The Surprise Party

By the time they made it near their destination, the sun was setting over the trees, leaving the world in cold darkness that chilled the bone. The animals had all gone to sleep, leaving everything in a dead silence except for the sounds of broken branches and crushed leaves as they traveled through the forest.

They had abandoned the road, leaving its safety for a more treacherous route. Worse, a low fog had settled, making it difficult to see where to put the foot in front of the other. A musky smell of wet grass clung to his nose. Rikkard wanted to ask why they needed to travel down this path, but he decided against it. The last thing he wanted was to be a walking ice cube. Not that a cold death scared, of course.

After they walked for a short distance, Kalim stopped. Rikkard stopped right behind him.

"We're here," Kalim stated. Rikkard looked around but couldn't see anything. The only thing accompanying them was the looming trees that stood over them like giants. Rikkard almost rebuttal, but then something moved. No. It'd be more correct to say they floated. They broke off the trees like ghosts, not making a sound. They all wore long, black hooded cloaks that blended with the darkness. Glancing around, they were everywhere. And were getting closer.

Rikkard placed a hand on his sword but Kalim held out a hand. As one of the wraiths got closer, he removed his hood and held two fingers to the opposite shoulder. His body straightened as he got in a respectable stance.

"Captain, I have returned with news from Headquarters," Kalim stated. He pulled a letter out of his pocket and passed it to the mysterious person. They opened the letter, and read it in their black, leather gloves. Once they were done, they tucked it in the flaps of their cloak. They motioned to the other shadows, who stopped moving. The leader, or Captain as Kalim called them, nodded towards Kalim and Rikkard before striding deeper in the forest. Kalim nudged Rikkard, silently telling him to follow. Seeing as he had no other choice, he obeyed.

It was an uncomfortable walk. He could feel the eyes of the other ghosts stabbed into his back. When he returned the gesture, they didn't even flinch. What's worst, they seemed to welcome it. Even as the wind blew gently, he caught glimpses of whispers that danced back and forth between them. Although they were hard to make out, he could guess what they were discussing. Hopefully, it wasn't anything worst.

Soon they made it to a camp of sorts. It was hard to see. There were barely any lights on, so he didn't know it was there until they were at the entrance. From here, he was able to make out a lot more of the camp. Large, black tents were placed in a circular position, with a larger tent in the center.

A lone figure stood guard to greet them. The captain exchanged a few words with the guard. As they talked, the captain seemed to be tense about something. Their whispers became harsher as the guard relayed something that seem to anger the captain. A few nods and pats later, the captain motioned everyone into the camp.

Other than 1 ghost guarding the camp, the rest of them headed towards the center tent. Everyone filed in one by one, with the last ones being Rikkard and the captain. They waited until everyone else had gone inside before motioning for Rikkard to enter. Tightening his cloak, he entered the flaps of the tent.

Inside the tent, Rikkard nose stung. It reeked of sweat and bleach. The room was rather empty, lit by a lantern that hung from the top of the tent. with the only things in their being the people and the person sitting in a chair. Wait…

His eyes adjusted to the light. This person in the chair was a kid, a young boy. Their mouth was gagged and their legs were bound in a rope that pressed against their face. The men in black had lined up against the wall of the tent, leaving an open path towards the boy. The boy whimpered and cried in his restraints.

Rikkard was on full alert now. He spun on his heels, hand on his sword, and confronted the Captain.

"What the hell is this?" Rikkard demanded. He didn't know what was going on, but he was ready to cut down this so-called 'Captain' depending on how they responded.

The captain brushed past Rikkard and walked up to the boy. They placed their hand on the boy's shoulder, who flinched at the touch.

"This boy here," the captain started, their voice soft but stern, "was found spying and sabotaging our food supplies. That is punishable by death." The captain glared at Rikkard from the folds of their hood. "A death you'll be sentencing."

"What?" Rikkard, confused, looked at the others. They were like statues. Their heads faced forward as to not meet the boy's confused looks. This wasn't a joke and they're serious about this.

Rikkard returned his attention towards the captain, his face seething with rage. "Why does he have to die? Can't you just send him to prison? Or better yet, just let him go? He's only a kid!" he demanded.

The captain shook her head. "We're too far from any 1 prison. This is a problem that needs to be resolved immediately." They responded. As they spoke the last words, a couple of the others positioned themselves behind Rikkard, blocking the exit. Everyone else had a hand on a weapon. If a fight broke out, Rikkard would be cut down immediately.

"Will you carry out the sentence or not?" The captain demanded as a hand reached for their sword.

Rikkard eyes located Kalim, pleading for him to intervene on his behalf. To his despair, Kalim returned a cold look and broke eye contact. His heart sank into his chest. There were no allies here. No one to back him up or protect the boy. This was a choice that he had to make on his own.

"No. I refuse to carry out the sentence."