Chapter 34 - Escape on Horseback

Andres hastily donned the armor that had been laid out for him. As he did so, he turned toward Legs and asked, “Hey, what in the world was the deal with that strange question that the girl asked you?”

Leg replied, “That, my friend, was simply an example of a sign and a countersign. You see, I was looking for a person that had been set aside to contact us. The signal that I’d met the right person would be that the person would approach and ask me that question. When I heard the question, I knew we’d met our contact. However, she didn’t know that she’d necessarily met the right people, so she had to wait for the right answer. When she heard it, she took us to this designated spot.”

Andres kicked himself for not figuring this out earlier. After shaking his head a couple of times, he asked a second question. “But what kind of question is that--’What is greater than max?’ It’s the oddest question I’d ever heard.”

Legs laughed softly, then replied, “You see, it had to be an obscure kind of question. Think about it--what if the secret question was, ‘Are you the guys that want to crush Dor-ko?’ If she met the wrong people, what would happen? She’d give away that she was loyal to the king, and she’d be in big trouble. She had to ask a question that would sound kind of silly to the wrong people, but would make sense to the right people. Besides all that, recite the question and answer to yourself. ‘What is greater than max? A million...’ If you say it fast, the whole thing becomes one big question: ‘What is greater than Maximilian?’ That is the question that we who are loyal to the king have been asking ourselves for years. What is greater than Maximilian as ruler over all of the realm of Aberdeen? What would be greater than the complete defeat of Slumbutter and Dor-ko, with Maximilian reigning over these western wastelands, just as he reigns over the rest of his domain?”

Once again, Andres winced at his own inability to figure this out. Still, he was relieved to have found people loyal to his father, even in the midst of this dark and dreary castle, this stronghold of rebellion. He’d hardly imagined that it was possible. Still, he had other nagging questions that were bothering him. “That’s all well and good, but tell me this--was it really necessary to whip the girl back there?” he asked. “I mean, while she was helping us and risking her life, there you are, making her scream. What was the deal with that?”

“Oh...I’d almost forgotten about that,” replied Legs. “You see, girls and women are pretty well despised by the forces of Dor-ko. Since we were surrounded by Black Knights, we had to act like them. We had to treat the girl the same way that they would have. The last thing we need to do is stand out any more than we already do. Beside, I never actually struck her. I just kind of snapped the whip in the air, and she screamed.”

“So the whole thing was an act?”

“Yep. She’s a pretty impressive actress, isn’t she?”

Andres had to admit that he was quite impressed with their new companion. He wanted to tell her how brave she had been. He wanted to thank her for risking her life to enable them to escape. But Andres was a very masculine young man who, at age 14, was still not terribly refined at the art of communicating with the female gender. So instead, he just turned turned to her and blurted out, “So...what is your name, anyway?”

“My name is Kaelanna,” she replied. “I am the daughter of Fred the jailkeeper. The cruel Dor-ko came to my home, kidnapped me, and made me a prisoner nearly four years ago. Then he told my father that he would kill me unless my father came and served him. We’ve lived in the same castle all this time, yet we’ve never seen each other.” Kaelanna fought back tears and her voice cracked slightly as she said, “Please...get out of here and bring the king back. I just want to see my daddy again...”

Legs, who had finished putting on his battle attire, stepped toward Kaelanna and put his arm around her. “We’ll do everything we can,” he replied. “We serve a great king, and if I know him at all, I know that he wants to help your family get back together again. But let me ask you this...would you like to come with us?”

Kaelanna looked up at Legs and said, “You’ve been a prisoner, sir. Surely you must know how badly I want to get out of here. But I’m afraid I can’t. What would Dor-ko do to my father if I were to escape? I’m afraid he would hurt him, and maybe even kill him. I can’t do anything that would hurt my father...so probably I should just say.”

Legs replied, “Think of it a different way, Kaelanna. Look--if you are gone, then there is nothing left to keep your father here! He will be free to escape without fear of what could happen to you! Maybe this escape is just what he needs to give him the courage to flee from this horrible place.”

“But how would he know that I’m free?” Kaelanna asked. “I’m afraid that Dor-ko would find out that I’d escaped, blame it on my father, and then throw him in prison. I just can’t do that to my father!”

Legs replied in a calm, soothing drawl. “Look--you are not doing anything to your father. If any harm comes to him, it’s because of the wickedness of Dor-ko and Slumbutter, not because of anything you’ve done wrong. But think of it like this: the life of your father right now rests in the hands of the king. Oh, I know...Slumbutter is the lord of this wretched castle. But King Maximilian rules over all the land, and he is coming. I just know it--he’s coming! You, little girl, need to entrust the life of your father to the king. In the meantime, the door to freedom is open to you. Will you take it?”

