Dear reader,
I wish to share with you a tale of adventure, honour, and love—one that has dwelled within my mind for years and now finally seeks its place upon these pages.
You should know that my imagination runs wild and is not always patient with small details; thus, I shall at times leave the finer threads for you to weave.
Our story begins in a deciduous forest in spring, in the golden stillness of the afternoon. A luxurious carriage drawn by four horses, escorted by a dozen or so knights clad in light armour, travelled with steady purpose along the road.
As they saw the carriage pass by, three men sitting a few metres away from the roadside took note of it:
– Man, I wonder who is in that carriage. Why is it so heavily guarded?
– Let's mind our own business, Connor. As we said, we do not want to draw attention.
– They clearly didn't see us. I'm only curious. It looked elegant.
– So?
– What do you mean, "so"? Did it not seem completely out of place to you? We just left Anawim where we saw people struggling to make ends meet. Why were these people in such a town?
– Ah, so you are thinking of Alicia.
– No, I am not thinking of Alicia, Stephan! I am thinking about the carriage that we just saw!
Stephan chuckled at Connor's indignant expression.
– It's alright, Connor, you are still young, you—
– What does that have to do with anything?
– You know exactly what it has to do with.
– No, I don't! I am talking about the carriage!!
Before Stephan could reply, the third man, who up to this point had merely observed their bickering with quiet amusement, decided to intervene and keep the peace in his small party.
– Maybe the carriage was just passing through Anawim. Maybe they came from further north.
– Huh? From the border? Why would such a carriage be at the warfront? – Connor asked.
– To escort a loved one heading to war, not knowing if they would see them again. I would not be surprised if the one in the carriage was a noble lady, or maybe a whole family. That's what our families did with us, remember?
Stephan's words suddenly changed the atmosphere, and all three fell silent as they reminisced about the hard goodbyes they had bid not long ago.
After a brief moment, Connor sighed.
– Man, I feel like it was ages ago.
No one spoke. The birds carried on above them.
– Yeah, me too – Nick said.
They gazed at the forest for a short while before Stephan broke the silence, drawing a breath.
– Ach, let's not dwell on that now and focus on our mission; the sooner we are done, the sooner we can go back to them.
As the eldest in the group, he attempted to lift their spirits. They still had a very long journey ahead.
– On that note, are the two of you feeling better? Shall we get going again?
– Feeling better? We didn't have to stop for our sake, Nick. We are doing just fine.
– Be honest, Connor. The two of you had grown silent and were walking slower every passing moment. You do not need to hide it; you both lost a lot of stamina during your recovery. It is only natural after the injuries you sustained. But don't worry. You will recover your strength in no time now that we are on the move again.
– So when you said you were hungry, was that just an excuse for us to stop and rest?
Stephan asked humbly, and Nick smiled mischievously as he replied.
– Oh no, I was actually hungry.
– But we didn't really need to stop, did we? You could have just munched on your jerky. –Stephan shook his head gently, letting out a quiet sigh.
– Man, I wonder what my father would say if he knew you are the one taking care of us, Nick.
– I don't really know your father, Connor, but mine probably would have said that we are both doing our jobs. Knights fight to protect the royalty and nobility, while they serve and protect the people through their rule. In a sense, we are all just taking care of one another.
– Your father would be proud, Nick. – Stephan said with a gentle smile.
– Thank you. –Nick returned the smile before adding – So, shall we?
The three of them gathered their belongings and walked south along the road.
-------
Not long after, Connor and Stephan were bickering again as they walked along the road.
Nick was listening with amusement. It was a good sign: they had recovered their energy and had grown accustomed to his presence enough to relax.
– Why do you need to keep bringing up Alicia?
– Because you keep pretending you are not thinking about her.
– I'm not! I saw a rabbit and thought it could make a good meal with the bulbs we passed by earlier.
– Yeah, just like the one she used to prepare for us, right? Didn't she teach you to identify those bulbs?
Reluctant to admit it, Connor turned to Nick:
– Why didn't you try and shoot the rabbit?
– Because we have plenty of food for now.
– Yeah, but it could have tasted so good. We could just go back to get the bulbs. They aren't too far away.
– Why don't we leave those there for someone who actually needs them? – Nick replied calmly.
– We are too far away from town now. Nobody's going to come this deep into the forest for bulbs.
– You would be surprised, Connor. Hunger is a pretty strong motivator. – Stephan answered.
Connor was silent for a moment, the crunching of leaves accompanying their steps. Then he replied:
– Do you think they'll be alright now that it's Spring?
– You mean Alicia? – Stephan said mischievously.
– I mean the whole people of Anawim! I still can't get over their sorry state.
– You mean how Alicia and River were starving when we found them?
