by Adam Watson
***
When Aiden emerged from the house, he looked quite the sight, here was a soldier ready to do battle. He was wearing a grey suede tunic, which was his favourite hunting tunic, matching grey pants and grey suede boots. The suede made his boots softer, but they were quieter in the mud. Over his shoulder, he had a quiver of ten arrows, and nestling next to the quiver was his longbow, around his waist he had a black leather belt with a water bottle, and hanging through a steel loop, was his long sword. Lastly, he carried his trusty spear, the one he had made himself and never took hunting with Greegan.
Aiden took a deep breath and started to make his way across the eastern side of the paddock to where the swampy mire started. Ahead of him he could see his father, Kane, riding a horse. It was the seventh day of the week, and it was customary in the lands surrounding Amalicia City, well, for that matter most of the free world, to use this day as a day of leisure, where one could dedicate the day to the enjoyment of life.
Thus the reason why Kane Thun'dira was riding his horse this day. For there was nothing he enjoyed more than the fast paced gallop of his dark steed ‘Thunder’. It was a pure adrenaline rush and nothing made the heart race or the blood pump faster.
It could have been the fact that Thunder was not one hundred percent tame, or could have been the fact that his hooves sounded like the thunder from which he got his name. It could have been the blood red eyes or death curdling sounds that came from his mouth. It could have been a number of things, but there was no doubting it - the horse looked, sounded and sometimes acted evil. Just thinking about riding him was enough for most people to build up a sweat, but to Kane that only added to the excitement.
Kane was in the middle of a jump when he spotted Aiden, he couldn’t help but notice the amount of weaponry he was carrying. This intrigued him, out of his three sons, Aiden was the most intriguing. He was always up to something, and he was always so secretive about it. Why he was like that, was beyond Kane.
Kane loved adventure though - adventure and intrigue. It had always infuriated Aiden's mother, but Kane loved Aiden’s little escapades and the stories he would tell after the event. Kane had a big smile on his face, he turned Thunder towards Aiden and bolted straight for him at full gallop.
Aiden continued on his way, he could see the swamplands in the distance, it was still quite far away, but he had the whole day ahead of him; he could see Kane riding towards him. Well, that’s just great. Aiden had hoped to avoid his father. Let the one hundred and one questions begin.
“Going for a little adventure, I see,” observed Kane, reining his steed in next to Aiden. Aiden continued walking.
“That’s right,” he answered. “I’m going hunting.”
“Boar hunting? On the seventh day?” commented Kane. “Strange you should choose to work on the day of leisure.”
“What can I say, Father,” replied Aiden. “I enjoy my work. Now, if you would excuse me…”
“Must be some boar,” remarked Kane, cutting in.
“Why’s that?”
“I notice you have your bow with you today, you never take your bow hunting. I believe it was you who said, and I quote ‘It requires more skill to kill a boar with a spear than a bow, because not only do you have to be a lot closer, you only get one shot.’" Aiden was grimacing, he had said that, and he had said it not that long ago.
“Well, yes … I did say that.” He knew he wasn’t going to be able to cover this up convincingly. “But, today … I just thought.” Just thought what? Just thought what? “Just thought … had a feeling actually.” Yes, a feeling’s good. “A feeling that … I might run into …” Into what? A wolf? A bear? NO! They wouldn’t be in the swamp. A boar? No, one boar’s not enough. A pack! “A pack of boars!” YES! Sloppy, but good enough!
“A pack of boars?” asked Kane puzzled, his eyes narrowing. “I didn’t realise boars ran around in … packs.”
“Well, it’s better to be safe than sorry,” replied Aiden. “Isn’t that what you always tell me? Anyway, I'd love to stay here and talk all day with you Father, but I really must be going … goodbye.”
“What’s the sword for then?” Aiden stopped in his tracks, he was now getting a bit agitated. Get off my back old man! He smiled at his father, who in return smiled back.
