《A Game of Stones》


 1. The Beginning

    He awoke before the sun had risen in the east, pulling his tunic over his head. Rubbing his eyes he removed the crust that had formed there overnight. The sky was beginning to turn pink as he made his way outside to begin his morning chores. He had just celebrated the beginning of his 11th summer, and his father had promised to let him work more in the forge. Painin was on the small side for his age but he figured that after a winter spent swinging a smith¡¯s hammer with his father that in no time he would be like a hero of old.


    He lifted the wooden cover off the box behind the house that held the scraps and trimmings of their meal the night before. He moved towards the small holding pen and began to place the food in the feeding troughs, much to the happy squeals and grunts of the animals there. To the side of the holding pens sat a small hutch that housed the chickens and Painin moved among the birds and removed the eggs he found placing them carefully in his tunic. He replaced the empty bucket and eggs in the box and gathered up the water buckets from the peg holding them on the backside of the house.


    The sunlight filtered through the trees as he walked along the small path that lead away from his family¡¯s land into the woods and the large stream that lay beyond. The buckets swung on the oak staff on his shoulder in time with his steps as he listened to the sounds of the woods around him as the trees began to close in around him. The sound of his father¡¯s hammer ringing on the iron could still be heard from the forge located next to the barn though it grew quieter with each step deeper into the woods. No doubt he was making something for the Smith family whose farm was located down the road to the South a couple of leagues away.


    Painin had always liked Mr. Smith¡¯s daughter Kobi, but for some reason, he could never figure out why he was always shy around her anymore. His father was a smith of some small renown for both his skill and how quickly he finished his work. The small knife on Painin¡¯s belt was a testament to his father¡¯s skill for one would be hard-pressed to tell where the steel and simple wood handle began or ended. The knife had been a gift from his father last year''s Eve, much to his mother¡¯s disapproval for she like all mothers worried that he would hurt himself with it.


    ¡°Mushrooms! When will then realize that I am not a child anymore to be sent out to forage for mushrooms? I¡¯ve seen twelve summers now, almost a man. I should be helping Father in the forge. Not out looking for mushrooms.¡± He thought angrily to himself as he made his way into the woods along the path that ran next to his family¡¯s farm. ¡°I don¡¯t even like mushrooms!¡± He said to himself as he kicked an offending rock from his path.


    The mushrooms were in fact for his sister Marnie¡¯s name-day dinner, they were far and away her favorite food and she would eat them for an entire meal if their mother let her. Painin could almost see his sister helping their mother around their house doing chores and helping with the care of their smaller brother Jack. Jack who had been born 3 years ago had gone from just a wiggly blob scooting around the house looking for trouble to a terror on two legs.


    Painin followed the path to the right when it split a little bit further down the way. He knew of a nice rotting log that had fallen over last fall during a storm and by now should be a haven for mushrooms coming up to the tree he was not disappointed as the shady side of the tree was covered in mushrooms. He took his time gathering the mushrooms setting down his stave and buckets, having decided that since he was being treated as a child, he would act like one.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    He hummed as he cut the mushrooms from the side of the tree, leaving some of them to regrow and placing the cuttings in the canvas sack he had brought along. Filling the sack with mushrooms Painin continued along the path that would take him to the stream beyond.


    Painin liked these quiet moments to himself where he had nothing to concern himself with and allowed his mind to wander far and ignite his imagination. Dreaming that he might one day follow the stream until it met the river beyond and then eventually flowed into the ocean beyond. His mind swam with the stories he had heard from the minstrels, his father, and his time as a general in the king¡¯s army. Faraway lands and the beauties that they beheld whether real or made up carried him along the path as he vanquished mighty evil lords with his sword and slept upon piles of coins and gems beloved as a hero of the people.


    A sound ahead of him pulled him out of the imaginary fight he was winning against a great dragon and he paused looking ahead as the deer walked out into the path from amongst the trees. It was young not quite a fawn but still possessing some of a fawn¡¯s spots and certainly not old enough to be too far away from his mother. Painin slowly set down the buckets and held the staff out in front of him taking a knee and aiming down his impromptu bow at the young deer who still had not looked up from its snack of young grass shoots. He heard his father¡¯s voice in his ears as he continued to stare down his ¡°bow¡± at the young animal. Without a sound its mother entered the path and stared at Painin her large ears swiveling away as she seemed to stare into his very soul, he heard the voice of his father.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t see you. Otherwise, she would be gone. Her large eyes focus on movement and if you don¡¯t move, she won¡¯t even know you are there unless she catches the scent of you. Now slow your breathing and focus along the arrow and listen to your heartbeat in your chest. When you feel calm once more just let go of the arrow between breaths and trust it to do its job.¡±


    Painin just followed his advice and felt his breathing slow and his heartbeat along with it as he looked down the ¡°arrow¡± of his ¡°bow¡± at the pair of deer. Slowly he released the ¡°arrow¡± and could almost see it fly towards the deer. Suddenly the mother¡¯s head snapped around towards him and the pair bolted in unison across the path in a bound without a sound to even mark their presence. With a sigh, Painin looked at the spot in the woods where the two had vanished and gathering the water buckets continued along the path further into the woods. The animals made noise all around him as he walked the path and he pushed his senses outward trying to listen and feel what was going on around him.


    At last, he came to the edge of the stream and set down his buckets and pole before pulling off his boots and whipping the sweat from his forehead on the back of his arm before drinking his fill from the stream and removing his tunic. Painin slowly eased into the water and gasped as its coldness shocked his body and stole his breath. The water wasn¡¯t that deep towards the bank though he did have to move a little further out into the stream to get to where he has placed one of his fish traps. The simple woven basket sat just under the water and had an opening big enough for the fish to swim into but not out of. With practiced ease, Painin removed the fish one by one and tossed them up onto the bank just beyond the buckets where they flopped around, and then replaced the trap under the water after checking the weaving.


    He repeated the process with his other 3 fish traps before he was forced to work on repairing the last trap and reweave some of the parts that had come undone. He was focused on his task, so he didn¡¯t hear them at first, but he became aware of the sounds coming from across the stream. Pushing himself back into the undergrowth along the bank he squatted down so that just his nose up was above the water as he scanned the other bank for signs of movement. Finally, they came into sight of a group of armored men moving quickly along the other bank dressed like no other men Painin had seen in their motley assortment of furs, armor, and weapons. They barked at each other in a language that he didn¡¯t understand as they moved seemingly like wolves hunting for prey always looking around even when they stopped to listen.

 2. Unknown Dangers

    One of the men stopped by the edge of the water and used his hand to drink from the stream when he paused and just stared into the water. He slowly slid his hands into the water and with a quick movement jerked them out with a fish firmly in his grasp. He smiled looking at the large trout that he had caught and slapped the fish''s head hard into the ground before taking a bite from its still-moving body as he began to move along the stream once more.


    Painin continued to hide amongst the plants along the stream and he recalled his father talking about the men across the ocean that used to raid along the shores before King Refaw came to power and drove them away from the shores of the kingdom. If the stories were to be believed they were animals in battle and cared for nothing outside of battle, loot, and slaves. If the raiders had returned, then he must tell his father as they were all in serious trouble. At last, the group disappeared out of eyesight but still, Painin waited and that wait probably saved his life as one last raider appeared amongst the trees at the edge of the stream.


    He was dressed slightly differently from the others and moved along the shadows of the trees never quite exposing himself to his surroundings his head moved as if on a swivel and his bow was held at the ready arrow already on the string. Painin watched him move cautiously always scanning the trees and the far bank as he moved up the stream until he was at last out of sight. Taking a deep breath Painin had not been aware that he had even been holding his breath while the last raider, a scout no doubt, had made his way North.


    He had to get back and let his father know about the raiders being back in the kingdom. Gathering up the buckets he filled them and set the pole into their rope handles and with a groan got the pole up and settled onto his shoulder. Painin carried the water buckets back down the path his steps measured so that he wouldn¡¯t lose the precious water as he hurried along the path.


    Walking along the path Painin noticed and smelled smoke as it drifted through the trees and panic filled him as he dropped the buckets of water their contents laying forgotten behind him. Shock and horror froze him as he exited the woods and he saw his family¡¯s home and their small barn fully consumed in fire. Climbing over the fenced-in field he ran past the slaughtered animals that littered the ground and upon reaching his home the heat of the flames pushed him backward even as he yelled out for his family. The fire roared out of the open door and windows of the house and he ran around the building looking for signs that his family had escaped the blaze but he failed to find any.


    He was filled with a child¡¯s hope that his father would come out and take him into his arms and carry him off and make everything all right. That was not to be the case as he rounded the barn and forge and found his father''s mutilated corpse hanging from a tree by the neck. He stood before his father''s body and noticed the bodies of perhaps half a dozen men laying scattered in front of the forge dressed much the same as the raiders he had seen by the stream. Overcome with rage Painin picked up a length of the broken sword from the ground and began to hack at the bodies of the dead men, he was soon covered in blood and gore as he rained blow after blow on the corpses until his rage passed and exhaustion overtook him.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Painin didn¡¯t remember passing out but as he came awake he became painfully aware of the charred smell of fire hanging in the air. The house that had once been both simple and beautiful had burned down to nothing more than a pile of charred timber. Parts of the building remains still smoldered and Painin picked his way carefully through the remains that had once been his home. Turning over a pile of charred timbers he was overcome by a sickly-sweet smell and he found the bodies of his sister, and mother who had the baby still clutched to her chest. Painin turned his head at the sight and emptied his contents on the ground as he knelt over them and sobbed.


    Later he set about moving the bodies out into the field beyond the remains of the house before making his way back to the tree and climbing up cutting through the rope supporting his father with his belt knife. He dragged his father out to the field with the rest of the family and used part of a sword to dig a furrow into the ground. He placed his family into the depression and then dragged rocks over from the forge area to cover the bodies to keep out scavengers working long into the night. The next morning Painin awoke laying on the graves of his family and sobbed as he lay there before collecting himself and praying over the cairns.


    ¡°May the earth''s mother shelter you and keep you safe. May she hold you to her bosom and may you become a part of the land that you love.¡± Painin also asked for forgiveness from the old gods that he had not been able to help his family in their time of need. Wiping tears from his eyes Painin began to search through the ruins of the house, forge, and barn and accumulated a small pile of items that had not been destroyed by the fire. He placed some flint, a whetstone, into the canvas bag that had held the mushrooms along with some food that he had found untouched by the fire.


    Swinging the small bag over his shoulder Painin paused once more at the graves to say goodbye to his family before beginning to move along the path that lead along the front of the farm and lead towards the main road beyond. The only option Painin could see for himself was to head North towards his uncle¡¯s farm and hope that the raiders hadn¡¯t moved that far North already. His uncle had always been nice to him when they visited, and he owned a piece of land where he grew food and made his own alcohol.


    Painin paused on the edge of the property and looked across the field at the row of mounds in the distance and began to cry. The little farm and his family had been his whole life for the entirety of his life and now suddenly it was gone, and he was alone. Painin almost wished to himself that the raiders would return so that he could kill them all and worse case they would kill him. He began to chuckle at the thought of him facing armored grown men with only his little knife and a hatchet.

 3. Woods and Dreams

    As he turned to follow the path once more, he followed it out towards the main road and swore to himself that he wouldn¡¯t cry again. Once he got to the road, he began to travel north along it keeping close to the edge so that he could hide in the woods that bordered it every time he heard the approaching sounds of riders for fear of being seen. Painin spent his first night on the road huddled under the meager cover of an Oak tree. Cold rain began to fall early in the evening and did not let up throughout the night and he soon found himself soaked with the cold being pushed deep into his bones. Painin debated about making a fire but the rain had caused all the tinder around him to be soaked and of no use, so he resigned himself to clutching his knees and huddled against the trunk of the tree.


    He refused to cry as he lay there in the darkness trying to rub warmth into his arms and legs and sleep didn¡¯t come easy and was only found in fitful bits. Despite the weather, the animals of the night still moved about in their pursuits in the full darkness of night without any sort of moonlight. Painin found himself wishing that he was one of those mighty wizards that he had read about in one of his father¡¯s books, able to summon fire with a wave of their hand.


    ¡°Stop wishing for things like a child! You have to be a man now!¡± Painin chided himself, and his sleep when it came was fleeting and filled with dreams.


    He could see his sister Marnie running amongst the chickens as he exited the woods. Their mother had given her the task of feeding the birds, which she seemed more than happy to do. Like most 6 year old¡¯s though she seemed to do more chasing of the birds as she did feeding them. A smaller form ran around with her, Jack his younger brother. Already at the age of 3, he showed no fear of anything and cried something fierce if he was excluded from anything. Their squeals of joy carried on the wind across the small pasture.


    His father walked across the paddock towards him and climbed over the fence falling into step with him.


    ¡°Did you fall asleep out there? Took you long enough.¡± He said a smile on his lips.


    ¡°I saw a deer on the trail. If I had your bow, I could have taken it and we could have had fresh meat for dinner.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you think you''re good enough to go out hunting by yourself now? Let me ask you this, how old was the deer? Was there anything the matter with it? Was it with fawn?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Said Painin looking to the ground.


    ¡°Until you can answer those questions, you¡¯ll go out with me hunting. You have to help the Great Mother, not hurt her. Now then, don¡¯t hang your head we will go hunting soon I promise. Hurry up and take that water back to the house. Your Mother will be in a state if she doesn¡¯t get it soon.¡± Said his father ruffling Painin¡¯s hair before walking off toward his forge.


    Painin watched his father move across the yard he moved like a man much older than his 45 years, from old wounds he had suffered in battle. Of average height, he carried more muscle on his body than most men, though recently his mother remarked on his expanding middle. His blond hair and blue eyes had been passed to Painin. He had been a General in the Old King''s army but had left service shortly after his death. His father didn¡¯t like to talk about his time in the military, though whenever they went to town the men there all paid their respects to him.


    He slowly lowered the buckets and replaced the staff against the wall, before carrying the buckets into the house. His mother stood in the simple kitchen her back to him, working dough on the counter. Her dark hair and eyes were in stark contrast to his father and had been passed on to his sister and brother. His mother was slim, and it was rumored that elf blood flowed through her side of the family tree. She always denied it saying she didn¡¯t believe such stories, but to Painin she looked like an elf princess.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Painin, are you listening to me?¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­. I¡¯m sorry I was daydreaming.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you seem to be doing that a lot these days. Now put down the water buckets and send your sister and Jack in here, for me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mamma.¡± Said Painin putting down his forgotten water buckets.


