Chapter 41

"You need to help my friend. He's in trouble." Kedo desperately pleaded as he was lead into a building. He barely got time to glimpse the settlement around him before the door shut him off from the outside world. He grit his teeth with frustration. No one was listening to him.

Kedo gazed at the circle of men who surrounded him. After running into them in the woods, they had instantly taken him to their village, which was well hidden in a fortified part of the forest. He gazed up at the man who appeared to be in charge. He was tall and well built for his apparent age. His blue eyes glinted with a knowing look.

"Please..." Kedo whispered softly, trying to keep his voice steady as emotions surged through him.

The man stayed quite for a few seconds before gesturing at a bench. Kedo hesitantly sat down, keeping a weary eye on the older men who stood around him.

"I'm Radclyf. What name do you go by?" The man Kedo had signalled out as the leader earlier was the one who had spoken. Kedo stayed silent for a few seconds, but he was reassured by the men's features that mirrored his own, and finally, he gave in.

"Kedo." He stated softly.

Radclyf nodded. "And your family name?" Kedo was instantly saddened by the mention of his deceased family, but he replied nonetheless. "Kalinore." Radclyf nodded once again as recognition came over him, "I fought with your father in the war. Where is he now?"

Kedo lowered his gaze as tears threatened to spill over his cheeks. "M...My parents died a few years ago."

Radclyf lowered his head. "Sorry kid." he paused for a few seconds before adding, ''Your father was a good man." Kedo only nodded agreement.

Not wanting to delve deeper into the issue of the kid's dead parents, Radclyf changed the topic.

"Where did you come from?" Radclyf asked in a plain tone of voice. Kedo, irritated by the time they were wasting instead of looking for Emeric, replied sarcastically, "From the woods." Radclyf kept his cool and elaborated, "And before that?"

Kedo didn't reply, he simply raised his tormented eyes to Radclyf's. "We need to help my friend. The Elites were chasing him and he's hurt. I need to find him." Kedo's voice grew louder as he explained.

Radclyf glared at Kedo in a measuring manner. "I already sent men to look for him, but I'm afraid that if he was injured with the Elites on his tail, it might be too late." Kedo shook his head, "No...No, not Emeric, no. He's still out there, I know it." Kedo spoke with conviction, although, deep down he wasn't sure if his words were anywhere near the truth.

Not for the first time, Kedo realized how much he needed Emeric. Emeric wasn't only like a brother to him, he also played the role of a fatherly figure in the young Rogue's life. Kedo wasn't sure what he would do if Emeric really was gone once and for all.

He shook his head...No, Emeric wasn't gone, he couldn't be. He was undefeated and unchallenged by anyone. Not even the Elites would be enough to wipe him out...Kedo told himself that as he clung to the last bit of hope that he would one day see his brother again...

*****

Emeric let out a yell of frustration as the trail of footprints once again lead to nothing. The footprints vanished and the trail ended very unceremoniously. After finding the spot where Kedo had been ambushed, Emeric had followed each set of footprints one at a time to see which one would lead him to the young Rogue. However, after limping down three of them, which had ended up being false trails, Emeric was back to step one.

It dawned on him that the trails were false and served the purpose of throwing people off. And, they also wasted a lot of valuable time...It had succeeded, a notion that thoroughly tipped him off.

With a disheartened grunt, Emeric sank to the ground by the roots of a tree. His ankle throbbed with flaming pain and he couldn't put any pressure on it anymore. He hesitantly pulled away his trouser to reveal the wound. He grimaced at the sight.

His ankle was thickly swollen and marred with purple bruises. Blood seeped from the wounds in generous amounts. He was already weakening from the amount that had already drained from the deep wounds.

With grim realization, Emeric knew that he would have to stop the bleeding, and a simple bandage wouldn't do the trick. He would have to cauterize the bleeding wound.

It took Emeric an eternity to get a small fire starting. He kept adding small twigs until the slight flicker grew into a hungry flame. Emeric laid Cart's dagger, which Darius had provided, into the growing heat. It took a generous amount of time for the blade to glow red, but when it finally did, Emeric's throat closed with anticipation.

