Daniel in Distress [part 2]

Daniel in Distress [part 2]

I opened my eyes and had no idea where I was, though I felt weak and drained. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was in the same dank, dark, dreary cell I had been trapped in for the past week or so. At least, I thought that to be how long, but I didn’t know.

I cursed my dreams of grandeur under my breath. Dreams of blissful freedom and fresh air; dreams where I was free to practice my skills and do as I wished.

My hand drew to my hip, but as it had been in the past few mornings; barren. The comforting weight of my weapons were still gone, and I didn’t know why I checked. I reached for my magic, but again I was too weak to reach, though it glowed brighter than ever, just out of my reach. I sat there for a long time, just trying to reach it. Still, it seemed unreachable.

My captors really knew what they were doing; they fed me just enough to keep me alive, making sure I was still too weak to use magic.

I screamed a loud string of curses at my invisible captors who resided in the shadows, always just out of reach and vision. I heard their voices, but I had yet to be told why I had been captured so suddenly, and in my sleep no less. What did they want with a simple boy like me? I had no real wealth, and my only real friend was my mentor, whom I doubted had the means to pay any sort of ransom, though I’m sure he would if he could. I thought of the poor old man accepting mercenary jobs intended for men of much lesser skill and stature in an attempt to pay the large ransom for his young, misguided apprentice.

I screamed another loud, distressed scream of curses, intertwined with my shouts of “Why?”

I could feel the tears that had been building up in me now flowing down in streams. The floodgates had burst, and now I was a sniveling heap on the floor.

I don’t know how long I laid there, but the longer I did, the better I started to feel. Maybe I’d just have to accept that they were going to kill me. What other purpose could they have for me? Might as well give up.

“What in the world are you doing there?” I was caught off guard by the voice and immediately bolted to an upright position. I looked around, but there were no guards at the doors. At least none that were looking at me.

“Wh… who…” I asked, beginning to think that either someone was pulling a cruel joke or the cell was haunted.

“Why are you sniveling on the floor? You’re a swordsman, a magician! Why are you sniveling on the floor in your stupid little cell? You need to get out!” The voice was angry for some inexplicable reason, and I still couldn’t ascertain what direction it was coming from. So I decided to play along.

“How? I’m trapped in this dirt hole without my swords and I’m too weak to use my magic.” I heard my voice for the first time in days, and it sounded weak and raspy; the voice of someone who had been adrift at sea and swallowed too much salt water.

“You disgrace the name of your mentor. Whoever he is, you disgrace him. Surely he has taught you how to defend yourself, how to use magic in the midst of weakness!”

“It’s not that easy. Aren’t you a magician as well?” I asked, starting to get frustrated with the voice that I had realized by this point may very well be inside my head. Oh well, at least it was someone to talk to.

“Some call what I do magic.” Was the voice’s simple reply. At that point, I suddenly felt as if something was different, like some sort of magic in the air had been lifted.

“What in the world is that supposed to mean?”

I waited, no answer. Just silence and the mutterings of the guards. I thought I heard one of them say “Poor thing’s going crazy.”

“Help! If you have magic, help me out of this place! Wait!”

I waited and waited, but I heard no response. I just sat there and waited until I heard the shuffling of the guards changing shifts.

With a sigh of desperation, I reached for my magic one last time before I went back to sleep, which is what the majority of my days seemed to consist of now.

I didn’t really think I would be able to, but the strange feeling that some sort of magic had left with my mysterious ‘visitor’ made me curious. So I reached for the familiar glow, and I felt my fingertips brush against something warm. My magic! I could reach it!

With newfound energy and a broad grin on my face, I tried to pull my consciousness in, but I found myself unable. Still, I could touch it. Not enough to use any spells helpful enough to let me break out, but enough to use a minor healing spell or two. Maybe even enough to float.

As I let go of if and slowly drifted back into the real world, relishing this moment, one thing was clear; I had to hear that voice again.