    Heading back outside he was tackled by both Marnie and Jack; the youngest new favorite game was to hide and then attack the unsuspecting victim.


    ¡°Painin!¡± Cried the three-year-old before promptly biting him on the leg, launching Marnie into a fit of giggles.


    ¡°Marnie, Mom wants you and the goblin in the kitchen.¡± Said Painin disentangling himself from the two.


    ¡°I no goblin!¡± Yelled Jack, readying himself for another attack.


    ¡°Come on Jack want some cake?¡± Called Marnie from the door. The three-year-old spun on his heels at the mention of his favorite word.


    ¡°Cake, Cake, Cake!¡± He yelled as he charged up the stairs almost knocking Marnie aside and ran into the kitchen a whirling dervish of destruction.


    Painin rubbed his sore leg as he made his way to his father''s workshop, where he was stoking the forge inside. He watched as his father pulled on the rope that operated the bellows raising the temperature in the forge quickly, with practiced ease. Seeing him standing there his father motioned for Painin to take his place at the bellows. Taking a piece of iron, he placed it into the bed of red coals that flared with each pull. Painin soon fell into a steady rhythm just as his father had taught him, while also keeping an eye on what his father was doing.


    Sweat already covered them as the temperature inside the workshop began to grow as well. His father set about pulling tools from the nearby racks so that they would be at hand when needed. Checking the iron and finding it to be the right color His father pulled it out with tongs and set it on his anvil and began to beat the metal with his hammer. Sparks flew from each strike, and a resounding ring rang throughout the shop. His father was famous for saying that if a strike was true the metal would sing, like a minstrel.


    Already Painin could see the metal flattening slightly, under the blows of the hammer. His father shoved the cooling iron back into the coals to reheat, to repeat the processes over again. Slowly the metal began to take shape as the day wore on, his father allowing him to rest as needed. His father¡¯s stamina never ceased to amaze Painin as he pulled on the rope while he took a much-needed rest and drink of water.


    ¡°Not too much longer today. We don¡¯t want your mother to kill us for being late to dinner.¡± He yelled over the roar of the forge.


    He worked the metal with his hammer until he gave it a nod and put it into the quenching barrel that sat in the corner of the shop. The metal hissed in protest as it was cooled fast, and steam rose from it as he dunked it twice more. Still, too hot to touch his father set it on a small table inset with a tray of sand, to finally cool overnight. Painin set about helping his father put away the tools and banking the coals for the night.


    Dusk had begun to settle on the land, as the sun was poised just below the tree line to the west. The smell of his mother¡¯s cooking made him aware of just how hungry he was since he had skipped eating lunch today. His father kissed his mother as he entered the kitchen, slowing only enough to take a deep breath from the cauldron hanging over the fire. Painin knew the smell of his mother¡¯s stew and quickly ran to wash his face and hands from the small pitcher of water.


    When he turned back his family was sitting eating in silence but the house around them was engulfed in flame that turned everything it touched to ash. He rushed to help his family and screamed at them to get out of the house, but they didn¡¯t so much as move as the flames moved across each of them turning them to ash even as he screamed and tried to pull them, but their bodies just crumbled under his touch. The flames roared higher and soon everything was on fire and even Painin himself was burning.


    Painin jumped awake screaming his heart hammering in his chest and gasping for air. He tried to calm himself down when he noticed a faint squeaking sound off to the left of his small resting spot alongside the large tree, but the darkness of the night didn¡¯t allow him to see the location of the small animal making the noise. A sudden gust of wind passed by his face followed by the sounds of wet leaves falling was the only sound afforded by the ghost owl before it took wing again followed by a few pitiful squeaks. The passage of the owl unnerved him as he remembered tales his mother would tell of giant owls that carried off bad children that didn¡¯t listen to their mothers. Sleep took its time in returning to Painin that night and when it finally did it was fitful and full of owls.

 4. Mud and More Mud

    The woods around him came to life slowly as even as the light began to creep into the sky in the East. Animals of the darkness were replaced by their counterparts of light. The calls of birds could be heard as they moved about trees as could the ¡®rata-tat-tat¡¯ of a woodpecker as it searched for a morning meal. Thankfully the downpour of the previous night had turned into a damp fog and Painin stretched to try and get the stiffness from his arms and legs. The rain had soaked his canvas badly and the bread inside turned it into sudden mush. Not wanting to waste the bread coupled with not knowing when he might find more Painin squeezed it into a ball forcing as much water out of it before he ate it. Painin swallowed the lump of bread and fought to keep it down though his stomach was uneasy afterward.


    Painin scrubbed his teeth with the end of the stick and chewed on some wild mint leaves he found to try and settle his stomach, before drinking the remains of the small collection of rain runoff collected in a large leaf. His stomach growled in protest as he set off reminding him that he had not eaten much as of late. Even thoughts of his father¡¯s campaign cooking made his mouth water as he thought of hot porridge filled with pieces of salted pork.


    As he followed the path through the woods he stopped and broke his fast on some berries that he found growing on a stunted little bush and quickly picked the bush clean. Further down the path a Laughing Jay nest was on the ground, no doubt knocked down from the storm. A quick check found it devoid of eggs and Painin hurried down the path trying to avoid the swooping attacks of its owners and their ruckus cries of anger. The pair of birds followed him taking turns attacking him before they finally flew back towards their ruined home. Painin sighed as he watched them hop about the nest laying on the ground and understood just how they felt.


    The mud seemed to magically get deeper in some parts with little to no warning as he moved amongst the trees alongside the road. Thankfully the rains had lessened turning from an all-day deluge into only passing showers that sped on their way. There were almost no people along the road except for the occasional rider that went thundering past requiring him to hide back among the trees. Even so, Painin thought it best not to press his luck being so exposed upon the road in case he was caught unawares and moved into the woods just off the road.


    Time seemed to blend for him as he continued to make his way through the tangled undergrowth of the woods though occasionally, he was able to travel faster as he came across an old game trail that seemed to run mostly parallel to the road. He quickly fell into a routine of drinking whatever water he was able to find from the rainstorms and whatever bits he was able to forage while still maintaining his North direction.


    Painin thought back to one of his last trips with his father in their cart being pulled by their old horse when they had come this way to make a delivery of a plow head that his father had made for Oldman Sebiv who was an old dirt farmer that lived outside the next town. His father had known that Sebiv lacked the money to pay so he took vegetables in trade for the work. He explained to Painin as they loaded the goods into the cart that "Not everything in life was about money or being paid. There were some things that you did for people because it was the right thing to do."Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    His father didn''t often talk about his time before being a blacksmith but whenever they went into town the people deferred to him and sought out his council about different matters. Oh, Painin knew his father has once been a famous man of some sort in the military but to him that didn''t matter to him as he had only known him as a man of solid muscle, no neck, and a large heart. That is not to say that he had not seen his father angry, but it was always directed at the root of the problem and soon gone once it showed its head. His mother had often said that Painin inherited his father¡¯s anger, but he had not yet developed the ability to release it when required as of yet.


    Sounds off to his left snapped him out of his daydream and brought him back to his present and he crouched down amongst the roots of the tree as he scanned the road through the woods. At first, he thought that it was a trick of the woods around him but that thought was dashed aside as a rider came trotting down the road holding a torch which reflected its light against the slick sides of his horse. He was soon followed by some other riders each with their torch and with care, the men and horses picked their way down the road. Painin pulled himself further back against the roots of the tree in an effort to further hide himself outside of the ring of light put forth by the torches. Slowly the men continued upon their way their harsh guttural language reminding him of the men from back at the stream that he had seen. They were dressed in much the same way a mismatch of different armor pieces of different types and styles.


    Allowing them to pass Painin was surprised to see a second group of men approaching down the road either on foot or riding on a large wagon that was loaded with items and secured with rope. A length of rope was attached to the back of the wagon and a group of people were tied to it and forced to keep pace with the wagon as it pulled them along. Some of the people had noticeable wounds and their clothing was dirty and torn. Some of the better-off people helped others to keep up with the pace of the wagon and Painin scanned their faces looking for ones that knew. An older woman fell as the wagon jerked sending her sprawling into the mud of the road and the wagon began to drag her along before the others could help her. She was helped to her feet and forced to shuffle along her body now fully caked in mud.


    More of the men walked along around and behind the prisoners absently keeping pace with them and offering well-placed kicks or jeers to keep them moving. Painin hated to see the people treated in such a way but he knew that he could do nothing to help the people and would most likely get caught himself in the process. He decided that once they got further down the road he would follow them from the safety of the woods. One of the men moved to the edge of the woods and began to relieve himself the warm liquid steamed in the chill air as it arced to land a couple of yards away from Painin¡¯s hiding place. His fellows jeered at him and he replied something that caused them to laugh before he finished up and continued with the group.


    As the group passed by across from him, the small party of captives parted, and he saw her tied like the rest but in the middle of the group. Kobi daughter of Mr. Barnes lived a little bit down the road from his family¡¯s farm. His blood ran cold as he saw that blood covered half her face and hair as she stumbled along, with one of the others helping her keep pace. She stared straight ahead seemingly numb to what was going on around her before the group once more closed rank around her.


    He watched the group as they made their way down the road anger beginning to flow through him. He slowly ceased to be cold as the warmth of his hatred roared through him and he found himself with his hand clutching the handle of his belt knife hard enough to cause his hand to ache. He knew that he had to save her, he couldn¡¯t let her share the same or worse fate at the hands of the men.

 5. Captives

    The men set about making a small campsite along the edge of the road. Some of the men took some of the captives into the nearby woods to gather wood to no doubt gather wood. They left the oxen attached to the cart but did tie it off to a nearby tree where it could still graze on whatever it could find amongst the undergrowth of the woods. The remaining men started to pass out and eat food from small barrels and casks that were stowed in the back of the wagon.


    One of the men tossed hunks of some mysterious meat in the direction of the remaining captives from one of the barrels. The captives gagged at the smell, but they slowly consumed the meat doing their best to get everyone to eat. The smell that came from the barrel was strong enough to make Painin gag as well with its foulness. He inwardly cursed the prevailing wind for not blowing the smell in another direction. The captives returned from the woods their arms full of wood for the fire with the other men following behind them holding their ropes. Once they put down their wood, they too were also given some of the mysterious meat from the cask, and their ropes were re-secured once more to the wagon.


    The raiders continued to eat the food and began to drink from some of the other casks as they sat around the fire. Their loud guttural conversation went back and forth, and it seemed that each sentence or point was punctuated by some sort of physical aggression towards each other. The aggressive blows only seemed to grow in force as they continued to drink, and the night progressed. The captives were largely left alone as they huddled behind the cart in a group for protection.


    The other men that had been mounted came back to the camp where they set up a small area of their own a bit away from the wagon group. One of the mounted men took a burning brand from the fire and returned to the area quickly getting their fire going and one of the men went about placing chunks of meat to cook over the fire.


    One of the men rose on unsteady legs and stood at the edge of the woods and relieved himself noisily into the underbrush and punctuated it with a large belch and fart combination which got him cheers and jeers from the group. He yelled something at them in their language before stumbling back towards his place near the fire.


    Painin sat back within the woods as far as he could and still maintain a watch on the whole group. He had smeared his face with a thin coating of mud to better help him to blend into the woods as his father had taught him. A lump formed in his throat at the thought of his father but Painin fought to keep it down as he would not allow himself to cry. The group had not been hard to follow with their rather slow pace down the road but Painin was covered in a fair number of scrapes and bruises, but he didn¡¯t feel them as his sole focus was directed at the group behind the wagon, and to Kobi in particular. She didn¡¯t seem to be hurt that he could see but her face had a distant far away look to it.


    As it grew darker and the camp began to settle down Painin began to edge closer to the edge of the woods until he was just outside the ring of light. The captives were all laying down except for Kobi who was sitting up where she had been sitting since they stopped just staring straight ahead. He hadn¡¯t heard or seen her say anything except to release a blood-curdling scream when one of the other male captives touched her after she stumbled. The man quickly backed up and continued to keep his distance from her since.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He slipped around the back of the group coming to the captives and set about cutting through the ropes that secured them to the wagon with his belt knife. He was surprised by the man who walked around the edge of the wagon as he was of the boy cutting through the rope of their captives. The man quickly regained his composure and began to draw his weapon when Painin found himself knocked aside as Kobi shot past him. Grabbing the knife from Painin she lunged at the man and dug the blade into his groin and the yell of alarm became a cry of pain. His attempt to get his weapon now became an attempt to keep his blood inside of his body as Kobi stabbed again and again with the blade which flashed in the light. The man fell back trying in vain to keep her from attacking again and again and soon they both were covered in blood.


    Painin stood by in shock as she leaped at the man again who had landed in a heap before beginning to plunge the knife down into the body repeatedly. She screamed as she raised and lowered the knife like some primal animal and continued to rain down blows. Painin realized the man was no longer moving and leaned into her and yelled ¡°We have to go!¡±


    The camp of men came to life around them as the captives now broken free from the trance of the scene before them began to run off towards the woods and were chased by their former captors. Painin reached out and grabbed Kobi by the shoulder to try to force her up but was taken aback as she screamed at him and he quickly removed his hand. ¡°We have to get out of here!¡±


    She blinked and stood up and started to run away towards the woods the length of rope. Painin pulled his knife free of the now-dead man¡¯s chest before following her. They seemed to run forever and to be honest Painin wasn¡¯t exactly sure how long the men gave chase and instead focused on keeping up with Kobi. Finally, he managed to catch up to her and get her to stop running and they slowed to a more manageable speed. He hoped the other captives had managed to get away from the men but in all the confusion he couldn¡¯t be sure.


    ¡°We should get moving away from here and make our way towards my Uncle towards the North,¡± Painin said in a low tone.


    Kobi just looked at him vacantly the blood that covered her beginning to dry making her appearance more ghoulish. He moved closer to her and she flinched as he pulled his knife out before he cut through the final bits of rope allowing it to fall away.


    ¡°As long as we stay off the road as much as possible and move through the woods, we should be fine.¡± He said to convince himself more than Kobi. Painin motioned for her to follow him and they set off moving North through the woods.


    They made sure to keep the road on their left off in the distance as they used the sun''s placement when it peaked out from the clouds to keep them on course. The going was slow through the woods both due to Kobi not being her normal self after being taken by the men and all the earlier rain had not helped to make the travel any easier and they were both soon covered in yet more mud and bruises.


