BEHOLD!

I'm alive!

I trudged on, surviving on sheer force of will. The pain was almost unbearable. I stumbled over a rock and fell, swearing loudly in the process. The girl fell of of my shoulder and rolled onto the ground, her head lolling around.

"I can't keep this up forever." I said to myself. I looked down at my hands, they being pale and covered in blood and lacerations from climbing over the rocks and boulders that line the mountainside. I sat up, groaning in pain. I slowly turned my head around, to see how far I had come.

My blood trailed on for miles.

I felt dizzy and light headed. "Maybe I should just take a nap…" I said, "Yeah, that sounds nice….." I laid my head back on a rock anklet my eyes droop until sleep finally overcame me.

~~~~~~(|)~~~~~~

*Thump Thump Thump-Thump, Thump Thump Thump-Thump.*

Something was coming. I tried to open my eyes, but they were glued shut.

"Whoa there!" A gruff sounding voice called. The thumping stopped. I heard metal jingling and heavy footsteps in my direction.

"'Oh is 'ey?" another voice called, this one more nasally.

I heard a slight gasp. "The Thief who kidnapped the Lady, Thimble! At least he looks dead enough." I felt large hands grip my shirt and lift me up. "Why'da do it, lad?" He asked, shaking me a little. He released me, letting me fall back down. "Thimble, check his life signs."

My head and cheats suddenly felt warm, like someone had draped a blanket over me.

"Minor brain activities, slowed 'eart rate." The nasally voice, Thimble, said. "'Ey can 'ear us alright, its just ta speaking' bit 'ey can't do." The warmth stopped.

"Well, he ain't going anywhere in his current state. Wolves got at him." The gruff one said.

"Are 'ye sure it twas the Wolves, Yorlleg?" Thimble said.

"Bite marks match, along with depth." The gruff one, Yorlleg, said. "He got out alive, which means he killed it. Better go back and get it. Dead things do strange things after dark." I heard the rustle of metal again. "Felix! Get the Lady Luna and take her back to the village. We're going to get that corpse for that wizardy fellow to study."

"Yes sir!" a younger, more inexperienced voice called out. There were a few thumps, like something turning around.

"They have mounts." I thought.

"And Felix; stop it with the sir shit, will ye?" Yorlleg said.

"Yes sir-err captain!" He called out, taking off. There was a long moment of silence as Felix's mount thundered away. The Yorlleg person muttered a few curses after the other, but other then that was content.

"Thimble!" Yorlleg barked. "Get this thieving scum onto your mount. Good enough to let him stand trial. Might as well just execute him."

Oh, how I hate executions.

I was picked up by what felt like very thin arms that strained under my weight.

"Ooh, this 'uns a 'eavy 'un." Thimble said from beneath me.

"Oh, shush it." Yorlleg said. "Blindfold him so he can't see where we're goin'."

I opened my eyes to get a glimpse at the men. Yorlleg was seated on his mount, which was a five-legged wolf with thick, brown matted fur, and eyes of a shining red-orange, similar to fire. It was heavily armed with long, edged claws and many rows of razor-sharp teeth. Yorlleg himself was quite a large man, with big, burly arms covered in hair and large brown beard. The most distinguishing feature about Yorlleg was that he had a long black scar that ran over his right eye, which was simply an empty hole. The blindfold came over my eyes, and I lost sight of the beast and Yorlleg.

"Give him a good wallop on the head, just to make sure we get no trouble." Yorlleg said, snapping at the reins of his mount. The last thing I remember was the sensation of fast movement and a large bump on top of my head.

~~~~~~(|)~~~~~~

"…Want to get a sandwich after the shifts over?" A voice asked, and relatively close.

Wait…What?

"Sure, Fornot, a samvich does sound appealin." Another voice answered.

"Guards." I thought. I groggily opened my eyes to only be met with a grey brick wall. I sat up slowly, taking care to not open the wounds in my stomach and chest. When I was fully up, I glanced around. The cell I was in(It was obviously a cell) was simple; a bed, which I was seated on, a small table, and a wall made of bars with a door. I looked down at my clothes, which were now a simple grey shirt and my pants and shoes. I heard some foot steps going away from me, which sounded like boots.

"Um… Hello?" I asked cautiously to the guards.

"Eh? Oh joy. Another one." The right guard grumbled. "Let me guess; Your going to ask where you are, why your here, and who you can speak to. Well let me answer those questions for you. Your in a cell in the dungeons of Castle Del Huberto, Your here for kidnapping the Lady Luna, and there ain't no one you can speak to."

I stroked my beard, looking at him. "Oh, your good."

"Yes I am. Now shut up and watch the trials." He answered bluntly. It was only now that I noticed that a tiny window had opened up near the ceiling. It too was barred. I stood on the bed and gazed outside. There was a shiny blue and green aurora high in the sky, giving the night an eerie glow. Torchlight filled the square, and I could see why. There, in the center, was a large set of gallows. I saw four guards escorting a frail man out of the outside wall above me and to my right. Once they reached the gallows, they tied his neck in the noose. An old man stood before him, holding a very long sheet of paper.

"Roster Filamen, you have been charged with the murder of Thregrat Netergrew on the seventh moon of the New Cycle. What say you in your defense?" The man with the sheet called out.

"I hope you all burn in hell! Every last one of you!" The man in the noose called out.

"Very well. Jugg, the lever." The man with the sheet said, looking down at the paper again. The hangman, apparently Jugg, pulled the lever, opening a trapdoor beneath the condemned.

"May the Creator have mercy upon you." Sheet-Man said quietly. Roster's, the condemned, hands went to his throat as he tried to undo the noose. In a few seconds, his struggle ceased. Jugg took him down and tossed him in a cart. "Next!" Sheet-Man called.

"Times up, buddy." The guards said. I turned to see the guards tugging out a rather violent woman. She had fiery eyes that matched her hair, and she was not something I had seen before. She was rather small, and had webbed hands and feet, almost like a fish. THey took her out to the gallows and tied her into the noose.

"Meladason Rethure, You are charged with the theft of twenty-five pounds of gold from the castle holds. What say you in your defense?"

'"I am falsely accused! It was My sister who stole it, not I!" she cryed. The Sheet-Man raised a very bushy eyebrow.

"There is only one who will truly know." He said. He walked over to the sides of the Gallows and picked up a small, purple, metallic rod. He then picked up a bell made of gold and struck it three times. There was a flash of light from higher up on the castle, though I could not see where, followed by a long stream of curses. I saw many people gasp in awe at what was happening above me. After a few moments, a figure landed on the gallows with a thud. It was humanoid, but had massive black feathered wings sprouting from it's back. I could not see it's front, but it wore a red hat.

"What is it this time, Gallows-Master? I have better things to attend to, you know." The humanoid said. The Gallows-Master bowed his head graciously.

"My Lord, this woman claims that it was not she who stole Twenty-Five pounds of gold from your treasure hold two moons ago. I thought to ask for your guidance." He said.

"I've told you this before; if your unsure, ask the crowd." The Humanoid, which I deemed to be a man by the tone of his voice. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have much to attend to." and with one quick flap of his wings, he was soaring through the sky towards the top of the castle.

"So, what do you think, people? The Gallows-Master called to the crowd.

"Hang her! Hang her! Hang her!" Was what they shouted at him.

"You heard them, Jugg. The lever." He said. The people quietened down as Jugg waddled over and pulled the lever.

"Nooooo-Huaragh!~~" The woman called out as she was hung. The Master repeated the phrase he had said earlier. I turned around to the guards, who were still outside my cell.

"So, when am I getting trialed?" I asked them.

"Oh," He responded,"Your going tomorrow."