Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon's Future ❯ Found ( Chapter 6 )

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Chapter 5: Found

Darvi crouched by the stream, examining the ground with worried eyes.  The barefoot tracks of five men surrounded Yukari's footprints.  He'd spotted the tracks trailing her quite a ways back, but now all six tracks went off together, across the stream.  He bounded across the stream and followed.  The signs looked to be less than a day old.  Judging from the length of the strides, the men were making very good time, so when Yukari's tracks disappeared, Darvi didn't panic.  The depth of one set of tracks got slightly deeper, so she had obviously been unable to keep up the pace and was being carried.

He trotted along the trail, trying to make the best speed possible while staying aware of the forest around him.  He tried not to think about what he would do when he caught up with them.  Their best chance would be if he could get Yukari the opportunity to fly away.  But he feared that would be difficult at best.  He knew Yukari had trouble flying when she was scared. 

The forest was very quiet around him and Darvi slowed to a halt.  It was late in the afternoon and there should have been a lot of noise: birds, small animals, even deer.  He lifted his nose into the wind and tried to sort out the scents.  Something didn't feel right and he shifted nervously.  A sudden noise above his head made him leap to the right, but his jump didn't carry him far enough.  A net dropped over his head and tangled his hands and feet.

He rolled over once, snarling, and went still.  Thrashing around would only get him more entangled.  He recognized the four dark-skinned men who dropped down out of the trees around him.  In Fanelia, they were called wild men, because they shunned large cities, wore animal skins and used only the simplest technologies.  But there was nothing wild about them as they regarded Darvi with contented smiles.  They had trapped him quite neatly.

"We haven't caught a cat-man for some time," remarked one.

"Man?" said another with a grin.  "He looks more of a boy to me!"

"He'll be fierce enough," said the first with an answering smile.  "The cats always are."

While two men held spears on him to make sure he behaved, the other two trussed Darvi neatly and threaded a carry pole between his bound hands and feet.  As the two lifted the pole onto their shoulders and set off at a brisk trot, Darvi had to conceal his smile.  It had to be wild men who had captured Yukari, and he doubted there were two different tribes of them wandering in the same area.  They would take him straight to her.

- - - - - - - -

Yukari tried not to show how frightened she was standing in the center of what seemed like everyone in the village.  Men, women and children all stared at her, the younger children hiding behind their mother's legs.  A number of the men and boys were clad as her captors were, in nothing but a loin cloth.  But all of the women and several of the men wore tunics made from animal skins dyed in bright colors.  Most of the younger children were just naked.  Ordinarily, the people would have fascinated her, but not under these circumstances.  The man who had led the group who captured her stood beside her, facing a group of older, some bordering on ancient, men and women wearing bearskin cloaks over their tunics.  The man with the sibilant voice, who had sensed the energist in her pack, was speaking to the group of elders in a low voice.  They studied her as they listened to him, showing no reaction at all.

Finally, one of the elders stepped forward and gestured at Yukari peremptorily.  "Show us the object, girl," she commanded sternly.

Yukari shuddered, but she obeyed, too frightened of these strange people to do otherwise.  She shrugged out of her knapsack, untied the flap and dug inside to pull the energist out.  She held it up in its little pouch, offering it toward the old woman.

"Take it out," the woman demanded.

Yukari dropped her knapsack so she could untie the cord of the little pouch holding the energist.  It took her a moment to work her knot loose, and she glanced up nervously to see the old woman frowning at her.  "I'm sorry," she whispered and then breathed a sigh of relief as she finally yanked the knot free and got the pouch open.  She poured the energist onto her palm and held it out.

"Ahhh…" the old woman leaned forward with a soft sigh.  "Taken recently from a dragon, yes?"

Yukari nodded.  "Yes," she answered faintly.

"Can it be taken from her?" the man at Yukari's side demanded sharply.

"Alas, no, honored chieftain."  The old woman gazed at the energist covetously.  "There is something about her that awakens it.  Away from her, I fear it will do nothing.  But," she stepped forward and stared into Yukari's eyes, "we can still use it through her.  You will do as we tell you, won't you, girl?"

Yukari stared back at the old woman with round eyes, her heart pounding.  "Yes, madam," she whispered.

The old woman's grin was echoed by the elders behind her.  The chieftain nodded once. 

"Very well," he said.  "Put her in one of the beast cages."

A beast cage!  Panic nearly buckled Yukari's knees.  One of the warriors gripped her arm and tugged her away from the group, but Yukari quickly reached down to snag the strap of her knapsack, surprised that no one tried to stop her.  The crowd parted to let them pass and the warrior led her to the edge of the village, where a row of low wooden huts with thatched roofs stood.  Each hut had a wooden door with a sturdy bolt on the outside and a small barred window near the top.  The warrior led her to one of the huts, pulled the door open and shoved her inside.  Yukari turned quickly as the door closed and she heard the bolt slide shut.  She stared at the closed door for a moment and then sank to the ground.  She tried not to think as she carefully returned the energist to its pouch and put the pouch back in her knapsack.  The dirt floor of the hut was cold and she wrapped her cloak around her, tucking her bare feet under the edges.

"Oh, Darvi!" she whispered.  "What was I thinking?  I need you!"

- - - - - - - -

"He looks scrawny to me."

Darvi regarded the speaker calmly.  This man didn't look wild either, in his bright blue tunic.

"Don't judge too quickly, Peen," remarked one of Darvi's escort.  "Remember that little cat-man we had two years ago.  He was a vicious fighter."

"True."  Peen looked Darvi up and down.  "But this one looks young, too."  He studied Darvi a moment longer.  "Well, no matter.  Get a collar on him and put him in a cage.  We'll put him against something easy to start, to see how he does."