    Painin noticed an opening in the nearby hillside and lead Kobi towards it. A quick check showed the opening to be a small cave that was currently empty of animals though there were signs that it had been home to at least one before. Leaving Kobi at the cave he searched the area and found a small area a little distance from the cave that had a somewhat clear view of the distant road through the trees. A small stream was also nearby, and it at least offered them fresh moving water to drink so that they wouldn¡¯t have to find pooled water from the rainfall of earlier.

 6. The Cave

    Painin busied himself in cleaning out some of the leavings of some of the previous tenants of the cave. Thankfully none of which seemed to be that fresh and consisted mostly of bits of broken bone and scraps of fur. With the cave floor cleaner, he went and gathered some firewood and set about making a small fire contained within a ring of stones. Moving back outside he began to break off branches full of pine boroughs that he laid next to the small fire and began to scatter the rest around the cave floor to help them dry and ease the chilly hardness of the cave floor.


    Painin awoke his body stiff from its position against the cave wall to find the cave flooded with warm light. Wiping his eyes, he pushed himself to his feet and moved towards the small pool of water located in the back of the cave and noticed that it had not grown over the previous night. The water looked gross from the previous resident and he would not allow them to drink from it. He tossed a couple of bits of wood onto the embers of the fire and quickly blew them to life.


    He moved quietly as he passed the small pile of items located towards the back of the cave, and soon realized that Kobi was not among them. A quick scan of the rest of the cave confirmed that she had seemingly disappeared. Painin moved out into the morning and began to look for her making sure to keep as quiet as possible in case something had captured her. He finally found her kneeling along the edge of the stream still swollen with rain runoff.


    Painin stood there within the trees as he watched Kobi drink from the stream and slowly began to wash the mud from her arms. She used tuffs of grass dipped into the water to slowly scrub at the mud. Her movements became faster until they reached an almost frantic pace. Great sobs racked her body as she continued to scrub the now long-gone mud that had been replaced by angry red scratches.


    Feeling embarrassed and slightly ashamed at watching such a private thing Painin stepped further back into the bushes before making his way back towards their small camp within the cave. He decided to pick up some more deadfall from the surrounding area to add to their meager supply of wood. While picking up the wood he recognized the Sebal tree and its hard-to-miss growths that covered the branches of it. Placing the wood down he took his knife and with a bit of hardwood began to cut into one of the branches.


    He used the hunk of wood to strike the back of the knife helping it to bite into the branch and cut into one of the growths. Finally, after a couple of well-placed strikes and the top of the bulge came free revealing the grub that had caused it within. His father had explained that the grubs and the tree had a relationship of sorts both getting something that it needed from the other. Also, when in a bind the grubs could be eaten by people once they had their head and guts removed and were cooked by a fire.


    Painin had only tried them once before and the taste had left something to be desired, but it was silly for them to pass up some food when presented by the Great Mother. He continued to harvest more of the grubs and began the process of cleaning them out which required biting just behind the head with his teeth and giving a solid tug to break it free and pull out the guts still attached to the head. The head and guts were tossed into the bushes and he began to place the still-wiggling bodies of the grubs on sticks which he arranged around the fire to cook.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    About this time Kobi returned from the stream with some berries which she carried in the hem of her shirt which she ate half of with as little movement as possible. The remaining berries she left for Painin before going and laying down with her back to the fire. Despite his best efforts she refused to eat the now-cooked grubs and left them sitting on the sticks. Painin nibbled on the grubs which ended up having a taste that was kind of fruity before having some of the berries the rest he left for the morning. He propped himself up against the wall and watched as the smoke lazily climbed up to the roof of the cave before disappearing.


    His dreams that night were a bizarre group of different moments all smushed together without seeming rhyme or reason. Every time he awoke, he would check on Kobi who lay there seemingly entrapped by her dreams before tossing a couple of sticks onto the fire and going back to his fitful sleep or simply lay there staring at the fire until sleep overtook him.


    They did little during their time in the cave with Kobi sleeping most of the time. While she slept Painin busied himself gathering food, and wood, and keeping a lookout for more of the men that he had taken to calling raiders. When he did see the raiders, it was often at a distance moving along the road heading North. Sometimes when the wind would change, he would smell heavy smoke on the wind, and at night he could see the glow of distant fires burning towards the eastern horizon.


    He harvested more of the grubs and after removing their guts which he used as bait inside a small fish trap made from thin supple branches. Soon they managed to offset their food supply with some small fish which he cooked on the fire. Kobi continued to sleep and barely eat. She only communicated with either looks or hand gestures. Seemingly gone was the young girl whose smile filled his heart with glee when she and her family came into town to celebrate a holiday. She had been replaced with someone that had either been hurt or seen such horrible unmentionable things. He could only imagine the things that she had been exposed to and he cared enough about her not to ask.


    Kobi was tormented in her dreams by the faceless men as they killed those that she loved and then began to hurt her as they touched her. She awoke to find that Painin was sleeping against the wall talking softly in his sleep across the cave. Getting up she stretched and grimaced as her wounds pulled tight. She lightly splashed the toe of her boot in the puddle of water and then tossed a branch onto the fire before walking outside. She took in the night and went into the bushes to relieve herself before returning to the cave.


    There were sticks propped up next to the fire with grubs still on them. Kobi grimaced at the thought of eating one of them and couldn¡¯t understand how Painin managed to do it. She had seen him at holidays running around with the other kids though she had caught him on more than one occasion staring at her. Moving to the back of the cave she checked her injuries as best she could and then went back to lay down next to the fire. Sleep was a long time coming for her as she stared into the depths of the fire and promised that she wouldn¡¯t let anyone hurt her again.

 7. The Town

    Once they left the cave, they continued to head North making sure to keep themselves as small a profile as possible. The rains held off which allowed the ground to soak up the water and make travel at least a little bit easier as they followed the simple game trails. During their travels, they gathered what they could find and ate it without cooking it as they didn¡¯t want to chance a fire giving away where they were.


    They came to the top of the hill that overlooked the town and kept to the tree line and watched it for signs of life. The town looked much as if had during the Spring when he had come with his family to trade before the coming the coming warmness of Summer. He could even see people moving around the town and he couldn¡¯t see any damaged buildings. His heart started to swell as he began to think that the Raiders had not come this far North. He looked at Kobi and started to smile until he noticed her shaking and her eyes wide with anger and he followed her gaze back down to the town.


    There were only men moving about the town and even at this distance he could make out their furs, mismatched armor, and weapons. Kobi raised a finger and pointed at the large tree that dominated the town square and his fears were confirmed as he saw the bodies hanging from that tree. Small shapes moved about the bodies and Painin could hear the distinctive cry of carrion birds feeding on them.


    He slumped down next to a tree and put his head into his hands and scrubbed at his face trying to make sense of everything. He busied himself looking through their nonexistent supplies and sighed knowing he had only two choices ahead. Either move around the town and continue North towards his Uncle without foraging and hope they find food along the way or sneak into the town and find some supplies before continuing North. Both choices involved not getting captured or killed by the Raiders.


    Resigning himself to his choice he motioned for Kobi to stay put and began to slowly descend the hill making sure of his foot placement along the way. The overgrown nature of the hill allowed him to remain concealed for a large portion of his journey.


    The chunk of meat that hung before him nailed to the tree had once been a man before the raiders had gone to work on him. His eyes had been put out, his tongue removed, ears and nose cut off. His arms and legs had been removed and the stumps cauterized to stop the loss of blood. His genitalia had also been removed before they cut open his chest cavity and splayed his ribs apart exposing the vital organs inside. Everywhere there was blood and pain and yet somehow despite the ghastly wounds the man was still alive in the barest sense of the word. His breath came in short labored bursts and he groaned softly as the crows danced about him picking bits of meat from the body their black feathers shiny with blood.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    He looked at the remains from his place of concealment across the road and just sat there trying to take in the horribleness of men. First his family, then Kobi, and now this man whose only crime was to go about his life until the raiders came and destroyed everything in their path. Painin sat back amongst the undergrowth and just tried to come to grips with the enormity of the situation. Reaching a decision, he crept out of the undergrowth and snuck across the road, and took a deep breath before he pushed his knife into the exposed heart of the man who seemed to smile as his entire body seemed to relax in its struggle.


    The ghastly deed done he offered a prayer for the man and the ending of his pain. He ran to the back of a nearby house and tried the door which to his surprise opened though it was dark inside. Looking back, he stole a glance back up the hill to where he had left Kobi, but he couldn¡¯t see her hidden amongst the undergrowth. He slipped into the darkened room and allowed the door to almost close behind him.


    His eyes slowly adjusted to the light of the room and he set about looking for anything he could make use of as quietly as possible. He didn¡¯t like to be as exposed as he was in this house and especially with Kobi being left all alone back up the hill. The room was in shambles with items scattered about and broken. He sighed inwardly knowing that they should have just headed away from the town and tried their luck at finding food. He was about to give in that voice when he heard a sound like a thump come from one of the other areas of the house.


    The door to the adjoining room was closed and he slowly opened it to reveal the kitchen area beyond. He moved about the area placing whatever he could find no matter how small into a mesh bag that was hanging on the wall. ¡°Well, at least something is better than nothing.¡± He thought to himself as he turned to leave the house. Yet another thump caused him to stop and move towards the far side of the room where he placed his ear against the door. From beyond the door, he could hear muffled sounds like grunts and bangs.


    Slowly pushing on the door, he took in the sight before him the bag of food landing on the floor with a muffled thud. She had probably been pretty once. Once before these men came to this town and brought their heinousness with them. Now she was little more than a chunk of bleeding meat as tears rolled away from her eyes and mixed with the blood that pooled around her.


    Pulling his belt knife, he ran at the man and stabbed his blade into his back as he went about his business. The blood was rich and red as it came from the wound and the raider let forth a started cry. Again, and again he plunged the knife into the same area and soon the raider''s bare legs and the flood beyond were covered in blood. The raider fell forward onto her and Painin with a growl rolled him off and plunged the knife into his throat and pushed it over to the left until it hit the hardwood flooring beneath.


    Panting Painin looked into the eyes of the raider as the light left them. His hand slipped off the knife and hurt from clutching it so hard. He looked over at the woman¡¯s face just as the world went black around him.

 8. Caravan

    When the world became light again Painin groaned and tried to for himself to sit upright, but something strong was holding him down.


    ¡°Easy. Your head has been cracked hard enough that we thought you might not awaken. Truth be told you had another day before the Master would feed you to his dogs.¡± Came a voice from somewhere in the light.


    Painin tried to open his mouth and ask a question but nothing came forth other than a croak. His throat burned, and everything else about him screamed pain. He felt pressure on his head and a cool sensation before he once more succumbed to the darkness.


    Again, he awoke to find it dark and felt the ever-present pressure on his chest holding him down. He groaned and moved his head which still felt like his father¡¯s anvil.


    ¡°Here drink this. It is bitter but the herbs inside will help you heal.¡± Came the voice from before.


    Painin sipped the liquid down his burning throat and it tasted better than anything he had ever drank before. He tried to gulp more of the liquid down, but it went away too quickly. Opening his eyes, he could make out shadows moving around in the darkness and a distant moving light he assumed to be fire. He felt as if he was moving as the darkened world spun around him causing him to groan and squeeze his eyes shut.


    ¡°Rest now and heal.¡± Came the voice and Painin agreed that was a good advice to follow and didn¡¯t fight allowing the darkness to take him.


    Once more the world around him was an angry ball of light as he struggled to open his eyes. Finally, his vision began to clear, and he heard a sound off to his left. ¡°Ah good you have awakened again.¡± Said the man with a smile on his lips. ¡°Today we must try to walk a bit. The master does not like for slaves to ride in the wagons.¡±


    It took a bit for what the man had said to him to filter through the pain, but one word instantly clicked inside his brain. That word was a slave. ¡°Wh¡­ ere Ko¡­ bi?¡± He managed to get out though the effort took a lot of energy from him.


    ¡°I am sorry I do not know who this person is you speak of.¡±


    ¡°G¡­irl¡­¡± He managed before breaking into a coughing fit.


    ¡°Again, I am sorry, but the Master has not bought any females this trip.¡± He replied looking down at the ground.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Anguish rolled through him as he allowed the reality of the statement to settle in. He tried to get to his feet, but darkness overtook him once more as he rose and he fell back to the bottom of the wagon unconsciousness.


    When next he awoke, he was helped into a sitting position by the man who identified himself as Oaken and had served the Master of the caravan now for 3 trading seasons. It appeared to Painin that while not wholly legal the trade of slavery it was overlooked in the more desolate parts of the world. Where the lines of borders between countries seemed to blur such as where he found himself now in a land claimed by multiple countries and yet patrolled by none.


    Oaken explained to Painin that there had been no girl with the men that sold him to his Master. Hope flared in his chest at the news only to be replaced by fear at the thought of her alone out in the woods still. Painin explained that he needed to get back to where he was from and Oaken sadly had to explain to him that he was in no condition to travel anywhere as he helped Painin get to his own feet for the first time in 2 weeks.


    Slowly his headaches lessened, and he was able to begin shuffling around with the rest of the slaves as they followed the caravan on its winding path through the desert. Oaken explained that not many would venture into the desert as it was filled with dangerous creatures, natural obstacles, and shrouded raiders that seemed to be made of the very sand. Oaken was a veritable fountain of information and just seemed to delight in his ability to talk to someone, and their time together as Painin healed afforded them that time.


    His only experience or knowledge of the desert was from a collection of children¡¯s stories that his parents had read to him and his siblings. One such story involved a large stone castle that sat upon a precipice of stone amid a swirling vortex of sand not unlike a whirlpool deep in the unknown of the desert. He had also heard of the Haddad a group of nomadic people who followed a fallen Paladin and have sworn their lives to purify the lands from demons. His father had not given much credence to their slaying of demons he could not discount their ability to fight like demons themselves.


    Painin continued to bide his time and improve his health all while watching the happenings of the camp as they continued their slow pace through the wastes. Oaken explained that though the Master had crossed the desert many times each trip was different than the last one. The dunes of sand shifted around them and they were forced to travel on the compacted firm parts that were exposed by the shifting sands.


    Oaken took him under his protection and showed him what was to be expected of him from his time as a slave which included performing various tasks around the caravan. One such task was to collect the droppings from the draft animals pulling the wagons and placing them to dry on the back of the last wagon. Even though he was with Oaken that didn¡¯t mean that he was exempt from feeling the sting of the master¡¯s whip, whose stinging reach came from nowhere and bit through clothing to reach the skin within.


