He crawled on his hands and knees towards the door feeling his way over the floor. His left hand touched the rim of the bowl and he felt into it. The bowl was almost full but whatever was in it was stone cold. The jailers didn’t even bother to warm what the prisoners were given. Pushing his back against the wall he touched his fingers to his tongue. It tasted disgusting, some sort of fatty, oily gruel that coated the mouth, at least it wasn’t off. He poured it down as quickly as he could. The less time he had to taste it the better. It made him gag a little and after he was done Wollfen had to wash it down with some mouthfuls of water from the bucket. He had to be careful about that too, the water bucket was the same size and shape as the toilet bucket.
Returning to the bed Wollfen lay back thinking some more. He figured it had been a few weeks he was in here but without day or night ever showing he wasn’t able to know. It had in fact been only a week, Wollfen was losing track of time quickly. Was anyone coming? Was Lord Ayburn thinking about what he should do? Could there be some sort of miracle where by some chance someone would discover him here? And the war, what would happen there? All he could do was sit in the dark and think, it made so him frustrated. Sometimes he would get on the ground and go through a regime of sit-ups and pushups. Occasionally he would even jog on the spot to break the monotony. A lot of the time Wollfen would just sit there and continue to kick himself for walking right into the trap like some air headed idiot and getting captured. Fractured random thoughts with no real pattern or semblance of order.
In the next cell Darkling was having a better time of it. For her it wasn’t a question of what to do. She had faith in Wollfen and knew he would come up with something. It may take time but he always managed to find a way. If she could see into his mind right now, she might not have been so sure of herself. Dark lay there on her infested cot and would lose herself in thoughts of Wollfen and her frolicking in some idyllic setting, usually an open field near a waterfall that had a pool at the base.
She would lay there naked by the water in her minds eye smiling at him as he swam about and clambered over the rocks then diving in again. In her mind his nude body was always shiny and rippling as the sun shone down warming them. His constant erection an object of desire, yes her fantasies may have been a little over the top but damn they were good for passing the time. She would even masturbate on occasion when her fantasies ended up leaving her frustrated.
If there was one thing that Wollfen had really awoken in her it was Dark’s sexuality. Before him she certainly enjoyed sex for the most part when it happened, but he had shown her so much more. Complete body orgasms that would leave her numb. Just to think of him now would get her very wet and that had never happened before with any other man. All she had to think about was how and where he touched and that would do it, her desires would flow and she would need to find relief. Strange some of the things that came to mind when you could do nothing else but lie in the darkness.
The food came and she felt her way over to it. Dark had wondered about the regularity of their feed times. She wasn’t sure it could be trusted, she had used hunger to try and gauge time but she wasn’t sure the guards were keeping to any kind of regimen and had decided to give up on it. She had shared those feelings with Wollfen and he had agreed.
Back down south at the Isogorrean siege camp Dimarus stood before General Marcellus who was looking over the scrolls.
“
You have outdone yourself Dimarus, you have certainly earned your gold this time.”
The General waved to an assistant who brought forward a bag of coins. He held it out to Dimarus. The man leaned forward to take the bag but the General didn’t release it. Dimarus looked him in the eye and the General spoke.
“
There is of course more you could do. We need more information on Oceania. Not only does it have a strong army but it also has the navy base as well. I want to know if it can be captured largely intact?” Dimarus took the bag of coin as it was released and considered the Generals words.
“
I’m afraid that such a mission would be much more expensive, this last one almost cost me my life.”
The General chortled.
“
That is no longer a problem is it? You certainly did a number on them with that little bit of subterfuge at the garrison fort! I can’t believe the Kingdom’s leaders are so stupid.” Dimarus nodded.
“
Yes well I was lucky. The garrison is a backwater cutoff from any real communication with any of the other districts and the man in charge is definitely a fool. But I can tell you, in Oceania that will be an entirely different story. I won’t be able to just speak and have others eating out of my hands. I will need to act differently there and with no title or authority it will be very difficult to get into many of the places I will need to see.” The General considered his words before speaking again.
“
I see the merit of what you are saying. I guess you will need to buy your way into certain places then eh?” Dimarus liked the way this was going.
“
And may I ask how I am to do that with the meager amounts of gold you hand out?” The comment rankled the General but he smiled.
“
Well I guess I'll just have to open up my purse strings what?”
He signaled the assistant again and this time the man came forward with a small chest maybe a foot square and nine inches deep. He placed it on the table and handed the key to the General. He turned the chest towards himself, slid the key in and opened it. Then as the general spoke he turned the chest around.
“
Would this amount do for you Dimarus?”
Dimarus’ eyes lit up as he saw the chest filled with gold coin. It was twenty times the amount he had already earned. He reached forward to touch it and the general grabbed his hand.
“
Know this Dimarus; cross us and you will pay a price far worse than death. You understand this don’t you?” The man nodded in reply, “Then the gold is yours and as long as you get us the information we need then whatever is left over and another amount the same as this at the completion of your mission is yours.”
The General waved his hand at him to leave, Dimarus bowed and retreated with the chest cradled under his arm. He turned to his assistant once again.
“
Bring in Demetrius.” A moment later Demetrius entered from a back room and the General looked at him. “I hope you heard all of what was discussed?”
“
Yes sir perfectly.”
