steps. Then, his arms were pinned behind his back and he
was forced down. A draconian slapped him hard on the
face. There was the sound of steel being drawn, but
someone muttered something Garrick was unable to
understand. The muttering was followed by the sound of the
weapon being sheathed once more. As he had surmised,
they had been ordered to take him prisoner.
Two of the draconians, their wings fluttering in anger,
held him tight while one of the humans bound his hands
together behind him. Someone produced chains. Garrick’s
feet were hooked together so that he stumbled when he tried
to take normal steps. His helm was torn from his head and a
leather collar with a leash attached to it wrapped around his
neck, nearly choking him. He stumbled then and fell to his
knees. Determination more than anything else made him
stand once more. He could barely feel the blows of his
captors anymore.
A human who must have been in charge led the entire
group back to camp. They were obviously convinced that a
large band of knights was lurking somewhere in the woods.
Having faced one knight who, despite his appearance, was
readily capable of taking on a good half dozen opponents,
they were in no hurry to meet up with a larger force. The
various members of the patrol took turns pulling him. Had
they not been convinced that he must have information of
some sort, they would have gladly killed him in order to
speed up their retreat even more.
At some point during the trek, Garrick could hold out
no longer. His head felt like it was bursting. The woods
became unbearably hot. He was no longer able to
coordinate his movements, nor could he even tell what was
happening around him.
Mercifully, the entire world chose to go black.
Cold reality struck him in the face and dripped down
his neck. Garrick shivered and tried to focus his eyes. The
light of midday burned into his very mind, forcing him to
close his eyes once more. He tried to stand, but found
himself bound tight to some sort of chair. Someone stirred.
“Shall I throw another bucket in his face, General?”
The voice was as cold as it was commanding. “I think
not. If our knight is anything of a man, he will open his eyes
and face us. Still, if he is a coward, perhaps another bucket
of water would be . . .”
Garrick gritted his teeth and forced himself to look into
the light, despite the agony it caused him each moment.
After seeing nothing but glare for the first few seconds, he
was eventually able to make out two figures. One had the
slightly stooped look of a draconian. The other was human –
so to speak. All Garrick could tell at first was that the
human stood a good seven feet in height. Both the knight
and his captors were in a large tent. Tables and chairs stood
to one side. Numerous piles of armor and equipment lay
scattered elsewhere. There seemed to be no one purpose for
the tent. For now, it served as his prison.
The giant chuckled softly. “Very good. I see the Knights
of Solamnia deserve something of their repu tation after all.
I was beginning to think it was all myth.”
“Untie me.” The words escaped the knight’s lips as little
more than a croak, but the giant caught them nonetheless.
“Oh, I couldn’t risk that. You might overwhelm us and
crawl to safety – given six or seven hours head start.”
The draconian hissed its amusement. Garrick studied
the two as they became clearer. The reptilian aide was much
like its brethren, save that it was motley-colored compared
to those the knight had seen earlier. There was, however, a
vicious look in its eyes, one that said that this draconian
would readily pull Gar-rick’s fingers from his hands and his
arms from his shoulders if given the chance. By all practical
consideration, this was the general’s torturer.
The general himself was most definitely a giant among
his fellow men, and not just in height. He easily outweighed
Garrick by almost one-third again his own weight, and none