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Had it been two days, three days, possibly more? Toryn lay slumped against the knotted roots digging in his back, but he no longer cared, he barely noticed the discomfort. His stomach had learned to tolerate the fare of stale bread and bitter water. He even welcomed Dohl’s daily visit. The old man spoke mostly to himself, but Toryn took comfort hearing another voice that did not whisper dark tidings. But this morning had offered a faint hope. Dohl had spoken of events drawing the lady’s attention to the outskirts of the wood, distracting her from preparations for some, as yet unknown act.

A shadow appeared under the door. A chill ran up Toryn’s spine as a dark shape passed across a crack in the old wood. The bolt shifted. The door creaked ajar. He shuffled back against the earthen wall, squinting into the narrow sliver of yellow light. A large head peered around the edge, tilting as it sniffed the air. Toryn held his breath. Long fingers grasped the top of the door. The light grew as the hand pushed. A stooped figure stood on the other side, with long, scrawny arms and short legs. A cobtroll! It had to be. Toryn’s empty stomach clenched. The creature dropped onto its hands and crawled towards him, still sniffing the air. Its rasping breath filled the dank cell with a sickly, sweet odor. Toryn twisted in his chains, shut his eyes and pressed his cheek against the wall. A finger touched his foot. The cobtroll hesitated, then reached out and grasped his ankle. It pulled, gently at first, then with more force.

The door creaked and Dohl sauntered in. ‘Chain him up, Dohl, unchain him, Dohl.’ The cobtroll’s clammy fingers released Toryn’s ankle. Dohl grunted. ‘What the—? Hey! Get you gone. Go on, hop it. Back to your work.’ Toryn heaved a sigh. He croaked a thanks, but Dohl seemed not to hear his gratitude. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He fumbled with the chain above Toryn’s head. ‘Untie him, Dohl. Bring him here, take him there. Dress him for a journey. How would they manage without old Dohl?’ Dohl lifted Toryn’s arms and tore off what remained of his tattered shirt. He took an old sack off his shoulder and pulled it over Toryn’s head. The rough cloth irritated his wounds, but it felt thicker and would at least keep him warm.

The old man stepped back. ‘Ha! Wouldn’t your mother be proud if she could see you now.’ Dohl looked Toryn in the eye for the first time. When he spoke, his voice had softened, sounding like Hamar. ‘I hope I’m gone before the world changes.’ His mouthed curled. ‘She knows, she knows what’s coming.’ His face changed back to the Dohl, Toryn had come to know. He grunted and tugged on the chain. ‘Untie him, Dohl, bring him, take him, Dohl.’ Toryn grabbed the ring biting into his throat, stumbled forward and staggered to his feet. His legs felt weak after days of sitting. He wobbled as Dohl slung the chain over his shoulder and hauled Toryn from the cell as if leading a stubborn donkey.

Toryn blinked in the corridor's torchlight. His shoulder scraped against rough, stone walls as Dohl dragged him past doors leading to more cells. The old man stopped, Toryn bumped into him and fell back. Dohl mumbled as he unlocked a gate and heaved it open. More torches lit a short staircase fashioned from dirt and planks. Dohl groaned as he slowly climbed, staying one step ahead of Toryn on his faltering legs. They emerged from underground into cooler, but not fresher air. Ruuk ran in all directions, shouting commands, carrying torches in the gray light of morning or evening, Toryn could not tell.

‘You took your time, old man.’ Toryn recognized Grebb’s voice. ‘Get a move on. Put him in the cart.’

‘Chain him, unchain him, put him in the cart, Dohl.’

‘And make it fast, Dohl. There’s hundreds of them with big, sharp spears coming for you, Dohl. So, buck up. They’ll be here in less time it takes you to piss.’ Grebb grabbed Dohl’s shoulder. ‘That means this place will be swarming with the blighters in an hour.’ Grebb smirked. ‘And trust me, they’ll run you through ‘til you look like a huckle, then toss you to their dogs.’

