Betrayal's Hands - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Dawn was barely breaking as Cor and Teri started back into the fens. This time their trip was not hurried, they picked their way carefully though, avoiding the pits of slimy mud wherever possible. At one point Teri slipped, and only Cor's hand on her arm prevented her from taking yet another mud bath. She grimaced, feeling the dried mud on her body flaking away, leaving her skin tight and itchy.

"Will there be water when we get out of this place?" She asked mournfully, feeling somewhat sorry for herself.

Cor chuckled, "Yes, we'll come out of the fens where they join to Long Lake, you'll be able to bathe there, little princess." He shook his head, thinking that a bath sounded fairly good to himself as well.

As they moved through the marsh, Cor tried to keep his focus on dangers ahead, knowing full well that the fens were not so innocuous as they seemed. While staying alert, he tried not to be show his concern. He did not want to frighten Teri unless he had ample cause. His concern about being concerned, however, proved a distraction that nearly cost him dearly.

Directly in front of his left foot, a creature burst from the dark water, slimy and dripping with mud. It howled in no known language and then attacked. Teri screamed behind him and stumbled backwards, falling into the water as she tripped over a slimy log.

Cor twisted away, smacking what turned out to be little more than a giant swamp rat with the back of his hand to knock it aside. He drew his blade and lunged after the giant rodent, only to find himself surprised when it turned back at him and jumped for him. He ended up kicking it, and took a bite on his shin for the effort, then finally managed to stick his sword through the unusually aggressive thing.

With the swamp rat quivering in death, he yanked his blade free and turned back to the rotting stump it had emerged from under. A careful glance and he understood why; inside of the base of the stump were several hairless baby swamp rats. He had killed their mother and she had only been protecting their young. He scowled and turned away, wondering at how easily he killed those not deserving of it, human or not.

"Let's go," he said gruffly, not wanting her to see his face for the shame that burned red in his cheeks. When she did not reply he risked a glance behind him and saw her struggling in the water as she was being dragged away from him.

Cor cursed and ran after her, kicking up sprays of water with each plunging step. He caught up to her shortly and saw thick tentacles wrapped around her. The skin on them resembled bark, making them seem to be logs or thick vines. He knew better though, it was a trapper.

Trappers could grow to immense sizes and inhabited only the deepest and darkest areas of swamps. Whenever one was discovered they were usually hunted down and destroyed by whoever or whatever was around, for they were insidious and deadly to the ecology of the swamp. Their tentacles grew to hundreds of feet in length and lay in wait for unsuspecting victims to wander by, then they moved rapidly, immobilizing their prey and drawing them back to the grisly fate of having themselves die as the trapper injected an agonizing poison into them that slowly liquefied their insides. The trapper then sucked the juices free of the victim, leaving only an empty bag of skin over bones behind.

Cor grunted and lashed out with his sword, hacking into the ropy tentacle. While only as thick as his forearm, it took three swings to sever the first one. Another one had wrapped around her neck, stopping her breath long enough to have her eyes fluttering shut. Cor lashed out at that one as well, noting from the corner of his eyes more tentacles moving through the fetid waters towards him.

Teri fell free and gasped for breath, inhaling some of the foul water as she did so. Cor turned and swung his sword again, cutting into a tentacle that drew close to him. Another began to wrap around his leg, pulling him dangerously off balance. He pulled a hatchet free with his other hand and fell to one knee, driving the blade of the axe through the tentacle and making the end of it that was wrapped around his ankle spasm and fall free of him.

"Can you run?" Cor yelled at her, spinning warily and watching the waters move as the trapper sent more tentacles their way.

Teri coughed and gasped, unable to answer. She nodded, however, and stumbled past him towards the drier area they had come through. Cor followed, walking backwards and keeping an eye on the water. The trapper's tentacles followed him, but remained out of site beneath the murky water. He stepped up on to the shore and told Teri to keep going.

Teri looked down and gasped. Leeches, some several inches long, clung to her arms and legs. She whimpered but her throat lacked the strength to scream. She stopped and looked at Cor, only to see him ignoring her and watching the water for whatever it was that had tried to kidnap her. She reached for the leeches and tried to pull them off her arms, finding them slippery and disgusting and difficult to dislodge.

"Move, woman!" Cor all but yelled at her when he backed into her.