    No matter what he did though he couldn¡¯t stop looking back towards the East and wonder where Kobi was and how she was doing. He knew that he needed to get back to her and get her to a safe place. He just wasn¡¯t sure when that would be.

 9. Night Run

    The warmth of the dunes could still be felt through the soles of his boots as he ran by the light of the moon in the sky above him. The night air had a chill about it and the sweat that covered him caused him to be cold as the ever-present wind dried it. Looking behind him, he could just barely make out the campfires in the distance of the caravan as he topped the next dune.


    Painin knew that he had to put as much distance between himself and the camp as possible before the sun began to rise and made travel by foot almost impossible. He pushed past the burning pain in his side and kept on running making his way down the backside of the large dune.


    Care was needed as he didn¡¯t want to repeat the nasty roll, he had taken down a smaller dune earlier when he had accidentally come upon a snake that had been buried in the sand and had tried to bite him when he stepped too close to it. In his attempt to avoid the snake, he had lost his balance and tumbled down the dune for quite a way before landing at the base in a heap.


    Without warning the cold wind ceased and, in the lull before it began again, he could hear the unmistakable sounds of dogs barking in the distance. Fear filled him and he swore inwardly as he ran onward no longer worrying about snakes or anything else except those barking dogs and those that followed behind them. Trying to cover more ground he ran in the channel between the dunes when suddenly a depression opened under his feet before him and started to draw him in. The ground beneath him vibrated causing the sand to slide down and into the depression which exposed what looked like large teeth at the bottom.


    Desperately he threw his body backward clawing at the sand as it began to flow like water into the depression taking him along with it. Every handful of sand simply parted under his hands until he was firmly stuck, and more sand seemed to pour in around him only making it worse. He continued to be dragged down into the depression moving ever closer to the large mouth. Resigning himself to his fate he relented and simply relaxed choosing to accept death and waiting for the sand to pull him in and under.


    Pain flared in his arm as one of the Slave Masters'' dogs bit down on his exposed arm and tried to drag him back up the slope. Looking back, he could see the dog¡¯s legs slipping in the sand as it pulled and with his other arm, he grabbed a hold of the dog¡¯s leather harness and pulled for all he was worth using the dog as an anchor. He could feel his feet and legs beginning to make some headway out of the sand. He continued his climb up the dog and finally got his feet free of the depression as the dog continued to growl and pull on its prize. Looking up the dune he could see the rest of the pack running down the slope howling as they did.


    Painin grimaced in pain as his shackles bit deeply into his wrists causing a small river of blood to run down his hands and drip onto the scorching ground below him. The blood promptly disappeared leaving only some slightly reddish dirt to mark its passing. Moisture didn¡¯t last long in the desert, not even blood. Onward he shuffled forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    He heard the whip coil backward and then flick forward striking one of the other slaves. Even as the man cried out Painin gave silent thanks to whatever god was watching over him and asked for continued coverage that the whip wouldn¡¯t hit him this day. The salt from his sweat stung the cuts on his exposed back from the beating of the previous night.


    ¡°What had I been thinking? Running away in the night only to be hunted down by the master¡¯s dogs.¡± He chided himself for being so stupid, and the wounds he had suffered at the hands of the dogs and their keeper who had overseen his beating. That beating had seemed to go on forever until at last, he passed out from the pain.


    They stopped to make camp for the night in a spot that looked exactly like the one they had stopped in the previous night. As usual, the slaves went about setting up the tents and went about their nightly chores like starting small fires using the dried and hardened poop of the draft animals. The task of cooking the food was handled by the camp cook and he oversaw all aspects of the food prep, the slaves would be allowed to clean off the remains of the plates once the choicer scraps were fed to the master¡¯s hounds.


    As Painin went about helping some of the other slaves set up a tent the hound master approached him his ever-present whip coiled in his hand. The man was covered in hair much like his prized hounds and seemed to growl at everything around him. He held a water skin still dripping from being filled from the water barrels on one of the wagons.


    ¡°Going to run tonight boy?¡± He asked squeezing the whip in his hand hard enough for the leather to creak.


    ¡°No sir.¡±


    ¡°Pity. Me dogs could use another run tonight, or maybe we just let you go, and the desert can have ya. Hard way to die that, the juices of your body are sucked out of ya by the sun. Or even better let you meet the Kra''gorn again I understand they don''t like to let a meal get away.¡± He remarked laughing before walking away in search of someone else to harass. Oaken moved in the distance his stride short as he recovered from the beating that he had also incurred as a result of Painin running off. The master did not believe that he did not know what was going to happen. He felt bad about that as he had been nothing but nice to him and he hadn¡¯t realized his choice might have ramifications for anyone else.


    The days passed much as they had before with the group of slaves walking from dawn to dusk while the non-slaves rode in covered wagons or open carts depending upon their station. Each day seemed to blend into a pattern of breaking camp, walking all day, making camp, and sleeping. When they needed to refill their water they would travel to a nearby water source listed on a map that was held by the master. They would top off the barrels as needed and leave behind some sort of payment under a large tarp near the well for the Haddad. Painin¡¯s cuts slowly healed and he found himself being touched by the whip less and less, if only because he tried to stay just ahead of the group pace. Oaken still kept his distance from him and he guessed that their short-lived friendship was at an end.


    When the slave caravan finally reached the end of the desert and the distant peaks had become close enough to no longer look like distant hills a group of mounted soldiers met up with them from the nearby garrison. The dusty group of soldiers approached and eyed the group warily as one approached and spoke with the slave master informing him that they would have to be escorted to the garrison and their goods assessed for taxes and contraband. The slave master quietly appraised the situation and agreed to follow the guardsmen and motioned for his guards to stand down though you could see he wasn¡¯t happy with the situation. He had been banking on avoiding the roaming guards and not having to pay taxes.

 10. Trading for Keeps

    After two days of slow travel, the caravan now moved even slower than it ever had during their time in the desert mostly due to the Master dragging his feet in hopes something else would happen drawing the soldier¡¯s attention away from the caravan. The caravan guards were more on edge as they kept a watchful eye on the soldiers who in turn also kept an eye on everyone in the caravan. The two groups kept their distance from each other during their traveling with half the soldiers riding in the front and half in the back. When they would make camp they also stayed apart with everyone keeping to their campfire.


    They approached the town with the defensive keep built in the middle and the Master finally quickened the pace of the caravan as he seemingly accepted his fate now that the massive building was finally in sight. The building was the largest one that Painin had ever seen. It was of a very simple design by building standards and consisted of a large ringed building with a single tower.


    It did boast an entire trading town that resided just outside the walls of the keep stretching out where ever people could build their buildings. It was a place for merchants and vendors to sell their goods to those in the keep as well as those that traveled here. The caravan rumbled down the hard-packed dirt roads as they made their way through the streets heading towards the keep and its large doors that were open. Guards stood in place near the doors and could also be seen walking the walkways above keeping a view of the road below.


    Upon their arrival, the caravan was brought into the courtyard of the keep proper to be inspected by the tax appraiser. He was a small mousy man who talked in quiet tones to another young man who looked disturbingly like a ferret. Every time that mouse spoke ferret scribbled furiously on a tablet that he held secured by a string around his neck. The tax appraiser inspected and counted seemingly everything from their draft animals to their carts and even the slaves.


    The slave master gave leave for Oaken and some others of the caravan to restock their supplies for the rest of their trip to the coastal city of A-Sha and the slave port that awaited them there. One of the wagon drivers selected Painin and a few of the other slaves to come with him and carry back goods. There were many things from strange and foreign lands like colorful birds, animals that had long necks, and people of every color.


    He even passed a vendor that was trying to sell a sickly half-orc who cried out.


    ¡°He was a bloodthirsty killer that can do the work of three men.¡±


    Though all the creature looked like to Painin was sickly and sad standing there chained to a large stone block. With a prod of a sharp stick, the half-orc roared in rage and shook his chained fists at the small gathered crowd causing them to gasp and step back. Painin looked at the chains that bound the half-orc and then at his chains and felt a pang of connection as their eyes met.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Upon their arrival back inside the keep with their goods, Painin saw the Slave Master arguing with a well-dressed soldier and the tax appraiser who simply looked ill. Judging by the differences in his uniform Painin took him to be someone of importance. The Slave Master gestured wildly to the man who ever so often would turn to the appraiser who would say something followed by more wild gesturing by the Slave Master as the cycle continued.


    Soon a deal of sorts seemed to be struck as the Slave Master motioned his men over to take the soldier to where the slaves were waiting quietly. The Hound Master motioned for the soldier to follow him and took him over to the slaves. The man looked over the slaves with a practiced eye of someone used to looking over people to figure out their worth, until he stopped in front of Painin.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want him. To young and scrawny.¡± Said the Hound Master.


    ¡°They are all scrawny.¡± Replied the soldier. ¡°Can you understand me, boy?¡± He asked him.


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Painin responded.


    ¡°Hmmm. Can you read and write?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± With every response, the Hound Master stared daggers at him, and his hand tightened even more on the whip which creaked under the strain.


    ¡°Very well I¡¯ll take him and the other one.¡± The soldier told the Hound Master.


    ¡°Follow me, boy.¡± He said to Painin in a tone that spoke of control and he shuffled after him trying to keep up with his long strides.


    The caravan left soon after Painin was taken inside the Keep to a room that was lined by shelves and held clothes by a young soldier who said his name was Marki. He had his shackles removed by Marki and he instructed Painin to underdress and sluice himself off from a bucket that sat on the floor. He undressed and moved over to one of the buckets of water that sat against the wall. As he ladled water over his head, he could feel the dirt and grime from the desert fall from his body and roll down the slightly sloped floor, and run down and away through a hole in the stone floor.


    Painin took the offered clothes from Marki and looked at them and their simple but well-made construction. After getting dressed he followed Marki through a large room that contained many beds and a staircase up to an office which was located on the third floor. The door was flanked by two soldiers who stood with their hands upon their sword hilts as Mark approached and rapped his knuckles on the door hard enough to echo.


    A voice called out from inside for them to enter and they opened the door and walked through. Massive bookshelves lined the walls of the office either filled with books, papers, or some sort of trinket. The rest of the room was nothing spectacular and was dominated by a large desk that was covered in piles of papers. Mark saluted smartly his heels clicking together and Painin once more found himself in front of the Soldier from the courtyard who was now seated behind the desk looking over a document.

 11. For Keeps

    ¡°Good, the clothes fit you well enough.¡± Said the Soldier as he placed the document on top of a pile of other documents.


    ¡°I am Garrison Commander Novil. Now let me explain something to you. First, as of right now, you are free and yet not free. You see the King doesn¡¯t like slavery but understands it is a necessary evil. Second, you are not free because you were used to pay off a debt owed to the king and as such you are beholding to him until that debt is repaid. Third you will be required to learn at least one skill or trade during your time here so that when you eventually leave you will be able to live. I know that is a lot to take in, but do you have any questions?¡±


    ¡°Only one Milord. What is to be my job here sir?¡±


    ¡°Well since you can read and write you may help the Tax Appraiser and our Battle Mage if he so desires, you could also be my valet.¡± The Commander replied.


    ¡®Now Marki here will see to your needs and getting you a place to sleep and a tour of the keep. Dismissed.¡±


    Marki clicked his heels together and exited the room with Painin following close on his heels. Painin rushed to match his pace to that of Marki.


    ¡°Your room will be on the second floor here it won¡¯t be big, but it will be yours. Which is a fair sight better than being with the enlisted downstairs in the hall. Also, on this floor are the officer¡¯s rooms and those of the senior clerks and their assistants. The Battle Mage keeps his rooms on the third floor down the other side of the Commander¡¯s office and room.¡± Said Marki motioning with his hands in the general direction of things as he went over them.


    Marki gave Painin a quick tour of the Garrison which included seemingly everything of note including the locations of the privies and a quick rating of their preference. They ended up in the courtyard which looked much larger now that the caravan has left.


    ¡°Beyond the gate and wall is the trade town of Wildrest. You do not have access to the town and the guards will stop you if you try to leave the Keep proper. Now follow me back to your room assignment.¡±


    Painin followed him back inside and upstairs to the second floor and a door that looked like every other door. Which he promptly opened revealing the inside.


    ¡°Now I will depart and leave you to your room so I can see to my other duties. If you have any issues, we will square them away on the morrow.¡± He nodded to him before he turned and walked off at a brisk pace leaving him standing in the hallway alone. With a deep sigh, Painin entered the room and seemingly the entire past month caught up to him. He sat on the edge of the bed frame and cried until he fell asleep.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    After a few wrong turns, Painin found the Sword Master¡¯s forge and the training yard. He followed the sounds of metal ringing on metal as he approached the ring. He watched the dazzling patterns the swords made as the men moved around the training ring. They looked to Painin to be almost dancing with each other as they flowed around the ring their blows coming in patterns. He lost track of the time as he stood there watching the men work before realizing that a voice from his side called out.


    ¡°No standing around watching lad, either pick up a sword and join in or move on about your way.¡± Said a man of middle years who was dressed in Eastern clothes his hands clasped behind his back.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir. I was just enjoying their grace. I am supposed to meet Master Nich here to begin to learn the sword, sir.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Master Nich and here you will learn everything that I can fill your head with regarding weaponry if you show any aptitude. Now follow me and I will get a feel for your skill level.¡±


    They entered a little building located off the forge where weapons of all kinds were hung on the walls.


    ¡°Here try this one.¡± Said Master Nich choosing a wooden sword from a barrel of different-sized wooden swords.


    ¡°But it is wood, sir.¡± Stammered Painin as he held the sword in his hand before him.


    ¡°Even a wood sword can kill lad. Now hold the hilt of the swords like you would an egg, not too firm but also not too soft. There you go, now give it a few swings to get a feel for the balance of it. It is wooden but it is weighted to feel like a regular sword.¡± Said Master Nich moving back a few paces as he watched Painin swing the wooden sword back and forth through the air a few times.


    ¡°How does it feel to you?¡±


    ¡°Like a big wooden knife sir. Not very heavy.¡± Answered Painin beginning to feel slightly embarrassed.


    ¡°Well let¡¯s see how well you use your ¡®knife¡¯ then.¡± Said Master Nich as he pulled a different wooden sword from the barrel.


    ¡°Now come at me and try to hit me.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to hit you, sir. You are a master swordsman.¡±


    ¡°Well with that type of attitude you are right you won¡¯t, but if you don¡¯t try you will not be allowed to train in anything at all, least of all the sword.¡±


    Painin charged the sword master his wooden sword leading the way and Master Nich deflected his attacks seemingly without any effort no matter how hard he swung the sword.


