Dragon Riders of Etrea—Chapter 27

It took a bit of convincing to get Shel to ride with them. Although she agreed with giving the egg back, she acted like she was committing a grave sin against her people.

“Years of living beneath a tyrant can convince you of things like that,” Rasud said as he lifted her saddle for her. He fastened her bulging saddlebags behind it. His voice sounded tired. Working with that much magic tended to be exhausting, from what he had told Henrik. 

“I can assure you that you have no need to feel any measure of guilt,” Rasud said. He reached out and placed a hand on Shel’s shoulder.

“He’s right,” Tobias said as they pulled Shel’s horse closer to theirs. “No one needs a dragon egg except a dragon.” He pulled off his helmet and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Why Tobias, it sounds like you’ve had a change of heart,” Rasud said.

The soldier turned to face Rasud and frowned. “Yeah, well…. I guess being around you two has changed me a bit. I’m not sure what my future holds anymore, but I want to do the right—

An arrow suddenly struck Tobias in his left eye. The arrowhead emerged from his left ear, effectively skewering part of his head. As he opened his mouth to scream, a second arrow stuck in the top of his shoulder, right at the base of his neck. He dropped to the ground, clutching at his wounds and shouting in pain and disbelief.

Rasud grabbed Shel and pulled her behind their horses. He scanned around and found two orcs nearby with bows. They were already reaching for more arrows.

The distance was too far to throw a dagger with any reasonable effectiveness, but Henrik snatched a stone from the ground and hurled it at them. It struck one of the orcs in the chest, not hard enough to hurt him but hard enough to surprise him and make them both pause for a few seconds.

In those few seconds, Rasud sent his ancestors across the ground. Faint wisps of smoke streaked through the air as Rasud angrily chanted his spell. The orcs raised their bows to fire again, but they were too late.

Their bows shattered, leaving the soldiers holding nothing but splinters. Before they could react, the spirits tore flesh from their faces in thick strips. The orcs tried to run, but that only resulted in the flesh being pulled from their legs. They collapsed onto the ground as Rasud’s spirit ancestors stripped them to the bone. They died a hard death, but it only took a matter of seconds.

Henrik glanced at Tobias, then reached into the man’s saddlebag and withdrew a clean shirt. He pressed it against the wound in the man’s neck, although he knew it wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding. Tobias didn’t have long. He carefully picked the man up and helped him into his saddle. Tobias swayed, but managed to hold onto the pommel. He kept his other hand against his neck.

Rasud staggered to his knees. Shel reached down to help him stand, and he graciously accepted her hand. “Sorry, after all that magic I am exhausted.”

“I’ve never seen anyone get their ancestors to move that quickly before,” Shel said as she climbed into the saddle. 

“I guess I’m on their good side,” Rasud said. 

“We ride!” Henrik shouted as soon as everyone was mounted. 

They left in a hurry, although they weren’t able to let the horses gallop or Tobias would have fallen. Henrik rode next to Tobias, keeping his hand out to steady the man if needed. Tobias bared his teeth in pain but kept one hand on the shirt at his neck and his other hand on the reins. With his washed-out skin and bloodied mouth, he looked terrible. Having an arrow through your head would do that.

He only lasted ten minutes.

“Stop,” Tobias said, his voice weak. He pulled on his reins until his horse slowed to a halt.

The rest of the party had to turn and go back to him. Henrik hurried up to the man and leaped out of his saddle. He got there just in time, catching Tobias as he fell. Henrik narrowly missed catching an arrow in the arm.

“Just put me down,” Tobias said, sounding resigned. “Let me die.”

“Can you heal?” Rasud asked Shel.

The witch-woman shook her head. “Not this. My talents lie elsewhere. What about you?”

“I can barely stand right now, but I can try,” Rasud said. He reached beneath his robe and grabbed his short staff.

“No, Rasud,” Tobias said, closing his one remaining eye.

Rasud stared at him for a moment. “Tobias, at least let me try. Henrik will have to pull the arrow through your head, though. I’m afraid it’s going to hurt.”

“I said no,” Tobias said. “Please. Just let me be at peace for a few minutes.”

Henrik reached in the man’s saddlebags and grabbed a handful of clothing. He set it beneath Tobias’s head so the man could lie back.

“It’s okay,” Tobias said. “It’s easier this way.”

“What are you talking about?” Henrik asked.

“Take my dagger,” Tobias said. “Don’t touch the blade, not even to sharpen it. It’s poisoned.”

Henrik glanced at Rasud, but began removing the dagger from Tobias’s belt.

