The next day a bucket of water was thrown on Alam and Tajar to wake them up. The other prisoners were not given the same courtesy.

"Good morning, Empa spies. I trust you slept well?" Neither Alam or Tajar chose to respond. Standing before them was the squat, solidly built man with the long warrior's plait that had pulled them from the horses. "My name is Tolegan. I am King Kirill's man. If he wants something to happen, I make sure it does. I have a feeling that the three of us are going to get to know each other very well, starting with this morning. Once you've had some breakfast we'll have a chat."

"We can chat now if you wish," said Alam.

"No." He smiled a smile that had no happiness in it. "I would prefer you to be fed first."

He slid two large bowls of milk tea into the cages.

"Poisoned?" asked Tajar.

"No, they are not poisoned," he replied as if addressing children. "Eat. I will return in a few minutes."

Alam sniffed the bowl. It smelled normal, and it looked normal, so he ate. The milk tea was surprisingly good and there was plenty of it. It even had generous amounts of beef and cheese curds in it. They gulped it down. Faithful to his word, Tolegan returned a handful of minutes later. Once he was satisfied that they had eaten well he and a few other guards escorted Alam and Tajar through various rooms and corridors until they found themselves blinking into the early morning sun at the back of the sprawling building.

"So," Alam began. "What do you want..."

Tolegan's fist exploded into his stomach. The guard accompanying Tajar did the same. They both threw up instantly. Tolegan's foot connected with the back of Alam's knee while he pushed on his head. Alam fell into the pile of sick he had just splattered on the dirt. A thud next to him indicated that the same had happened to Tajar.

"This is what happens to spies who enter our land," snarled Tolegan as he landed a kick in Alam's ribs.

The next half hour was a string of pain and humiliation. They were beaten, dragged through the dust, spat upon, urinated on, beaten again, and finally tied to tall posts with their hands above their heads. The tight bonds dug painfully into their wrists, but the worst was their own stench. The smell of sick and urine had both of them gagging.

The sun beat upon them throughout the morning. Many people came to stare at them. A handful of youths decided to improve their aim by throwing rocks at them from a distance. One boy was a particularly good shot and left a large welt above Alam's right eyebrow. A few people shouted insults at them but most looked on them from a distance and shook their heads with pity as they turned away. Only one, an old woman with a bowed back, and a face more shriveled than a prune, dared to come right up to them.

"Poor boys," she said with sad eyes. "Here. Drink this. You will feel better." She lifted a water skin to their lips. Both drank deeply. It tasted of strong herb tea with a lot of ginger and some other herbs that Alam could not make out.

"Thank you," said Alam. "But I don't think you should be here. The guards..."

"Oh, don't worry about me. I am just an eccentric old lady. I'm no threat to anyone." Once they had drained her waterskin she shuffled away.

At midday Tolegan and a handful of guards, including the big nosed guard from the previous night, came out to them. Tolegan pulled out a knife and held it under Tajar's nose. It was a long curved blade set in a bone handle.

"Time to fix a little problem we have."

He played with it, rubbing the flat of the blade against Tajar's bruised and swollen face.

"I am not afraid to die," said Tajar.

"You being alive isn't our little problem. The problem is your stench. It's disturbing my lunch." Tolegan took the knife and cut the filthy, urine and vomit soaked clothes off them. Alam had never felt so vulnerable and humiliated in his life. Once they were naked Tolegan ordered them to be taken down from the posts. The moment their hands were brought down fresh blood rushed into them. It felt like needles of ice. Both of their bindings were tied to longer lengths of rope which were used to drag them to the Laroleh River. Once there, the guards dropped the ropes and pushed them to the edge of the riverbank. Its waters flowed beneath them slow but strong.

"I hope you can swim," smirked Tolegan.

"Not with our hands tied," frowned Alam.

We're going to die.

"What a pity," laughed Tolegan. He and two of his underlings pushed Tajar. Tajar ducked and dug his feet in. He held his ground - barely. One of the guards grabbed him around the waist.

"Get off me!" Tajar lashed out with an elbow. It connected with the man's jaw and knocked him away. Tolegan and the remaining guard grabbed him.

"Get in there, rat!" Tolegan sneered.

Tajar dropped to one knee and twisted in an attempt to prevent himself going over the edge.

"Leave him alone!" Alam shouted and kicked at one of the men holding his arms. It was a weak blow. The man returned the favour by punching him in the stomach.

Tolegan kneed Tajar in the shoulder while the guard with the big nose grabbed Tajar's shirt and yanked him towards the river. Tajar desperately grabbed at the man to stop his momentum. His hands closed on Bignose's shirt. For a second it seems enough until Tolegan shoved again. Tajar clung onto Bignose, and both of them fell, and disappeared, below the brown water.

"Tajar!" Alam screamed.

Tolegan spun around to face Alam. Alam pivoted violently and shook off the hands on his arms. He bent over and charged. Tolegan's hand instinctively went to his sword hilt. Not fast enough. Alam's shoulder connected with his chest. They both tumbled to the ground near the water's edge.

Alam pushed himself to his elbows and looked up. Tajar was thrashing around. Bignose was scrambling to hold onto Tajar. The man was panicking.

He can't swim!

Tolegan's foot lashed out and caught Alam on the chin. Spots exploded in his vision and he stumbled back. Someone grabbed Alam from behind.

"Get off!" Alam spat. He threw his head back. It smashed his assailant's groin but the man kept his grip.

At the water's edge the length of rope connected to Tajar's bonds was slipping into the water.

"Keep him down!" Tolegan shouted.

Another guard jumped on top of Alam. With three on him he was hopelessly pinned down.

"They're drowning!" Alam protested. He saw the end of Tajar's rope disappear into the water.

Tolegan kicked Alam in the ear.

"Get them out of the water!" Tolegan instructed the only remaining guard. "If they drown, Kirill will hang us for the crows!"

The guard ran to the river and jumped in. He caught Tajar's rope and started pulling.

"Let me help," Alam implored.

"Keep him down," Tolegan ordered the men on top of Alam. He went over to the guard with the rope and helped him out of the water. Together they yanked the drowning men to land.

Tajar and Bignose both coughed up brown river water and stretched out exhausted on the bank.

"Stupid Empa idiots," Tolegan muttered. "We were just going to give you a little dunking! Instead two people almost died. Get up!" he kicked Tajar in the side.

Alam and Tajar were pushed and prodded back to the stone building, through its narrow corridors, and were led to the cages room. Alam tried to use his hands to cover his nakedness as he passed the white haired woman's cage. She merely stared impassively at them. Old and tattered clothes were waiting for them in the middle of their cages. Once they were locked inside, and the guards had left, Tajar inched over to the bars separating his cage from Alam's.

"If you get out of here, and I don't," he said in an uncharacteristically serious voice, "tell my mother I died in battle, not like this."

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-Y. V. Qualls