As he approached his bag, he could feel energy radiating from it. It was like heat waves, but there wasn’t any heat; like buzzing, but there was no sound. Whatever it was, he could feel it radiating from his bag which was now glowing even more intensely than when he first woke up.
Like a moth drawn to flame, Mat approached the bag and opened it up. He slowly reached inside and pulled out the bracers. Without thinking, he put them on. As he pulled the second one into place on his left forearm, he was instantly transported to another time and place.
He sat on a white horse on top of a small hill overlooking a battlefield. The battle was intense as thousands of knights in ancient armor battled ferocious barbarians wearing nothing but leather garments. The knights were well trained and fought as a unit, but the barbarians outnumbered them 10 to 1. The knights were skillful, wore sturdy armor, and brandished fine steel weapons while the barbarians fought with reckless abandon and swung crude weapons of stone and wood. He could instantly tell that this battle wasn’t going to end well for the knights if something didn’t change. There were simply too many barbarians.
He looked down at his own ancient armor and knew it was from a bygone era. He wore the mysterious bracers and could feel them pulsing with energy. He felt like they were urging him into battle. He looked to his left and right and knew his legion of men was the last hope for this battle. They were 1,000 strong and the finest warriors in the Kingdom, but he didn’t know if they would be enough to turn the tide of this battle.
Mat raised his sword in the air and yelled “CHARGE” as he kicked his horse into action. To his left and right, his cry was repeated as a thousand horses thundered down the hill into the frenzied battle. As the barbarian hoard saw the new enemy charging them, thousands of them broke away from the fight and ran towards the new enemy charging at them. As Mat neared the battle, a giant of a man separated from the pack and came right at him. He looked to be 7 foot tall and swung a huge wood club with ease. Mat raised his sword and brought it down at the giant barbarian as the huge club swung towards his head . . .
Mat bolted upright in his bed looking around the room frantically. Sweat poured down his face and his heart was racing. He looked around trying to figure out where he was and what was going on. His head slowly started to clear and he realized it had all been a dream and he was safe in his bed at the Roaring Dragon. He looked over at his equipment bag on the table and for just a second he was sure he saw a glow emanating from the bag, but as he shook his head to clear it, everything was dark again.
As he sat there trying to calm his racing heart, he knew there was something special, even mystical, about the bracers. This was the second time they had entered his dreams and he had no reason to believe he wouldn’t continue to see them in his dreams until he learned more about them. Even though it was the middle of the night, Mat knew he wasn’t going to get any more sleep so he started packing up his stuff and prepared to leave at first light.
Chapter 7
The first rays of sunlight found Mat in the stable saddling his horse. Spirit was prancing around full of energy. He could feel Mat’s impatience to go and was ready to be on the road again after spending more than a week in the stable. Mat and Spirit shared a special bond and each of them knew that the other was feeling anxious.
Being able to bond with animals and know what they were thinking and feeling was another one of the special talents that Mat possessed. Just like with his other gifts, he really had no idea how he did it, but he had always been able to communicate with animals in certain ways. In this case he could sense Spirit’s anxiety and knew that a lot of that was being projected onto the horse from him. As he always did, he was able to soothe him and get him to relax with his gentle touch and softly spoken words.
As the stable boy finished loading up the saddle bag with travel rations, Mat strapped his equipment bag onto the saddle with the cylindrical map case, bow and arrows, and shield. Once everything was in place, he mounted up and prepared to leave. As he rode out of the stables, he thanked the stable boy for his help and turned towards the rising sun and the road to Port Ludenberg.
- - - - - - - - - -
It was an uneventful first day of travel. Other than stopping a few times to feed Spirit a little bit of grain and to drink some water when they passed near streams, they continued east at a steady past. Shortly after the sun set, Mat was starting to think about finding a place to spend the night when he noticed a glow up ahead. He couldn’t tell from where he was, but it looked like it might be from a fairly large camp of travelers. It was impossible to tell if they would be friendly so he proceeded with caution.
As he slowly rode closer, he could start to make out some details of the camp ahead of him. The first thing he noticed was a group of wagons that were circled around a large bon fire. The closest wagons appeared to be painted red or yellow and he could see that one of them had a picture of pots and pans painted on it. As he got closer and could make out more details, he couldn’t help but smile. He thought back to his childhood and remembered when groups like this had pulled into the keep at Rolling Rock. He knew that they were a group of misfits that many people tolerated but didn’t embrace, but to a boy who was often left to his own devices, the Gitanos brought stories of travel and adventure that he couldn’t get enough of.
The Gitanos were a nomadic people that lived in small groups of 20 to 50 people and had no permanent home. They traveled the kingdom buying and selling goods, repairing pots and pans, sharpening knives, and doing almost any other odd job that needed to be done. When they pulled into a big city, they usually stayed busy for up to a month helping the local citizens but were actively encouraged to move on as soon as they had served their need. They were a friendly people, but rarely accepted outsiders into their traveling groups and very few ever left their group to join mainstream society.
As he approached the ring of wagons, he dismounted and tied Spirit up to a small tree. He could see there was a large fire in the middle and a lot of people sitting around it in a ring laughing and telling stories. He walked between two wagons, knocked on one of them to get somebody’s attention and called out “Hail to the camp.”