‘Nah, not interested. Brought forward plans to make the move. Unless you’re going to stand up and stop them dead in their tracks all by yourself.’ He yelled in his face. ‘I suggest you bloody move!’ He tugged Dohl’s ragged cloak. ‘This way. And make it fast.’

Dohl slumped. He grumbled and shuffled a few steps. Grebb snatched the chain. ‘Forget it. I’ll do it myself.’ He laughed. ‘You go and pack your best clothes for the big trip, eh.’ Dohl snarled, threw up his arms and hobbled a few steps before jolting to a standstill. His head turned and looked up to something out of Toryn’s sight. Dohl cried out as his body shook with a force that should have snapped his bones.

Grebb noted Toryn’s shock. ‘Don’t you worry about him. It’s the lady having a quiet word.’ Grebb pulled the chain, but Toryn stumbled to a halt as he saw what caught Dohl’s attention. Before him rose a gnarled, wooden tower as if spawned by the defiled earth. A circle of torches at its base threw flickering shadows up the twisted structure as it climbed to dominate the surrounding trees. Toryn stared in disgust, unsure its deformity resulted from untold years of wind and driving rain, or the malice of its inhabitant. Flat, dark mushrooms the size of plates grew up the lower reaches, but not the kind you would want to eat. Patches of gray lichen covered much of the walls up to its pointed top of entwined branches. Toryn balked at the abomination formed by the corruption of once beautiful trees, but he could not tear his eyes away from the sinister structure.

More Ruuk arrived at the tower. One led a tall, black stallion. The horse stopped in front, showing obvious disdain for those rushing to form a line behind it. Toryn fell forward as Grebb tugged hard on the chain. ‘No time to admire the view, boy. But don’t you worry, there’ll be plenty more to see where you’re going.’

Another approached. His voice trembled. ‘She’s ready to leave, Captain.’

Grebb stiffened. ‘You don’t say.’

The squat Ruuk fidgeted with his sword belt. ‘What about the prisoners?’

Grebb shrugged. ‘Leave ‘em. They’ll slow us down and I doubt they’ll be much use to the enemy by now.’

‘Shall I torch the cages?’

Grebb thought for a moment. ‘No, leave them to suffer. They’ll serve as a message to anyone who thinks they can mess with her.’

The Ruuk nodded at Toryn. ‘We taking this one?’

Grebb jiggled the chain. ‘Someone seems keen to meet this runt.’ He pulled him close and peered into his face. Toryn tried to resist, but had neither the strength or the will. Grebb jeered. ‘Can’t think why. He looks about as useful as Dohl on a bad day.’

The shouting ceased. The Ruuk forming into line shrunk back as the air chilled and darkened. Toryn’s skin crawled, but he noticed the horse was unfazed. His temples throbbed as a door at the foot of the tower creaked open. A tall, cloaked figure stood behind. Toryn wanted to both look and turn away; his eyes stayed fixed on the tower. He squinted. The air around the dark creature either flickered, or his eyes played tricks. The lady turned. It was not his eyes. The air swirled, distorting her outline and leaving tendrils groping into the space about her like dark blood seeping from a wound into water. A cold claw clenched and squeezed his heart. Within the churned air above her, three floating figures took shape. Three hideous beings with burning, black eyes set in gaunt faces, coiled their distorted bodies around each other like eels in a bucket vying for clear water. Long strands of straggly hair thrashed about their misshapen heads as they twitched side to side as if searching for prey. Grebb’s hold on the chain tightened as they both froze.

None dared to move as the lady made her way to the horse and rose effortlessly into the saddle. The stallion set off with the three forms, maintaining their vigil over their mistress. Grebb remained on guard. He hissed in Toryn’s ear. ‘For your people’s sake, you’d better hope this Archon of yours is strong. There’s three of them kind in this land.’ He gestured with his thumb. ‘Her on the horse, she goes by the name, Uleva, and from what I’ve heard, she’s not the one you need to fear.’