    ¡°Tell me does your father know that you dishonor him with your lack of skill?¡± Asked the Master parrying the blade with his own sword.


    Rage filled Painin as he began to swing the sword with reckless abandon. He was no longer trying to simply hit the sword master he was trying to hurt him. Through for every swing he made against the master two or sometimes three returned with light touches of the wooden blade landing on his arms, legs, and even chest. The small counter hits only seemed to enrage Painin further as he threw all his strength now behind every attack and Master Nich quickly disarmed him with a quick but wide-sweeping motion that sent the practice sword flying. Painin balled up his fists and advanced upon the Master.


    ¡°Calm down now. I only said that to you to see how easy to anger you are to provoke. I apologize for doing so.¡± Master Nich bowed before him.


    ¡®You would be a good fighter with some training if you could learn how to harness that anger of yours but remember strength of body alone does not make a good fighter, your strength of mind does.¡±


    With that, he walked over and picked up the wooden sword and replaced them both into the barrel before walking back out into the training yard leaving Painin alone in the room.

 12. Making Friends

    Painin did not expect himself to be in the presence of Garrison Commander Novil but here he was listening to the Tax Appraiser continue to yell about him and how stupid he was. To his credit, the Commander tried to listen but eventually had to cut the man off.


    ¡°Appraiser Johnson please calm down. I understand that you are upset, and I will mark up the yelling to that, but I will not allow you to carry on like this, especially towards me.¡± His tone left no doubt about the outcome if it didn¡¯t stop.


    The mouse-faced man sputtered but managed to stem the flow of words with a hard sigh and nod of his head towards the Commander. Ferret''s face just stood directly behind him shaking his face looking like a plum with how hard his face was scrunched up.


    ¡°Now the simple fix to this problem that I can see is for Painin to no longer assist you going forward which will fix our problem.¡±


    ¡°He challenged my count!¡± he screeched shaking his hands and staring daggers at the boy.


    ¡°Yes, and I can understand that this may be upsetting to you, but I am confident that he did not mean to do so. At least not to insult you in that manner. With that being said I will deal with the issue concerning him. Now know it will be dealt with.¡±


    Appraiser Johnson nodded his head and shot Painin a disagreeable look as he turned and walked out the door with Ferret''s face following close on his heels. Once the door closed Painin started to open his mouth but Commander Novil raised his hand and stopped him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry lad. We aren¡¯t going to flog you over something as stupid as this. He drives me crazy with all of his antics. So, going forward you will do your best to avoid Appraiser Johnson. You will report to Battle Mage Pierce now and assist him in whatever he requires of you. Dismissed.¡±


    Painin nodded and turned leaving through the door and nodding to the guards on duty before heading down the corridor in the direction that lead towards the only tower that the keep boasted. He approached the heavy oaken door and felt a decisive chill in the hallway around him the closer that he got. He raised a hand and tapped on the door. He waited for a bit before knocking on the door harder. Hearing nothing in rely and finding the door locked from the inside he turned to walk away when he heard it.


    The click and creak of the door opening outward seemingly of its own volition. He returned to the door and called out through the opening trying to hide the slight tremble in his voice.


    ¡°Battle Mage? Garrison Commander Novil told me that I was to report to you and assist you in whatever you need.¡± Only silence greeted him from inside the room and he could see nothing but darkness inside the room. The door creaked open further as he stood there exposing more darkness beyond.


    ¡°Battle Mage?¡± He called moving closer to the door and poking his head inside the darkened room. The inside was black like liquid ink and he strained to see anything inside. Slowly he slid in through the opening until he was standing fully in the darkness when suddenly the door behind him swung shut with a loud bang. Torches and candles flared to life around the room which was covered in a multitude of seemingly ancient garbage tossed around the room.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Reaching back behind him he tried to open the door but found it to be stuck firm. A thick layer of dust covered everything in the room, and it looked as if nothing had been moved in the room in 100 years.


    ¡°Battle¡­ Mage?¡± He stepped further into the room his footsteps disturbing the dust on the floor and sending up little clouds as he moved about and peered around the room. With wide eyes, he took in the items of the room which contained everything from books, dissected animals, and even a pot that bubbled on a stand over a small fire with a blue flame. The smell that came from the pot smelled like onions and other spices and set his stomach growling.


    Moving closer to it he stopped and felt his gaze being drawn to a corner of the room where an old chair was covered by a pile of books haphazardly stacked up and covered by dust and spider webs. He didn¡¯t know what it was about the corner but once his eyes hit it he couldn¡¯t stop looking at the area and moved closer to inspect it. Suddenly a massive wind swept through the room stirring up the dust that lay everywhere.


    He closed his eyes and began to sneeze, and he felt as if he was being pushed out the now-open door behind him into the hallway. He recovered from sneezing and spun just as the door closed itself with an audible click and the only thing that alluded to it having been opened was the fine layer of dust that now covered the hallway in front of the door. Painin was confused and slightly afraid of what had just happened, and he walked backward away from the door.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what had happened, but he found himself suddenly very excited by the weird display of power that he had witnessed. Inside the room, the pile of books on the chair dissolved leaving a man of middling years sitting on the chair a pipe clenched between his teeth as he continued to look over the open book on the table.


    ¡°Interesting¡­ Most interesting¡­¡± He mumbled to himself as he looked up at the now-closed door before going back to reading the tome in front of him and taking a drag off his pipe.


    ¡°Very interesting¡­¡±


    Again, and again came the attacking blows, they rained in like hammer strikes from all sides as if trying to beat an anvil into submission. Painin attacked with all the strength that he could muster but no matter what he could not get past the sword master¡¯s defenses. His sword seemed to be an extension of his arm, striking out like a snake, with unprecedented strength. The Master performed these attacks while all the while moving his feet and body in perfect rhythm like a complex dance. Flowing from attack to block, to attack, and back to parry without changing the dance.


    ¡°Remember your forms, flow through them.¡± Said Master Nich from behind his blurring wall of defense.


    ¡°Don¡¯t attack blindly, you only leave yourself open to a counterattack.¡± As if to prove his point he whacked Painin in the thigh with the wooden practice sword with a meaty thwack.


    ¡°Strength alone will not defeat a skilled opponent, you must be strong but also be flexible like the willow to avoid taking strikes.¡± He punctuated the statement by striking him in his unprotected side. Painin grunted with the pain of the blow and redoubled his attacks trying to relieve the Master of his head. Master Nich¡¯s sword speedup and struck out three times in rapid succession tapping Painin on the head, torso, and thigh as Painin drew back his sword for another attack.


    ¡°You move like an Ox. I grow tired of striking you.¡± Master Nich¡¯s sword shot forward connecting with Painin¡¯s wrist and the wooden blade fell from his now numb grasp.


    ¡°Now then go and tend to your other duties after you complete your laps and try not to be late tomorrow for our lesson.¡± Said Master Nich as he bowed and entered his private chambers. Painin stooped to pick up his practice sword and replaced it in the bin before he made his way outside to the practice yard to begin his run.

 13. Mages in Stages

    Painin found himself standing in front of the oaken door once more and with a deep sigh reached out and rapped upon the door. In his head, he counted to 20 slowly and hearing nothing rapped again harder this time. Once more the door opened of its own accord this time fully swinging open exposing the room within. Painin moved to the doorway and called out.


    ¡°Battle Mage are you here?¡±


    A noise came from the room that he couldn¡¯t make out, so he stuck his head into the room and saw something that he had never seen before. In the center of the room, a large circle lay on the floor with a middle-aged man kneeling outside of the circle applying paint to it.


    ¡°Battle Mage¡­¡±


    ¡°Shhhhh!¡± Replied the man without taking his eyes off his work. Painin stood there and watched him apply more paint before he finally put the brush into the bowl and sat up. Getting up to his feet he placed the bowl onto a table before walking around the circle and pouring something into his hand. He mumbled something and tossed what looked like sand into the middle of the circle a small explosion happened, and purple lightning shot around the circle illuminating all kinds of shapes inside it.


    Painin jumped back as the floor in the middle of the circle began to turn into some kind of liquified silver metal. The liquid spread out from the center and stopped at the circle which now glowed with a purple light that seemed to pulse. The man stood there with his arms pointing towards the circle as he recited what sounded like gibberish to Painin. An invisible hot wind seemed to come from up out of the circle and it smelled of rotten eggs while it blew their hair and clothes around.


    ¡°Come forth and heed my call¡­ arise.¡± He called and the shiny metal began to move almost as if something was trying to push its way out from under it. A bulge began to form in the metal until it reached about 3 feet tall and suddenly it almost popped and there suddenly stood a 2.5-foot tall little rough rock man. Painin just stood there in shock as the man began to speak more gibberish and the little rock person turned its red eyes towards him. It answered him in the same gibberish and motioned with its arms.


    ¡°Grab me the bottle on the table made of rock.¡± The man called over his shoulder and it took a couple of seconds for Painin to realize that he was talking to him. Looking around he grabbed the bottle off the table and was surprised by the weight of the empty bottle. Without a word, the man took the bottle and tossed it toward the little rock man who caught it and placed it on the ground before him. The little man-shaped rock grabbed ahold of its left arm and twisted breaking it free from its body and red-hot material began to pour out and into the bottle.


    As the bottle filled it began to glow a deep orange color and once filled the little man pushed the arm back against his body and it reattached without showing that it had ever been apart. The man said something more in the gibberish before tossing a small sack towards the Rockman who slowly began to sink through the metal floor and disappear once more.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The circle stopped glowing and the metal flowed back into the center of the ring and returned to sand. With a sudden wave of his hand and more gibberish a cold gust of wind shot forth and blew the remains of the circle away leaving only the bottle on the floor which he carefully picked up and replaced upon the table. The man turned to face Painin for the first time and smiled at him


    ¡°Want some water?¡± He asked filling a simple metal cup from a pitcher and offering it to Painin. Painin took a drink and found himself finishing the cup of liquid without stopping. He stared at the cup and marveled at how amazing the water tasted. The man drank from his own cup taking small sips as he looked at Painin.


    ¡°I am Battle Mage Pierce. You must be Painin, Commander Novil told me that I could expect you. First time ever seeing a rock elemental?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ sir.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me sir at least not in here. It makes me think that my father is standing behind me.¡± He took another sip from his cup.


    ¡°What did you see?¡±


    ¡°Sir¡­¡± The Battle Mage stopped him with a raised finger.


    ¡°Master Pierce, I saw you painting the floor and then you tossed sand into it and everything lit up with purple lightning.¡± He answered correcting his mistake.


    ¡°You saw purple light? How interesting especially with one so young. Tell me could you understand what we were saying?¡±


    ¡°No s¡­ Master.


    ¡°Tell me the first time you came here why did you stare at the chair that was covered in books?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure sir there just seemed to be something wrong about it and then the wind started up.¡±


    ¡°It was no simple bit of magic that illusion spell, so the fact that you even noticed it is quite interesting. Tell me was anyone in your family a magic user of any sort?¡±


    ¡°No Master.¡±


    ¡°Very interesting.¡±


    They spent the remainder of their time together going over what duties the Battle Mage expected him to perform and when he would perform them. Painin left the room feeling confused as the Battle Mage was nothing like he had expected him to be at all. At least he was nothing like how the storybooks explained them. While all very scary the summoning as the Battle Mage had called it was also very exciting as well.


    Walking down the hall his mind spun with all the new details that he didn¡¯t see the servant coming up the stairs her arms full of linens. Their crash sent the sheets into the air to fall around them and she fell heavily to the ground.


    ¡°I am so sorry! I didn¡¯t see you!¡± Said Painin as he began to gather up the fallen sheets.


    ¡°Great lumbering ox! Almost put me through the wall! Now I¡¯m going to have to rewash all of this lot!¡± She yelled as she regained her feet and snatched the pile away from him and proceeded to head back down the stairs mumbling to herself.


    Painin felt bad as he watched her go but he was also afraid of the punishment he would receive for being late for his training with the rest of the guardsmen not on duty.


    Sweat rolled down his face as he moved the practice sword through the forms, he had learned so far as other guardsmen practiced their work with weapons. The guards were required to train with multiple different types of weapons from pole arms to swords and shields. Moving the long weapons around posed a problem for him because Marki said he lacked upper body strength. So, he had him practicing his forms over and over until the wooden sword felt like it weighed 1,000 pounds and the simple act of eating with a fork left his arms screaming in agony.

 14. Keep Life

    Commander Novik was true to his word and made Painin one of his valets. The senior valet was an old soldier named Monroe, who looked made of more scar tissue than man. Marki and the other guards treated him with deep respect for he was some sort of legend with the men. Unfortunately for Painin however Monroe seemed to take offense that Painin had been given his position under him. He took it as a personal affront that Commander Novik believed that he could no longer perform his duties and set about proving him wrong.


    ¡°I may have seen 60 summers, but I can still outwork a wet-behind-the-ears recruit like yourself.¡± Monroe was fond of saying in passing to no one in particular.


    Many a morning Painin went down to the kitchens to get the Commander his breakfast and found himself face to face with Monroe already 2 or 3 steps ahead of him as he hustled up the stairs. He confided this to Marki, but the Corporal simply chuckled at him.


    ¡°Yep, that sounds like Monroe. He is like that with everyone until he thinks you have paid your dues.¡±


    Painin settled on the fact that he was just going to have to prove himself to the grizzled veteran. Every morning he awoke and threw on his clothes and virtually flew down to the kitchen to get breakfast for the Commander but no matter how fast he got down there the old soldier was already waiting and pouring a cup of the black liquid the soldiers drank called coffee. The dark bitter liquid was the only thing he had seen Monroe drink and he claimed it was the fuel that kept soldiers moving.


    Painin wanting to prove himself poured himself a cup of the liquid and took a sip of the hot liquid which he promptly spit out onto the floor much to the annoyance of Mrs. Montes who ran the kitchen. After he had cleaned up his mess to her satisfaction, he went up to assist the Commander with anything he might require before it was time to go to another one of his duties.


    He divided his time among the Commander, Corporal Marki, Master Pierce, and Master Nich trying to fulfill his obligations to them all as required on a rotational schedule. He spent the bulk of his time too busy to think about anything other than the task currently in front of him and would fall into his bed at night simply exhausted. His dreams were still plagued with nightmares, but they had lessened over his time at the Garrison.