Several of the men closest to him turned from the fire and looked over their shoulders at him, but none of them made a move towards him and nobody signaled him to come closer. As he stood there unsure of what to do next a large man walked around the group from the other side of the fire towards him.
The man approaching him was huge, easily a head taller than Mat. He had a shaved head, a large hoop earring hanging from his left ear, a thick dark mustache that curled up on each side, and a deep tan. He wore a deep red sleeveless vest with a large golden eagle stitched on each side. The vest revealed a strong, muscled chest and the man’s arms were bigger than most people’s legs.
“Look at who we have here everybody,” he called out to the camp. “I do believe this is little Mathias from Rolling Rock all grown up!” This brought a cheer from the camp and several people yelled greetings to Mat.
He couldn’t believe his good fortune. Not only was this a band of Gitanos, it was the same group that regularly visited Rolling Rock. The large man who was approaching him, Arajin, closed the gap and picked Mat up in huge bear hug and spun him around. Arajin was the leader of this particular group of Gitanos and had been all over Solandeus and had also traveled extensively north of the Great Divide Mountains. While most children were scared of this huge man, Mat had always been fascinated by him and had spent every minute he could listening to his stories when he visited Rolling Rock.
“Come and join us,” Arajin invited. “I haven’t seen you in several years and can tell you have grown much. The fact that you are out here all alone is proof of that.”
“It’s been a long day,” Mat replied, “and I could definitely use the company of old friends. A warm meal wouldn’t hurt either if you can spare some dinner.”
“That we can do,” boomed Arajin, “and we can probably share some
stories too!”
As Mat joined the group around the fire, he could feel his worries melting away. He had been under constant stress for the last two days and it felt good to relax by a fire and listen to stories like he used to when he was younger and the Gitanos visited Rolling Rock.
After an hour or so of listening to stories and enjoying a hot meal, the topic of conversation inevitably came around to him. He wanted to tell them about the bracers, but wasn’t sure yet that he wanted them to be public knowledge.
“I decided to leave home after my 17th birthday a couple weeks ago to travel and find my way in the world,” Mat told them. “I heard some stories of mystical armor and that the monks at the Basilica Monastery might have more information. I didn’t have anything else to do so I decided to travel up to the Great Divide Mountains and seek out more information at the monastery. That’s where I’m heading now.”
“That sounds like a fantastic adventure,” somebody said from behind him. Mat turned to see one of the boys he remembered playing with when the Gitanos visited, Banji.
“I wish I could go on an adventure like that,” Banji continued. “I travel a lot, but it all seems like the same thing over and over again. Unfortunately, I have responsibilities here and we are expecting a lot of work when we reach Port Ludenberg tomorrow.”
Mat wasn’t ready to share about the bracers yet so he didn’t really want company right now, but after visiting the monastery, he might change his mind. He wanted to keep his options open so he replied “Maybe after I visit the monastery, I can find you in Port Ludenberg and if your work has slowed down, you may be able to join me on the next stage of my journey.”
“I’d like that,” said Banji.
The camp was already starting to settle down and Mat knew he needed to get up early and continue his trip. He thanked Arajin for his hospitality and promised to talk to Banji again in the morning before he left. He went back to Spirit and removed his saddle, brushed him down, then gave him water and food before returning to the fire. He found an open spot on the ground around the fire and, using his saddle as a pillow, covered up with a blanket and fell into a fitful sleep.
As he slept, Mat dreamt of the same battle he had been part of the night before. Each time, as he charged into battle, he woke from his sleep confused as to where he was. The battle seemed so real and the feelings he experienced were still there when he woke up. When the sun finally started coming up, he was ready to resume his journey and stay out of the ancient battle that kept invading his dreams.
Before Mat left, he shared a hearty breakfast with his old friends and thanked them again for their hospitality. He promised to find Banji in Port Ludenberg after he visited the monastery and see how he was doing. The whole group stopped their preparations to leave to say good bye as he rode out of the camp heading towards the rising sun and Port Ludenberg.
As he rode out of the camp, Mat reflected on the possibility of Banji joining him on his quest. He wasn’t ready to share anything about the bracers yet, but hopefully after he visited the Basilica Monastery, he would have a better idea of where he was heading. It would be really nice to have an old friend like Banji with him, but he wasn’t sure if he would be doing him any favors by involving him with whatever it was that he had gotten himself into.
Chapter 8
Three days later, Mat found himself in the foothills of the Great Divide mountain range. He had made good time after leaving the Gitanos and spent a short, mostly sleepless night in Port Ludenberg before moving on. The trip north after leaving Port Ludenberg was much slower than the journey from Danton. The roads and trails he traveled by weren’t well maintained and meandered to and fro instead of going from one point to the next in a straight line. The last two nights he had found small towns to stay in, but tonight, he was going to have to make camp by himself which made him a little nervous.