“Never thought I’d learn the meaning of honor from two thieves,” Tobias said. He tried to laugh, but winced in pain. “Ah, by the gods that feels terrible.” He let the bloodied shirt fall away from his neck. A fresh stream of red began to pour from the gaping wound. “There. At least now I won’t have to suffer as long.”

“Why do you have a poisoned dagger?” Rasud asked cautiously.

Tobias took a deep breath before continuing. “My orders. I told you, I’ve proven my loyalty to Duke Ardun many times. That’s why he chose me.”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Rasud said.

“When were you going to do it?” Henrik asked calmly after a moment of silence.

“After we got the egg. I was told to cut both of your throats as soon as the egg was in our possession,” Tobias said. “Obviously I didn’t do that. Even had we gotten the egg earlier, I don’t think I could have done it.”

Rasud looked like he had been slapped. “You were going to kill us?”

“I told you, those were my orders.” Tobias took a deep breath. “I later changed my mind.”

“What kind of man kills his companions in their sleep?” Shel asked. She looked down at Tobias like she wanted to spit on him.

“A man like me. Truth be told, I’m less of a soldier than I am an assassin. There’s a reason I’m not quite as good with this sword and shield as I should be.”

“How many have you killed?” Henrik asked.

“Dozens,” Tobias said, closing his one eye. He sounded suddenly ashamed of his past actions. “At least now I don’t have to worry about returning to the city empty handed, or about getting any more missions like this. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“Plus, you die with your honor intact,” Henrik said. “What was left of it.”

“I know, I know. I’ve done horrible things. You’d run me through if I told you half of it, and I’d deserve it.” He sighed. “That’s all done, though. At least, for this one time, I fought for something good. Make sure the dragon gets the egg. Protect it at all costs.”

“I plan on it,” Rasud said flatly.

Tobias was silent for a moment. He just sat there with his eye closed. Henrik thought he had died, but the man spoke up again.

“Just leave me. Take my horse and go.”

Henrik ran his fingers through his hair. “Twice you fought by my side. You were also ready to defend Rasud when those farmers wanted to lynch him. I’ll stay here with you until you’re gone.”

Tobias looked up at Henrik, his one remaining eye barely able to stay open. “You’re a good man, Henrik. I wish I had known you earlier in life. Maybe your influence could have kept me from becoming the monster that I am.”

“We all walk different paths,” Henrik said. He knelt next to the dying man.

Tobias opened his mouth to say something, and a thin line of pink drool fell from his lip. Whatever he intended to say, no words ever came out.

Henrik got up and went to the man’s saddlebags. He dug through and found a small hand shovel, something that soldiers often used. It was about the size of his two open hands together.

“What are you doing?” Rasud asked.

Henrik jammed the shovel into the ground and pulled back, digging a shallow trench. He pushed the shovel in again and again, slowly scraping away dirt. “I’m burying him,” he said.

“He was an assassin,” Rasud said. “He had orders to kill us.”

“Yes, and he never acted on those orders,” Henrik replied. “He was a bastard, yes, but he fought by my side. He protected you in two battles. To me, that’s worth a decent burial, if nothing else.”

Rasud grumbled as he grabbed his staff from beneath his robes. He took a look at it and sighed.

“I’m still too tired,” he said to Shel. “Can you help? Here, use my staff.”

She accepted the staff from Rasud and examined it for a moment, then placed her thumb on the appropriate rune. With the staff in her grip, she began chanting, similar to Rasud yet different.

Henrik pushed himself to his feet and took a step back as two wispy figures appeared. They dragged their fingers along the dirt, slowly digging a hole. They worked tirelessly, and it didn’t take them long to create a shallow opening.

“That’s good enough,” Henrik said. “We can’t spend too long here. The orcs might be following us.”

“I would bet on it,” Shel said.

Henrik reached down and began unfastening Tobias’s mail armor. It was too valuable to bury with him, as was the shield. Once that was off, he grabbed onto Tobias, then dragged him into the shallow hole. He began sliding piles of dirt over the man with his boot, but Shel’s ancestral spirits took over. In a matter of minutes he was buried, leaving just a mound of dirt.

Henrik returned the small shovel to Tobias’s saddlebags, then stood over the mound of dirt with the other two for a moment.

“He had problems, but he had courage,” Henrik said. “Twice he faced down orcs and stood his ground. Without him, we might have died.”

They were quiet for a moment. Henrik turned to Rasud. “Anything you’d like to say?”

Rasud stared at the man’s grave for a moment. “He really was a cunt.”