– No! I'm not just talking about Alicia and River! I mean everyone! You saw the kids in town. You were fuming with anger when you noticed their ribs sticking out. They were so thin! And those nobels weren't doing anything for them! If River hadn't tried to pickpocket Nick, the two of them would have died!
– Oh, so you were actually thinking about Alicia.
– For heaven's sake!! Why can't you just stop bringing it back to Alicia? I'm talking about hunger and injustice here!
– Why won't you admit that your concern goes beyond justice? You fell in love with her, Connor! You can't stop thinking about her. Can you?
– Aahh! Fine!! Yes, yes, I'm in love with her. Alright?! Yes, I can't stop thinking about her. Is that such a bad thing?! – Connor exploded.
– No, not at all. We are happy for you! It's a good thing. – Nick encouraged him with a smile.
– And your concern for her well-being is proof of the nobility of your feelings. You actually care for her. That's honourable. –Stephan added.
– Yeah... except there's no future there.
– I think there just might be.
– Nick, we're from enemy kingdoms, we are spies, fugitives! How could there be anything between us?
– Well, if we carry out our mission properly and we put an end to this stupid war. Then you could come back for her.
– If she is still alive by then...
– We did all we could for them, Connor. We left them with money, we rebuilt their fence and helped them get their farm going. It's spring. If we can find a way to end the war before winter comes again, there is a high chance they will make it.
Connor sighed at Nick's words before asking:
– Do you really think we can end the war? What if we can't and then...
– Have you no hope in our mission? Is that how little faith you have in me, Connor?
– No, no, of course not, it's just that... I...
Connor sighed again, and before he could respond Stephan interjected:
– It's alright, Connor, you are worried about her. You are in love, so she's in your head. Use that as fuel! Let that fire burn within you! Turn that into courage. Now you are not just striving to end the war for our people, but for her sake as well.
Connor drew in a slow breath before asking:
– Do we even know how we're going to end the war?
– We shall start by gathering information about what drives them.
– Don't they just want the mine?
– By the way they attack, we suspect there is more to it.
– And how are we going to gather that information?
– We will need to investigate, but for now, let's focus on reaching Bingen and buying horses.
– We're walking all the way to Bingen!?
– Why are you so surprised? We discussed this all—
– Shush! – Nick cut off Stephan's chastisement by placing a hand on each of them. – Listen!
They heard shouting, horses whinnying, and the characteristic clang of metal hitting against metal.
– This way. – Nick walked off the road and up a side slope, crouching low.
They followed.
– This place is perfect for an ambush. –Stephan whispered, pointing out the steep slopes at the sides of the road.
– So it's a robbery? – Connor asked.
Nick didn't answer but kept guiding them stealthily between the trees on higher ground towards the sound of the battle.
When it came into view, Connor wondered:
– Are we getting involved?
– I'd rather not. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves, remember? – Nick responded, peeking out from a thick tree.
– They're bound to fare well. It's armoured knights against commoners. – Connor reassured after observing for a moment.
The dozen or so armed knights in light armour were fighting off multiple people wielding machetes, pitchforks, pickaxes, and other farming tools.
– Yeah, but the commoners have quite the advantage in numbers. – Stephan observed
– And they have a good archer, despite his age.
Nick pointed the tip of his own bow at the young man who had just shot an arrow. It embedded itself in the thigh of one of the knights, dropping him to the ground. Fortunately, another knight came to his aid and slashed at the commoner who was about to smash him with a flail.
Through heavy breaths and groans, the wounded knight broke the arrow's shaft with his hands. He discharged the half he had broken off and got up with the arrow's tip still embedded deep in his thigh, just in time to help his comrade who was now facing the man with the flail and two other commoners.
– They're fighting mightily, but look.
Stephan pointed to the carriage: some men were making their way to it, while their comrades kept the knights busy.
– Are we going to intervene now?– Connor asked while gripping the hilt of his sword, ready to unsheath it.
– No. – Nick clarified dryly.
– Then why do you have an arrow ready in your bow?
While they watched the battle unfold, Nick had gotten his bow ready and was tracking the movements of the fighters down below with the tip of the arrow he had nocked.
– Just in case we do need to.
– What does it depend on? – Stephan asked.
– Who is in the carriage, – Nick responded while tensing his bow's string as the men reached the carriage and broke the door, but he relaxed it when a knight came to fend them off.
They watched as the knight fought skillfully, until a commoner rammed him from behind with a pitchfork.
– Ugh... – Connor made a painful noise as he saw the knight get impaled against the carriage.
– That's a fatal wound, isn't it?
Connor asked while looking at Nick, who responded by taking a deep breath and tensing his bow.
The commoners reached into the carriage.
– Nick?
Stephan asked expecting an order.
– Damn! – Nick whispered as he saw the men forcefully pull two women out of the carriage.
He exhaled and released the arrow in his hand.