Chapter 15: Chapter 15 – Crime

They sat there quietly until it was time to leave. When all the prisoners had returned, it looked like the casualties had been high. Grayson was happy to see Brother Capso had once again survived, but few others remained. Grayson guessed that so many had died because the pearl had taken so long to find, and it appeared that no one in their group had found it.

Just as the guards were packing up to go, one of them pointed back into the aquadome at something. Grayson felt a foreboding feeling growing within him, and he had a horrible realization. Deep down inside, he knew what the guard had seen, but he stood up to take a look, just to be sure. Walking over to the opening in the wall, Grayson looked out and saw what he had feared. Looking like death itself, Darren slowly crawled toward the exit to the aquadome, his face still bloody from his broken nose.

Grayson couldn’t believe it. The thought that the man would somehow be able to crawl his way back hadn’t even occurred to him. It seemed so impossible that Grayson couldn’t help but grudgingly admire his tenacity, despite how much he wished the man had simply died.

They all waited there as Darren made his way back. Grayson was hoping that something would swoop in to finish the job before he arrived, but nothing of the sort happened. When he reached the wall, Darren looked up and saw Grayson standing there, and his face contorted in rage.

With a sudden burst of speed that surprised everyone, the man jumped forward, somehow ignoring the pain from his broken ankle. He grabbed a spear from one of the guards, ripping it out of the man’s grasp, before lunging at Grayson with a scream that was tinged with pure madness.

Grayson was so shocked by the turn of events, he reacted too slowly. He tensed to jump away, but he knew he was too late. The spear was aimed straight at his throat, and it was moving with speed Grayson wouldn’t expect a man with a broken ankle should be able to generate. He knew he was going to die, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

Then, Trest was there. In an incredible display of strength and skill, the general reached out and grabbed the spear's haft, and span in a circle to redirect the direction of the spear. Instead of the thrust Darren had intended, the spear moved in a wide circle, the point swinging a hair's breadth away from Grayson’s neck.

As General Trest span, the spear was yanked out of Darren’s hand, and the general used the opportunity to bury the weapon into the mad man’s chest. Darren took a few steps back, then slumped to his knees, but he never took his eyes off Grayson.

General Trest wrenched the spear out of Darren’s chest, and Darren fell face first onto the ground, blood pooling around the body. There was a moment of silence as everyone stared, and then the guards exploded into action.

Dozens of weapons were leveled at the general, and shouts overlapped one another telling Trest to drop the spear. The general calmly set down the weapon and backed away. Several guards surged forward and grabbed Trest by his arms and began to bodily escort him back towards the fort on the island.

The rest of the guards began to move the prisoners toward the compound, though judging by their white knuckled hands and sterns expressions, it seemed the experience had shaken them.

Grayson was shaken by the experience as well. He had been in plenty of life and death situations now, but this one felt different. He would have died if not for Trest. All the other times he had almost died, he still had some kind of control of the situation. This time, he had been completely reliant on someone else to save him. He didn’t know why, but it left him feeling more terrified than anything else he had experienced so far on Selenya. Now, General Trest was being taken somewhere, probably to be punished, all for saving Grayson’s life.

Why couldn’t you have just died? Grayson thought, finding focus blaming Darren for all of this. The man had perpetrated an unreasonable hatred that left him, and four others dead. It was so pointless. But the more he thought about it, he couldn’t stay angry at the man. He wasn’t the reason they were all trapped on this island. This was on the league of great cities. They were sending people here to die, forcing them to work to save themselves.

Now that Grayson’s mood was turned for the worse, he found himself railing against his situation once again. He had been sent to die, and now forced to kill others to survive because Velos had allowed it to happen. Mentally, Grayson cursed at the god, this time hoping Velos could hear him. The divinity would pay for this. It didn’t matter how long it took, Grayson would make it happen.

The group reached the compound, and the few remaining prisoners were pushed inside before the gates shut. Grayson immediately moved over to Brother Capso.

“Do you know where they are taking Trest?” Grayson asked the balding priest.

“I imagine they are taking him to talk to the warden.” Capso replied. “The only other time something like this happened, the two men involved were taken to see the warden, and he decided on their punishment. They were buried in the sand at low tide, and had to stay there as high tide came in.”

“They were killed?” Grayson gasped in horror.

“No,” Brother Capso said, “but they probably wished they were dead by the end. The guards explained their punishment to every prisoner to try and dissuade any further incidents. They were given reeds to breathe through, long enough to reach the surface of the water, however, the reeds were thin enough that they couldn’t get much air. They were forced to stay there for hours with little oxygen, knowing that if they allowed their reed to fall from their mouth, they would die. There is a reason fighting is a rare occurrence here.”

