The tar was thick and lukewarm. Thelton thrashed his arms as he tried to make his way to the side where he could crawl out. The tar was very powerful and prevented him from being able to move ahead at all. The pull of it was very strong. It sucked Thelton up to his neck. He had to fight very hard to stay above the sludge. The longer he stayed in it, the warmer it became. Soon it felt like he was on fire.

  Flance watched from above. He thought he should be rejoicing in the moment. It would only be a short length of time until his enemy would die. Thelton was quickly tiring out. It was taking every last bit of his stamina to keep from being completely pulled under. And yet, in all his stubbornness, he never called out for help.

  Flance turned his back to Thelton and stepped away as he thought. “This is it.” Flance thought. “This is the moment of recompense. Thelton is a terrible man; he has done so much bad to so many people. Now is my chance to rid the kingdoms of their pseudo hero. He is worthless and he gave people false hope. He is not someone to aspire to. Dying by hot tar; what a fitting death!”

  Flance turned back to look at Thelton. The tar had almost won. Flance felt a twinge in his heart. He really didn’t hate the man. He had resolved that in the dungeon cell. And yet, Thelton had done so much bad to him and his son. It would only be right to leave him to die.

  Thelton’s head sunk under the sludge. He shot back up, gasping for air, his face covered in tar. The tar crept into his mouth as he struggled to breathe. He began fiercely coughing as he fought for his life.

  His conscious won. Flance quickly looked around for a log or a stick. There was nothing. Thelton went under again. This time he was under for much longer. Panicking, Flance madly searched the area. Still there was nothing to rescue Thelton with. Thelton reemerged from the tar again. He was coughing and sputtering

  Flance undid his pants and ripped them off his body. He went over to the side of the pit and tossed a leg of the pants toward Thelton. Thelton grabbed on. Flance used his only arm and pulled on the pants. He would use them to help him pull Thelton out. Thelton barely budged.

  Flance took the pants and wrapped them tighter around his wrist. He pulled and pulled. Slowly, Thelton moved. Sweat dripped down both the men’s faces. Flance dragged harder, and Thelton moved a little bit more. It was tiring work that quickly exhausted Flance. Flance began to cough and cough. Despite his infirmities, he didn’t stop trying to rescue Thelton. He yanked and heaved. His lungs screamed at him to quit. Blood oozed out of his nose and mouth. He kept tugging. His eyes bulged out. He strained and jerked until Thelton was on the dry ground. Fatigued, Flance dropped to the ground. His wrist bled where the material had cut through. He was a bloody mess.

  Both men collapsed on the ground. Flance was violently coughing. His body was punishing him for the hard work. The men were weary and needed to rest. Thelton recovered without saying anything to Flance. After Flance’s lungs settled down, he decided he would let his body fall asleep.

  As he wished sleep to overtake him, he thought about how he had just saved Thelton’s life. Although the anger to the ungrateful man tried to creep into Flance’s heart, he tried to resist it. Once again, he worked at letting go his hate for Thelton. He had just bought that man’s life. He would allow himself to be proud of that. He shut his eyes and fell to sleep.

  Chapter 22

  Flance and Thelton stooped down as they entered the shallow cave. A breeze of musty air floated passed them. It was very small and empty.

  “This is the last of the homes we have used. I have shown you all the rest.” There had been no sign that Sterling had been in any of them. Flance had no other place to look. Sterling had known nothing else beyond what his father had taught and shown him. Flance couldn’t even begin to guess where his son would be. His heart dropped. He feared that maybe he was dead.

  “I truly am sorry, Thelton, there is nowhere else to look. My son and I lived a simple life. I am all he has known. He has never ventured off on his own. While yes, we have lived in many spots, they are familiar and that is where he would go. As much as your heart aches for your dragon woman mine aches for my boy. I wish we had found them here today.”

  Rage stormed through Thelton as he went over to some stalagmites and began kicking them. Pieces of the hundred year old colonies flew everywhere. He cursed and yelled. Foam dripped out the side of his lips. His eyes were wild.