“
Good, then I will have you follow him into the city and monitor his activity. If at any time it appears that he may be about to betray us or even just make off with the gold, scoop him up. And, well, don’t kill him straight away, you do understand what I’m driving at?” Demetrius couldn’t understand any better.
“
It is my specialty sir, I will carry out your orders to the letter and with maximum effect.”
“
Very good Demetrius, you know before Warlord Aristeides met his demise he had nothing but the highest praise for you.”
Marcellus thought about that. He had just missed out on being promoted to Warlord after the High sorc in charge had taken Aristeides’ head for not having taken Kassandrea by winter. He could still see the man’s head frozen and stuck on a pike at the main gate to Port Cholandra for all to see. Gruesome but necessary, it gave him a thought.
“
I just thought of something Demetrius. I have decided, when the man completes his mission get a hold of all the intelligence he will have acquired and kill him anyway. Then return what remaining gold he has to me with the information. No point in wasting perfectly good resources now is there?” Demetrius asked a quick question.
“
I will do as you order sir, but one question, does he have to die quickly then?” The General had no real opinion on the subject.
“
Oh I don’t care, do what you will with him.” Demetrius smiled.
“
Thank you General, I will get onto it straight away.” The man bowed and left the room.
It was over two weeks since Wollfen had been thrown into the cells of the garrison. Dimarus wondered if they were having fun? He was still pleased with the idea of having gotten the better of Wollfen and his crew so easily. It gave him an overly inflated idea of his own capabilities. Now that he had the confidence of the Isogorrean hierarchy he felt that the world would soon be his oyster. Once the Kingdom fell he would be a lot better off than the defeated. All that gold would set him up very nicely later.
His first port of call would be Windere. It was a bit risky but he needed to find a couple of local mercenaries that knew Oceania before heading there and the northern areas were the only places he knew. He headed to his tent and organized the horse pack. He would need to organize supplies too as it would be at least a week back there.
Demetrius was making preparations too. He organized the six men he would take and supplies. They would be on the road for a few weeks he was sure and everything had to be organized to cover that. He had put a tail on Dimarus the moment the man had left the General’s tent. It would be foolish to lose him straight away. Demetrius also organized clothing to blend in with the local population.
It was only two hours before Dimarus set off. Demetrius set a single tail on him to follow who would leave markers as he went. Demetrius and the other five men would follow at a distance of half an hour behind for the journey. Dimarus wouldn’t suspect a thing. He was curious as to why Dimarus didn’t head off directly towards Oceania but he wasn’t very concerned. He knew Dimarus’ greed would have him in Oceania soon enough.
The following week proved uneventful and as Dimarus approached Windere he thought about which taverns would be the most likely ones to visit first to find the type of persons he wanted. He came to the conclusion he would go to one he knew about that was a little run down. But it did have good food and he was yearning for a big juicy steak. It only took him another ten minutes to get there and he tied his horse off and entered. Looking about he noticed there were a few men there and walked over to the bar. Dimarus dropped a coin on the bench top and ordered a beer, as the barman returned Dimarus addressed him quietly.
“
I’m looking for a couple of likely lads to ride shotgun with me for protection to Oceania. Do you know anyone who is looking to earn a little money?” Dimarus gave a bit of a wink that the barman understood to mean someone not necessarily totally honest. That wasn’t hard here and he thought about it. Looking about the room, he saw the most likely candidates and pointed them out. Dimarus dropped another coin on the bar for him and left for the men’s table.
Sitting down Dimarus looked them over. They appeared to be twins and certainly looked hard too. Definitely not the type you would want to cross. He got right into it.
“
Hey guys, I’m looking for a couple of men to do some work for good pay over in Oceania, would you be interested?”
The twins looked at each other. They had originally tried linking up with Wollfen a couple of weeks before but it had proven to be a waste of time. The man had left them in the lurch. They were a little put off by it as they had canceled other jobs to go to Wollfen and now the last week or so had found it difficult to dig up some more work. One of the twins spoke up.
“
You have caught us at an opportune moment. We did have a big job promised to us but it didn’t eventuate. I can tell you we don’t come cheap but we do provide a quality service. What sort of work will it entail?”
“
I will need you to get into certain places not open to the public in Oceania, such as the naval dock areas and military compounds there. I won’t do much other than just have a look around though.”
The twins looked at each other again but still didn’t speak, they could read each others faces well enough to not have to.
“
We are capable of doing all those things, but these days it’s a lot more risky than normal. The Kingdom’s guards are always on the lookout for saboteurs and such.”
Dimarus nodded and asked their price. They haggled a little but struck a deal and it was settled. They shook hands and the first twin spoke again.
“
My name is Rhys and this is Kai,”
Dimarus replied with his own name and they sat back with their beers and began drinking. There was no rush, they wouldn’t leave until the next day.
The three of them spent the next few hours trading stories and drinking beer. It got to that time where they would try to out do each other with tales of exploits and the twins had some good ones. Dimarus wasn’t to be outdone, he was drunk and boasting. The one that came to mind was his escape from the village north of Windere and doing in of the group that almost got him. It was all merry and funny until Dimarus let slip a single name, Wollfen. The twins continued to laugh and carry on with Dimarus but were now exchanging discreet looks with each other.
“
So you really did manage to get these fools captured?” Dimarus replied without hesitation,
“
Damned right! That bloody Darkling of Wollfen’s had stuck me in the arm, but I got them good. They are probably still rotting in the dungeon of the garrison fort as we speak!”