Kaelanna took her eyes off Legs as she stared around the little room where the four of them were clustered. Andres saw her bite her lip, stare at the walls, and then breathe in deeply. She then turned back to Legs and said, “I’m done with this horrible place, sir. My life is in your hands, and my father’s life rests in the good hands of King Maximilian. Three horses await us in the stables. I say--let’s go.”

Legs gave her a quick hug, then reached for some rope that hung from the wall of the chamber. He bound her hands and feet with it. As he did so, he said, “I hope this isn’t too uncomfortable. But for now, you’ve got to look like a hostage. Please forgive us, but once we get out of this room, we may have to handle you a bit roughly. Just hang in there and remember--soon we shall be free.” Then, turning to Gregorex, he said, “Throw her over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I’ll lead the way to the stables--just follow me and don’t say a word. All right...let’s roll.” On his command, the three disguised warriors, with Kaelanna draped over Gregorex’ shoulder, strode out of the room.

Legs guided them to the left as they departed the closet. The hallway was filling up with black knights, all of whom were armed for battle. Most of them were heading in the opposite direction, and Legs did everything he could to bump into as many of the black knights as possible. Most of the time, when he ran into someone, he knocked them to the ground. Andres figured that the best way to remain inconspicuous in Dor-ko’s castle was to appear as rude as possible.

Soon, Andres heard a voice shout out from behind them. “Hey, what are you guys doing?” someone bellowed through the dimly-lit hallway. Legs ignored the call and picked up his pace, knocking more unsuspecting black knights to the floor as he barreled down the hallway. But still, the voice from behind kept calling out, “Get back here! Where are you guys going?” Andres was sure they had been discovered. Once again, he muttered under his breath, “We’re doomed.”

Finally, an extremely fat man came running past them and planted himself in front of Legs. He was completely out of breath, but he was determined to not let Legs move another inch. As he panted, he looked Legs in the eyes and said, “Where...are...you...going? What are you doing...with this girl?”

“Why do you care?” retorted Legs.

“Just answer my question,” said the fat man. Andres was extremely agitated by the fact that they had been stopped. He thought he heard Kaelanna gasp as she heard the fat man’s voice.

But Legs was as calm as a summer pond at dawn. He replied, “Look, genius, as you can see, we’re running off to battle. We’re on our way to Cliffton to fight the forces of the wretched rebel king.” Legs paused, gagged and spit, and then continued. “Well, I don’t really feel like getting pierced through with an arrow. It’s bad for my health, as you might guess. Or maybe you wouldn’t guess, since it looks like you are simply a jailkeeper who doesn’t go out to battle. But anyway, this girl was giving me trouble today, so I figured she’d like to join us in the combat. She’ll ride with me, on my horse. We all know that the army of the wretched rebel king has archers that can shoot an arrow through a worm crawling on a tree leaf from two hundred yards away. But when those archers see the girl on my horse, they won’t shoot. For in their twisted minds, the life of a girl is a precious thing. So this girl is riding into battle be a sort of a human shield. Now get out of my way!”

The fat man didn’t budge. “It sounds to me like you, sir, are a coward.”

Legs shoved the fat man and bellowed, “Since when did the forces of Dor-ko start worrying about the lives of girls, or about such qualities as courage? You are out of place, and you are in my way. Get lost!”

The fat man pushed Legs out of the way and lunged toward Gregorex, who stood just behind. He knocked Gregorex to the floor. Gregorex twisted his body so that Kaelanna tumbled on top of him, rather than under him. The fat man reached out and said, “Let go of that girl!” Gregorex fought to keep hold of Kaelanna. But then the fat man stopped and stared at the girl whose face was now revealed to him. “Kaelanna!” he cried out.

This was when Andres realized why Kaelanna had gasped earlier. This fat man was her father, Fred the jailkeeper.

Legs immediately sprung into action. He grabbed Fred, yanked him to his feet, and pushed him against the wall. He grabbed Fred’s arms and held them behind his back. Then, yelling at the top of his voice, he cried out, “If you want to see your daughter again, you’d better get out of here NOW! Do you understand?” He then gave Fred one last hard shove.

Andres saw Fred collapse to the floor. He put his head into his hands and began to sob. Legs signaled to Gregorex and Andres to follow. Though the broad hallway was filled with other black knights going to and fro, none stopped to ask what had happened. Everyone went on as before--except for Fred. As Andres paced down the hallway, trying to keep up with Legs, he couldn’t help but look back one last time. Fred was still crying. And he could hear Kaelanna’s soft whimper as well as she dangled over Gregorex’ shoulder with a gag in her mouth.