    Slowly his skill with the different types of weapons began to improve and he was no longer a huge dangerous liability to himself or others when practicing or drilling. He was excited to graduate from wooden weapons to metal ones with no edge to them and blunted tips. He also found himself hanging out with the guardsmen more often in their living area learning how to play any number of games of chance and skill that they busied themselves with whenever they had downtime.


    He quickly learned how to throw knives, roll dice, and play card games, and since he lacked funds to bet with, they used different duties to bet with. Painin had also talked to the others and learned a little about some of their lives before they joined up. He was surprised to learn that some had spent time in jail and carried the prisoner¡¯s ¡°P¡± branded on their arm. Others were the sons of noble families born too far out of lineage to take over the family business and it was a choice of soldiering or becoming a member of the clergy.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The soldiers under the guidance of Corporal Marki took him under their wing and helped him learn the basics of soldiering. This was helped along when Painin one night mentioned his father¡¯s name and the room went silent with all the eyes in the room directed at him. It appeared that his father was a man of renown by those in the garrison and all over the continent as well. They told him stories of his father that he had not heard before talking about his battlefield intelligence and tactical brilliance. His father had not talked about his life that much with Painin before he had become a blacksmith and always shrugged off attempts by Painin to do so. Commander Novik had a book on battle tactics that included a chapter on his father and his battle against the Nun hordes that he loaned him. The man depicted in the book was nothing like the sweet but stern man that he had grown up with and it was hard for Painin to connect the two different people into one.


    There was no shortage of things for him to do inside the garrison as the different Master¡¯s loaned him different books once they found out that he enjoyed reading. He often found himself in his room late at night working through the different books on a seemingly limitless number of topics. He also busied himself with performing different duties around the keep where he was able to help when he was allowed. Sometimes the chores were simple ones like splitting wood, carrying water, or even cleaning out the stables.


    Master Pierce would talk to him while he was working on some sort of magical research project which he said was one of the reasons he had agreed to take the position at the outpost. He had a talent for battle magic, but his true passion was in figuring out how things worked and how to recreate them using magic. Painin further learned that the dust storm was the way he kept people out and away from his rooms. However, he had been the first person to sense where the Battle Mage had been hidden behind the illusion spell.


    The room for all its clutter was very well organized into general areas and once you learned the system it made a lot of sense. Though Painin still found it hard to believe that Master Pierce had some of the items that were labeled in different-sized bottles. I mean honestly everyone knew that dragons were long dead and gone from the world. Master Pierce laughed when Painin told him this and promised to show him a living dragon someday.


    Also, according to Master Pierce one day when he was drinking wine, most people can cast magic the problem is according to him that they lack the drive or exposure to it to do so. It was a known fact that the Magic houses withheld that information from the masses.


    ¡°I mean we can¡¯t have everyone out there casting spells now, could we? It would be chaos!¡± He said while finishing his cup of wine.


    Master Pierce proved it to Painin by giving him a cantrip printed on a slip of paper that caused a candle to light and helped him practice the words until he could say them correctly and the written words burned off the paper and the candle lit. He swore Painin to secrecy about it though as he knew he had said too much but Painin had already shown a deeper feeling of magical awareness for him not to work with him on some basic magic principles.


    ¡°I just wish I knew where you got the magic in your blood from.¡±


    ¡°My mother always said that there was elven blood in her side of the family and that my father had dwarven blood in his side. We would always laugh at my father¡¯s face when she said it.¡± Painin replied with a smile thinking back to the time.


    ¡°Well elven blood is nothing to scoff at and they were some of the world¡¯s first humanoid magic users and connected to it far more efficiently than we humans ever could. So if you were descended from elves even many generations it would still be present in your bloodline. I will have to take some samples and perform some tests.¡± He said refilling his cup from the pitcher sitting in a bowl of ice.


    ¡°That is funny, you taking some of my blood to test¡­¡± He said laughing at the Battle Mage who just looked at him with a blank face.


    ¡°Sir?¡±

 15. Feed the Flame

    The days began to blend for Painin in his new life at the Keep. His mornings were spent running and helping Monroe attend to the daily needs of Commander Novik. He had finally had a breakthrough with Monroe who had finally accepted him if not fully trusting him after Painin had given him some sort of fancy coffee. He had come across a small bag of it while cleaning up inside Master Pierce¡¯s room. He had been surprised that it was even there and suggested that Painin gift it to the Veteran soldier.


    The atmosphere in the kitchen of the Keep also seemed to change as the women that oversaw that domain also seemed to receive him better. He wished that he could say the same for his interactions with the Appraiser Johnson and the Ferret but sadly they still treated him with snide remarks and general rudeness.


    His time with the guardsmen also became more frequent as Marki assigned him turns at different nonvital duty stations within the Keep. His skills also progressed with his weapons training and his time with Master Nich became more about finding his inner calm and center. He said it would help him release the rage and sorrow inside him.


    ¡°Focus on the flame inside your mind. Push every other thought away inside of your mind. Leave nothing there but a void with a single lit candle inside it. Only the flame of the candle exists, and I want you to push your feelings into it. Everything else goes away or into the flame.¡± He said while kneeling across from Painin with his hands on his thighs open and palms up.


    ¡°Control the flame it can grow hotter as you feed it but do not allow it to grow in size. Listen to my voice and allow it to guide you in maintaining its size and shape.¡±


    Painin sighed and settled down picturing the candle and flame in his mind. He followed the lead of Master Nich¡¯s words and worked on clearing his mind of thoughts. The flame flickered as he looked at it in his mind. He tried to push his thoughts and raw emotions into the flame and at first, the flame began to change color turning a bright red. He pushed more of his emotions into it and it began to turn bluer becoming more purple in color.


    The flame continued to grow in both size and intensity until the only thing inside the void was the flame. It consumed everything it encountered until there was no room left in the void. Just as suddenly there was a large explosion inside his head, and everything went dark.


    He came awake to find himself laying on the ground with Master Nich kneeling over him.


    ¡°I am not sure what happened to you, but you suddenly cried out and seized up before falling over unconscious. Some brundle root under your nose brought you out of it luckily.¡±


    Painin groaned and started to sit up when waves of nausea rolled over him and he threw up. Master Nich continued to kneel near him and placed his hand on his back until he finally stopped.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I am sorry Master.¡± Painin croaked.


    Master Nich stood up and moved over to the water bucket and pulled out the ladle full of water and offered it to him. Painin sipped at the water slowly allowing the cool water to soothe his hurting throat.


    ¡°Take your time and regain yourself.¡± Said the Master as he turned and began to walk towards the door to his private chamber. At the door, he stopped and looked back at him.


    ¡°Meet me back here tomorrow and we will try again to control the flame. Now clean up your mess before you go.¡± He opened the door and walked through it leaving Painin still kneeling on the floor.


    ¡°You said it was a meditation exercise?¡± Master Pierce asked him after taking a sip from his cup and looking up from the large tome he was looking through.


    ¡°Yes, Master. I was focusing on a candle flame in my mind and feeding my emotions into it. It seemed to grow on its own and I couldn¡¯t control it. Then everything went black and I woke up on the floor.¡±


    ¡°It almost sounds like one of the tests they give to new potential candidates at the Hall of Magic. I have never heard of it being used outside of the order, however.¡± He stared into his cup as he swirled the reddish-brown liquid around.


    ¡°In the order, the reaction like you described is only found in those who have a high magical presence in them. You did say something about your mother having Elven blood in her family line. There might be truth to that story. Blood doesn¡¯t lie. That reminds me that I want to study your blood.¡±


    Painin stared at him from across the room and silently judged the distance to the door.


    The metal ingot glowed as he pulled it from the fire of the forge. Master Nich placed it on the anvil and using a metal chisel he began to strike it with a hammer to draw a grove down the middle of it. As the ingot heated up, he watched the flames dance around the metal. Once it was hot enough, he pulled it back out and began to hammer it over onto itself as sparks flew off with every strike. Once the color had faded again, he replaced it in the forge allowing it to once again attain the proper color.


    Moving over to the barrel of water he drank from the ladle and whipped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his jerkin. Working metal gave him a different way to clear his mind and think about things going on. He took another long drink of water before going back to the forge and pulling forth the block of metal and repeating the process of scoring it and folding it back over again on itself. Once he had folded it over enough times, he marked the ingot before placing it on the sand table to cool off slowly.


    Never before had he seen someone have that sort of reaction to the meditation ritual and to be honest it had scared him when the boy had screamed and collapsed. His choice to use brundle root from his supply from home left his already dwindling supply dangerously low. Moving into his room he removed his heavy leather apron and jerkin and hung it up on a peg.


    He took a cloth and dipped it into a small wooden bowl of water and whipped the sweat from his upper arms and chest before kneeling on the small rug in front of his bed. Taking a steading breath, he pulled out the ornate box from under his bed and opening it removed a piece of the brundle root which he placed into a small stone bowl on the floor and lit it on fire using a firestick.


    Once it caught flame, he allowed it to burn for a few moments before blowing it out and letting it smolder. He knelt in front of the bowl on the rug and allowed the smoke to curl around his body before breathing deeply in. Allowing the smoke to do its job he followed it into his memories of his past and looked upon his wife and children as he had last seen them alive back home. He smiled at the memories as tears rolled down his face and landed on the mat as the world outside went away.

 16. Washer Woman

    Painin watched out the window as the clouds in the distance made their way over the faraway mountains. They had dropped most of their water in crossing the mountain range. He watched as they hit the desert''s hot air, which helped break apart the clouds in the light of the early morning sun. Painin had always been amazed by clouds that could bring happiness and sadness depending on their mood. When he was younger, he had spent much time laying in the grass staring up at them trying to reshape them with his mind and dreaming of soaring among them like a bird.


    He had found the book on cloud and weather loaned to him by Master Pierce to be very interesting if not a bit dry. The author was a gnome of some known for his insights into the weather and sometimes his love of the subject seemed to take parts into way too much detail. One such part that he did not go into much detail over was when he discussed how someone could even make it rain by as he called it ¡®seeding¡¯ the clouds with the dust of certain rocks.


    ¡°But how do you get the dust of the rocks up there?¡± He wondered aloud. His mind was filled with pictures of winged gnomes flying amongst the clouds covering them with dust and he couldn¡¯t keep from chuckling at the mental image.


    ¡°Not daydreaming instead of washing the floor are you lad?¡± Came the voice from behind him.


    ¡°No Master Pierce. I was just thinking about that book on clouds and storms that you loaned me.¡±


    Ah, yes. Old Ksirb and his crazy ideas of how to make it rain. They are always thinking and trying to figure out how the world works. Given the right balance of magic, it would be a simple enough feat to complete. The Order has been controlling the weather around the Hall of Magic for centuries.¡± Said Pierce gesturing with his ever-present cup.


    ¡°They control the weather?¡± He asked looking at the Mage.


    ¡°Yes. The spells mostly handle it themselves though they do need to be recharged on occasion. Now back to that floor, it won¡¯t wash itself will it?¡±


    ¡°No, I suppose it won¡¯t.¡± Said Painin dunking his rag back into the bucket of water next to him and beginning to scrub at the stone floor clean again.


    He continued to scrub at the floor thinking to himself he looked up at the Battle Mage as he moved around the room checking on some of the bubbling cauldrons scattered around the room. He added different items to the different liquids which sometimes reacted in exciting ways. This time however there were no explosions and only one of the liquids changed colors going from a bright orange to a pale-yellow color.


    ¡°Master Pierce, how am I supposed to learn anything if I am scrubbing your floor like a washerwoman?¡±


    ¡°Ah, my young friend, everyone has to start at the bottom. It teaches us humility and helps to put our Ego in check.¡± He replied as he refilled his cup.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Are we friends Master?¡±


    ¡°Well, I had thought so until you just asked. Friends do favors for each other and right now your favor is washing my floor since I loaned you my book. Now my fine washerwoman if you would be so kind as to finish the floors we can go out to the market and bring back some items which came for me.¡±


    Painin began to scrub the floor with renewed enthusiasm at the prospect of getting to leave the Keep. He was not allowed to leave the keep without someone being with him because he was still considered a flight risk according to Marki. He finished up the floor and stood pushing the soreness from his back. He carried the bucket of now dirty water toward the plants and poured the water into them not wanting to waste the water.


    Master Pierce opened a bottle and began to pour the pale-yellow liquid into them until he had filled the small collection of glass bottles which he placed into a bag that he slung over his shoulder. Finishing his drink, he placed the cup on the table before he motioned for Painin to follow him out the door. The door closed behind them as they entered the corridor and made their way downstairs and into the courtyard beyond.


    They crossed the courtyard and approached the main gate where they were stopped by two guards and after a short discussion with them, they were motioned through. It was a short walk from the Keep to the town of Wildrest which grew from the walls of the keep outward. The closer to the Keep in the town you were the more durable the buildings that you found. On the outskirts, it was little more than tents and other temporary dwellings.


    The market was in the middle of the town itself and Master Pierce made his way straight to a nondescript wagon that boasted no tables set up in front of it. They had no more than just stopped when a man came out from behind the wagon and motioned them forward toward the back. Painin was shocked at the sheer size of the tent that they entered. A small man approached them and greeted Master Pierce motioning him towards an empty table.


    The Battle Mage pulled out one of the bottles and handed it to the merchant who opened the stopper and took a smell of the liquid. His eyes widened and he seemed very pleased as he motioned for the man who had shown them back to step forward with a medium-sized iron-bound box which he placed on the table. Master Pierce opened the box and quickly took inventory of the items inside and nodded closing the box.


    ¡°Some of the items were more difficult to get this time. The Durga for instance don¡¯t like to part with their private stock and it made for a ¡®more interesting¡¯ time bartering with them.¡± Said the man pushing some of his hair back into place that had fallen.


    ¡°Not my concern¡­ But I will compensate you because we are old friends Ethan.¡± He said removing more of the bottles from the bag than the bag should have been able to hold. Painin had not noticed it when he was putting them away but now no less than 20 bottles now littered the table. The merchant did a good job of hiding his happiness at the number of bottles and shook Master Pierce¡¯s offered hand. He motioned to Painin who picked up the box and followed him out of the tent and into the street beyond.


    Painin couldn¡¯t help but feel as if Master Pierce had been taken advantage of by the Merchant as he walked next to him carrying the box. Those walking down the lanes gave them a wider birth than they did with others.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it make you angry that the merchant upped his price at the last minute?¡±


    ¡°What? Ethan? It is how the game is played lad I gave him simple weak potions that I could make in my sleep and he gave me regents from around the known world and saved me a large amount of time so that I can refocus on my studies. So, who took advantage of whom?¡± He asked with a wink as they neared the doors to the keep and the guards standing watch allowed them to pass unhindered.

