Emma completely would be like dying again. It seemed like such a short time ago that he had gotten her back. To see her captured and taken away was gut wrenching. He had been distracted in the battle as he was surrounded by Stühocs, slashing and tearing. That’s when he had heard her screams. He saw her being carried away, yelling his name out into the open air. There was nothing he could do to save her. He tried to fight his way through to her, but she was gone. That’s when the Stühocs began to retreat. The Royal Guard had been responsible for that, he knew, but he wished that they could have stuck around to help him rescue those who had been captured. But there was no one to help him; no one to follow after the cages of innocent victims. He cursed himself for letting Emma get into the battle like she had. He knew he should have watched out for her more, and he intended to make up for it by freeing her. He peeked around the rock another time, looking for potential breaks in their security, and was happy to see there wasn’t much in the way of security at all. He watched a few guards taking their spots as they made camp. The one closest to him was alone, so that was good. He knew he wouldn’t stand a chance trying to sneak into the camp, though. The moonlight was bright and he was obviously no Stühoc.
The plan then formed in his mind of somehow attracting the guard to where he was, then jumping him for his armor. It was a crazy idea with the potential to get him killed, but he saw no other chance of getting in with the crowd and to his wife. He thought that if he could just reach the carriages, that there would surely be a key somewhere to get Emma out and take her back to Homestead, or any place far from where he was. There was no way he would be able to travel into Voelif behind the group. He would be spotted immediately and turned into a slave himself, and that would help no one.
As he watched the Stühoc, he noticed that the soldier didn’t stand too much taller than he. Perhaps a little bit wider, but not taller. The armor would probably fit, but he had nothing to cover his face. He knew he only had one shot at this. With his left hand he gripped a sword and with the other he reached to the ground and picked up a small pebble. He threw the pebble as hard as he could, and it landed several yards in front of the unassuming Stühoc. It made little noise in the grass, but he could tell the Stühoc had heard it. His head turned slightly, but he remained at his guard. Dink reached down and grabbed another, launching it to the same spot. This time the Stühoc became more curious and stepped forward to examine the source of the noise. Dink threw his third pebble and it landed right at the Stühoc’s feet. The soldier’s head jolted up quickly, searching for the source. He slowly pulled out his jagged sword and marched quietly toward Dink’s position. The half-wit probably didn’t want to call out for help in fear that it would be nothing and he would be scolded. Better to check it out on your own, Dink thought.
This time Dink reached down and picked up a larger stone, almost as big as his hand. The Stühoc stopped just short of Dink on the other side of the bolder and sniffed the air. When the Stühoc lowered his sword only a little, Dink appeared and threw the stone point-blank at the Stühoc’s face. The Stühoc guard didn’t even have time to make a sound before he dropped lifelessly to the ground. Dink dragged the body behind the boulder, not quite believing what he did had just worked. He stripped the creature of armor and began to place it over himself. He tried to examine it once it was all on him, but it was difficult to tell if he looked believable. The darkness was his ally, and he would try to make any sort of adjustments before sunrise. He knew he had to hurry, because soon, someone would notice that he wasn’t at his post. Dink couldn’t afford to get into trouble.
He took one last look at