She jumped and hurried forward, still trying to pull the bloodsuckers from her skin as she did so. They moved for several minutes until Cor felt certain they were out of the trappers range. Only then did he call for her to stop.

When he looked at her and saw the disgusted look upon her face, he nearly laughed. With hardly any thought to it, he reached into his pack and pulled out a pouch filled with salt. He sprinkled some on the leeches, which caused them to writhe and release their hold on her, falling to the soft ground.

Seeing the blood running from the circular wounds on her skin, Teri whimpered and then collapsed, fainting from the fright of it. Cor looked at her and chuckled anew, then set to making sure he had gotten them all off of her. Propriety nearly stopped his search at one point, but then he shrugged and decided she was best off asleep, especially if any had worked their way inside her clothing to more delicate areas.

"What are you doing?" Teri asked softly when she came around and saw Cor had lifted her skirt up. Not only that, but the front of her dress was untied and only barely covered her breasts.

"Making sure no leeches remain," Cor said, standing up quickly.

"Oh," Teri said, uncertain and confused. She remained shaken from the encounter as well.

"What was that?" She asked him, putting the matter to rest.

"A trapper," Cor explained, reaching his hand out to help her up. "They are beasts that lie deep in swamps and pull their prey to them, sometimes smothering them before they get their, other times waiting to poison them and kill them slowly."

Teri's eyes widened. "Did it... am I..."

"No, only their short tentacles have stingers," Cor said, smiling. "You'll be fine, I think. No leeches left either."

Teri blushed and stood up, feeling helpless. "Thank you," she mumbled.

Cor shrugged, indicating it was no matter to him. Secretly though Cor had to admit that helping her felt good to him. It reminded him of a man he had once known. A man he had once been. A man he desperately wanted to be again.

"We'd best be off," he said, not wanting to dwell on the topic. Teri nodded and stepped close behind him as he turned towards the north again.

They climbed up a mossy embankment and were about to start down the other side of it when Cor stopped abruptly. Teri peered past him and gasped. She felt the urge to faint threaten her again, but she fought it off. Nearly a dozen trolls stood waiting for them, spears and clubs at the ready.

Cor put his arm out to hold her behind him. His other held his sword between him and the trolls. A quick glance showed him to already possess the finest strategic ground available. He was elevated several feet, making it to his advantage to let them attack him, instead of the opposite.

"Hold," one of them said, his accent thick but manageable.

Cor stared at him in surprise, then realized that he should not be. Mung was a troll that spoke perfect Suvonian, the language spoken by men on the continent of Suvonia.

"You would parley?" Cor asked, orienting on the one that had spoken, but keeping the others in mind as well.

"Northman you be?" The words were very slow, the huge Troll obviously being very careful to be understood. Many a war had been started over simple miscommunication. "From Crossing?" The Troll's face was set, he was unsure of his footing in this strange relationship.

"I am." Cor kept his words small and simple, speaking clearly. It was obvious to him that something unusual was happening, and he really did not want to fight an entire cadre of armed and ready Trolls.

"Told were we. Passing to have, you are." The leader of the group, not the speaker, indicated the well worn game path with his big gnarled arm. "Trag show." The smallest of the trolls spoke, seemingly the only one who could understand the humans' language. "Take you." The trolls began to filter onto the path, only the speaker waiting. "You come." He gestured for the two to follow the trolls.

Taking Teri's hand, Cor tugged her along behind the group of hairy hunters. "There must be a reason for this." He spoke quickly and quietly to her, "They want us to follow. The big one behind us knows of me, and they have said they will give us passage." He squeezed her hand. "Stay close to me, just in case."

"I know," she whispered back, "I can hear them too."

Cor glanced at her and saw her smile. She was terrified, but in spite of it all still found the strength to tease him. He scowled to hide his own rare smile, and to draw attention away from the redness coming to his cheeks.

They moved in behind the group, with the speaker taking up the rear. Teri's eyes were wide and frightened. What was she doing out here in the wilderness? Falling in love with a crazy Northlander, and following a group of hairy, smelly trolls. She shook her head and laughed ruefully, drawing another look from Cor. Seeing her humor fading into fright, he squeezed her hand reassuringly. She squeezed his hand and tried to keep pace. They seemed to be safe, although only because of the strangest of circumstances. She turned her thoughts to her remaining fears: that of the great unknown future.

Continued in Epilogue

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