The old man did return – but not for two days. This time he brought some dried peaches, a hunk of ham and a small sack of tinder. ‘It is important that you keep supple,’ he told Druss. ‘Stretch out on the floor and exercise.’
‘Why are you doing this for me?’
‘I sat in that cell for years, I know what it is like. You must build your strength. There are two ways to do this, or so I found. Lie on your stomach with your hands beneath your shoulders and then, keeping the legs straight, push yourself up using only your arms. Repeat this as many times as you can manage. Keep count. Each day try for one more. Also you can lie on your back and raise your legs, keeping them straight. This will strengthen the belly.’
‘How long have I been here?’ asked Druss.
‘It is best not to think of that,’ the old man advised. ‘Concentrate on building your body. I will bring some ointments next time for those sores, and some lice powder.’
‘What is your name?’
‘Best you don’t know – in case they find the lamp.’
‘I owe you a debt, my friend. And I always pay my debts.’
‘You’ll have no chance of that – unless you become strong again.’
‘I shall,’ promised Druss.
When the old man had gone Druss lit the lamp and lay down on his belly. With his hands beneath his shoulders he forced his body up. He managed eight before collapsing to the filthy floor.
A week later it was thirty. And by the end of a month he could manage one hundred.
Chapter Three
The guard at the main gate narrowed his eyes and stared at the three-riders. None was known to him, but they rode with casual confidence, chatting to one another and laughing. The guard stepped out to meet them. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.
The first of the men, a slim blond-haired warrior wearing a baldric from which hung four knives, dismounted from his bay mare. ‘We are travellers seeking lodging for the night,’ he said. ‘Is there a problem? Is there plague in the city?’
‘Plague? Of course there’s no plague,’ answered the guard, hastily making the sign of the Protective Horn. ‘Where are you from?’
‘We’ve ridden from Lania, and we’re heading for Capalis and the coast. All we seek is an inn.’
‘There are no inns here. This is the fortress of Lord Cajivak.’
The other two horsemen remained mounted. The guard looked up at them. One was slim and dark-haired, a bow slung across his shoulder and a quiver hanging from the pommel of his saddle. The third man wore a wide leather hat and sported no weapons save an enormous hunting-knife almost as long as a short sword.
‘We can pay for our lodgings,’ said the blond man with an easy smile. The guard licked his lips. The man dipped his hand into the pouch by his side and produced a thick silver coin which he dropped into the guard’s hand.
‘Well. . . it would be churlish to turn you away,’ said the guard, pocketing the coin. ‘All right. Ride through the main square, bearing left. You’ll see a domed building, with a narrow lane running down its eastern side. There is a tavern there. It’s a rough place, mind, with much fighting. But the keeper – Ackae – keeps rooms at the back. Tell him that Ratsin sent you.’
‘You are most kind,’ said the blond man, stepping back into the saddle.
As they rode in to the city the guard shook his head. Be unlikely to see them again, he thought, not with that much silver on them and not a sword between them.
*
The old man came almost every day, and Druss grew to treasure the moments. He never stayed long, but his conversation was brief, wise and to the point. ‘The biggest danger when you get out is to the eyes, boy. They get too used to the dark, and the sun can blind them – permanently. I lost my sight for almost a month after they dragged me out. Stare into the lamp flame, close as you can, force the pupils to contract.’