He knew that the procedure would be painful, but necessary.

Emeric grit his teeth, and in one fluid movement, he retrieved the glowing blade and pressed it to his wound. His cry of pain echoed away into the deep forest before he lost consciousness.

Emeric woke as dawn announced itself to the world. He groaned as his stiff muscles complained. A result from the exertion of the previous day's escape attempt. He grunted as he pushed himself to his feet. His ankle was badly swollen and hot to the touch. Emeric was starting to fear the chances of infection. Aire had always warned him of the danger that came with an unclean wound.

The fire had died some time during the night and only burnt down ashes remained. As Emeric watched the dead fireplace, he imagined roasting freshly hunted game on hungry flames, but his circumstances didn't allow his wishes to come true.

With a disheartened grunt Emeric continued down a new trail. He prayed that it wasn't another false one. He limped badly as his injured foot could barely take any weight. After a few hours, he reached the end of a trail...Once again a false one.

Emeric shut his eyes tightly as he tried to calm himself, but his anger was growing with each step he took in the wrong direction. As another hour slowly crept by, Emeric's instincts started warning him of trouble. He continued limping onwards, but he kept his eyes and ears open for any sign of danger.

At first he thought that he was losing his nerve, but that was when he heard the footsteps behind him. There were multiple set and he couldn't determine the number of men following him. They moved silently, and only a few snaps and crunches were audible now and again. Emeric acted as if he hadn't noticed anything. He kept moving as fast as he could manage, yet he allowed the footsteps to draw closer.

When Emeric judged the footsteps only a few paces away, he sprang into action.

He grabbed his dagger by the blade and spun around. In one fluid movement, he sent the blade flying through the air. It buried itself deep in the stump of a tree...A few centimeters from a hooded man's face.

The man however, didn't even flinch as the blade quivered next to his head. He stared at Emeric from the shadows of his hood. His nose and mouth were hidden behind a dark scarf.

Emeric shifted his eyes from the hooded man and realized that he wasn't facing just one or two men...In front of him stood nearly six armed and hooded men.

Just as Emeric came to the conclusion that he was in deep trouble, one of the men spoke.

"You really think that was so smart? After all, you practically hindered yourself defenceless."

Emeric grit his teeth and curled his hands into fists. He wasn't prepared to give up without a fight. The men noted his act of rebellion and chuckled from within the hidden confines of their hoods. "You're brave kid." The closest man spoke, "But that's not quite how we want to do this." As he spoke, the other men sheathed their weapons and waited for a command from the leader.

The man who had spoken took a step closer to Emeric and pulled back his hood.

Emeric's eyes grew wide with shock as he took in the black hair mounted on the man's head. His blue eyes also matched Emeric's in color.

Emeric was too shocked to say anything as he realized that all the men standing around him were Etreshians. He was safe, or at least he hoped so...

The man in front of the young Rogue grinned at Emeric's reaction. "You're safe kid. Just come with us. We know a certain young boy who will be very pleased to see you." As the words left the man's tongue, relief flooded through Emeric.

"Kedo..." He murmured, "He's alright?"

The man merely smiled as Emeric sank down next to a tree. The only thing that had kept him on his feet was the determination to rescue his young friend. But with the news that the young Etreshian was safe, Emeric didn't have the willpower to keep himself standing.

The older Etreshian walked up to Emeric, seeing that he was injured. He held out a hand, "How about we get you some help?"

Emeric glared at the hand dauntedly. In his life he had learned not to trust just anybody. But, if they had Kedo, he had no choice than to go with them. He grasped the hand in a firm grip and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet.

Two of the men stepped forward, putting Emeric's arms over their shoulders as they helped him get along. That was when he gave in. He accepted that the were safe and that he didn't have to run away again. These people were his own countrymen. They wouldn't betray him of stab him in the back. He could trust them.

And with that thought, Emeric allowed them to take him to their safe haven.