Chronicles of Den'dra: A Land Torn: Ancient Powers Awaken Read Online Free

was not a good idea to pull a barbed head back through the wound. Investigation told him that a short section of fletching was protruding from his back. Deciding that the feathers were glued on he began pulling on the arrow head.
    Pain coursed through his body at every slight movement. Taking breaks every few moments Skeln worked the bolt through his shoulder. Finally with one last effort he yanked the arrow free. The iron taste of blood filled his mouth and he only half succeeded in suppressing a scream. For a time he lay motionless having exhausted all his strength removing the arrow.
    It wasn’t until the slot opened again and another piece of bread was given him that he roused himself. There hadn’t been any light through the slot and the carriage was no longer moving which led to the conclusion that it was night. Calls for release for pressing physical needs went unheeded for a while before he was gruffly told to wet his pants for all they cared. Skeln discovered that the carriage was parked on a slope so he did his business on the downward side and hoped that it would leak out.
    Between the pain in his shoulder and the uncertainty of his situation he didn’t get much sleep before the carriage began moving again. Boredom was Skeln’s companion for hours in the dark. He finally decided he wanted to see light. Needed to see light. It was a craving like for sweet candy but more intense. The total darkness was driving him insane. A thorough investigation of the carriage again assured him that there was no cracks to be found. He was about to despair when his hand landed on the discarded crossbow bolt.
    Feeling the iron head Skeln proceeded to begin whittling on the side. This task lasted for most of the day and far into the night. He found that the sides of his prison were made of thick planks of wood. The arrow head soon lost its edge and Skeln had to proceed by prying the wood off sliver by sliver. The sound under the carriage wheels changed before he had managed to make his hole big enough to see from.
    Skeln took his time adjusting to the light of the new day. He saw that they were surrounded by building. A town of some sort. The actual cobblestones beneath the wheels told that it was a greater town than any Skeln had ever visited. The town he had grown up in only had beaten earth roads that became slick and muddy during the seasons between ice and heat. His tiny hole only allowed for a restricted window of visibility. He feared enlarging it lest his captors discover his actions and deprive him of the light.
    They wound their way through the streets of the city for a while. At the sight of the carriage most people fell silent. Some shouted jeers at the prisoner. Most of the people that Skeln saw either glanced away or looked sympathetically at the carriage. He wondered what fate was in store for him at his destination.
    Skeln didn’t have long to wait before they passed through a gate and into a castle keep. The carriage was pulled into a gate and the doors were bolted behind them. Skeln could hear the nervous whispers of the guards but couldn’t make out what was said. If even the guards were worried Skeln didn’t have any illusions that he was headed for any pleasant fate. He was held in suspense for a couple hours before the doors were opened and he was released.
    Accustomed to the dark even the flickering lanterns that his captors carried were nearly blinding. Finally they threw him into a room and locked the door. Skeln picked himself up and rubbed his sore bruises as he looked around. It was a round room with empty cells all around the edges. In the center were implements that one would only invent for torture. Chains and manacles lay strewn around. Skeln began to be afraid then. Left to his own devises for a time he explored the room. There was nothing that he could use as a weapon. Neither was there any opportunity for escape.
    Skeln was interrupted when the door on the far side of the room opened and a man