“Aaahhh, bandits!” Aiden was grasping at straws. Pointing with his finger, he continued. “You never know when you might run into a bandit.” Not really the answer Kane was expecting, after all, why would a bandit be in a swamp, where no-one travelled to be robbed? He decided Aiden was hiding something, but then again Aiden was always hiding something.
“You be careful out there son.” With that, Kane galloped away. At last, I thought I was going to have to explain my life’s story to get rid of him. Why did everyone want to know what he was doing? Just let me do my own thing in peace. Aiden looked ahead, the mire was still there, in the distance, but a little closer now. Soon I’ll be there, soon.
***
As Aiden took his first few steps into the swamp, he became hesitant. The only way to fight fear is to face it and act in spite of it. Isn’t that what you always say Father? Onwards he went, deeper into the mire.
A few hours later Aiden had travelled far into the mire. So far his journey had been relatively uneventful. The occasional slip, a scratch from a branch - nothing much to speak of. Although there was one moment where Aiden had thought he’d stumbled into some quicksand and was being sucked under; when he stopped sinking at knee level, his panic attack quickly ceased, and he cursed himself for being so on edge over a dream.
The landscape here, this far into the mire was very similar to his dream - a little too similar for his liking. The growth was thick and at times had to be hacked out of the way, the mud clung to his boots and seemed to want to hold him with each step, which kind of unnerved him, but then again … that was nature of mud. There was mist, but no wind. It was cold here, unlike the dream, which was hot - despite the cold, he sweated.
The further he travelled into the mire, the more ridiculous it seemed. He had no idea where exactly he was going, or how to tell if he actually got there. Maybe there’s a Minotaur lair here or the talking boar, maybe he lives here. There’s got to be something. He looked around, it all looked the same. Mud, swamp, swamp bush and these damned little ‘bite-me flies’, he thought swatting yet another, he wasn’t even sure he could find his way back now, but he continued on anyway.
***
It had taken another hour of travelling before the first eventful thing happened. It was quick, it was soft, and it was far off, but Aiden was sure he had heard someone scream. He stood dead still, trying to be as quiet as possible; with a hand cupped around one ear, so that he might hear better.
There it was again, somewhere ahead of him, he was sure of it, and so he started moving again. Now there was shouting, he was definitely getting closer. What is this? Ahead he could see the dense foliage thinning out, he had come across an encampment. Brigands?!! But what are they doing this far into the swamp?
He studied the encampment from under a large bush. There were three makeshift huts - a big one in the centre, flanked by two smaller ones. There were five brigands that he could see, three of them appeared to be acting as sentries; although not very alert ones from what he could see, the rest sat around a campfire gambling over some sort of card game.
Off to one side, he could see a middle-aged man, a woman who he assumed to be the man's wife and a young girl who looked about twelve years of age. They were tied up and dressed in the luxurious robes and gowns of the nobles. Probably some Lord and his family being held for ransom - that was the obvious conclusion.
Aiden thought about what he should do, should he risk his life to try to save the nobles? He wasn't a soldier, he was a hunter - maybe he should just walk away and leave them. Aiden didn’t care too much for nobles and their ‘snooty’ ways. Leave them be.
Then again, there was the little girl wasn’t there, and he couldn’
t exactly leave her in the hands of merciless brigands, could he? A part of him wanted to leave them and to walk away, this was not his problem - but he just couldn't. All right, it’s decided … I must try to rescue the nobles.
Aiden assessed the situation, he had ten arrows, a spear and a sword … there were five brigands. A plan formed in his mind’s eye, but as it did fear began to build. He had never done anything like this before, he was excited at the idea of saving someone in distress, but he was scared too, what if something went wrong?
Aiden poked his head up again and surveyed the area, of the three lookout guards, one stood out. He was further away than the rest ... and alone. Aiden could tell from his position that the other guards wouldn’t have a clear view of him from where they were, and if he played this right, he could take him out without notice. He began circling the encampment, he would have to get into a better position if he was going to take this guard down unseen.
