(Photo by Tristan Pokornyi)

Nis tried to escape, to break free from whoever it was that had attacked her. The sack over her head, however, was cinched shut around her neck and strong hands forced Nis’ hands behind her back. Try as she might, Nis was powerless to stop her assailant from tying her wrists, followed by her ankles. They tossed Nis face down onto the deck of the raft and then tied her ankles and wrists together as a final touch.

“You shouldn’t have struggled,” the assailant said and Nis recognized it as Gorvis, one of the trackers sent to bring her back to the archives.

Nis wasn’t surprised by this realization. Who else would be out here?

“Please,” Nis begged, “Don’t take me back.”

“What are you doing here, Meric?” Trow asked, ignoring Nis’ plea.

“Trying to stay alive,” Meric said. “I woke up that night with Nis holding a knife to my throat. I think she thought you’d leave her alone if she had a hostage. I’ve been looking for a way to escape ever since.”

“Really?” Trow asked and his skepticism was clear. “She doesn’t seem to have tied you up or anything.”

“She didn’t need to once we’d gone far enough,” Meric replied. “It’s not like I know my way out here. If I left her now, I’d just wind up lost and dead.”

“You could have started a campfire. We would have seen the smoke and found you.”

“I figured the trees were too tall for that.”

Neither Gorvis nor Trow had a response to that argument and they let the matter go.

“So where was she planning on going?” Trow asked.

“I don’t know exactly, somewhere one of her past lives used to go, out past the sea I think,” Meric lied.

“What’s past the sea?” Gorvis asked.

“No idea,” Meric said.

“Can’t be much of anything that way,” Trow noted. “Otherwise people would have gone there and found it.”

“Well there’s easier ways to get to the sea than crossing the mountains and the Wastes,” Gorvis muttered and Nis got a small kick to her ribs from his booted foot.

“None of that,” Trow warned. “It’s our job to bring her in, safe and whole.”

“I didn’t kick her all that hard.”

“You shouldn’t have kicked her at all.”

“She’s been a right idiot, leading us on this far and nearly getting herself and us all killed on more than one occasion, and if it takes a kick or two –

“She was scared,” Meric interrupted. “I would be too, if it was me, and you’ll only make her more determined to escape if you treat her like that.”

“Then she should come back to Duran without a fuss,” Gorvis shot back at her. He’d clearly been losing his patience with the task of bringing Nis back and was finally finding a means of letting out some of that pent up frustration.

“She didn’t want to live like a prisoner in the archives for the rest of her life,” Meric said softly.

“You sound like you’re taking her side now,” Gorvis said with menace.

“That’s enough,” Trow interjected. “It’s been rough for all of us so why don’t I keep an eye on Nis while you two get some sleep. We’ll get started at first light.”

The whole time that they were talking, Nis had been trying to find some way out of this situation. Tied as she was, with her arms and legs pulled up behind her while she lay on her face didn’t leave her with much mobility. With some effort she could probably rock herself over onto her side, but what then?

“You’re not going to leave Nis like that all night, are you?” Meric asked.

“Hmm?” Trow replied and then Nis heard him sigh. “Sorry, I didn’t see how, uh, secure Gorvis had made her.”

Nis heard what sounded like Trow giving Gorvis a slight kick before moving over to Nis.

“I don’t think you’ll be needing all this,” he said and pulled the sack off of her head. “Or this,” he added and he loosed the knot that had tied her hands to her ankles. “But if you prove me wrong and try to escape,” he warned, “then I will leave it to Gorvis to do whatever he thinks is necessary to keep you safe and secure while we travel back to Duran.”

Nis nodded and Trow left it at that. She didn’t allow herself to look at Gorvis but she could nonetheless feel his angry gaze on her.

“Who’s taking second watch?” Meric asked and there was nervousness in her voice when she spoke.

Nis caught her eye and Meric glanced briefly over to Gorvis and then back to Nis. Trow didn’t miss the brief exchange and he, too, glanced over to Gorvis

“Oh come on,” Gorvis shrugged. “She’ll be fine, I promise.”

“The night’s almost half over,” Trow said as he studied the sky. “By the time my watch is over there won’t be much night left so I’ll just stay up the extra bit longer. You all just get some sleep. You included, “he added with a stern look at Nis.