  If Flance’s boy wasn’t there, then where was he? Despair set in. There was no chance that Thelton would ever find him now. There were so many villages, kingdoms, and forests that someone could hide in. What was he doing with Indy, anyways?

  He spun around and glared at Flance; there was fury on his face. Flance began coughing. “I have no more need of you. It is here we part.”

  Flance had expected something else to have come from Thelton, something sinister. “You gave me freedom when you could have left me to die. For that I thank you my friend.”

  “I am not your friend, nor will I ever be. Our life together ends here.”

  “I know that we didn’t find my boy, but I did everything I could to help. I don’t expect the full 200,000 Tretos that we decided on, but could you at least give me 100 Tretos. I would like to still keep looking for my boy. My heart worries about my only son. I promise if I find him, I will help see that your woman makes it to you.”

  “Would you really ask such a thing, you who failed me once again?” Thelton yelled. He took a swing at a stalactite. It crumbled down.

  “We are done,” Thelton said as he walked toward the cave exit. He was irate. He felt helpless at saving Indy. How much time had Flance wasted of his?

  “Well, comrade, may the fates be on your side,” Flance offered.

  Thelton stopped half way out of the cave. Flance’s words hit him. He wished he would stop using words of adoration. Thelton still despised Flance even though he had saved his life several days ago. “I hold no ill will towards you.” Flance had told him when he was cleaning the tar off. Flance had saved his life; something that angered Thelton more than softened him.

  He was still annoyed by Flance’s attempt to seek forgiveness. He would much more prefer them to remain enemies. He didn’t want to change his feeling for the terrible man. He was horrible and more sinister than himself, or was he? Thelton reached up and rubbed his hands across the top of the cave. A little bit of water trickled off the ceiling and down his arms.

  He couldn’t believe it, for he was going to do something against his very nature. He wished that he would stop, but he turned around, propelled by an unknown force.

  “Come with me. You shall have your money.”

  …

  Thelton and Flance approached a large forgotten field. The weeds grew ramped. In the middle of the field was a dilapidated home with a barn to the side. Both looked like they were about to rot to the ground.

  Thelton and Flance didn’t speak to each other.

  “What could Thelton be up to? Nothing in our past together gives me reason to trust him.” Thelton walked into the small house and Flance followed. Something moved next to the barn.

  The house had no furniture. Broken boards from the ceiling littered the floor. Dust and cob webs saturated everything. Thelton went over to the broken fireplace. There was a bunch of brick rubble where a hearth used to be. Thelton cleared the rubble away and began digging a hole. He dug for awhile until he pulled out a wooden box. With soot all over his arms and chest, he stood up. He tossed the box at Flance. Dust puffed up into Flance’s face, he began to cough.

  “There is your money.”

  Flance pried off the lid, inside was full of Tretos. “This looks like more than 200,000.” He said in astonishment.

  “Yeah, probably is,” Thelton said.

  Flance couldn’t take all that money. After all he never did find Thelton’s woman. He felt guilty. With that in mind, he grabbed a handful of Tretos and tried to give the box with the majority of the money back to Thelton.

  “I don’t need it all.” Flance said.

  “Keep it. What need of it do I have?”

  “Is this your home?” Flance asked.

  “At one time it was. I guess it still is, but I have no use for it. You can have it if you want. Raise your boy in it. He might enjoy not living in caves; but then again, who knows?”

  Flance continued coughing. “I don’t know how to respond.”

  “Good, cause I don’t want you to.”

  “If you go upstairs, you will find a diamond. It is stashed in the wall behind a shelf. Pull the shelf away and knock a hole into the wall and that is where you will find it.”

  “Things are changing between us.”

  “Say that again and I will rip out your throat.” Thelton turned his back to Flance and walked out the front door.

