Brian Anderson - The Sword of Truth

“Leave us,” Salmitaya ordered.

Gewey felt cold hands on his face as Salmitaya removed his blindfold, and he blinked at the bright lamplight filling the tent. When his eyes adjusted, he saw Salmitaya standing in front of him. She was no longer wearing her robes; instead, she wore a blue silk dress tied at the waist by a thin silver belt. Her braided hair fell neatly down her back, and her ears and neck were adorned with diamonds and gold.

“The clothes suit you,” said Gewey sarcastically. “It’s better than the costume you were wearing when I met you.”

Salmitaya smiled warmly, seemingly unaffected by Gewey jabs. “We were both in disguise, I think,” she said. “Are you hungry?”

“No,” he replied. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Don’t be silly,” she chided. “How on earth do you expect to escape if you don’t keep up your strength?”

“You don’t need to worry about my strength,” Gewey said confidently. “I’ll be free long before I starve.”

“Perhaps,” said Salmitaya. “Perhaps you’ll be free this very night.” She walked across the tent and sat in a waiting chair.

“What do you want?” asked Gewey.

Salmitaya laughed playfully. “What makes you think I want something?” she asked, trying to sound innocent.

“I may be young, but I’m not stupid,” said Gewey. “You never get something for nothing.”

“So true,” she said. “And as it turns out, you do have something I want. Give it to me, and I might just forget I ever found you.”

“I have nothing to give you,” said Gewey. “And even if I did, what makes you think I’d give it to you?”

“You’ll give it to me because it’s in your best interests to do so,” she replied. “And it’s such a little thing at that.”

“Get to the point,” he snapped.

“As you wish,” she said. “What I want is information. Why are you so important to the Great Master? Why do I have to risk exposure, traveling to the ends of the bloody earth, just to deliver one farm boy?”

“Like I said,” Gewey responded, “I have nothing to give you. I don’t know the things you want to know.”

“I think you do,” she said sweetly “And one way or another, you will tell me.”

Just then, a guard came in carrying a bowl of stew and a cup of water. He placed the cup and bowl in front of Gewey, and then stood at the tent’s entrance.

“One more thing,” she said, turning to leave. “You will eat, or the guards will beat you until you do so. Your choice.”

Gewey looked at the food. He thought it was likely drugged, but he took it and ate nonetheless. Immediately, he felt the drugs take hold much more strongly than the first time; Salmitaya had apparently learned her lesson well. He concentrated on keeping his wits about him the same way he did with the jawas tea. He felt weak, but he was able to remain conscious. Deciding he might be to able take advantage of this, he fell over and pretended to be in a drug-induced sleep.

A short time later he heard Salmitaya enter the tent and felt her hand brush back his hair.

“What’s your secret?” she wondered aloud.

Gewey cracked open his eyes and watched Salmitaya as she left the tent. A guard stood just inside the entrance, watching him intently. He scanned the area as well as he could from his position, but the tent was bare and contained nothing he could use to his advantage. He could do little under the guard’s watchful gaze, so he decided to bide his time. If he was going to escape, he would first have to do something about the guard; how he would manage this in shackles, he had no idea.

A couple of hours later, an opportunity presented itself. The guard briefly stepped out and returned with a small stool. The man promptly sat down, and it wasn’t long before Gewey heard him snoring.

Gewey tested his movements, but the rattle of the chains caused the guard to stir.

He was just about to try again when a hooded woman in novice robes walked into the tent. She looked at the sleeping guard and drew something from her sleeve. In a flash, her hand shot out and struck the guard’s neck. The man woke suddenly, clutching at the point of impact, then abruptly fell from the stool.

“We don’t have much time,” the woman said as she ran over to Gewey.

He instantly recognized the voice of Celandine, the novice from the temple in Kaltinor. “What are you doing here?”

“Saving your life,” she answered as she knelt down and began unshackling him. “Luckily, the governor didn’t send his best men along; I thought it would take longer to find a way to get you out.”

“Why are you helping me?” Gewey asked.

“Do you really think this the time for questions?” Celandine replied curtly. “We have a clear path to the woods behind the camp…”

She ran back over to the guard and took his knife and sword. “I hope you know how to use this,” she said, tossing the sword to Gewey.

Celandine used the knife to cut a hole in the back of the tent, and then motioned for Gewey to follow as she stepped into the night.

It was dark, but Gewey could make out the tree line twenty yards away. The camp was quiet, aside for the sound of sleeping men. Celandine led Gewey across the field, and they vanished into the trees.

They ran for about fifteen minutes before they stopped.

“Wait,” said Celandine. She took off her robe, revealing a plain shirt tucked into light tan pants. Her honey blond hair was wrapped tightly in a black scarf, and even in the dark Gewey could tell she was beautiful; he wondered how he’d failed to notice at the temple.

“I left some supplies under that bush,” she said, pointing to a nearby huckleberry bush and tossing her robe at Gewey. “Get the packs and put this inside.”

Gewey obeyed. Just as she said, there were two journey packs hidden under the bush. He picked them up and stuffed the robe inside as Celandine fastened the knife she had stolen to her belt.

“I’d guess we have about an hour before they discover you’re gone,” she said. “We need to move.”

They ran west until they reached a small stream, and then turned south. They followed the stream for an hour, crossing it several times to throw off pursuit. Gewey was impressed by her endurance.

“Are you able to go on?” Celandine asked as they ran.

“Yes,” said Gewey. “I can go on for quite a while.”

“Good. We don’t stop till dawn.”

True to her word, they ran south until the morning light shone through the trees. They stopped at the foot of a small hill and sat on the forest floor.

“You see well at night,” Gewey said, catching his breath. “You didn’t fall once.”

Celandine smiled faintly. “That comes from my mother’s side.”

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes.

“You need to tell me what’s going on here,” said Gewey, when he could take the silence no longer.

“What’s going on is that Salmitaya is not the only one on a mission to deliver you,” she replied.

Gewey jumped to his feet. “What are you saying?”

“Calm yourself,” she said. “I have the same goals as your companions.”

“How would you know about our goals?” Gewey asked. “Who are you?”

“I’m one of the good guys,” she said. “I’m here to help you.”

“I’ve heard that before,” he noted. “Do you have proof?”

“You mean other than the fact that I stopped you from being taken to Angraal in chains?” she said sarcastically. “No, not really.”

Gewey was taken aback. “You know where they were taking me? How?”

“Unlike dear, trusting Maybell, I’ve been suspicious of Salmitaya for a while,” she answered. “Over time, I made a habit of secretly reading all the letters she received. It didn’t take long to figure out who the ‘High Priestess’ really serves.”