Once in position, Aiden took out his longbow and knocked an arrow. He momentarily paused to take a deep breath. All right, just calm down Aiden, there’s nothing to fear here, you can do this. He drew the bow and lined the guard up in his sights. It's just like shooting a boar. Aiden released the bow. ‘WHOOSH!!’ The arrow flew through the air, then there was a momentary ‘THOK!’ and then a light ‘THUD!’ as the guard hit the ground.
Aiden peered around to make sure no-one had seen what had happened. He could see the other two sentries still at their posts and the two at the campsite were still playing cards - no-one seemed to have noticed a thing. He couldn’t believe it; his plan was working.
Aiden slowly crawled his way into the next position. He kept thinking about how easily he had just taken out the first guard. It was a perfect shot. Why it surprised him, he didn’t know, he had been hunting almost every day for the last ten years - but he had never killed a man before. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, in some ways it had been easier than hunting - the boars were far more alert.
Aiden was ready for his next attack, but he knew this one would be more difficult. There were two guards together now, so picking off one like he did the first, was out of the question. If I shoot one guard, what will happen? The other one will yell out, won’t he? And that will attract the attention of the two playing cards.
Aiden grabbed two arrows from his quiver and placed them head down in the mud so that their ends were sticking up for a quick reload. He looked back to the two playing cards, neither of them had bows; he would have some time before he would have to confront them.
Aiden placed his spear down in front of him and looked back to the first two guards, both of them did have bows and if he didn’t take them out quickly, he would be the one dodging arrows.
Aiden tried to calm his mind, he was nervous but tried to focus as best he could. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and knocked his longbow. He drew and lined up the guard who was the furthest away. Hopefully he’ll drop, causing the other one to turn his back on me. He was standing in plain view, and if the guards had been a little more alert … they may just have seen him. Got to be quick!
Aiden released the first arrow, and before it had even reached its target, he had the second one pulled from the ground and knocked. The guard flew backwards, the arrow striking his heart; he was dead in an instant. His companion took only a moment to realise they were under attack.
“Guards!” Was all he managed to yell before he too was hit by a white-feathered arrow; this time in the stomach. He fell backwards, landing on his dead friend, alive but badly wounded.
The two guards at the campfire immediately sprang to attention. Having been caught completely off guard, they didn't know where to attack, but it was only a few moments before they had their swords drawn and were running in Aiden’s direction.
Here they come. He knew that he had about twenty seconds before they reached him; he knocked and drew the next arrow from the ground. Ignoring the two on-comers, he turned and lined up the wounded guard. No arrow in the back from you, my friend. The arrow found its mark in the chest of its victim, and the distinctive slump that followed suggested it had done its task well.
Aiden turned back to the two swordsmen, he knew he had the advantage being up on higher ground, and so should have the swordsmen - but the two men were charging him anyway. Big mistake. Aiden dropped his bow to the ground and picked up his spear, which he then hurled straight into the chest of the first swordsman; the man fell and rolled back down the hill.
After seeing what happened to his friend, the second swordsman stopped his blind charge. He was wary now and approached Aiden with caution; eyeing him as he would any foe versed in the schools of combat.
This was it … the time had come. Time to get out the sword. His father had trained him how to use the thing since he was five and he was adequate with it, but was he adequate enough? We'll soon find out if your training was any good, won't we Father?
Aiden slowly drew the longsword from the steel loop on his belt; making a loud metallic scrape. The guard edged closer, sweat dripping from his head. Aiden motioned the man closer, and each time he moved closer, Aiden would motion the man again.
The guard couldn't take the tension any longer and charged. Aiden reacted out of pure instinct, blocking the attacker’s sword with a quick push to the right side and then reversing the stroke; decapitating the man in the process. He hacked off the man’s sword hand before the body even had a chance to drop.