He was only a few hours from the monastery, but the sun was going down and the mountain trail he was on was too dangerous to try to travel after dark. He had been looking for a good spot to make camp for the last half an hour and was afraid he wasn’t going to find a good place to camp when he suddenly came across an established camp site. It wasn’t in use, but it looked like it was a regular stopping point for travelers to and from the monastery. He would have preferred to be a little further from the trail, but felt fortunate to have found a campsite at all.
The first thing he did was start a fire so he could see what he was doing. After that, he took off Spirit’s saddle, brushed him down, and gave him food and water. He was returning to the fire to prepare some travel rations when he sensed he wasn’t alone. At first he thought it was the mysterious stranger that had been following him in Danton, but he quickly realized that there were two people out there and they definitely weren’t interested in helping him.
After a brief pause, he continued what he was doing so he didn’t give away that he knew he wasn’t alone. Mat knew that turning the element of surprise around on somebody who was trying to sneak up on you was the easiest way to quickly end a confrontation. Since he was outnumbered his best bet was to end things quickly.
As he continued preparing the campsite, he worked his way around the fire so he was between the unknown strangers and the fire. This would allow him to keep his back to the fire so it didn’t blind him in the dark and they would have to look at him directly in front of the fire. It would outline him perfectly, but it would help mask his movements.
If the strangers were more patient, they would wait until he lay down to go to sleep and try to surprise him in his sleep. He sensed they were anxious, though, and he knew that would work in has favor . . . unless they had a bow and just decided to shoot him in the back, but he figured they would have done that already if they were going to. As he reached into his bag to, presumably, get out his travel rations, the strangers made their move.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here,” one of the men said as they stepped out of the cover of the woods. “We’ve got somebody trespassing on our territory. I hope you can afford the toll.”
Mat stood up and turned to face the two men. His right hand was on his sword belt and his left hand was holding a small crossbow behind his back. In the flickering firelight, he could see both men clearly and neither one of them looked like they were going to back down, but he wanted to give them a chance.
“I didn’t realize this was your territory,” Mat said. “I don’t want any problems, I am simply traveling to the monastery and needed a place to camp for the night. I will gladly share the campsite with you. As you can see, I’ve already got a fire started and I have enough trail rations for all three of us.”
The small crossbow behind his back was his own design. It could take down a man at 25 yards and was loaded with a bolt that was dipped in a powerful poison that would render a man unconscious in seconds. It only lasted about 30 minutes, but that should be more than enough time to deal with the second man one on one.
“Uh, uh, uh. It’s not that simple. You see, you have wronged us deeply and for that you have to pay. I think that horse would cover the damages you have caused me,” replied the man on the left.
“And I will take your sword and the rest of your equipment to pay for the damages you have caused me,” added the man on the right.
“Gentlemen, I don’t think that will be possible,” replied Mat, “because I really need my horse and equipment. I assure you that it’s in your best interest to move on and forget you saw me. I don’t want any trouble, and you have no idea what you are getting yourselves into.”
“Well how about that, he doesn’t want any trouble,” the man on the left sneered as he drew his sword.
That was all the provocation Mat needed. Before the first man’s sword even cleared the scabbard, he had a crossbow bolt in his right shoulder. It hit him with enough power to spin him around and before he could turn back to face Mat, his knees buckled and he fell to the ground unconscious.
“Well, that brings the odds down
to one-on-one,” Mat announced to the remaining thief. “I suggest you forget this endeavor and be on your way.”
“You speak pretty confidently for somebody who is about to have his head separated from his body,” the second man replied as he raised his sword over his head and charged Mat.
The move didn’t surprise Mat at all and as the thief swung his sword down at his head, Mat raised his sword over his head to block. As the blow connected with his sword, he stepped to his right and deflected the sword blow to his left causing the thief to overbalance and almost fall head first into the fire. He recovered quickly though and spun slicing his sword at Mat’s stomach. Mat stepped back easily avoiding the blow then stabbed forward with his sword. His sword point found the man’s heart and he was dead before he even knew what had happened. He pulled his sword from the man’s body and looked around the now quite campsite. The only sound was the crackling fire and chirping crickets.
The battle was over almost as fast as it started. One man was unconscious and the other was dead. Mat stood there shaking for several minutes trying to catch his breath and calm his nerves. Just as he started to catch his breath, he was hit by a wave of nausea that dropped him to his knees retching.
This wasn’t the first man he had killed, but it was always the same after the adrenaline wore off – it made him physically ill. He hated violence, but refused to back down from bullies and thugs. He was superbly trained and was aided by his ability to sense people’s emotions and intentions so, in most cases, he could disarm somebody attacking him. However, in the dark against two opponents bent on harm, it came down to defending himself or dying and in this case defending himself resulted in one of the attackers dying. He regretted that the man had to die, but didn’t regret defending himself.
After emptying his stomach, Mat cleaned himself up and had a small drink of water to try to get the taste out of his mouth. Once he felt a little more stable, he went over to the first man to see to his wound. The crossbow bolt was embedded solidly in the man’s shoulder, but had not hit bone. He pulled it out and examined the wound. It looked like a clean wound so he rinsed it out with a little water then bandaged it up. After that, he tied the man’s hands and legs and propped him up against a tree tying him to it so he couldn’t get loose.
Sword of Spirit (Salvation of Solandeus) Page 3