This is the first time I try my hand at switching perspectives. I prefer not to do that, but for this chapter it felt inevitable.
*****
As I put another bag of silver on the carriage, it was finally full. Ebba and I had been going back and forth several times to get as much silver as my poor horse Maggie could drag. Now there was finally no room for more. There was still space on Maggie's back to fit one person, though. Two would probably be too much for her when dragging this much.
Was Ebba going to leave me now? Or kill me?! Hopefully she just didn't know how much was too much for a horse like Maggie.
"Good," Ebba said. "One down, one to go."
"What?" I responded.
Ebba brushed away some braches that hid another carriage. One just like the one the king's men had arrived in when dropping off prisoners.
"I stole this thing and brought it here a few weeks ago. Boss didn't mind that no one showed up to take her stuff, and since no one came to investigate I guess no one else cared. Accidents happen on the road, after all. Wolves, bandits..."
Then she walked past me, back towards the mine. "C'mon now, fuckboy. That one's bigger and pulled by two horses, so we still got plenty to carry."
"Aren't you being a little too greedy? We're lucky we haven't been caught yet!"
"I've been plannin' this for much longer than you've been here. I got it all thought out. And I ain't leavin' with just one little carriage of silver. I wouldn't be takin' this risk if it didn't set me up for life."
I followed her, still not liking this. This felt so wrong. Not just because it was incredibly dangerous, but I also realized that I simply didn't want to do this to Bologal. She was finally starting to like me, and now I was throwing that away.
Once we entered the cave again I wondered if I should take the risk to try warning Bologal. Surely she'd forgive me if I did that. Surely she'd understand.
But her door was locked, so even if I could wake her up she would be stuck. She could probably break down the door, but could she do it before Ebba put a dagger between my shoulderblades?
What about the bandits? They weren't locked up. Right? Come to think of it, I had no idea how they were doing. I only knew that we hadn't encountered any yet. Which meant Ebba had probably killed them all. Just like she had done last time she was in a group of bandits.
Looking at the large, sharp dagger by Ebba's hip and her hand that was always cautiously close to the handle, I decided there was nothing I could do to warn Bologal even if I tried. I was powerless. A feeling I had gotten unpleasantly familiar with lately.
*****
After more work and no interruptions, we were finally done with the other carriage as well. Ebba climbed up into the larger one, grabbing the reins.
"You take the other one," she ordered. "'Sides, it's your horse, right? You should be better at steerin' her than me. And don't even try runnin' off."
I obediently sat up on Maggie. It didn't feel right to put this much weight on her, but I couldn't exactly ask Ebba to leave a few bags behind.
Ebba threw me my old clothes. "Put these on before we go. You'll be needin' 'em for step two."
I got back down on the ground and put on my clothes. It felt nice to be wearing them again. Except they were dirty and wet. It almost made me miss being nude.
I then got up on Maggie again and Ebba drove her carriage forward. I followed.
The terrain of the forest wasn't exactly ideal for carriages, but not completely hostile either. And I knew we couldn't stick to roads, Ebba being a known criminal and our carriages being full of stolen silver.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Far," Ebba answered.
*****
She wasn't kidding. When we arrived at our destination, the sun was already rising. We must have travelled for hours. Long, boring hours with no conversation or variation. And all the while I had been so, so tired.
But now we were here. And 'here' was a campsite consisting of a single tent camouflaged by leaves. The area was in a valley, completely hidden from sight if you stood a little further away.
Ebba got down from the carriage and tied our horses to a tree. Then she removed some vegetation from what I now saw was a large, hidden hole. She grabbed one of the sacks and threw it down the hole.
"You gonna help?" she asked and I grabbed a sack as she told me. When the hole was full, she covered it again and uncovered another one. We kept going like that until the carriages were empty.
Ebba sat down on a pile of leaves by the tent's opening. "Whew! Then we're done with step one. Now for step two."
"Which is...?" I asked, not expecting an answer.
"Boss, or well, ex-boss, the orc, is gonna come after us. So we're gonna make sure the king-dogs come after her. You're gonna tell 'em 'bout the mine and what's goin' on there, but you're gonna leave out our involvement in it all. Then she'll end up in a nice, cold cell. Or more likely, she'll get a nice, cold axe through her neck."
I flinched at her words. I was going to get Bologal killed?
"But... We can't do that now, right? I can barely stand straight; I haven't slept in way too long."
"Then get some sleep, stupid," Ebba said and patted on the leaves beside her.
