16
The journey to Karila was largely uneventful. Still, it was not pleasant for Voran. Though his captors stopped short of full-on beatings, they let him know exactly what they thought of him. A push here, a jab there, once even a short stab of a bread knife into his arm, drawing blood—it was enough to keep Voran constantly off-balance. His sleep was compromised because of the subconscious expectation of pain, and by the fifth day of travel, he was nodding off on his horse. With his hands tied to the saddle horn in front of him, that was a dangerous proposition. Once he almost fell off, which might have resulted at least in dislocated shoulders, if not worse. But he snapped awake just in time, to the general snickering of the company.
Sagynduk avoided his presence entirely. He rode in fr
