Evolution - Chapter 7

                                                    Chapter 7

David’s head was pounding too much for him to open his eyes.  He could feel slender fingers running through his hair.  He forced his eyes to open.  A flash of light hurt his eyes momentarily.  His vision cleared and he stared up to see the smile on Jiao’s face.  He smiled back, momentarily forgetting where he was. 

A low rumble was the only sound he could hear.  David forced himself to look around.  He could see the two green cloaked men they had been riding with.  He was inside a moving wooden cage.  Through the narrow gaps in the planks he could see a mud track churned up by men on horses.  The cart was flanked by the riders in red.  Beyond the men were green fields and trees.  The open space was inviting but unobtainable.  David’s head cleared more.  He became aware of the terrible smell from inside the cart.  It base was covered in straw stained with faeces and urine.  David could see and began to feel how cramped the cage was.  It was and filled with almost two dozen men and women.  There was no room to stand.  Each person wore tattered and threadbare sack like clothing.  Some of the men wore leather trousers like the warriors in green.  He and they had lost their chain mail and weapons.  No one spoke, each staring out beyond the bars or at the floor.  “Are you ok?”  Carla’s voice was soft but still hurt his head.  He winced fully awake and aware of the throbbing at the base of his skull.
“I think so.  What hit me?”
“It looked like a club.  They got the same treatment.”  Carla nodded towards their unknown companions.
“What about you?”
“I’m ok.  They didn’t hit me.  Just tied me to a horse and then threw me in here.”  Carla looked strained.  Her fingers were still working there way through David’s hair.  He forced himself to let her continue despite the pain it caused him, seeing the fear in her eyes and hoping the action was soothing to her.  He pulled himself up from her legs to sit against the bars.
“How long was I out?”
“Two days.  I didn’t think you were going to wake up.”
“Two days.  Jesus, where are we.”  The statement cleared the last of the haze from his mind.  He looked around their cage trying to think of something he could say or do.
“I don’t know.  I heard the men say something about a place called Gergovia.  I’ve never heard of it.”
“Nor have I.  We could be anywhere or any when.  Hey.”  David called out to the men next to him.  They still wore their green cloaks.  Each man had his wrapped tightly around him.  It was a few seconds before the first turned to him.
“Thought you done for.  How head?”  David placed his hand behind him and rubbed.  His neck felt crusty.  His hand was covered in dried blood when he brought it back.
“Sore.  Where are we?  Who are they?  Who are you?”
“We guardians. I Bedoier He Agro.  You?”
“I’m David.  This is Carla.  Who has us?  Where are we being taken?”
“Not good, We near Gergovia.  Arverni capital, ruled by beasts.  We dead soon in arena.”  Bedoier spoke with a heavy heart but showing no fear from an anticipation of death. 

David felt unsettled as the man turned away.  He still had no idea where they were.  His fear built as he looked back to Carla.  Her face had darkened since he had first seen her.  The joy of seeing him awake had faded and fear had taken its place.  His hands curled around hers.  He kissed her forehead, offering a reassuring smile. 

The ache in his head steadily intensified until he passed out again, landing heavily on Jiao.  Bedoier turned hearing her groan as David collapsed over her.  “He not awake when we arrive he be killed and fed to a beast.”  Jiao couldn’t hide her fear.
“How long?”  The patchy grammar of the men was catching as Carla tried to resist shaking David awake.
“Before tonight.”  He turned away again.  His depression was as clear as hers.  It made her worry more seeing the two men brought so low.  They were both giants.  It hadn’t been clear on horseback but stood in the ring ready for battle they had been a fearsome sight.  They were both taller than David who was over six feet.  Both were broad shouldered and barrel chested.  Their muscled frames clear under the leather shirts that had supported their chain mail.  Both had blonde hair and beards that had become tangled and stained during their time in the cart.