Eventually, the group came to a footbridge that crossed over the castle’s moat. On the other side were the stables. Very few horses actually remained; most had been mounted and ridden out to the battle formation. Legs continued to lead, silently and briskly guiding them to their destination. He reached the far corner of the stable, where three horses were tied to a post. He then stopped and looked around. No one stood within twenty yards of them. He motioned to Gregorex to put the girl down. Legs then unbound Kaelanna himself. As he did so, he spoke softly. “Look, Kaelanna, I’m awfully sorry that you had to see that.”

Kaelanna wiped her eyes and looked down. Legs then continued. “I...I had no choice, sweetie. We were surrounded by bad guys. The only way we had any chance of getting out of that castle was to convince everyone that we were just as bad as they were. Well, we’re out now. And...I know this may not sound like much, but when I pulled his arms behind his back, I secretly tucked the map into his hands. If he takes the time to look at it, and if he musters up his courage, he’ll know a path of escape. So...so really, we can be thankful that he crossed our path. And I really hope that we’ll see him soon.”

Legs then motioned for Gregorex and Andres to mount up. Legs was the last to get on his horse. He positioned Kaelanna behind him and said, “When we’re around other people, you’ll need to keep your arms behind you, as though you are tied up. Just hold on with your knees. We’ve still got to convince everyone that you’re our prisoner. But when we’re away from people, feel free to put your arms around me. Okay?” Kaelanna nodded. She hadn’t spoken a word since seeing her father.

The trio of horses and their riders then pulled out of the stable. When they reached the open air, Andres looked around and saw hundreds of horses assembling in formation. It was still dark, though the moon was casting some light. Off to the east, Andres saw some faint light starting to puncture the night sky. He figured it had to be about 4 o’clock in the morning. As Andres looked eastward, he saw where a path had been carved through the dense forest. This was clearly the “eastern road” that Annala had secretly mentioned to him last night, when he’d first arrived at the castle. Somewhere out there was his sister. He was eager to find her and to inflict some pain on those who had captured her.

Gregorex was the next to speak. “Uh, Legs,” he said as quietly as he could while still being heard above the clip-clap of hooves. “Where do we go from here?”

“Just be prepared to follow me,” was Legs’ reply. He then brought his horse to a halt and looked around. While others were nearby, no one was looking in their direction. He then drew his bow and notched an arrow. Aiming it skyward, he let the arrow fly. While that arced through the air, he grabbed two more arrows and did the same thing. Soon a cry went out among the black knights, from the vicinity where the arrows had landed about a hundred yards away. In the confusion, while everyone’s eyes were directed toward the arrows, Legs turned to the right and motioned to the others. “Now!” he whispered. The three horses galloped away at full speed.

At first, Legs guided them toward the woodline. When they reached the edge of the woods, they turned to the left toward the eastern road. They stayed next to the woods until they reached a safe distance from the assembled black knights. Once they were out of sight, they shifted more to the middle of the road. The soft earth muted the sound of the hooves as they galloped through the darkness.

Within a couple of minutes, the group reached the crest of a hill. Just beyond the crest, Legs again brought them to a halt. After a brief pause, he softly whistled into the silence. Almost immediately, Andres heard two short whistles that seemed to come from the right, inside the woods. Legs again motioned for the others to follow. The horses headed into the forest, entering just to the left of an extremely tall oak tree. At first, thick undergrowth made the travel extremely slow. However, once the horses made their way through the first couple of rows of bushes, they came to a path. Someone had created a trail, hidden from the main road. Legs, Gregorex, and Andres slowly plodded along through the dark.

Soon a voice again penetrated the thick darkness and silence of the forest. “Excuse me,” said the voice. “But I have a question to ask.”

Andres moved his horse over to the right, so that he could see past Gregorex. He faintly saw what appeared to be an old man in a cloak, standing in the middle of the path. The man had a staff in his hand, but was otherwise unarmed.

Gregorex piped up and said, “Look, mister, it’s time for you to move on.” He grabbed his spear as he spoke.

The old man was unfazed. “Actually, mister, it’s time for you to be silent,” he replied. “Though you cannot see them, you should no that no less than ten men stand in the woodline with arrows notched and aimed at your heads.” The old man then clapped once. The clap was followed by an arrow that flew overhead, whizzing directly by Gregorex’ head.

Gregorex ducked and bellowed out, “All right, boss. You’ve got me. Go ahead.”

“Thank you,” the old man continued. “As I was saying, I have a question. What is greater than max?”