Aiden looked at the hand still holding the sword, the cut was clean. I guess all your training just paid off old man. Aiden strolled down the hill with confidence, his plan had worked just as he had imagined it would. When he reached the bottom, he took a quick look around.
The campsite was an eyesore. It was filthy and had rubbish strewn across the ground. Farm animals live better than this - it was akin to a pigsty. What in the Seventh Hell were they doing here?
The place disgusted him, and it stank like bog water. It was a blight on the land and Aiden suddenly felt that he would be doing the world a favour if he razed the entire encampment to ashes.
Aiden walked over to where the nobles sat tied up. He picked up a rusty knife which the brigands had been using to eat with and cut the man’s gag.
“Thank the gods you’ve come,” said the Lord. “Please free us, I beg you.” Aiden nodded his head, contemplating the situation.
“Who are you and what happened here?” asked Aiden, in a serious tone.
“My name is Lord James Brackenshire, this is my wife, Lady Sandra and my daughter Phoebe. We were travelling to Talem’s Bend when these brigands attacked, killing all of our guards.” Aiden had heard of Talem’s Bend - it was a small trading town, about a two days ride from his own village of Thorngrove. “After they killed our guards, they took us for ransom. When we got here they took our other daughter Lana into the hut, I can’t bear to think what they might have done to her.”
“Whaaat?” said Aiden, anger welling up inside. If they have harmed her ... Aiden quickly cut the bonds off of Lord James and then handed him the knife.
“Here, you free your family, then round up some horses and some supplies.” Lord James nodded glumly, he looked worried and had every right to be, but at least he had some hope now. “Lord James,” said Aiden causing the man to look up at him. “Don’t worry, I’ll get her back.” Lord James studied Aiden for a moment and then nodded. Aiden turned around and headed for the central hut.
Upon reaching the hut, Aiden drew his sword; he was a little worried about what might have happened to this girl. Was she dead? Beaten? Tortured? The thought made him feel sick. Regardless of what had happened, he was going to find the leader and make him pay.
He stepped into the hut; the inside was much cleaner than the filth of the campsite. In fact, the hut looked almost civilised. In the centre was a shirtless man, with long, dark hair. He was well built and had a startled look on his face. Behind him, lying unconscious on a bed, was a young woman. The floor had a clean c
arpet and was decorated with gold trimmed, fur cushions.
“And what do we have here?” inquired the man. “An intruder? How interesting ... why are you in here intruder?”
“I’ve come here for the girl,” replied Aiden, taking another step closer to the man.
“I see,” said the man, with an irritated look on his face. “And what happened to my guards, if I may ask?”
“They’re dead,” replied Aiden, deadpan. “Just like you will be if you don't give me the girl.”
“How inconvenient,” replied the man, in a somewhat disappointed tone. “You must surely be a real warrior to defeat such fine soldiers, yes?” Aiden wasn’t sure, but he thought he could hear more than a little sarcasm in the man’s voice.
“What have you done to her?” Aiden asked, pointing to the young woman.
“Oh, nothing … not yet … just looked … gazed at her, come see for yourself.” The man motioned for Aiden to come closer. Aiden moved, sword out before him. The two circled the centre of the room, Aiden keeping a watchful eye on the man, being careful not to let him escape from the doorway or to let him get too close. He then looked at the young woman and what he saw made him gasp.
“She is beautiful, isn’t she?” The man was right, she was beautiful - she was perfect. This was not the little girl he had expected, this was a beautiful young woman, and seeing her made his heart race.
Her hair was long and flowing and reached her waist, her eyes held a beauty unlike any Aiden had ever seen. Her skin was as smooth as silk and her complexion light. She wore an intricately cut, light blue gown; popular in style among nobles and as attractive as it was, it only served to complement her natural beauty. Around her neck was a diamond necklace that sparkled even here, in the dim light, and on her finger - a diamond ring. Aiden wondered why the brigands hadn’t taken those jewels, maybe they didn’t want to mar this beautiful woman - that he could understand.