RECOVERY

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE RE-UNION

Pavalon felt extremely vulnerable, not being able to understand what everyone around him was saying. And things seemed to be coming down at him when he noticed people pointing at him. He started to get away from the area and as he did, he saw someone yelling at his direction but pretended not to have noticed it and kept walking. The language was strange but Pavalon knew too well that he was the one being referred to – whatever was being said. When it became too much, he started to run and, to his greatest surprise, the men that were pointing in his direction and calling out to him, began to give chase. The place was rowdy and filled with people, but he estimated about eleven of the men who were now after him, all armed with swords and one had a crossbow.

Not too far away, Raven sat under a tree after having walked away from the river he mysteriously found himself drowning in. he could not believe that he had the killer tooth right there with him – in his hands. He figured out it was what got the man he saw killed into the trouble that got him killed. He imagined what he would do with it, as he did, he stood up and looked at the very tall structures not very far ahead from where he now stood. Raven believed he would meet people there and hoped he would find someone who could tell him what in the world was happening as well as where he was.

The killer tooth is a tiny object and as the name implied, it was a tooth of some sort but that was all that was known about its physical component. What it does differ from legend to legend. It was sparkling white and Raven considered it would glow in the dark, which was why he left it in the bag in case it did so as not to draw attention to himself when he eventually got to the towers. Raven did not know that the reason he had not been tracked down and hunted by the keeper’s soldiers is because his magic which he was yet to discover, was way stronger and more powerful in comparison to that of the tooth. He safely placed the object back in the bag and headed for the tall buildings where he hoped to get an explanation for what was happening.

Pavalon ran as fast as his legs could take him, taking sharp bends into places he did not know, all in an attempt to evade and lose his pursuers. His speed and cunning, however, was no match for the men who were after him. They knew the place better than he did, and as such they had the advantage over him in the chase. Not too long after the chase started, the men caught up with Pavalon. He tried to break free but the men were very much stronger than he. The one with the crossbow pointed it at his forehead in a gesture of ‘if you don’t stop struggling, this goes through your forehead’. Pavalon needed no translation as he understood perfectly what a crossbow pointed at one means. He had done that himself several times in the king’s service.

The men didn’t seem like they were going to hurt him and they kept saying things he couldn’t understand. Then they led him away through a narrow bend and kept on until they got to a small house. They knocked at the door and a lady’s voice told them to “wait” after which the door sprang open. Pavalon picked up a striking resemblance in the lady, but could not match who it was. The men pushed him inside when he hesitated a bit. The house was not in consonance with the way it appeared from the outside. The walls were rough, and the entire house looked like rubble from the outside, but inside, it was a little castle. Pavalon was looking up and down the whole place, trying to pick up an escape route when the time came.

“What is your name, traveller?” Pavalon turned immediately and looked at the woman – she was beautiful. It was then that he realised that the men that brought him had left and, what was more fascinating, he could understand what the woman was saying. But she had called him ‘traveller’. “How did she get to know about that?” He thought to himself. Before he began to fix things together and asked. “Is this the outer realm?” “But, of course, it is” the lady chuckled as she answered. “You look surprised, why is that?” She asked him. “Okay lady I don’t know who you are or what your intentions are for bringing me here, but I have to get going.” “Patience traveller, everyone would soon be here.” Pavalon looked at her closely. “Who is everyone?” Just then, there was a gentle knock at the door and the woman went to get it. “Not again” Pavalon exclaimed and expressed his disappointment when he saw the men that chased and caught him at the door – this time, they had caught the king of Zorak, Dexagon.

He, too, was not pleased when he saw his captain. He had thought that, not being able to understand the language of the outer realms like he (the king) did, Pavalon and the girls would run into trouble and get themselves killed. The girls had, but Pavalon appeared to be doing even better than himself. As the king walked into the house and the men departed, Pavalon yelled at the woman. “Why have you brought me here?” The question indicated to Dexagon that his former captain too had been arrested and taken there. “Traveller one, all your questions would be attended to in due time. Now if you would excuse me.” The woman walked away, leaving the two men in the room.

They did not so much as look in the direction that the other stood. The hatred spoke for itself. Pavalon wanted to tell her his name was Pavalon and not ‘traveller one’ like she called him, but it seemed she was not interested in hearing. Not quite long after the woman left without the two men saying anything to themselves, there was another knock at the door and they both turned towards the direction of the door. Pavalon expected it to be the girls they had come with while the king, knowing they were dead, braced himself for his reunion with Pavalon’s friend.

They were knocked out of their expectations when the woman appeared in front of the door. “You are a sorceress”, Dexagon remarked. She gave no reply. When she opened the door, there was no Pavlon’s friend or the girls. It was just the men who had brought the two of them. They spoke in hushed voices, then left. The woman returned to them and said, “We’ll just have to wait for Raven then.” She vanished from before their eyes, Immediately she said that… “Wait, where is he?” Pavalon asked, but she was gone. “I am out of here” He said to himself and walked towards the door. When he grabbed the handle, the woman’s voice echoed all over the house. “If you step outside that door you will be killed.”

Pavalon is not one to easily give in to threats, but he took his hand away from the handle immediately and turned around. It was then that he and the king made eye contact for the first time and both broke away as quickly as they did. Pavalon wondered what Raven would think if he walked into the house right then. There he was with the one person they had risked their lives to kill. He shook the thought away and went back to his seat. Dexagon did the same.

Raven got to the place where he had looked at from the distance. The buildings were terrific, and he wondered how they were built. He felt someone standing very close behind him and when he turned, his instinct was right. There was an angry-looking man standing right there a few distances away from him. The man said something and held out his hand.

“Sorry I don’t understand what you are saying,” Raven told him. “He said you should hand over the bag.” The voice was from behind, and it was that of a woman. Raven turned and saw her. She was beautiful but looked dangerous. This time he understood what she said but hesitated with the bag. The man pounced on him and two other men joined him while the woman watched. It happened fast and without warning. They collected the bag and gave it to the woman, and she led the way half running. Raven was still processing the whole thing when he looked and saw a group of men pointing and walking angrily towards him. He started running but did not get far before they caught up with him.