David awoke as the light had started to fail.  He could hear shouting from around the cage.  Jiao was sleeping, her head leant back against the thick wooden bars.  David looked out to see a long line of flat carts passing by the side of their own.  They were mostly empty except for a few carrying wicker baskets and what appeared to be large clay urns.  Bedoier leaned over seeing his eyes open.  “You lucky, nearly there.  You be dead if too hurt.”
“Too hurt for what?”  David didn’t know what he had missed or how long he had been unconscious.
“For market.  We sold to traders for market tomorrow.  She your mate?”  David looked across at Carla and nodding.  He his heart sinking even before Bedoier spoke again.  “Say farewell, you not see her again.”  David struggled with emotions.  A tear rolled down his cheek.  He turned away from Bedoier ashamed and trembling.  His hands reached out to Carla, pulling her towards him.  He had grabbed her harder than he meant to.  She was stunned awake.  Her head sapping back to hit the wooden bar.  She was overjoyed to see David awake despite the pain I her head.  Her expression changed when she saw the tears flowing down his cheeks.
“What is it?”  David didn’t know what to say.  He tried to form the words, failing each time.  He held her tightly lost to grief.  She pushed away holding her eyes on his.  He told her what Bedoier has said.

They had held each other and cried for the rest of the journey.  They had both missed their entrance into the city.  Their first sight would have been its walls and the stone buildings towering above them.  The city would have still looked small to what they had known.  It was surrounded by twenty foot high walls with square towers spread along its length.  Each tower rose another ten feet above the wall.  From a distance the city looked no more than a across wide.  The road they had been travelling had become paved with cobble stones less than a mile from an open gateway.  The gateway was flanked by a tower larger than any of the others at each side.  Carts and men and women on foot and on horseback were flowing into and out of the city.  David and Carla missed the thick iron studded wooden gate as they passed through it.  They failed to see the walls looked half as thick as they had been tall around the gateway. 

The road inside the gate was packed.  The noise around them as they entered the flow of traffic was finally enough to stir them from their solitude.  Jiao gasped as bestial face of a tiger grasped the wooden bars of the cage and roared into it.  They both instinctively pushed away from the bars.  One of the men around the cart pushed the butt of a spear against the beast pushing him away.  David held tightly to Jiao.  She was shaking in his arms and he tried his best not to do the same.  He looked at the buildings they passed.  They were all made of stone and David was surprised to see many of them were bigger than any house he had ever lived in.  Most appeared to be three stories high.  The walls were a dull grey in colour.  Each stone was cut the same size.  David was surprised to find himself impressed by architecture around the street.  The fronts were well kept with high balconies on both upper floors.  Each house had several windows.  Some covered by wooden shutters, others open to the air.  It felt even more cramped inside the cage.  The street was narrow and tightly packed, filled with both beasts and humans.  They were all identifiable as tigers from the fur showing around the clothing they wore.  Most were dressed in the same rag like clothes as the other occupants of the cage.  The others were dressed in brightly coloured long robes. 

Most of the people struggled one way or the other along the road.  David and Carla were both trying to take in the scope of the city.  Bedoier was pointing out beyond the crowd.  “There is market.”  David looked ahead.  He could see a great expanse of cloth covered stalls.  Most of them were bare or in the process of being cleared as they passed between them.  He could see more carts behind the stalls.  Some were being tended by men and beasts dressed in the robes they had seen among the crowd.  They shouted instructions to men and women in tattered rags who were hurriedly stacking baskets and urns onto the carts.

The market ended with two giant four storey stone houses.  They passed between them to be confronted by a metal gateway.  The gateway sat between a long wall made of spiked metal railings.  The gate was guarded by a score of men and beasts.  They were all dressed in the same red cloaks as the carts escort.  Each man was wore mail and carried a long spear.  The gate opened and the cart passed through.  An imposing two storey stone building lay beyond a wide paved courtyard.  The two storey structure was built from a stone that was almost golden in colour.  Its ground floor was filled with small windows covered with thin iron bars.  The building was curved at each end shaping the front like a crescent moon.  The cart pulled up before a set of steps leading to the second floor with two wooden doors in the centre of the buildings.  The men on horseback climbed down and opened the doors to the cage.  Each occupant was pulled out to the floor.  The cloaked figures dragged them to their feet the moment they hit the ground.  The group was pushed into a line in front of the almost black wooden doors.  David was dragged out while trying to hold on to Carla.  His grip on her was only loosened by a spear blade pressed to his back.  He was pushed into a line with others.  Carla rushed to his side holding onto him the instant she was pulled free of the cart.

