Three days later Thom awoke. He pushed the blanket back and looked at his knee. The bruising had subsided to a mild purple and shrunk to the area just around the knee. There were yellow splotches still on his shin and thigh, but it was easy to overlook them. He bent his knee, slowly at first, but realized it didn’t hurt a bit. He swung his legs around to the floor and stood.
“The old man did it!” Thom exclaimed to no one in particular.
Thom marched in place a bit without issue. He then walked around the room some, still doing fine. He squatted, and his knee played along. There was one issue though, his leg was noticeably heavier. He would need to go outside to check, but this did not bode well for running and jumping. Still, he could walk normally, just with some extra effort.
Hunger bit and Thom’s attention shifted from his leg to his stomach. He looked around, but saw no food. He didn’t know this building very well, but he decided to look around anyway. He’d probably find someone to help point him to the kitchen.
Thom opened the door and found the hallway deserted. The floor was covered with a thin rug that was covered in dust. Thom didn’t think anything of it, but he probably should have. Looking left and right, both directions seemed equally fine. Without a coin to flip, he let his feet decide and found himself going left. Thom passed several doors that looked like the one he had come from. He considered opening them, but he didn’t want to disturb any recovering patients. He decided to just keep going until he came to a more important looking door. Several minutes later he came to the end of the hall. There was no special door, just a wall with a crest on a banner. Alright, he would turn back and go to the other end of the hall.
Thom turned and noticed a single set of footprints on the the rug, which he figured were his own. That struck him as strange, that there would be only set. He decided to backtrack over them and keep watch for a second set. Having reached his room, he saw no other tracks. Now he was concerned. He ducked into his room and looked for a weapon. Finding nothing suitable, he decided to break the chair and take a leg with as a club.
Back in the hall, Thom decided to go right this time. Surely he would find someone to explain all this and they would laugh at his actions. He passed a door like his own. He stopped, then turned back to the door. He put his hand to the knob, but stopped. He put his ear to the wood and listened. There was no sound, save his heart beating in his ears. He put his and on the knob and turned.
The room was empty, with a layer of dust like in the hall. There was a bed, chair, chamberpot, and simple candelabra. Thom crossed the small room to look out the window. He saw a courtyard littered with debris. There was a fountain in the center, but it was broken and dry. He thought he saw bones in the distance, but couldn’t be sure. The sky was gray, which was unexpected for this time of year. He backed away from the window and made his way to the hall.
Thom half-ran (for he could not yet trust his leg to fully run) from room to room and found them all similarly empty and dusty. Reaching the other end of the hall, he found a large wooden door. He gripped his makeshift club and then pushed the door open.
Thom found himself in a large foyer with the same crest on the floor. He looked at the crest for some time and realized he did not recognize it. This was not his king’s crest. It was not even a crest of a monarch he recognized. It looked like a snake’s open mouth surrounding a shield with a flame on its face. This foyer was very dusty as well, and Thom spotted a set of footprints leading between two of the large doors.
Thom wasn’t sure if he wanted to actually find someone in this weird place. He looked around and found what looked like a door out of the area. He decided it looked too desolate outside and decided to take his chances with who - or what - ever he found inside. Knights were supposed to be fearless; but squires were not held to quite such a level, and for that he was grateful. He swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and walked toward the closer of the two doors with footprints.
Thom was about to push it open when he heard someone speaking behind the door. It sounded like they were getting closer. He ducked to the side with the hinge and hoped to avoid confrontation for now. The door swung open and out walked a young man wearing travelling clothes. He carried something in his hands in front of him as headed for the the other door. When he reached it, he kicked the bottom of the door. It opened a few seconds later and he walked in. Thom released his breath that he realized he had been holding.
The man’s clothing threw Thom. He thought he was in a castle, but if he was, why was that man dressed for being on the road for days or even weeks. He expected a guard’s uniform or simple finery suitable for a servant to someone important. He looked down at his own long bed shirt and realized that he wasn’t properly attired either. No matter, he needed to continue looking. He stood and pushed the door open.
There was a long corridor that branched off in the distance. The hall was lit by light rocks, some set into the wall, others on the ground. Thom had seen them at the castle before. From his understanding, when they were mined from the earth they looked just like any other stone. But when left in the sun all day, they would glow at night. Very large light rocks were very valuable, as they could glow for longer - some up to a month it was said. These were small, and would easily fit into the palm of his hand. There was a door to his right.
Thom walked to the door and opened it slowly. The room was too dark to see into. Thom looked around the hall and grabbed a light rock from the floor and went in the room, closing the door behind him. There were shelves lined with jars and boxes, but of what Thom could not determine. Some were labeled, but he could not read. None of them smelled like food. Shaking his head, Thom headed back to the door. He listened intently, but heard nothing.
Back in the hallway, Thom walked to the next door. He could hear someone speaking. Not yet. He went to the next door and heard nothing behind it. He pushed slowly and found it was lit with light rocks. He closed the door behind him and looked around. It seemed to be a library of some sort. Books lined the walls and shelves. He went back to the door and listened. A door opened and closed, foot steps receded, another door opened and closed.
This whole hall was probably more learning stuff, it just made sense to Thom. That was always his weak spot. Not that there was much money for schooling, but he just didn’t have the head for letters. Numbers were a little better. He had learned to count to twenty, which seemed plenty. It was conveniently also the number of arrows that would fit comfortably in a quiver.
Thom headed down the hall back to the foyer. He didn’t want to be caught deep inside just in case... something happened. In his haste, he forgot to listen at the door first and ended up crashing into someone. Before he could gather his thoughts, Thom found himself running out the main door. The awkward weight of his brace didn’t hold him back in the slightest.
Thom ran several hundred feet before finding himself in a strange fog. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but suddenly his vision was restricted to only six or seven feet. He turned back to look at where he came from and it was clear. Danger alarms rang in his head, and he made sure he still had the chair leg - he did. The light rock seemed to have been dropped somewhere along the way, probably when he ran into that man. He looked around for a hiding spot while he made a plan, but the grounds surrounding the building were barren and void of man-made structures. He decided to run further into the fog and lay down. At least he would be harder to spot that way.
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