 17. Spring Duty

    The days turned into months which turned into seasons that seemed to pass quickly. Snow covered the tops of the distant mountains and their passes were soon not passable. Life around the Keep fell into a normal routine. He continued to work where he was needed and his debt to the king grew less as he began to put his boyhood behind him and started to move into becoming a young man. He became closer to Master Pierce and the other men of the Keep except Ferret and Mouse whom he tried to avoid like the plague.


    His dreams began to lessen about his family and while he still missed them they weren¡¯t on his mind as often as they had been. Painin felt bad about that as if he was somehow disrespecting their memory. He found himself still thinking of Kobi often and hoped that she had escaped the raiders. His dreams about her however had begun to change and become of more of an intimate nature which left him feeling flustered and embarrassed often.


    Commander Novik had sent word with some of the patrols that ranged in that direction, but there had been no word back so far. Not even the merchants that traveled from that way had any new information except that the Raiders had finally been pushed back into the sea. The King of course had taken full credit for it even going so far as to call it a great victory.


    As spring slowly crept back, pushing winter away, the Keep became a hotspot of activity as they prepared to go into the mountain pass and purge the monsters that lived there. It was a yearly activity that they go forth and cull the numbers of the monsters that lived in the pass after they had spent the winter months regaining their numbers. It was not unheard of for some of the men to get hurt or even killed, but being contained inside the keep, it gave them a chance to blow the dust off their skills.


    Commander Novik himself would lead the men during the purge as he did every year. He broke the news to Painin that he wouldn¡¯t be taking part in the attack even as his valet.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry lad. Accidents do happen during these yearly purges and men still get injured and even die.¡± He said placing a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°I understand. I will go and tend to Master Pierce¡¯s needs now sir.¡±


    The Battle Mage was in his room looking over a large book and mumbling under his breath with his ever-present cup in his hand. Painin entered the room and quietly began to straighten up some of the items on the nearest table. Closing the book with a sigh he slowly rubbed his temples with his eyes closed.


    ¡°Did you bring your travel pack?¡± Master Pierce asked without opening his eyes.


    ¡°I am not allowed to go on the spring purge.¡±


    ¡°Ah, to hell with the boring old purge. You are coming with me down to Hiserik to recharge the magical wards around the town.¡±


    ¡°Come with you to Hiserik Master?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Hiserik. Trade town down along the southern border of the wastes along the coast.¡± He paused to take a sip from his cup. ¡°Not very much to do there aside from harvesting salt, but hey what do you expect from a trade town? Now go and pack a bag so we can get going on this grade adventure!¡± He pushed Painin out the door and into the hall.


    Painin did not have much to put inside his pack aside from a change of clothes so he went down to the guard hall where those not on duty were preparing for their trip. Corporal Marki pointed him in the direction of the supply room where he handed him a knife, sword, and an iron-capped staff. Painin choose a scabbard and sheath for the blades and hung them on his belt. He walked over to the kitchen and after a conversation with one of the cooks took some dried meat and bread which went into his pack.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Master Pierce stood in the courtyard of the keep talking to two of the guards while they check over the horses and cinched down straps holding supplies. Painin acknowledged the men and moved to stand with them.


    ¡°Novik seems to think that we need guards to help us find our way. So Kemp and Svening here are going to ride with us and keep us out of trouble. Now if we have everything I suggest we get moving so that we can get some distance today.¡±


    With that, he mounted his horse and took a drink from his flask motioning the others to also mount up. The guardsmen each mounted their horses with practiced ease and even managed to hold onto the reins of the pack horse. Painin managed to mount his horse a chestnut mare if in a less than graceful manner. The horse danced under him as if it could sense his unease of being on the beast and he guided the horse after the others as they started to ride out.


    The Keep behind them they rode through Wildrest at a slow pace passing through the market on their way out. They headed south making sure to keep the mountains on their left side as they rode at a nice and easy pace. Everyone was quiet as they rode and Painin struggled to get a hang of riding the horse. His father had tried to get him to ride back on the farm but he had just never fully gotten the hang of it, his sister however had taken to the horse like she was born to it.


    They rode until the sun began to get low in the west before deciding to make camp for the evening. The guardsmen went about unpacking the basics of the campsite and setting up while Master Pierce set about making a fire by reciting a cantrip over a small pile of wood. The fire flared up upon finishing the spell and burned with a greenish hue to it. Kemp eyed the green fire with a look like one would give a snake they didn¡¯t trust.


    ¡°The fire will act just like a real fire except the only difference is it was born of magic and will last until I dispel it.¡± Said Master Pierce trying to put Kemp at ease while explaining to everyone.


    Svening shrugged his shoulders and placed a large flat rock next to the fire that he washed off with a bit of their water and filled a pot with ground-up coffee and more water and waited for it to boil. They all ate from their rations which mostly consisted of dried meat and hard bread. Master Pierce nibbled on some flatbread from his bag and drank from his ever-present cup while the guardsmen filled their cups with the bubbling black liquid. Painin refused their offer to share and drank from his skin of water before settling down before the fire to watch the flickering green light.


    Kemp went about tending to the horses and made short work of hobbling them and giving them room to forage on top of providing them with some food and water from the pack horse. Returning to the fire he passed Master Pierce as he walked around the perimeter of the campsite slowly spilling dark powder onto the ground and chanting to himself. Once the circle of power was completed it flared with a purple light and then disappeared. Both Kemp and Svening looked at him with questioning looks as he returned to the fire after refilling his cup.


    ¡°Demons Bane ground up makes a powerful circle of protection that should keep anything short of an actual Pit Fiend out of the area. It also makes a nice tea when brewed correctly.¡± The Battle Mage said allowing some of the fine powder to fall from his fingertips.


    ¡°Well, magic or not we will take turns keeping watch through the night.¡± Said Kemp motioning to himself and Svening.


    ¡°As you wish good sir. I however will be sleeping like a baby.¡± Said the Mage resting his back against his saddle and with a wave of his hand and some arcane words summoned a floating yellow eyeball next to him. He turned to the floating eye that looked like a giant cat¡¯s eye and said something in an unknown language to it. It slowly blinked before floating off outside of the light of the fire.


    ¡°Oh yes, that definitely won¡¯t give me nightmares tonight.¡± Said Painin as he put his head on his saddle and pulled a horse blanket over his head and stared at the course weave before his eyes and tried not to think about the scary glowing eyeball floating off around the desert outside the camp.

 18. Hiserik or Bust

    Painin stared at the sky as it began to lighten with the coming of the sun. What little sleep he managed to get was plagued by dreams involving glowing floating eyeballs that left him laying there staring at the sky. Master Pierce snored across the fire his back still against his saddle his ever-present cup next to him on the ground. Kemp moved around the ring of light provided by the small fire which had kept burning through the night. As he walked past the Battle Mage he bent over slightly as he peered into the cup.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that lad.¡± Said Master Pierce with his eyes still closed.


    Kemp straightened quickly and moved along his face turning a paler shade of white. Opening his eyes, the Battle Mage meet the gaze of Painin and smiled at him.


    ¡°Hope you slept well.¡±


    ¡°Not with that bloody eye thing out there all night.¡±


    ¡°What Helgma? Wouldn¡¯t hurt a fly. Well, he would. I mean he did take out quite a few animals last night.¡± The orb in question silently slid up next to Master Pierce and they looked at each other seemingly having a silent conversation of some kind. Nodding at the floating eyeball he waved his hand and it disappeared by folding in on itself with a quiet pop.


    They busied themselves breaking down their little camp and mounted their horses. Master Pierce turned his horse and started to head south as the fire went out leaving no trace of its presence behind. They ate in the saddle and there was little talking as they rode in a rough line. The days of travel soon followed the same sort of pattern with only some minor differences.


    Kemp and Svening kept their distance from the Battle Mage seemingly only interacting with him when it was required. Painin asked him about it one night as they sat eating next to the magical fire and the mage sipped from his cup.


    ¡°It is the magic lad. People don¡¯t understand it and so that frightens them or makes them uncomfortable. Would you expect someone to be afraid of a Master Carpenter? No of course not that would be silly because they have dedicated their lives to working with wood. Wood you understand because it comes from trees. Magic users dedicate their lives to magic an unseen force in the world.¡±


    ¡°So magic is all around us all of the time then?¡± Asked Painin sitting against his saddle.


    ¡°Yes. Just like many other things like the air that we breathe. Can¡¯t see it but we know it is there and make use of it. People have faith in the different Gods, and we don¡¯t always see them, but we can see their influence on people and the world around us. As a magic user, you get accustomed to it. Though some like the power that people¡¯s reactions make them feel. I would rather be studying and making discovery¡¯s.¡± Master Pierce took a sip from his cup and sighed and leaned back closing his eyes.


    Painin didn¡¯t know at first that the growing shape on the horizon they were riding towards was not mountains but instead water. It was almost too much for him to comprehend as it continued to grow the further, they rode. He had never seen anything as vast as the ocean other than his time in the desert but the two were so vastly different. Birds began to fly over their heads as they approached the seemingly endless water before them.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    They reigned in their horses short of the ocean and Painin jumped down landing in the soft wet sand. The water was very cold as he ran his hand and tasted salt just like his father had told him. It brought tears to his eyes to think of his father and family, but he pushed them down. The wind blew in off the water sending little bits of stinging sand flying towards them.


    ¡°Come. We have to follow the water west until we reach Hiserik.¡± Said Master Pierce gesturing off into the distance.


    Painin found it hard to keep from staring at the giant expanse of greenish-blue water and its continuous row after row of waves that crashed onto the shore. Small birds ran along the waves picking at things left uncovered in the sand from the waves ahead of the group. They quickened their pace and soon some small buildings came into view ahead.


    He didn¡¯t know what he had expected from Hiserik but the seemingly random collection of buildings caught him off guard. They all seemed to be built from random pieces of wood that had been bleached by the sun and salt water. People moved about the beach and collected buckets of water which they poured into troughs back amongst the buildings. Those who were not engaged with the water were assigned to different tasks such as catching food and cooking. Everyone wore very rough clothes that were stiff and stained white.


    Master Pierce rode forward and spoke to one man who pointed further back amongst the buildings and he rode back in that direction with the rest of the group following behind him. The mayor of the town wore clothes that matched everyone else and his exposed skin was dark brown and covered in wrinkles. The Battle Mage climbed down off his horse and approached the man and they talked quietly for a time.


    They shook hands and Master Pierce returned to the group. He informed them that he would have to renew the runes of protection around the town that are out in the desert. The runes are charged with magic and kept dangerous animals away from the town and the valuable salt trade. Master Pierce led the group back out towards the first of the runes and they approached a pillar of stones stacked up.


    He took a small barrel out of a larger barrel from the side of the pack horse and walked over to the stack of stones where he dragged his foot in the sand in the shape of a circle around the pillar. Chanting softly, he held the barrel out and placed it upon the topmost rock and a green liquid began to flow over and down them before being absorbed. The entire pillar glowed with a bright light that radiated from the top down to the bottom before going away.


    They repeated the process another 5 times before they returned to the small coastal town as the sun was setting. They set up their little camp a little away from the buildings and settled in for the night. Painin was entranced by the sounds of the waves as they crashed upon the sand nearby and fell asleep to their rhythmic song.


    The next morning, they made a quick stop to get a small amount of supplies to offset what they had brought with them. Master Pierce talked again with the Mayor who offered him some small barrels which he loaded onto the pack horse before returning and handing the Mayor a different barrel in return. They shook hands and the group headed back out into the desert to recharge the remaining rune pillars.


    Their return trip again was nothing spectacular aside from the group stumbling upon a pair of giant scorpions which were present at a marked Haddad well. The Battle Mage ended up dismounting and began to cast a spell that he seemed to hold longer as the power between his hands grew. A large fireball shot from his hands and flew across the sands striking the first monster and blowing it backward. His hands were already moving as soon as the first ball of fire was followed by a second and then a third. Each of the balls slammed into the monsters which exploded leaving nothing but their smashed remains and burning sand behind.


    The smell of the remains turned Painin¡¯s stomach and the guardsmen put even more distance between themselves and the Mage. Master Pierce walked amongst the remains sifting through them with his boot and mumbling to himself. Once the water barrels were refilled the Battle Mage walked over and placed a small canvas bag under a rock with a clink. He noticed Painin looking at him and he motioned to the bag now under the rock.


    ¡°Payment to the Haddad for us using their well and leaving a mess.¡± He said mounting his horse and leading them back north towards the distant keep.

 19. Headaches

    Master Pierce stood next to him close enough that he could feel his hot minty breath on his neck. His ever-present cup was held in his hand its contents forgotten as he stared at the small stone held in Painin¡¯s open palm.


    ¡°Reach out and just touch the pebble with your mind. Nothing exists except for you and the stone. Just relax your mind.¡± He intoned in a monotone voice.


    ¡°I wish that I was just me and the rock. However, all I keep focusing on is your hot breath on my neck.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes sorry lad.¡± He stepped back, leaned against the table behind him, and took a sip from his cup.


    Painin sighed deeply and closed his eyes trying to quiet his mind and focus on the rock in his hand. It was a normal-looking rock with seemingly no special features except for a strip of shiny material that seemed to run through it. He could feel it sitting in his hand as he tried to push his mind outward towards it. He fumed inside at the stupid exercises Master Pierce kept putting him through.


    All the talk of the magic in his blood honestly was starting to annoy him to no end. Master Pierce had taken his blood and performed tests on it over the years he had been here at the Keep. During his time here he had become closer to those at the Keep and had settled into a nice routine. During his time, he had also begun to put away his childish body and evolved into that of a young man.


    The passing of Monroe had been a major setback for him in multiple ways both losing the friend the man had become and the entire Keep had felt a change come over it. He had died in a way that he would have loved as a goblin spear had hit him in the neck as he fought beside Commander Novik helping to protect him. The Commander had promoted Painin to be his only Valet, a task that he now understood how much Monroe had done.


    Painin silently chided himself and once more focused on the rock. The stupid rock in his hand sat there and mocked him just as it had in previous tests. He had no ill feelings towards the rock outside of him believing that it was only here to make him feel like a failure. Closing his eyes, he pictured the rock in his hand and imagined it exploding and being reduced to dust.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± Master Pierce all but yelled into his ear.