David felt the ache in his legs as he tried to stretch out the pain from his time in the cage.  He realised on standing part of the smell from the wagon had come from him.  His blue overalls were stained at the front and back.  There hadn’t been a toilet stop while he had been conscious.  He tried not to feel embarrassed seeing he was no different to anyone else.  He was shifting uneasily trying to hold Carla in way that didn’t make his limbs ache more.  There was a sharp thud from behind the wooden doors which were pushed open.  Two men and a tiger walked out from behind.  Both men were tall with short dark hair.  One wore and a long dark blue robe.  The other wore well worn brown leather trousers and a shining solid plate of armour around his torso.  They looked no older than forty and even under the robe and armour it was clear they were both well toned.  The tiger also wore leather trousers and solid plate armour over his chest.  The tiger was almost a foot taller than the two men.  Each of them had a belt around his waist with a sword almost half the length of the one David had been forced to wield.

The men descended the steps and were approached by one the red cloaked figures.  The men appeared to exchange a short conversation before the robbed figure slapped him across the face.  The man looked to the floor before turning to point back to the shivering prisoners.  David stared in shock.  The man was pointing towards him.  The robed figure marched towards him.  He was followed by the red cloaked figure and the men in with chest plate armour.

“Do you know how hard it is to find good soldiers these days?”  David had no idea how to respond.  He looked at the figure and then to the floor.  “Well speak up or are you an illiterate brute.”
“I… I… I’m David.”  His name was all he could think to say.  The figure looked on at him, his expression unreadable.
“Well I’m Leucetius.  Mandwyn tells me it was a lucky kill and I should kill you now.  I think Atrius is hungry.”  The armoured beast next to the man growled softly, looking at David with ravenous eyes.
“It wasn’t a fluke.  The sword was heavier than I’m used to.  I had to out think him.”
“It seems your companion was not so intelligent.  He lost his head at the vital moment.”  The man and those around him chuckled at the glib remark.  David forced himself to bite down on his anger.  The animal next to the man was showing him his teeth, David had the sense he was waiting for an excuse to use them.  “You speak well.  Unlike the brutes who are with you.  Where did you learn the Samonite language.  Are you a deserter from another city?  You can’t have been taught in the woodlands by these distasteful tribesmen.”  There was nothing David could say.  He had no idea how to lie and the truth would probably get him killed as a lunatic.  He looked silently at the man for a few seconds.  “No matter, you are ours now.  Let’s see if it was a fluke.  Atrius give him your sword.  Mandwyn, you can fight him.”

David wasn’t given the chance to respond.  The tiger stepped up and thrust the handle of the sword into David’s hand.  His first thought was to try and escape but it lasted only long enough to see the futility of it.  The leader of their attackers had removed his red cloak.  Like the other men he had not been wearing a helmet.  His hair and beard were as long and tangled as the other horsemen’s.  His face and bare muscled arms were coated with sweat from riding.  The other cloaked figures moved to make a circle for the pair to fight in. Leucetius spoke to the crowd and David.  “I’d call this a battle of honour.  Mandwyn says you are lucky and a liar.  You say otherwise.  The truth will be decided in blood.  No mercy shall be given to either man.”  He turned back to the house shouting up the stairway.  “Bring me a chair.”

Two girls no older than fourteen came running down the stairs.  They were struggling under the weight of a carved high backed wooden chair.  They placed it by the edge of the ring of men and Leucetius took his seat.  Mandwyn needed no encouragement to enter the ring.  David took a moment to hold Carla.  Her face was white from the anguish of having to again watch him fight and possibly die.  Leucetius clicked his fingers in David’s direction.  He was pulled away by the tiger and pushed into the ring.  “It seems we also caught your mate.  I’ll give you extra incentive.  Please me in this fight and I will not have her whored.  Displease me and I will let you see her raped by all present before you die.”  David looked back to see Carla sobbing into a green cloaked shoulder.  He couldn’t tell if she had heard Leucetius’s threat.

David watched Mandwyn draw his long sword.  He moved around near some of his men, making wide practise swings.  David tried the same with the shorter sword.  The weight and balance of the smaller blade felt much easier to wield.  The lack of weight would make the sword useless for cutting.  He would have to try and punch it through the mail of his opponent.  David had never thought himself a violent person.  He had had his share of fights at school and was always aggressive when fencing but he would never have imagined himself killing anyone. Since his time at the centre he had killed Julian and one of his captors.  Now he had to fight and try to kill again to save his life and protect Carla’s honour.