  Flance carefully eyed the stairs. They looked very dangerous; half of them had fallen to the ground. The ones that were left were barely functional. There was supposedly a diamond at the top. He decided he had to chance the stairs.

  Flance carefully began to make his way up the rough slabs of wood. The first stair he put his foot on immediately ripped out of the wall and tumbled to the ground. Flance’s heart began pounding. That made Flance extra cautious. He tried the next one. It seemed more solid. He hoisted himself up to it. In the process, he filled his hand with splinters.

  “Blanderbaught,” he cursed. He was not enjoying the feat of getting up the stairs. Flance felt around until he found another sturdy stair. It was five stairs above where he was at. Again, he had to pull himself up to it. It wasn’t an easy task, but eventually he made it to the second floor of the house. He looked around the room. It was so tiny; there wasn’t much space to it. He spotted the only shelf on the wall, it was partially falling down. Flance looked at the floor boards before him. Half of them were gone. There were big gaping holes in the floor. Flance swallowed hard.

  Unexpectedly, he heard a great deal of commotion outside. It sounded as if Thelton was in trouble. Flance jumped back down the stairs. It was easier going down than up. He hurriedly stashed the money back in the hole in the fireplace and buried the bricks on top. He went over to the opened door and looked out.

  Thelton was surrounded by eight men with bows and arrows. They kept Thelton hostage by the barn.

  “Put your swords on the ground. If you try anything else, you will have arrows through your heart,” a man yelled at Thelton.

  Thelton glared at the men.

  “Do it, or you die.”

  The men looked angry.

  Thelton’s eyes slit tighter. He reached out his golden sword and dropped it on the ground. He brought out his emerald sword and dropped it as well. The veins pulsated in Thelton’s arms.

  One man bent down and scooped up the swords. “Wow, this is magnificent,” he said as he examined the emerald sword. He swung it back and forth, a huge smile formed on his face.

  Another man went behind Thelton and tied ropes around him. They grabbed Thelton and turned their backs to the house and began escorting him away from the property. Flance stood alone in the house.

  “They don’t know that I am here, if I stay quiet I will be able to escape.” They seemed to being taking Thelton somewhere away from there.

  Once again Flance found himself in a dilemma. He felt compelled to help Thelton, but he really didn’t know why he should. They had parted ways and he owed Thelton nothing. He had earned this money by doing his part. Thelton had made it very clear that he never wanted their paths to cross again. They said their goodbyes. Let the men take him, maybe they would teach Thelton a bit of humility. Flance scratched at his beard. When was the last time that he washed it?

  Flance looked back at the men. They sure looked angry. They kept kicking Thelton and whacking him on the side of the head. Flance scratched his beard again. Somehow, he could not let it end like this. He bolted out the door.

  “What is going on? Why do you want him?” Flance had caught up to the mob.

  A livid man rushed into the face of Flance. “This man deserves to die. He killed my sister and her son.”

  “How so?” Flance questioned.

  “Last night he broke into her house and killed them both. We are only here for vengeance.” The man said as he turned from Flance and began to walk away.

  “Not so, I have been with this man for many, many nights. I swear to you that your sister died by some other hands. This man was with me.”

  The man looked over his shoulder at Flance. “We have no guile with you, be on your way.”

  Flance could see the anger and hate in the men’s eyes. They had mistaken Thelton for someone else. By the fury in their eyes, Flance was sure that they would kill Thelton, and soon. Flance had to think promptly.

  “What if…What if I paid you to release that man? Would you sell him to me?”

  The men didn’t turn around. As they kept walking, one yelled out, “No amount of money can bring my nephew back.”

  “You’re right. You are right, but killing this man will not bring him back or avenge their death. He is not the murderer you seek.”

  The men kept walking and cursing at Thelton. They ignored Flance.

  Flance pushed further. “What if I paid you a large sum of money? That could help ease the financial loss for your sister.”

  “Never,” the man yelled. “I only want the blood of this man.” Thelton tripped into the field, his pocked face met the hard ground. The men viscously yanked him up.