Gorvis didn’t argue and although Nis could see that Meric had hoped to have a turn at keeping watch, she didn’t press the issue either. There was some shuffling around as Gorvis set up his shelter and bedroll on the riverbank since there wasn’t room for him to sleep on the raft but it wasn’t too long before quiet settled in around them. Nis had hoped that Trow would keep watch from the riverbank, or perhaps on the far side of the raft, but to her disappointment he sat down right beside her.

“Trow,” Nis began in the hopes of somehow convincing him to keep watch from farther away but he swiftly placed a hand to her mouth while with his other hand he pointed towards where Gorvis lay. Then he moved his hand up to his ear in a cupping shape as if to warn her that Gorvis would hear her. Was Trow worried that Gorvis would get upset if Nis kept him up by talking?

Night crept along slowly, every minute feeling like an hour, and all the while Trow sat there keeping watch. His eyes caught the faint light from time to time as he shifted his gaze from Nis, to Gorvis, to Meric, and then back to Nis. She thought he’d spend the entire night like that, but after some time he shifted and withdrew something from a pouch on his hip. As he turned to face Nis, she saw starlight reflect off the smooth, metallic surface of a knife.

She thought she ought to be screaming but her mind and body were both suddenly frozen by the sheer terror of the situation. What good would screaming do her anyway? Who would come to her rescue? Meric might try, but Nis doubted she would be any match for Trow who had probably received martial training in addition to his training as a tracker.

Trow, however, did not strike. Instead, he held up a block of wood in his other hand and began carving. The moon was high in the sky now and gave just enough light, apparently, for Trow to see by. As Nis watched she caught glimpses of what it was that he was carving. She couldn’t be certain what it was exactly but it looked like a small animal.

He worked steadily on the carving until a faint snore came from Gorvis, at which point Trow paused in his work, his eyes locking onto where Gorvis lay. Another snore and Trow slowly shifted his eyes back down to his work.

“He doesn’t know he snores,” Trow spoke so quietly that Nis wasn’t sure she’d heard him at first. “It’s the only way to know he’s truly asleep.”

“Is that your way of telling me I can talk to you now?” Nis asked, trying to match his quiet tone.

Trow nodded

“Could you sit somewhere else? It’s hard to sleep with you so close by.”

It was a weak lie, she knew, but it was the best she could come up with. Even as she said it she knew it wouldn’t work. However, to her utter surprise, Trow got up and stepped a few feet away before sitting back down.

“Is this better?” he asked, still speaking just barely loud enough for her to hear. “Oh, wait,” he said and shifted back to her. He pressed his knife firmly into the wood of the deck next to her and then retreated a few feet once again.

Nis stared from him to his knife and then back again, trying to figure out what he was doing.

“You wanted to escape didn’t you?” Trow asked after a while and then when Nis still didn’t move he added, “Well then?”

Nis was about to roll over so she could press her bonds against the knife to begin cutting them but Trow was already up and moving back to her.

“I guess I was wrong,” he said and pulled his knife back out of the raft.

“No, please,” Nis whispered. “I can’t go back.”

“Listen,” Trow said to her and his voice, although still very quiet, was stern. “I only stopped Gorvis from hurting you because of our orders. If it was up to me you’d have gotten much more than a gentle kick for all the trouble you’ve put us through.”

His expression was difficult to make out in the dim light but the anger in his voice was clear.

“We’re doing you a favor,” he went on. “What do you think will happen to you if you stay out here much longer? You’ve had one lucky break after another but luck doesn’t last and when yours runs out, you will die.”

“You don’t understand,” Meric began, surprising both Nis and Trow, but Trow cut her off before she could say any more.

“I do understand,” he said. “You’re afraid of being stuck inside the archives for the rest of your life. I get it. In fact, before we were sent to come get you, they were voting on giving you more freedom in the hopes of preventing any future escape attempts.”

“That’s not it,” Nis said. “I mean, yes, I would love not to be locked inside the archives all day every day, but that’s not why I can’t go back.”

“What, you want to go back and live with your parents?”

