He was right, and that made Tomas feel all the worse. He wanted nothing more to do with Gharland’s company or the task they had been given. But Tomas knew he was out of options.
Tomas fell backwards into the snow from where he was seated. The cold was bitter and numbing but it did not bother him.
“You know, Rilan was the only person I had left. My only friend. My only family,” Tomas said.
Landry nodded, listening intently. “I know.”
“He wanted more than anything to leave our village and make a name for himself. He spent most of his life talking about becoming someone. A traveller, a knight, or a soldier. But we never had the money or the means. So, when the recruiters came to Brittlepeak, he took the chance without a second thought.”
“You didn’t want that life?” Landry asked.
Tomas shrugged with heavy shoulders. “I needed to get away from my father. I wanted anything other than what life I was living. After mother died…” He paused. “Everything went to shit. I didn’t want to lose Rilan. I knew I would lose him. So instead, I joined him.”
“That was a brave decision.”
It was the biggest decision Tomas had ever made, and he regretted it more than ever. It had taken him a while to truly understand why he made that choice, believing for so long in the lie that he wanted the same thing as his best friend.
“I have nothing left to keep me going, Landry,” Tomas said. Even the words were difficult to muster up, they required so much energy to say.
“That’s not true.” Landry stood before Tomas and looked him straight in the eye. “You have me, and you have yourself. You and I both know that Rilan would not want you giving up. We have a job to do, Tomas, and I need you by my side for it. I can’t do this without you.”
Tomas looked back down at the snow he sat in. Icy chunks of frozen water, yet somehow so soft, elegant, and peaceful at the exact same time.
He ran his fingers through its juxtaposing texture, feeling its cold touch and letting it melt into crystal clear drops of water. A delicate blend of bitterness and beauty, of cool calm and gentleness.
It helped settle his nerves to feel the coldness of the snow around his body and in his hands. Tomas stared into Landry’s desperate eyes. He realised that the squire was just as scared as Tomas was, just as scared as he had been.
What would Rilan want?
“I can’t do this without you,” Landry repeated, reaching with an outstretched hand.
Tomas nodded to the squire, took his hand, and let Landry help pull him up from out of the soft, crunchy snow.
“Let’s start by getting out of here, alright? Do you know where we are?” Landry said.
The instruction was clear and gave Tomas something to focus on that wasn’t Rilan- finding the right path through the labyrinth that was the foothills of the Fist.
Tomas studied the environment. The brown earth spotted with patches of white snow and melting runoff, devoid of all vegetation with the barely worn path branching out into various stark, rock-lined chasms.
Mooncrest Mountain towered before them, still several miles off.
But how to get there?
“We came somewhere like this when we left Brittlepeak, I think,” Tomas said. He turned back to see the tree line of the Darkwood from where they had approached, immediately recognising the strange, imposing vibe it gave off.
“Alright, good. That’s good. So, we are on the right track,” Landry said. He swept his black curls back off his forehead with a sigh of relief.
“If we keep heading down the path that leads southeast, we will reach Brittlepeak,” Tomas said. “But if we take the northeast path, I think it will take us to the Mooncrest Mountain route.”
“You’re sure?”
Tomas shrugged. “As sure as I can be.”
Truthfully, Tomas did not know the way. Rilan had not been certain either. They figured they would deal with that problem when the time arose. But that time had finally caught up.
Landry went and spoke to Captain Gharland. The older man was wide-eyed and dishevelled, clearly deprived of sleep. His shoulder was tightly bandaged, his arm in a bloodied sling from the attack.
The captain strode over to the chained Tomas like a parent about to scold a child.
“So, you’re speaking now, boy?” Gharland spat.
Tomas nodded, making sure to avert his gaze from the captain’s piercing eyes. He focused on keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground to avoid tackling the bastard.
“My squire says you think we should take the northeast route.”
“Aye, ser.”
Gharland raised an eyebrow. “And you’re sure that it’s the right path.”
“Like I said to Landry, I’m not entirely certain. But I’m pretty sure it is. Southeast is my home village, so I figure we go northeast instead.”
Gharland focused even closer on Tomas, his eyes refusing to blink. “You attacked my soldier the other day.”
“He attacked my friend,” Tomas rebutted.
Gharland grunted. “And why would he do that?”
“Because he’s a psychopath.”
Landry was growing nervous at Tomas’s fearlessness. “Ser, I can vouch for Ref and Styna’s wrongdoings. Before we reached Winterglade, they attacked Rilan in the woods. Tomas and I had to fight them off. That’s how he got his arrow wound.”
“I knew that bastard was lying about that injury,” Gharland said.
“The night those… things ambushed us, Ref took the opportunity to seek revenge on Rilan,” Tomas explained. “I saw him stab Rilan straight in the neck.”
“And you retaliated?”
“I did, ser. I tried to save him.”
Gharland huffed. “Well, if that’s true… then I can’t blame you for acting the way you did. Yet, you say one thing and they
