Free The Tower of Bashan by Joshua P. Simon

clothes,” said Dimwit.
    Rondel shook his head, sure he must have heard incorrectly. “What?”
    Nitwit drew steel, a rusted long sword. “You heard us.”
    Rondel slowly lowered his sack, allowing his good hand to slide under his ragged robes. Fingers tickled the hilt of his short sword. “Look guys, wanting me to strip naked is a pretty big request. One I’m not keen on doing. So how about you tell me what this is about?”
    “You owe us,” said Dimwit
    “I owe you by getting naked?”
    Dimwit nodded as if the explanation was complete.
    “Can you elaborate on that?”
    “Elaborate?”
    “Give me more information.”
    “We wanted your sister. And she wanted us. She gave us looks.”
    Andrasta? “What sort of looks?”
    “Heavy breathing. Small eyes,” said Nitwit. “You know, what every woman looks like when she wants sex.”
    Unbelievable. These idiots tried to hit on Andrasta. Well, that explains the eye and the lip. “Take it from me, that’s not lust. That’s anger.”
    “Maybe, but we went to get sex.”
    “And that didn’t go well, I take it?” I’m actually surprised the two of you are alive.
    “She moves quick.”
    “Yeah, and she hits hard,” added Dimwit, rubbing his jaw.
    I can vouch for that.
    Rondel closed his hand around the hilt of his blade, but kept it hidden beneath his clothes. “I still don’t understand where I come into this.”
    “We still want sex,” said Nitwit. “She’s your sister. You’ll do instead.”
    Rondel’s eyes widened. I can’t believe I just heard that. “You do realize that I’m not a woman, right?”
    Nitwit shrugged. “We prefer women, but we take whatever.”
    “Besides, you are smaller like a woman,” said Dimwit. “Smaller than your sister anyway.”
    Rondel stood straighter, throwing aside his false persona while drawing his sword. “You’ll find me less forgiving than her.”
    Nitwit chuckled and stepped forward.
    Too angry at the situation, and too scared about where it could go, Rondel didn’t bother with dancing around. He darted inside, slicing the Kurk’s forearm. Dark blood ran across pale skin. Nitwit growled and raised his blade. He moved faster than expected. Rondel deflected the worst of the blow, but the impact sent a lancing pain up his arm and shoulder. He barely avoided the follow up strike, quickly countering with a stab at the Kurk’s face.
    Nitwit bellowed, dropping his weapon, hands going up to his right eye.
    Rondel moved in closer to finish the job, but Dimwit moved faster than expected and came to his brother’s aid. Huge bearlike arms pinned his own at his sides. He whipped his heels back toward Dimwit’s crotch and shins, but could not connect with either. The behemoth squeezed harder. Rondel began to yell, but a hand so large it nearly engulfed his face, clamped over his mouth. Rondel bit down and tasted blood, but the Kurk didn’t even flinch.
    Dimwit chided his brother. “Quit crying. Help me undress him. He squirms.”
    “He took my eye!” Nitwit removed his hands, exposing a bloody hole.
    Rondel would have found satisfaction in the damage, if not for his current situation. Gods, I avoided rape all those years on the road in pompous clothes. I never once suffered such a fate in prison. Now, when I’m more skilled to defend myself than ever, it’s going to happen at the mercy of men as large as bulls.
    A muffled whimper passed through his lips and into the Kurk’s palm as he tried to shout Andrasta’s name to no avail. His heart raced. Sweat dripped down his spine.
    “You have another eye.”
    “It hurts. I should go first.”
    “Why? You let him stick you. I should go first. I didn’t let him stick me. I’m smart. I grabbed him when he was distracted.”
    “But I distracted him!”
    The two brothers continued to argue. Dimwit’s grip grew tighter over Rondel’s face as the intensity of the dispute increased. He could not break free. His panic worsened as it became nearly impossible to