Mandwyn finished swinging his blade and moved towards the centre of the ring.  David walked carefully towards him.  He doubted the man would risk rushing him like his companion.  David thought he would try and keep him at a distance using the length of the blade to his advantage.  He stood opposite Mandwyn who offered a slight nod of his head as though asking if he were ready.  Mandwyn struck as soon as David dipped his head.  His first blow was aimed low and David jumped back, swinging his own blade to parry it.  The force of the impact jarred his arm but his defence had given his opponent pause.  He was clearly less certain than he had been about his opponent’s skill.  He moved again, thrusting the blade out at David’s chest.  He was only just aware that he hadn’t been given armour like before.  He opened his body out allowing the thrust to pass under his arm.  Mandwyn wrenched the blade back before David could counter.  The blade caught the edge of his chest.  He grunted and jumped back watching Mandwyn smile at the strike.

Te cut had shaken David.  His head was still sore from being knocked out.  He walked in a quick circle around his opponent hoping to throw him off balance.  He realised his only chance was to use his lighter weight and attack with speed to tire Mandwyn out.  He feinted to Mandwyn’s sword side before spinning away and around him trying to strike the opposite side.  Mandwyn was quicker than he looked.  David felt his short sword glance harmlessly off the side of his chain mail.  Mandwyn took a pace back giving an appreciative nod at the attack.  He lunged again making David parry the strike.  This time the first lunge was followed by three more.  Each movement was looking for a gap in David’s defence.  He was able to use his speed to back away.  His heart was racing and his wrist tired more with each impact.  His thoughts kept turning to Carla.  Each drop in concentration was followed by another attack from Mandwyn.  Each time David was able to block or dodge the blows but each time they were getting closer to hitting his flesh.  He tried his best to push the thoughts or Carla from his mind.  He was fighting for his own life as well as hers.  He forced his eyes to focus on Mandwyn’s.  They were five feet apart walking in circles around each other.  Leucetius was still sat on his chair.  The men around the circle were watching and seemed to be making wagers on how many more blows David could survive.

David could see his opponent was tiring.  The blows were hurting him but each was sapping his tormentor’s strength.  If he could only hold out for a few more he would have his chance.  David allowed Mandwyn to keep rushing him.  He started to move closer to him trying to stop him using the full swinging force of his long sword.  The shortened strokes were less destructive to David’s wrist and he began to see Mandwyn was carrying his sword lower. 

Sweat was now running off Mandwyn’s head, making his hair and beard glisten in the early evening sun.  He surged forward again with a roar.  His swing was aimed at David’s legs.  It came in to low allowing David to hop over it.  The force of the blade striking the floor was enough to throw Mandwyn off balance.  David knew he couldn’t afford to waste the chance.  He stepped into Mandwyn kicking the blade to one side.  At the same time he threw his sword arm out catching Mandwyn in the neck.  David felt his arm finally go numb as he pushed the short blade into Mandwyn’s flesh.  The wet crunching sound of the blade almost severing the man’s spinal column shocked David into releasing it.  Mandwyn fell away from him.  His eyes were wide open in shock.  The crash of his armour striking the floor rang out across the courtyard.

The men surrounding David looked back at Leucetius.  They had all expected him lose and were unsure if they should step in and do what Mandwyn had been unable to.  Leucetius rose from his chair.  He was vigorously clapping his hands together.  “Well done my new friend.  I can see you will earn me much money.  Segomo, that’s fifty Citirians you owe me.”  The man with the chest plate nodded ruefully.  “Let him spend the night with his woman.  After that he is all yours.  Give her to Innogen.”
“Wait you said.”  David cut off his sentence not knowing how to finish it.
“I said what?”  David felt the pain in his voice as he forced himself to answer, closing his eyes as he did.
“That she would not be… whored.”
“Innogen is my mistress and runs my household.  I gave my word and it is good.  She will not be whored unless you displease me.”  Leucetius slammed his hand onto David’s back.  “Enough talk for now.  Enjoy your fun tonight for tomorrow the work begins.  Take them inside Segomo and give them a nice room.  Let them clean up to.  They stink of shit.”
“What about the others?”  Segomo nodded to the line of bedraggled prisoners.  Keep any warriors and whore worthy women.  Send the rest to palace as food.  My gift to the Prime Alpha.”