She seemed way less serious now and was back to her usual, casual self. That and the fact that my eyelids could barely stay open made me take her suggestion and lie down beside her. I felt that there were furs inside of the tent and crawled deeper inside until I felt the furs all around me. Then I closed my eyes and immediately felt the sleep coming to get me.
*****
When I woke up, I was staring right at a sleeping Ebba. Her face was close to mine due to the small size of the tent, her hair was messy and she had one arm thrown over her head. She looked anything but graceful. Still, even now I found her to be beautiful. I didn't want to, her kidnapping me and getting me tangled up in her plans, but I couldn't help it.
Then a crazy thought popped into my head. She was asleep and defenceless. I could kill her now and return to Bologal, begging for forgiveness. If only I could reach her dagger...
I noticed that her other hand had her dagger's handle in a firm grip. I carefully touched it, hoping to slide it off, but nothing happened. I tried moving one of her fingers, but even in sleep she wouldn't let go even a little bit. I supposed that's what happens when you're at risk of someone trying to kill you every night.
I gave up on trying to get the dagger. Besides, I doubted I had the guts to kill someone. No matter how much trouble they were putting me in.
Ebba suddenly flinched, and before I could react she was on top of me with the tip of her dagger against my throat.
Then she laughed. "Sorry, fuckboy. It's a reflex, can't help it. Just try to not wake me up and this won't happen again."
She got out of the tent and looked around, seemingly searching for the sun.
"It's still noon," she said. "That's enough time. "C'mon, fuckboy. It'll take a while to walk."
"Why not take the horses?" I asked as I too got out of the tent.
"They won't get us there much faster. Hurry up, now. Every minute we risk gettin' caught by the orc."
We walked for a long time, and it was clear to me that Ebba was more used to it. I had often travelled on foot when moving between cities, but I and my companions usually stuck to roads. Ebba moved across the uneven terrain of the forest as if she had done it since birth.
Then I remembered. My companions were still in the mine.
"What will happen to my friends once we tell the guards about the mine?" I asked.
"Oh, them. Guess they'll be set free. Unless the orc takes 'em hostage and ends up killin' 'em. Unlikely, though. The king-dogs will think that the prisoners are all criminals, not very useful for hostage-takin'."
So they would probably be fine. Probably. That was good enough for me, at least for now. But then I started worrying about myself. I would have outlived my purpose once we were done with this plan, right?
"And what about me?" I asked, fearing the answer.
"You?" Ebba replied. "You're a lucky little lad compared to those suckers. You'll be stayin' with me and my new wealth."
"How do I know you're not just going to kill me?"
"You don't. But if you don't do what I tell you to, you'll know for sure. Just trust me a little, fuckboy."
"I'd trust you more if you kept less secrets from me."
"I had to. Couldn't have you run off to your orc mistress. I didn't know where you're loyalty's at. Still don't, actually. So if you earn my trust, I'll stop keepin' secrets from you and earn yours. That's a good deal, right?"
I had gotten nothing from her but guarantees. And guarantees meant nothing when coming from a backstabber like her. But as she said, I had no choice.
Eventually we got to our destination, a watchtower just outside the forest. I could see two guards talking just outside it.
"Okay, here's the plan," Ebba said, crouching among the vegetation even though the guards probably couldn't see us from here. "You act as if you just escaped from the mine and tell 'em 'bout what's been goin' on there. You can leave out the naughty parts if you want to, but make sure they get the gist of it. And remember, if you try somethin' you're dead. And those two are, too."
I nodded.
"Oh, and one more thing," Ebba said. "They'll probably want to take you to someone to repeat what you told 'em. Don't let 'em do that. Come up with an excuse to slip away."
"Like what?"
"You sweet-talked the sand people into givin' the orc a better deal. I'm sure you'll think of somethin'. If not, I'll be ready here with somethin' sharp."
I hesitantly walked towards the watchtower, and then started running instead. As I came out of the forest, the guards turned their heads towards me. I stopped in front of them, panting heavily to make them think I had been running for a long time.
"Thank the gods!" I panted. "Finally I find someone!"
"Citizen?" one of the guards asked. "What is it?"
"The silver mine! The prisoners have freed themselves! They're controlling the mine!"
"Slow down, citizen," the other guard said. "What are you trying to say?"
I took a moment to make it look like I was calming down, and then I spoke again.
"Some time ago, weeks maybe, me and my friends were trying to take shelter in a silver mine owned by the king. It turned out that it was run by bandits and they forced us to work there. Later we learned that the former workers, the prisoners, had taken over the mine and since then were keeping most silver to themselves, but still making it look like nothing had happened. You have to stop them! My friends are still there!"