The cage wasn't really a cage, but a small hut with a bolted door.  The iron collar they fastened around his neck was attached to a chain hooked to a heavy iron lump on the floor.  Obviously, they didn't want him testing the sturdiness of the hut's construction.  But Darvi had no intention of trying to escape at the moment.  Yukari was in the village.  He could smell her.  He needed first to figure out where she was before deciding what to do.  He was not going to do anything foolish.

In any event, he could not really fault the care of his captors.  He was provided with a filling meat and tuber stew, along with a reasonably fresh piece of flatbread and clean water.  He ate the food while listening carefully to the noises outside his hut.  Although a lot of the talk had to do with upcoming fights between captured beast-men, there was also talk of a young witch with an object of power, who was going to allow the villagers to summon some kind of spirit.  Darvi smiled grimly.  He had no doubt who this young witch might be. 

He came to his feet as the bolt was drawn and the door pulled open by a bronze-skinned young man in a bright red tunic with long brown hair hanging loose around his shoulders.

"Enjoy your meal?" He grinned at Darvi.  "You'll need your strength, little cat-man.  They've got you matched with a nasty snip of a dog-man, but I've put my money on you."  He waved Darvi back and then stepped forward to pick up his bowl and spoon.  "You can call me Tepin.  Just call through the grill if you need anything."  He stepped back through the door and pushed it closed.  "Get a good night's sleep," he added through the grill.  "Your fight's at midday tomorrow."

Darvi frowned.  King Van disapproved of fighting outside of the dojo, so Darvi wondered if his skills would be equal to the upcoming challenge.  They would have to be.  He had to win in order to help Yukari; that was the only thing that mattered.

- - - -

Tepin brought Darvi a light meal the next morning.  "Feeling rested, cat-man?" he asked cheerfully.

"My name is Darvi," Darvi growled in response.

"Is it, indeed?" Tepin laughed.  "Well, eat up.  I'll be back for you at midday."

"I heard you had a witch in the village," Darvi spoke quickly before Tepin could close the door.

"Yes!" Tepin looked excited.  "We caught her a few days ago.  We'll be able to awaken the Horval now."

"What's the Horval?"  Darvi did not like the sound of that.

"The patron spirit of our village.  When our elders can call upon the Horval, they can control the weather.  It was put to sleep decades ago by our enemies."  Tepin backed out the door as he talked.  "But you needn't worry about that!  You just focus on fighting as hard as you can.  Remember, I have money on you!"  Tepin shut the door and drove the bolt home.

Darvi stared after him.  A spirit that controlled the weather?  That couldn't be good.  The world was connected by the weather.  Changing it for the better in one place changed it for the worse somewhere else.  No wonder their enemies had put the Horval to sleep.  Darvi munched on his breakfast.  Although he worried about Yukari, he wondered if their plans for her would overcome her natural penchant for messing things up.  Somehow, he doubted it.

At midday, Tepin returned and unlocked Darvi's collar.  "It's time," he announced cheerfully.  He clasped Darvi by the arm and led him out of the hut.  Villagers clustered outside, forming a narrow pathway.  They shouted and laughed, calling out bets as Darvi went by.  Winding their way through the crowd, they came to an arena built into the ground.  Low stone walls surrounded the top tier of seats.  Steps descended into the arena from opposite sides, dividing the circular tiers of seats into quadrants.  The bottom tier ended about twice the height of a tall man above the sandy floor of the arena.  People already crowded the bottommost tiers of seats and more flowed in as Darvi was led down to the bottom.  The lower wall of the arena extended high enough to prevent spectators from accidentally falling over, and a hooked wooden ladder lay against it.  Tepin hooked the ladder over the edge of the wall and waved Darvi over.

Darvi climbed over the wall and made his way carefully down the ladder.  The ladder didn't reach all the way to the ground, so he dropped lightly onto his feet and moved quickly to the center of the arena.  A cheer went up from the crowd.  A moment later, Darvi saw his opponent.  The dog-man had a slight, stringy build, but he looked savage.  He bounded down the steps and leaped over the wall onto the arena floor without bothering with the ladder.

"Prepare to die, little kitty!" he shouted.  "I'll sharpen my teeth on your bones!"

He charged at Darvi on all fours.  Darvi watched his charge until the last moment and then leaped straight up in the air, flipping and twisting so that he landed on his feet behind the dog-man, facing after him.  The dog-man twisted in mid-bound and reversed direction, charging toward Darvi again with his mouth open.  Darvi dropped to all fours and rolled over backward as his opponent reached him.  The dog-man dropped his head to bite, but the speed of his charge carried him too far and his teeth closed on air.  As he passed over Darvi, Darvi clamped onto the dog-man's torso with his hands and feet, digging his sharp nails deep into the flesh, and sank his teeth into the man's neck.  The dog-man shrieked in pain and fury.  He scrabbled at the ground, trying to get leverage to push Darvi away, but Darvi clung to him.  He clamped his jaw harder and blood spurted into his mouth.  The dog-man staggered to the side, yowling, and then collapsed.  He continued to push desperately at Darvi, his sharp stubby nails tearing at Darvi's skin, but his struggles were weakening.  Darvi held on until the man went still and the gush of blood slowed to a trickle.  Sickened, he pushed the corpse away and rose to his knees.

The cheers of the villagers deafened him.  They were on their feet, stamping and clapping.  Slowly, Darvi climbed to his feet and stared at them, trembling with nausea and disgust.  To his knowledge, blood sports weren't practiced anywhere on Gaia, yet he had just killed a man for the entertainment of others.  He wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand.  He would have to think of way to escape with Yukari quickly.  He did not want to have to kill again.