“No, well,” Nis was having a hard time explaining herself since she really didn’t think telling him about her past life as queen, seeking to rewrite history or something, would help her case. That and she wasn’t sure how that past life would react since Trow would be returning to Duran and would therefore be able to tell others about their lost history.

“Hey, Trow?” Meric’s whispered voice came from the far side of the raft.

“What?” He asked. “And why aren’t you asleep?”

“I need to, uh, dig myself a latrine, you know?”

“Fine, go,” he said with a shake of his head. “You don’t need my help with that.”

“Can I borrow your trowel?” Meric asked.

“What’s wrong with the one in your pack?”

“I…well, Nis made me toss everything into the first river in the hopes that you’d find it and think we’d gone down that one.”

“Alright,” he finally conceded. “My pack should be right there beside you. Trowel’s in the side pouch.”

“Thank you.”

Nis could hear Meric shuffling around with the pouch for a moment and then she stepped passed them and onto the shore where she then disappeared into the underbrush.

“Did you really make her throw her entire pack into the river?” Trow asked once Meric was gone.

“I had to try something,” she said to go along with Meric’s lie. If they could keep Trow and Gorvis from suspecting Meric then they might still have a chance to escape.

“There was a lot of useful gear in that pack,” Trow noted. “Could have made your time out here much easier.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” Nis said and Trow gave a shallow laugh.

“You do that,” he said, “and I won’t stop Gorvis when we catch you again.”

A few awkward minutes passed in silence as Trow returned to his carving. A while later Meric returned.

“You clean off my trowel?” Trow asked without looking up from his carving.

“Yes,” Meric replied.

“Good. Make sure it goes back into the same pouch you took it from.”

“Okay.”

There was some more shuffling around with his pack and then Meric, rather than climb back under the shelter, came over to where Nis and Trow were.

“What is it –

Trow cut off abruptly as Meric swung a thick branch into the side of his head. Trow hit the deck and did not rise. Moving fast, Meric scooped up Trow’s knife and cut the lines holding the raft in place. Last to cut was the anchor line.

The raft lurched and then began once again down the river. Breathing fast and ragged, Meric took hold of the branch that steered the raft and guided them into the middle of the river. Still tied, Nis couldn’t do anything but lie there in shock. She wasn’t sure if the commotion had been loud enough to wake Gorvis but even if he had slept through it, as soon as he was awake he’d be coming for them.

“Can you check on him?” Meric asked. “I meant to just knock him off the raft but I think I might have hit him too hard.”

“He’s still breathing,” Nis said after a moment while she studied the steady rise and fall of his chest. “Could you untie me?” she added.

“Oh, yes,” Meric said and bent down to cut her bonds with Trow’s knife.

“Thanks,” Nis said once she was freed and Meric nodded. “We should probably tie him up.”

“Do we have any more rope?” Meric asked. “I did just cut all our lines.”

Nis pointed to where the extra rope they’d made was stored and Meric retrieved it while Nis took control of the raft. Meric tied Trow and then, after retrieving a small pack of bandages from Trow’s bag, began to clean the gash on the side of his head where she’d struck him.

“His skull feels intact,” Meric announced with relief. “If he’s going to wake up it’ll probably be soon. An hour at most.”

“That’ll be fun,” Nis replied with a dry laugh. Having Trow onboard with them brought with it it’s own host of problems and complications but, like Meric, Nis didn’t want Trow to die. As she thought about the unconscious Trow, memories of Skav came back to her and her hands felt momentarily weak and clammy.

Regardless, Nis was glad they were moving again. If they could just stay ahead of Gorvis long enough he would have to turn back and return to Duran. Traveling over land was not an easy task in the Unexplored Wastes but Patience was not a very swift river.

“I think we’ll need to travel by day and night,” Nis told Meric. “Otherwise Gorvis will be able to catch up.”

“How’re we going to do that?” Meric asked. “We have to sleep some time.”

“I know. I’ll keep us going tonight while you sleep. Then you can take over in the morning and I’ll get some sleep.”

“That won’t leave a lot of time for foraging.”

“No, but we have Trow’s pack and whatever food he has in there.”

That was enough to satisfy Meric and she climbed back into the shelter.

“Good night,” Nis said wryly but Meric didn’t reply.