A Small Fight and Flight

I'm a little out of breath, and my leg muscles are heavy and they ache from running.  But I think I've found somewhere safe for a while.  It's been a hectic day, I'll try to relate what happened as well as I can remember it.

I was listening intently, all geared up for the guards arrival.  After a couple of false alarms, I responded to footsteps and Gurgam voices outside getting closer.  I  grabbed one of the blankets, threw it over my shoulders and squatted down where I'd normally sleep.  I heard the door being opened and I prepared myself.

One guard came over to me with the club drawn, the other turned towards the wall by the door where the food was being placed.  Just as the guard by the door turned, the first blow landed on my back.  For the first time since I'd been in this cell, though, I was properly prepared.

The world seemed to drop into a slow motion as I sprang upwards, my spoon blade in my hand.  I extended my arm as I jumped and shoved my blade in through the left eye of the guard, it went in deeply - his eye popped and I felt some resistance to the blade but I just kept pushing as hard as I could.  Then green Gurgam blood burst out of the eye socket, I'd gone deep into his skull.  He just crumpled, gurgling quietly, and I managed to grab his club as he fell.

I was already looking over at the other guard, but he'd not realised what had happened until I sprang across the cell towards him.  He started to turn towards the door, and I think he was going to scream, but I was already there.  I swung the club as I ran, and it landed on the side of his head.  He flew across the room away from the door, and landed with a clatter on the floor.  My second blow with the club landed square on his face, I beat down with all the strength I could muster.  He was trying to get his arms up to protect himself, but the fierceness of my blow was too much.  His nose exploded in a shower of green blood, I think I caught him across both his nose and an eye.  I do not think I killed him - but he was, at the very least, out stone cold.

My senses continued to be on full alert as I peeked out of the cell.  Two more guards were there, one called into the room.  I couldn't wait for them to raise the alarm so I threw myself at them.  The first I hit hard on the forehead with the club and he fell, the other stood watching me as I threatened him.  For a few seconds he was caught between screaming for help and surrendering.  He surrendered quietly.

The guard at my feet had a rusty sword on his belt - without taking my gaze off the surrendering guard, I took the weapon and motioned with it for the guard to go into the cell.  He complied, keeping his head bowed.  I sent him to the back of the room while I gathered up the rats hanging on the back of the door and yanked my small blade out of the eye socket of the dead Gurgam (it was pretty tightly stuck, and he was still twitching as I put my foot on the Gurgam's skull and yanked the spoon blade free).  The cell keys were hanging on the belt of the guard outside, the one that I'd clubbed so, once I was in the room outside the cell, I locked the door behind me.

I quickly searched the guard and I removed his tatty cloak.  His helmet was bent beyond repair, but he had a small food knife tucked into his belt.  I took the knife and the belt (which also had a scabbard for the sword I'd taken).  I put these on - they could come in useful.

Next I made my way quietly and softly upwards through the Gurgam lair.  I found my way by seeking out the fresher, cooler air which would be coming into the caves from outside.  I sneaked past a room where several of them were gathered, discussing some military matter with a Gurgam who looked bigger and more powerful that the others who snivelled around him.  I kept to the shadows in the corridor outside that room, moving slowly and quietly, and they didn't see  me.  I passed several other Gurgam in other rooms too - few seemed to be warriors, some may have been females, and there were some younger ones.  But I remained careful.  I kept out of sight and followed the air until I reached the outdoors.

It was late evening, I could see from the light as I approached an entrance area that the sun was getting low.  The air was so sweet as I sneaked along the corridor towards the daylight.  But I could still smell the Gurgam who were guarding this entrance long before I could see them.  As I approached I kept to the darkness once more, the two guards were watching out over the low slope that ran away from the lair, down and westwards in the setting sun - they certainly weren't ready for me to appear from the entrance and attack them.  But this I did.

I caught them completely by surprise.  The first one was dead before he knew what was happening - his head removed from his body by the rusty sword that I'd recovered earlier.  The other one didn't know whether to fight or run, and he made his mind up too late.  As he reached for his sword and struggled to pull it out, I stuck my own sword into his guts.  His blood ran down my hand and he fell away from me, screaming.  He continued to scream - he wasn't dead but he was badly hurt.

Now I was in trouble, that scream I was sure would raised the alarm.  I'd done so well to keep out of everyone's attention, and now I had to get away quickly.  I paused briefly to glance at my enemies.  The headless guard had a short bow and some rubbishy looking arrows.  I stopped to gather them, I knew I could probably use them later, but that was all I took.  Then I ran for it.  There were some scrubby bushes and other undergrowth just to the right of the entrance, and I headed for the cover.  Despite the stinging nettles and brambles I kept moving through.  I couldn't run, it was just too overgrown, but I could keep going out of sight.  I made good progress.

As the land began to rise I tried to head to my right, there was some light woodland here.  I was trying to find a water source, but I couldn't hear anything for the sounds of shouting that were now rising away behind me towards the Gurgam lair.  They were tooling up by the sounds of it, so I had to keep going.

After the land rose for a couple of hundred yards, it began to fall away again, and quite steeply in one place which nearly caught me by surprise.  This slope was down to the the bed of a stream, and it was quite a relief to reach it.  With hindsight it was a bad idea as the sun was setting and a coolness was arriving in the air, but I jumped into it and let the water run down and through my clothes.  And I drank the fresh water too.  Over the years I have drunk the finest fermented beers, ciders, and distilled spirits produced by experts whose mastery spanned a hundred years and more.  But I can honestly say this drink was the most beautiful, most cleansing, most refreshing, and sweetest I can ever remember.  I let the water wash through through my beard and hair, it felt so good.  But I knew I couldn't stop for more than a couple of minutes; I have to press on.