“What about General Trest?” Grayson asked. “He was only defending me. Surely, he won't have to go through something like that.”

Brother Capso sighed, and directed his gaze upwards when he replied. “The guards are always clear that both parties in a fight will be punished, regardless of the aggressor. Furthermore, the good general killed that man. I would be surprised if General Trest survives his punishment, especially because the warden would most likely like to see him dead sooner rather than later. The General is a dangerous man with an even more dangerous reputation.”

“That’s not fair!” Grayson nearly shouted, drawing looks from guards and prisoners alike.

Brother Capso simply shrugged, still looking up into the sky, as if trying to find solace from the clouds up above.

Grayson let out a growl in frustration. He couldn’t let General Trest be killed for protecting him. He wouldn’t allow himself to live with that kind of guilt on his conscious.

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“Hey,” Grayson said, turning to one of the guards through the gate. “I want to speak to the warden.”

The guard simply glared at Grayson, but otherwise ignored him.

“Hey,” Grayson called out again, marching right up to the gate. “I said I want to speak to the warden.”

The man opened the gate and brought up the butt of his spear, and slammed it into Grayson’s jaw, sending him spinning to the ground.

“Lord Thran does not answer to the whims of prisoners.” The guard said in a mocking tone. “Shut your mouth, or you’ll get worse.”

The man closed the gate and Grayson stared daggers at him, but didn’t push it any further. He was left feeling angry and powerless, which led him to start contemplating something he had hardly dared to think about before. Velos had said that he would give Grayson the potential to use magic, and that his power would be potent. He assumed this meant he would be able to become a wavelord. If it were true, he might finally gain the ability to decide his own fate, and he wouldn’t be forced to accept the dictates of this unfair world. But there was a problem. It all relied on Velos speaking the truth, which wasn’t ideal.

He had thought about this option several times when trying to think of ways to escape. But when he thought about it, it didn't seem likely. He had to take into account the strange test they had run on the prisoners in Silmia to see if they could bond with the pearl of ascension. They had allowed him to come here, so that would suggest he wouldn’t be able to do it, but Trest had also said they were checking for noble blood, which he shouldn’t have.

After thinking it over, he just needed to find the pearl and see if he could bind with it. If it worked, that would be great, and he could use the power it gave him to escape the island. If it didn’t work, he would avoid the aquadome for six days, and have another reason to get revenge on Velos.

***

An hour later, the gates to the compound opened up, and a guard with three stripes on his rank insignia walked in with General Trest and two other guards trailing behind him.

“This prisoner was found guilty of killing another.” The man shouted out. “By order of Lord Thran, he will be punished harshly for this infraction. In two days, just before entry into the proving grounds, he will receive twenty lashes. Should he survive the day, he will be lashed twenty times every day of entry until he no longer returns. Learn from his example, so you don’t suffer the same consequences in the future.”

General Trest was then shoved into the compound before the guards left, the gate crashing closed behind them.

Grayson couldn’t believe it. They were going to try and make sure Trest died as soon as possible without actually doing the deed themselves. The pain would make it much harder to evade attacks, and it would be a distraction, in a place where the slightest lapse in attention could be deadly. Not to mention his blood might attract some predators. On Earth, Grayson had always heard sharks could smell a single drop of blood from great distances. If there was something similar here… Grayson didn’t want to think about it.

Instead, he decided to talk to the general, who was making his way to the building they slept in. Grayson followed him into the building, and when the man sat down near his bedroll, Grayson joined him.

“You shouldn’t have done it.” Grayson said, feeling increasingly guilty as time went by.

“Done what?” The general asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You shouldn’t have protected me. It was my problem, you shouldn’t be punished because of me.”

General Trest sighed before looking Grayson in the eyes.

“I have told you before, that I deserve this. I’ve… I’m a broken man who deserves to die, but you still have a chance. Take this opportunity and use it the best you can.”

Grayson’s heart broke at the words. General Trest looked utterly defeated, the wrinkles on his face seemed deeper than ever, and a look of deep sorrow was the only thing Grayson could read from his expression.

“No!” Grayson shouted, “I won’t accept this. You can’t just die for me. I don’t care what you did before, you are a good man, and you don’t deserve to die.”

General Trest just looked down, not responding.

Grayson screamed out his frustration and pounded his fist against the wall of the building before storming out to take a walk. Everyone in the compound was staring at him, but he hardly noticed. Walking his frustrations away, he moved until the only thing he had left was determination. He would find a way to escape, and he would take General Trest with him. The man had saved his life, and Grayson would be sure to return the favor.

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