Andres couldn’t stay silent any longer. He finally figured out what was going on, and when Andres knew the answer to a question, he just couldn’t contain himself. “A million, sir!” he roared.

“You may pass,” said the old man as he stepped to the side. The three horsemen and Kaelanna continued their journey through the woods.

Chapter 33 - The Slave Girl

Legs quickly strode over to the nearest torch that was suspended from the wall. Without uttering a word, he held the map up to the light and stared intently. Gregorex and Andres stood behind him, unable to get a good glimpse of the document that was in Legs’ hands. Andres, who really didn’t enjoy too much silence, quickly grew uncomfortable and spoke up. “What is that map supposed to tell us?” he asked.

Legs slowly turned to him and softly replied, “Hush. I can’t explain everything right now. I’m just trying to memorize this map before we take off. Once we get away from the light, or once other people start to run into us, we really won’t have the luxury of pulling this thing out and looking at it. Just be patient.” Legs then turned back and stared again at his map.

Andres quieted down, but just for a moment. Once again, he grew restless in the silence. He could swear that he hear footsteps, and that soon the hallway would be flooded with guards that were looking for them. After about 30 more seconds of quietness, Andres spoke again. “Uh...don’t you think we ought to be going?” he asked.

Legs turned toward Andres once again. “I said hush!” he said, this time a bit more forcefully. “It won’t do us any good to hurry if we don’t know where we’re going.”

Gregorex then chimed in and said, “Man, Andres, don’t you know when to keep your mouth shut?”

As soon as Gregorex spoke, Legs spun around and stared. “Did you say ‘Andres’?” he asked. “Are you Prince Andres, son of King Maximilian?”

Andres, who was easily embarrassed, shuffled his feet and replied, “Uh...yes, that’s me. Though I don’t feel like much of a prince right now. I swear that my feet keep being run over by mice and rats.”

Legs quickly got down on one knee before Andres. “Please forgive my rudeness, my prince,” he said. Then, rising to his feet again, he declared, “Well, this is fantastic news indeed! If the prince is here, then the king shall not be far behind!”

“I don’t think anyone even knows where I am,” replied Andres, somewhat sullenly.

“If I know the king, he knows exactly where his son is,” said Legs. “And I am sure he is on his way!” Then, in a quieter voice, he added, “Prince Andres, I have been in this prison for two miserable years. They have been the worst years of my life. But they would all be worth it if I got to meet the king, even for just a second. During the darkest nights, I would dream of seeing the face of the king. I am sure he will come. But all the same, we’ve got some work to do. Follow me!” Legs then folded the map, tucked it into a pocket, and move briskly down the hallway. Gregorex and Andres followed close behind.

After just a few yards, Legs turned to the right. The group then entered a hallway that neither Gregorex nor Andres had noticed earlier. This hallway was completely dark. Andres could hear Legs counting to himself as they walked along. Before Andres could ask a question, Gregorex reached out and put his hand over Andres’ mouth. Without breaking stride, Gregorex said, “Don’t say a word, Andres. He’s counting paces. Just follow. Okay?” Andres was somewhat unnerved by the fact that Gregorex appeared to be reading his mind. He closed his mouth and continued to walk.

Soon, Andres heard Legs say, in a somewhat louder voice, “Seventy-three, seventy-four, seventy five. Now, turn right.” Legs stopped, reached behind him, and made sure that Gregorex and Andres were following. He then turned and started to walk again. Andres, unable to see a thing, braced himself to smack into the wall. But to his surprise, they passed through a narrow doorway and started to ascend a staircase. The staircase appeared to be a spiral. Andres figured they were ascending one of the castle towers. He was somewhat relieved to know that they were moving out of the dungeon and back to civilization--if indeed you could call Dor-ko’s castle “civilization”.

The trio didn’t climb for long. Once they came to a landing, Legs directed them to the right. They came to a door, which Legs pushed gently. It opened with a loud creek that startled Andres. Before walking any further, Legs turned and said, “Remember--we have uniforms on. We have no need to be nervous. If anyone sees us, just act like you belong here. We may look kind of nasty, just having come out of our cells. But everyone looks nasty around here, so we should blend in nicely. Just be confident.” Legs spoke slowly, but he had an air of leadership about him. He was softly but gently taking charge of this little adventure. Andres eagerly followed as he continued to walk.

The hallway that they had entered had some windows in it, though at present it was still dark outside. Andres realized that they must now be on the first floor. He instinctively wanted to find a door and take off, but he didn’t dare to lose sight of Legs. As his mind raced with thoughts with thoughts of escape, he saw a figure emerge into the hallway. Andres was shocked to see that it appeared to be a young servant girl. He was sure that this girl was going to scream--either because she was scared, or just because she wanted some guards to come and take them back to prison. Startled and unable to control his mouth, Andres muttered, “We’re doomed.”

