The Seekers: Soul Ties. Anton Anderson
a thin stream, almost fell down tripping over some branch, climbed up a hill just to run down from it a few seconds later. The forest was getting less and less dense now, so Sabiri could finally see her target. At times Greta seemed to be catching up to the igni, but then she’d veer onto a different trajectory time and again! It was hard to guess if she really knew where she was running, but she never looked around, and never second guessed her next move.
They were running along the edge of a river now. Sabiri was sure that sooner or later the igni would return to the forest, so she needed to get there first. She re-entered the woods just deep enough to be able to watch Greta chase the igni. Would the igni run towards her after all? Or did Sabiri just fool herself? Greta quickly turned her head to spot Sabiri but she couldn’t see her anymore. Sabiri was sure that Greta understood what was going on.
There! The igni made a hard turn left towards the forest. Sabiri changed her course to get even deeper into the woods. It looked like the igni still hadn’t noticed her as she made yet another turn out of Greta’s reach. Now she was running right into Sabiri’s claws!
The igni realized too late. She tried to react, made another turn, which Sabiri mirrored… Bam! Greta pushed herself into the igni’s back and they both crashed to the ground. Before the igni’s body could stop tumbling, Sabiri jumped on her. The enemy tried to push her off, to reach for her sword, but Greta was already there to help. They seized the igni’s arms, but she did not surrender. Her legs kept pummeling anywhere she could reach, as many times as she could manage. Roaring like crazy, she kept twisting and jerking her body, trying to get free. Her head kept moving, trying to get the enemy with those long, sharp horns. Her tail was whipping them with a berserk persistency and speed.
Sabiri and Greta clung tight, keeping themselves away from the igni’s sharp teeth, claws, and horns the best they could, ignoring the hits she was managing to land. By the time the strength finally left their target, both of them were covered with blood, cuts, and bruises. But the igni could be faking. With extreme care, they locked her arms and legs, and pressed a blade to her throat. Only then were they able to tie her up and catch their breath.
«Fuck! Why did they have to be the igni?» Greta struggled to catch her breath. «Why couldn’t they have been the viri, or the ros?»
Sabiri wiped sweat streaming from her forehead, but it immediately got wet again, so she gave up.
«Say thanks that we’re igni as well. Would we ever be able to catch her otherwise?»
«If we weren’t, would they run? They’d rip us apart right there, in that opening.»
Still breathing heavily, Sabiri looked around. «Speaking of „there,“ where are we?»
Greta stood up and checked their prisoner’s ties one more time. «I don’t care. We’ll figure it out. Just need to rest first.»
Sabiri felt lucky for not having lost her bag in the chase. She dug out a few pieces of dried meat and gave one to Greta. Her whole body ached; deep cuts and bruises on her arms and legs wouldn’t let her move easily. But seeing their prisoner tied up and secured made the whole thing worth it.
After finishing their meal, Greta and Sabiri untied their prisoner from the tree and returned to the river. Even though their prize could barely move, she kept making it as hard for them as possible. She was constantly «tripping over» and «falling down,» pushing Greta to the side, trying to yell through her gag. When she got tired of yelling, she decided to just keep constantly humming something loud and irritating. To screw with her captors even further, she crapped and peed herself. But Sabiri and Greta didn’t show any indication of how they were feeling, didn’t give her any information as to what was effective and what wasn’t, as to what could get on their nerves and what was useless. They just kept dragging her in silence.
Near the riverbank, Sabiri climbed one of the tall trees on the hilltop and looked around. There it was – the Big Market. Although it was so very far away, the mere scale of that thing made it an excellent landmark. So, the Lake should be… There it was! If they could walk there in a straight line, then it shouldn’t take too long.
Yet because of their prisoner’s resistance, it was almost lunch time when they finally reached the Lake. They emerged from the forest near Poinistan; their red banners, depicting a fish pierced by a harpoon, were noticeable from afar. Good thing Sabiri had Greta with her. The guards near the gates and on the wall clearly didn’t expect to see such a group but recognizing their war mistress resolved the situation immediately.
An expedition far away
Upon arrival at Poinistan, the procession was led straight to the prison where Shai and the others were awaiting them. Located in a basement of the barracks, the dungeon was small, but the igni were never known for having many prisoners. There was some food and water on a table. Both prisoners were sitting in a cell, drilling their captors with eyes full of hatred. And now the third one joined them. It was good to see that no one was able to escape. All the other cells were empty, though Sabiri didn’t know how common that was.
«Glad everyone’s alive, including our prisoners.» Sabiri smirked.
Shai offered her a mug of water. «You look a bit beaten.»
«And you look like you’ve been swimming in a river of mud,» Greta said, already chewing on a piece of meat.
«Because that’s what happened…» Shai started to explain.
After sharing their tales and finishing their snacks, the company finally turned their attention to other matters.
«So, we need to talk to them.» Shai walked towards the cell.
The guards let them in, locking the door behind them. There was barely enough room for this many people, but everyone managed to find a place to stand.
«So, shall we take the gags off from all of you, or just one of you?» Greta asked. «Who’s your leader?»
She looked closely at their faces, looking for any useful signs, but there were none. The prisoners just carefully watched her every move but didn’t make a sound.
«We can always put the gags back,» Sabiri suggested.
The scouts stood behind the prisoners and grabbed them by their horns, keeping them from moving their heads and biting. Sabiri and Greta carefully removed the gags, but the prisoners remained mute.
«Don’t want to talk?» Greta raised her eyebrows. «Look. Let’s start with your tribe. Where are you from? It’s simple. Tell the right thing, we’ll verify your words, then we’ll let you go. We’ll even give you something for the trouble we caused.»
Silence. The prisoners didn’t move a muscle, didn’t make a sound.
Greta shook her head. «Come on! Are you afraid of giving us the wrong answer?» She looked at each of them in turn. «If you won’t give us anything, we’ll have to kill you anyway just to be safe. Am I asking for something secret? Something that might endanger your home? You think we would capture some random people just to attack the village they happened to live in?»
Silence.
«Shall we tell them?» Greta asked.
«We should – I’m curious,» Shai answered.
Sabiri agreed, «That could help our case.»
Greta looked back at the prisoners. «Alright. What were you doing near Drowners’ territory? They scared away everyone who knew even a little about their recent actions. Were you just passing by? Were you totally ignorant about your whereabouts? Why didn’t you take any of the roads? Why just the three of you? Why were you almost empty-handed?»
Those words still didn’t change anything. The prisoners’ blank expressions were taunting, if not mocking.
«We don’t have the time for this!» Greta rushed forward, dangling her claws just a millimeter from one of the prisoners’ eyes. «Maybe you’re