I woke with a jolt as I tried to assess my surroundings. The sun had already risen from over the ocean while Rodair and Toval were still talking back and forth. From what I could gather I had been asleep maybe a few hours, if that. I shivered thinking back on my dream, thankful that I hadn't cried out when I awakened. This wasn't the first time I had the same nightmare and probably wouldn't be the last. My injured ankle was probably what brought up the traumatic memories and I couldn't help but think about the aftermath of being surrounded by my own blood while lying in the training room. I stayed there for an entire day before Richie found me. He helped tidy me up and apply tonics on my flesh wounds so that I wouldn't scar. Thinking about it now sent tremors down my spine - I tried shaking my head to rid myself of the memories. Rodair looked over, realizing that I had woken up, "Is the lady cold? Rodair can obtain a blanket from the Silvantian's if Ezran would like."
Shaking my head I replied, "No I'm fine. Thank you though. How long was I asleep?"
Toval smirked, "A few hours. We thought about letting the Silvantian's cook you up, but decided against it in the end."
Rodair's eyes widened and he shook his head violently in protest, "We did NOT!"
Toval laughed, "He's right . . . we didn't decide AGAINST it after all."
Seeing that Rodair was now more upset, Toval bursted out laughing, "Totally kidding Rodair. Chill out, okay?" Toval then turned back to me, "Nah the army should be here soon. If you listen, you can hear them a few lengths away. It should be any minute now."
Sure enough, the head of the army started spilling out from the fog and gathering in the opening. As soon as Richie saw me, he ran forward and embraced me in a tight hug while looking me over, "Thank heavens Ez! I swear I thought you were truly a goner this time, but you survived! Let me look at you, are you hurt anywhere?" He glanced down at my bloody boot (luckily I had already covered my ankle) and gave me a skeptical look with his beautiful blue eyes.
"Just a scratch, nothing more. Actually it's already healed up - and how can you say you thought I'd be a goner? Don't you trust your girl?" I smiled. I heard Toval (who was standing a few feet away) cough at the obvious lie of my wound being just a 'scratch' but thankfully Richie didn't seem to notice.
Richie's eyes twinkled, "You know I do, luv. You just scare the crap out of me sometimes."
I winked at him, "Don't worry so much."
At that moment Kovin walked up with a frank expression, "Well well, our Champion's reputation lives on. Great job on obtaining a shorter pathway through these lands - Prince Baymun will be pleased."
His compliment seemed a little off, "Shorter pathway? This was the ONLY pathway into the unallied lands . . ."
Kovin slyly smiled, "Whatever gave you that idea?"
My eyes widened, "You mean there was another way around?"
Kovin's smile grew wider, "But of course. If we would have continued heading to the right for six more weeks, we would have made it to an allied land connected to the unallied territories."
My face flushed and anger welled within me, "You mean we could have avoided this little stunt the whole time? You just let us risk our lives not to mention bargaining one hundred soldiers as a food source just because YOU didn't want to inform us about another way around?"
Kovin calmly looked at me, "You never asked."
Before I could begin yelling at him, he continued, "Also, you cut our travel time by six weeks . . . I call that a fair trade. Prince Baymun really wanted this passageway for easier travelling purposes - you have done the Empire a great service." He let this information sink in for a moment then he came closer and whispered, "Besides if you would have perished I wouldn't have allowed the men to actually be eaten. We would have went around."
Every cell in my body wanted to reach out and punch him, but Toval came up and placed a hand on my shoulder, "Well Sir Kovin, I don't think it was fair to leave our Champion out of the loop but what a story we got out of it, eh Ezran? Rodair and I have been talking and I don't think I've ever felt so exhilarated. I mean the creepiness and the fog exceeded my expectations - so much better than your common everyday battlefield."
Startled from the touch and camaraderie I was suddenly subjected to, I momentarily forgot my anger. Rodair strolled up at that moment and seemed a little indigent at Kovin's surprising revelation but nevertheless said, "Toval is right. We three went through a lot together and this will make a fine story. Also, the Bodach Empire was probably in need of shorter routes for future purposes . . . in hindsight this was probably a supremely tactical move and will benefit the army in the future."
Seeing that the guys didn't have too much of a problem with having their lives put in danger for an easier pathway, I decided to calm down. Both of them were right and I wound up getting Toval to be a little more respectful than before so it all works out in the end, right?
I didn't think about Richie though . . .
"You mean you put my Ezzie in danger for a stupid shorter route?! What in heaven's name is wrong with you? Don't you have any consideration for other people's lives??" Richie was like a little fireball, shouting at the top of his lungs right in Kovin's face. Toval looked shocked and let go of my arm as I simply sighed while pulling Richie back.
"Rich, everything turned out okay. No hard feelings alright?"
Richie's face was beet red and his eyes were wild, "No hard feelings? Kovin intentionally tried to get you killed off - he was the one who volunteered you to do the trial in the first place! And you're just going to sit there and accept it? Ez, it's just so wrong - what about all that equality crap you spout off all the time huh? And I'm sure you killed a few people out there in that fog . . They may be cannibals but they are still human beings! You can't just let it go . . ." He kept shouting about the injustice of it all and wouldn't listen to me. I kept trying to get him to calm down, but he kept yelling and everyone started to look our way. I felt like I had no choice but to shut him up before Kovin or someone else actually did him harm.
Sighing in defeat, I flattened my hand out and quickly made a chop adjacent to his Adam's apple where his Vagus nerve was located. One minute Richie was raging non-stop, the next he was unconscious. I moved forward and caught him with a grunt before he fell to the ground. Rolling my eyes I looked up at Rodair and politely asked, "Will you bind him on his horse please? It may be a few hours before he wakes up."
Kovin, Toval and Rodair looked at us in surprise but Rodair obediently reached down and picked Richie up. He walked off with Richie in his arms, looking for his horse while I turned back to the other two.
"What?" I finally asked when I got tired of the deafening silence. I didn't like their stares and I was feeling a little guilty having to knock Richie out again.
Toval raised his eyebrows while shaking his head, "Nothing - I just haven't seen that move before."
Kovin smiled appreciatively, "I wish I had known about that while we were waiting for you all to pass the trials - Richie wouldn't stop talking the entire time."