  “How about more than 200,000 Tretos?” Flance called out as he watched the men get farther away.

  All the men stopped. Standing in place they slowly turned around.

  The same man approached Flance, “What did you say?”

  “Over 200,000 Tretos to let Thelton free.”

  The man turned and faced his men. They talked amongst each other.

  “Where does a peasant like you possess that kind of money?”

  “That is not important. Is it an agreement?”

  “Yes,” the man said.

  “I don’t fully trust you. So it will be done my way. If you want the money, you will leave all your weapons with me.”

  The men murmured to Flance’s proposal. “It is you that I don’t trust. That sounds like a trap.”

  Flance looked at the man with all sincerity. “No trap.”

  “How do we do the exchange? If I hand over all the weapons, you may kill us. If you hand over the money, you fear that we will run.”

  Flance looked at the men. “I will bring only you to the money by the tip of my sword. Your men will stand watch over Thelton by the tip of their sword. If I harm you, Thelton dies. If they harm Thelton, you die. I give you the money, still by the tip of my sword. We meet your men, and they drop their weapons. I leave your weapons down, with Thelton still tied. I escort you and your men far from here. You will still be by the tip of my sword. You may fear that I will kill you, but if I tried I am sure the rest of your men can jump me. I am an old man with only one hand.” And as if on cue, Flance began to cough. He coughed and coughed until his face was dark red. Any fears the men may have had about him disappeared with his coughing. He looked weak with his sick lunges and his missing arm, and they knew he was not a threat.

  Flance’s plan sounded very reasonable to all the men. They were too greedy to turn their backs to the prospect of 200,000 Tretos. That was more money than the combined of them would make in a lifetime. For the most part, they were honest men who were caught seeking justice. They had no desire to harm Flance. And the more the leader looked at Thelton, the more he questioned if Thelton really had been the man that had killed his sister and nephew. He had chased the man the night before, and the more he remembered, the more he had wondered if the man hadn’t been considerably shorter than Thelton.

  “Since we are in agreement, throw your weapons in this pile, all except the one that one appointed to stay and guard Thelton,” Flance ordered the men. They all dropped their swords, hoping the money was really going to happen. Flance picked up a sword and lead the man into the house. Seven stood outside and watched. Flance and the man emerged from the house with the box full of money. The man’s eyes were wide and his face beamed with greed.

  Flance escorted the men a great distance away from the property. The men had left Thelton tied to a tree for added measures of security. When Flance was comfortable with the distance, he left the men and ran back to Thelton.

  “I don’t trust those men. We need to get out of here.” Flance untied Thelton’s cords. Thelton rubbed at the red impressions on his skin. He looked at Flance. He reached down and picked up his two swords from the ground. He reattached them to his hips.

  Thelton thought Flance was a fool. He had given up all his money to free him. Why had he done that? The men didn’t even know Flance was in the house, let alone that he had so much money. He could have easily let them carry Thelton away and then he would be left to live his life in luxury, freed from his arched enemy forever. Left to declare himself the Greatest Dragon Slayer alive! Thelton looked at Flance and clicked his tongue in disgust.

  “You just threw away your chance for a better life. Good bye, Flance,” Thelton said. He began walking away.

  Flance ran up to him, once again he had saved Thelton’s life. He didn’t have to either time. “Let me find a stand and buy some ale. We can go somewhere and drink it. Let me at least fill your belly up before you start your journey alone, and before we part ways again.”

  “You know I am not a drinking man,” Thelton said as he kept walking.

  Flance grabbed the back of Thelton. “Let me at least fill your belly with food before we part. It’s been too long since we last ate.”

  Thelton stopped and thought about it. “I guess I am pretty hungry. I could easily catch something and eat it, but I’m tired. There is a good bank next to a river several kilometers from here. I will hide there while you go to the nearby village and grab some food.”

  “Sounds good,” Flance said.

  “Fine, and then we part,” Thelton replied.

 

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