018 - Journey to the East

"Magnus! Sir! Master! Please, hells alive, slow down!" Caj staggered along behind the horse, the rope yanking him forward every few steps and bringing about a new bout of pleading.

"..." Magnus never so much as looked back, the horse carrying on at a steady pace down the country path. They had left the mountain tracks, following a winding stream through the rolling hills and down. For half a day they continued this way, Caj cursing all the while, the horse sticking to the path and never stopping.

Magnus could barely see. It took all his strength to stay upright, there was a ringing in his ears, a throbbing pain seizing his chest. Every inch of skin ached, as if it were drying and cracking like parchment. The world grew bright, then suddenly dark, swimming in and out of greys and shadows to a flashing midday sun. Magnus swayed, lost his balance and slipped from the saddle falling to the dirt and laying still.

"You alive?" Caj prodded Magnus with the end of his foot. "Hello, hello?"

"I'm alive." Magnus groaned, sitting up. "I'm alright, I can see. You hear those bells?"

"What bells?" Caj looked around puzzled.

"Ok. No bells then." Magnus got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Great gods, what happened to your face?" Caj exclaimed, his eyes wide. Magnus' hood was back and his bandages slipped off in his fall revealing the black lines and blisters beneath.

"Nothing. An illness." Magnus pulled his hood back over, tightening the bandages and clambering onto the horse. "Hiya!" They set off once more, Caj stumbling silent.

That night they made camp within a copse of cedar between two hills, Magnus tied Caj to the trunk of a tree with his hands bound in front of him. He felt utterly drained, too tired to talk or eat anything more than hard salted fish, Caj cried out in protest and begged Magnus to untie hands at least, Magnus ignored him, throwing half a fish and an apple for the swindler to sup on.

Magnus woke to morning sunlight filtering between leaves and the sound of bird song. It had been a hard night, pain and terrifying shrieking beasts kept him from any real rest. He glanced at the tree - the ropes were slack, no sign of Caj, strange, Magnus sniffed the air. A strong scent of roasting meat right nearby.

"Heyo!" Caj grinned, calling out. He was at the edge of the copse, squatting by a fire holding a plucked bird over the flames. "Better than fish, no?"

"Caught it myself. Ok, I tell a lie. A kindly old women living just over the hill gifted it to me, taking pity on my hunger and rags." Caj took a chunk out of the bird with his teeth. "Want some?"

"No. You thieved it, didn't you?" Magnus said flatly.

"I most certainly did not! It was a gift!" Caj replied flippantly.

"You untied the rope." Magnus examined Caj. Beneath the young swindlers rags were thin pale limbs, hardly and muscle or fat at all.

"Ah, one of my many skills." Caj took another bite, chewing noisily.

Magnus shook his head, "and did not escape."

"I told you, I'm an honest man. Caj the Honest, that's my name in these parts. Heh, well, you can trust me, right? See, I could've escaped, but I made a promise; I am going to see you all the way east, all the way to the Witching Road, right?" Caj laughed lightly. "Just, no more ropes, ok? I don't want to be tied to a horse, yeah?"

Magnus went down to the stream and undid his bandages. They were stained yellow, filthy with pus and blood. He washed them, splashing his face and arms with water and squeezing the cloth dry before reapplying them. A long streak of yellow grease run downstream from Magnus, bubbling on the surface of the river.

"Where to now, boss?" Caj walked alongside the horse.

"To the east." Magnus waved in a vague easterly direction. "The Empire Swamp. How far is it?"

"Pretty far, boss. We've got a ways to go. Why you want to go there, hey? You want to join up, fight the Alchemists?" Caj babbled contentedly. For the most part Magnus was happy to let him talk to himself, answering the occasional question. He felt much better than the day before, miles better.

"You sick boss? An Alchemist do that to you?" Caj asked.

"Yeah. An Alchemist, in Kloster." Magnus gritted his teeth.

"Kloster? I've heard of that. Full of giants, no? You from Kloster?"

"Yeah."

"Are there really giants? I've always wanted to see a giant myself. You seen giants boss?"

"Yeah. Loads." Magnus replied hoarsely. "Which way now?" They came to a junction, a wide dirt path going north and south.

"This way, boss." Caj started walking south. "I know a real nice place just near here, set us up good and proper for the night. Oh, it's on the way boss, no worries. I'll get you to the Witching Road, no worries." Caj swung his arms and whistled tunelessly.

The day dragged on, they passed several wagons and riders on the road, none who stopped and gave Magnus or Caj the slightest notice. The track wound south through the plains, Magnus had the urge to spur his horse to move faster, to rush forwards. My time is short, I need to find a cure. I need to live. His head throbbed, pain and aches shot through his body with every movement, however slight. The only thing that kept him focused was the thought of the Witching Road, of following this thin thread of hope to the east.