While Gregorex turned and glared at Andres, Legs spoke gently and said, “Excuse me, m’lady. I hope we haven’t interrupted you.”

“Not at all, sir,” replied the girl in a soft voice. Andres was amazed that a girl could be this calm and poised in a miserable place like this. Then the girl continued and asked, “I have a question for you, gentlemen. What is greater than max?”

Andres shook his head. It was the dumbest question he’d ever heard in his life. He almost piped up and said so, but once again Gregorex’ swift hand clamped his mouth shut. While Andres fumed to himself, Legs replied, “A million, m’lady.”

“Then follow me, please,” said the girl. Andres, who simply couldn’t understand what had just happened, kept his mouth closed and followed. This hallway, like most of the hallways, was dimly lit with torches spaced at about ten-foot intervals. Andres wished there were more, but at least the dim light kept him from seeing the rodents that scurried around the floor. He really did hate mice.

As they walked, Andres saw the young girl pull something from her robe. Oddly enough, it appeared to be a whip. Handing it to Legs, she said simply, “You may use this if you need to.” Legs nodded as he took it, and the group continued to walk.

Andres could hear activity in the distance, and that activity appeared to draw closer the further they walked. At length, they turned left into a broader hallway with higher arches and with more torches. For the first time, Andres saw others bustling about. They appeared to be black knights, donning their armor and hustling away. It seemed as though the knights were preparing for battle. None of the knights seemed particularly interested in them, much to Andres’ relief.

As their journey down the corridor continued, Legs spoke up and said, in a loud voice, “Slave girl, have you prepared our garments for combat?”

“Yes, m’lord,” replied the girl.

Legs then cracked his whip. Andres was startled by the piercing sound, and he involuntarily jumped. The girl shrieked, making Andres’ nerves recoil. Legs spoke up again and bellowed, “You move too slowly, slave girl! Pray pick up your slothful pace and get moving! Have you been eating too much?”

“No, m’lord!” said the girl, who started walking more swiftly.

Legs then cracked the whip again, eliciting another cry from the girl. “I don’t believe you!” he bellowed. “I shall tell your master to reduce your rations! You are clearly too fat and too slow! I will not tolerate this!”

The group was now nearly running down the hallway. Andres felt terrible for the girl. What had she done to deserve getting whipped? And why had Legs suddenly become so cruel? Andres couldn’t understand. But as he mulled over these questions, they abruptly came to a halt. The girl declared, “The garments are in here, m’lord. Please follow me.” She then pushed against the wall, and a heavy door slowly swung open. Andres followed the other three as they entered the room. Once they had all crossed the threshold, Legs shut the door tight behind them. He then grabbed a torch that was hanging from the wall and motioned for everyone to gather around him.

As Andres moved toward Legs, he cast a glance around him. They appeared to be in a large closet of some sort, tucked into an obscure corner of the castle. The room was fairly small--maybe fifteen feet by fifteen feet, he guessed. Looking behind him, Andres saw some suits of armor and some weapons laying on the floor. Andres’ mind started to race as he thought of how he could use the weapons to aid his escape. He wanted to just grab a spear, slip out into the hallway, find a door, stab a guard, and make his way toward the woods while it was still dark. However, he was quickly jerked back to reality when Gregorex grabbed him by the shoulder and said, “Pay attention, buddy.” Andres turned around and listened as the girl spoke up.

“During my time here as a slave girl, I have found three black knights that are loyal to the king. Today, they are risking their lives to serve you. While the rest of the army is preparing to march off to battle, they have placed their armor here. It is ready for you to wear and complete your escape. You are to put it on here, then head out to the stable. The loyal knights that I found have offered their horses as well. You are to mount them as though heading to battle. And then, when you have the opportunity, you are to ride them to freedom.”

“These brave souls are putting their own lives at risk,” Legs replied.

“Even know, Thudrucker is rounding them up and preparing to flog them,” the slave girl said. “They have given everything to you. But they do it gladly. They have only one request.”

“What is it?” asked Legs.

The girl replied, “They ask that, if they are still alive when the king returns, they be able to shake his hand. They each said that it would all be worthwhile if they could just see and touch the king. Is that possible?”

Legs put his arm around the slave girl’s shoulder. “Look,” he said, “the king’s youngest son, Prince Andres, is with us right now. I’m sure that he will gladly pass on their humble request.” Then, turning to face Gregorex and Andres, Legs said, “Now let’s get armed and ready, gentlemen. The horses await!”