over, but he might as well use his last moments to try to help others if he could. "Yes, I do." He turned and addressed the crowd. "This man," he pointed at Syko, "is a tyrant. He does not care for this city or its people, only using you to advance his own fortunes and power. The power is in your hands! You can fight back! You can stop the war and the death! All it takes is one person to take the first step!"
Malone saw that Syko was angry but he would not lose face in front of his people. "Well spoken, sir. However, my people are happy as they are. I cannot say the same for you." Syko nodded at Gressan. He firmly placed his head on the stone and raised his sword. He looked down at Malone and smiled. "Do not worry, it will be quick. I have done this several times." Malone looked up and saw the sun glint off the blade as it came careening toward his head. He shut his eyes and waited for impact…
To be continued
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