    Painin opened his eyes and saw the rock in his hand was still there just as it always was and looked at Master Pierce with questioning eyes.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± He asked again, placing his hands on Painin¡¯s shoulders and looking at him intently. Painin just looked at him in confusion as he pointed at the rock.


    ¡°You changed it. Well, very slightly but I felt it. What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. All I was doing was picturing it exploding.¡± Said Painin with a shrug.


    ¡°Exploding? That is all?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Exploding. I don¡¯t like that pebble anymore.¡±


    ¡°Try it again just do whatever you did before.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Painin sighed, closed his eyes, and pictured the pebble in his hand exploding into nothingness. He tried to do everything earlier the same but after trying for a time he finally gave up as sweat covered his forehead. He tossed the pebble to Master Pierce and rubbed at his temples trying to rid himself of the headache that was beginning to form.


    Master Pierce caught the pebble and carefully placed it onto the table and began to cast a spell over it. Painin sat down heavily into one of the chairs not covered in books and closed his eyes continuing to rub at his head.


    ¡°Extraordinary you managed to change just a small bit of the rock into something else. I am not sure what it is exactly, but it is very intriguing considering your lack of training. I have never heard of anyone short of Grand Wizards being able to do something like this, and they require massive spells to accomplish.¡± He just looked at Painin sitting there on the chair.


    ¡°Does your head hurt?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is killing me.¡±


    ¡°Let me see your hand.¡±


    Painin stopped rubbing his head and looked up at the Battle Mage with a look of confusion on his face.


    ¡°My hand?¡± He asked slowly moving his hand towards the Mage.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Said Master Pierce grabbing his hand in one motion and beginning to squeeze his hand between the thumb and first finger. Painin cried out in surprise and pain coming off the chair and just as fast he had let go of the hand. He shook his now throbbing hand and clutched it to his chest.


    ¡°What did you do that for?¡±


    ¡°Your head doesn¡¯t hurt now does it?¡± He replied with a smirk before taking a sip from his cup and turning to inspect the pebble once more. Painin just sat there rubbing his hand and realized that his headache was magically gone.


    Master Nich called out a count in a loud and clear voice that could be heard over the sounds of the forge. The ingot of metal glowed almost white hot as Painin pulled it from the bosom of the forge and placed it on the anvil. He braced himself and the metal tongs he held onto it with.


    Ting, Ting, Clang. Ting, Ting, Clang. Ting, Ting, Clang.


    With each heavy strike, a shower of sparks shot off the block of metal, and it slowly began to change shape becoming longer and thinner. There was something normal and peaceful about being in the forge that made him feel a sense of calm. It was hard to describe to someone how he felt. His father had explained it best by saying.


    ¡°People who themselves are like the steel feel a kinship to it that others won¡¯t understand. This is true for most of the elements. Everyone is drawn to certain elements without their having to choose it and working with it just feels natural to them.¡±


    With a final swing of the hammer and a shower of sparks the metal had changed enough in color to be reheated and Painin replaced it within the forge fire. Master Nich took the ladle and filled it from the bucket hanging near the door and took a long drink from it before refilling it and offering it to Painin. He took it with much gratitude its refreshing coolness settling his dry throat for a moment before he replaced it in the bucket.


    Picking up the hammer once more he motioned for Painin to grab a different ingot from the forge and they once more began to work the metal into a shape that would eventually become a replacement practice sword. While he lost himself in the rhythm of the hammer on the steel, he was amazed by how easily the boy had taken to blade smithing. He understood that his father had been a smith, but the boy seemed to understand what the steel required to grow almost on an instinctual level.


    They continued swapping out the metal ingots in the fire as each one sought to become what Master Nich had envisioned for it. Finally, he motioned for them to stop and they placed all the ingots onto a table that had its top filled with sand for them to cool overnight. Painin banked the coals within the forge and helped replace the tools in their respective places upon the wall behind them.


    ¡°Will you require anything more of me Master?¡± Painin asked.


    Master Nich shook his head releasing him to pursue some of his other duties around the Keep proper that required his attention. Master Nich smiled as he watched the boy, no young man jog out into the courtyard beyond and disappear. Gone was the scared boy that had shown up a slave now replaced with a young man growing into a man of his own.

 20. Errands for Friends

    Painin shielded his eyes from the brightness of the harsh desert sun and scanned the horizon for his target or anything else that might wish to do him in. He sighed, noting how far off in the distance the mound of rocks he had selected appeared to be. The mountains had been growing steadily, and he knew that Commander Novik would not be pleased if he was killed by a monster out looking for a meal. Looking behind him, he could no longer see the Keep in the distance and he wasn¡¯t sure if it was a trick of the desert or if he truly had walked that far.


    ¡°This¡­ This is the last time that I will perform this kind of errand again.¡± He said taking a drink from the water skin that hung off his shoulder. It awoke his senses as he swallowed the water and felt it slide down his throat. Even though it smelled and tasted of old leather it felt amazing and he could almost feel it surging through his body.


    Continuing on his way Painin began to see some green mixed into the distant rocks and began to quicken his pace. He was amazed that anything grew out here in this land of sand as the splotches of green slowly began to take shape. During his years living in the Keep and being in the desert, he had become more tolerant of the heat and dryness affecting him less and less.


    The green ahead did not look like the large palm trees that grew near water sources that were so rare and precious. Painin had even enjoyed the fruits that were produced by the trees and harvested called figs. He approached the tree or as Master Pierce named it a cactus, it rose from the rocky ground and sported two large branches from it. He found it funny that at a distance it looked like a man if not only green in nature.


    Sharp needle-like spines covered the outside of the cactus and he began to knock the spines off the lower branch with his small knife. He then carefully cut the branch¡¯s top off and caught it carefully in his free hand before slowly lowering it to the ground. Painin continued to cut off the remaining spines as best he could, and he wrapped it in a length of tarp. He picked up a pile of the spines from the ground and wrapped them in a piece of cloth before putting them into a small box to examine later.


    He was putting the wrapped chunk of the cactus into his pack with the little box on top when a snort and shadow snapped him out of his work daze. Painin fell backward and was engulfed in a cloud of dust as a group of riders reined in before him. The foremost rider slowly pulled off his gloves and slapped them on his jerkin sending dust flying into the air around him.


    ¡°Run ahead to the Keep and announce us, boy.¡± Said the leader in a tone that spoke of being accustomed to being followed. He pulled a canteen from his saddle and took a long pull of water holding it in his mouth and swishing the water around before spitting it onto the ground narrowly avoiding Painin.


    ¡®I¡¯m sorry sir but I am currently running an errand for Master Pierce at the moment. Seeing as how you are mounted, and I am not you would be sure to arrive long before I would.¡± Painin found himself flying backward and laying in a cloud of dust some feet from where he was standing. One of the riders slowly replaced his heavy boot into his horse¡¯s stirrup.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°No one speaks to his lordship like that! Especially not some low-born peasant.¡± Snarled the rider that had kicked him, and he charged his horse forward to where he had landed. Painin was forced to roll out of the way to avoid being trampled. His reaction was slowed by the previous kick and the pain that now flooded his chest. One of the hooves of the horse still managed to clip him in the head opening a large cut on the side of his head.


    ¡°Now we can¡¯t expect everyone to know who we are Berm, least of all some sodding sand dweller on the ass of the world.¡± He pulled his gloves back onto his hands and rode off without a backward glance and took off at a fast trot. The other riders followed him with only Boot now known to be Berm staring down at the dazed boy bleeding on the ground.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky his lordship has a soft spot for fucking peasants.¡± He said as he spit on Painin before he rode his horse off to catch up with the group. Painin rolled out of the way as he charged past and tried to catch his breath and staunch the flow of blood on the side of his head. The world swam as he sat up on the ground and looked at the group of riders heading off into the distance in the general direction of the Keep.


    He took some of the cloth that he had left over and held it to his head while he stuffed the wrapped parcels further down into his pack and slung it over his shoulder. The trip back towards the keep seemed to take forever and the sun had already begun to set in the distance as he approached the gates. The gates were barred, and he rang the small bell at the top of them by pulling on the rope that ran to the ground below. A face peaked over the side of the wall looking down at him.


    ¡°Gate is closed till morning under the order of the Prince.¡±


    ¡°Drom. It is me Painin. Now open up so I can deliver these items to Master Pierce and get someone to check my head.¡±


    ¡°Sorry Painin, but orders is orders and we were told to bar the gate until further notice. No exceptions.¡±


    Painin looked up at the man and sighed to himself as he sat down next to the gate with his back against the still-warm wall. He pulled his pack closer to him and settled in for the evening. The moon rose and lit up the area and Painin found it hard to sleep with the air around him growing chillier as the night progressed.


    He pushed himself to his feet and began to slowly walk around the sandstone walls of the Keep¡¯s outer wall. He traced the groves in the stone with his fingers and began to climb up the outside of the wall. It took several attempts before he got into a rhythm that allowed him to slowly make his way up. Pushing his fingers and his boots into the small groves he slowly made his way up the wall until he was able to grab ahold of the top and pull himself over. He sat there against the wall and caught his breath shocked that he had made it to the top.


    He made his way along the top of the wall and waved to Drom as he passed the man as he made his rounds along the wall. Drom looked very confused as he walked past him on his way down into the Keep proper and his room and bed that awaited him within.


    ¡°How did you¡­¡± Drom started to ask but found himself all alone on the rampart and decided to not push the question further and returned to his rounds.


    Painin opened the door and placed the pack on the ground next to his bed and tossed one of the fire sticks he had gotten from Master Pierce onto the pile of tinder in his small fireplace. The tinder quickly caught light and he laid down on the bed after kicking off his boots and was asleep before the tinder had fully caught fire.

 21. Matters of Honor

    He had not set out to scare the woman as he exited his room, but apparently, some people find a person covered in dried blood scary. Painin watched as she ran down the hallway the tray and items, she had been carrying now littering the floor. With a sigh, he carried the pack up the stairs and nodded to the guards he passed who just stared at him wide-eyed.


    Master Pierce opened the door to his room with his ever-present cup in his hand and motioned Painin inside. He placed the pack on a nearby table and pulled out the wrapped chunk of the cactus which he carefully removed from the tarp. Master Pierce took it from him and with seemingly practiced ease began to slice it open and removed the pulpy center placing it in a stone bowl. He used a rounded bit of stone to break down the large chuck of green pulp turning it into a thick slime.


    Painin poured some water onto a cloth and began to try and clean off the blood that had dried to his face. Master Pierce looked over from his bowl of slime and took in the scene before him as if he had just noticed Painin in the room.


    ¡°What happened to your head?¡±


    ¡°I had a run-in with a group of horsemen while I was getting your cactus for you.¡±


    ¡°Horsemen? Tell me more about these men that made me wait for my parcel.¡± He asked taking a drink from his cup.


    ¡°Nothing much to tell really. Some lordship with his men demanded I run back here and announce them and when I tried to explain I couldn¡¯t one of them charged me with his horse which caused this.¡± He motioned to the blood covering the side of his head.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Well, we can¡¯t have this sort of treatment of people despite social standing. I don¡¯t care if you are a prince or not.¡±


    Painin stopped and stared at the Battle Mage the damp cloth all but forgotten in his hand as he watched him turn and walk from the room. It took him a couple of heartbeats to realize that he wasn¡¯t coming back and ran after him. The Battle Mage was already halfway down the hall before Painin caught up with him. The guards outside of Commander Novik¡¯s room stood straighter as he approached them.


    ¡°Move.¡±


    ¡°He is busy sir.¡± Replied Smith his eyes focused straight ahead.


    ¡°Move.¡±


    ¡°Sir he is busy at the moment.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask again.¡± The Battle Mage said motioning them to move aside with his cup. The guards looked at each other and with a sigh Smith moved aside slightly allowing the Mage to open the door and enter the room. Commander Novik sat at his desk with 4 people in the room looking over a set of books laying on the desk.


    ¡°Ah Battle Mage Pierce so nice of you to join us today. To what do we owe this honor this morning?¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°I wish to file a breach of honor.¡±


    ¡°You have been wronged?¡± The Commander asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Not me. Painin here was attacked while out in the desert while he was running an errand for me in an official capacity.¡±


    ¡°Bandits? Important but I don¡¯t see how it is a matter of honor.¡±


    ¡°Not bandits. He had a run-in with one of the Prince¡¯s men when they were traveling to the Keep.¡±


    Commander Novik looked to the Prince and his men.


    ¡°Is true Milord?¡± The Prince looked over at the pair standing by the door and nodded.


    ¡°Yes, we came upon him in the desert and I guess he failed to move out of the way of Berm and his horse. We certainly would not have left him in the desert alone had we known he was injured.¡± He said his face seemed full of concern.


    Berm who was standing behind him could barely keep himself in check as he grasped his sword so hard his hands were white. He visibly shook as he stared daggers at the pair of men. The Prince calmly raised his hand and spoke to him without looking backward.


    ¡°Apologize to the boy Berm.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry for my horse accidentally striking you. Please accept my apology.¡± He said through gritted teeth as he bowed slightly.


    ¡°There you go. Everything is better now, and the boy can go see a healer. Have them send me the bill. Now if we can get back to finishing the reason for this visit so that I can get back to civilization.¡±


    ¡°No. We demand honor of combat.¡± Said the Battle Mage firmly taking a sip from his cup. Painin stared at him his mouth hanging open.


    The Prince slowly turned in his chair to finally face the pair of them and a look crossed his face that opening showed his contempt. He seemed to see the pair for the first time and Painin could feel himself being weighed and measured by him. Berm seethed and his face turned red as he started forward his hand pulling his sword from its sheath. The Prince stopped him with a raised hand.


    ¡°Honor by combat? Not feasible as Berm would simply destroy the boy. Now let us stop this farce as it bores me.¡±


    ¡°Not Berm. You Milord.¡±


    The room was silent enough as all eyes went back and forth between the two. Commander Novik began to open his mouth but once more the Prince raised his hand silencing him. He leaned forward in his chair a predatory smile crossing his lips as he looked fully at the Battle Mage. The two just stared at each other for moments in silence.


    ¡°I accept. Only because I am Berm¡¯s lord. Though I feel like I must warn you Battle Mage to be mindful of making enemies larger than you.¡±


    ¡°I fear not dragons Milord. Three days hence as the code decrees, blunted blades, and to the first blood.¡± Said Mater Pierce before turning smartly on his heel and walking out of the room.


    Painin stood there looking confused for a couple of heartbeats as the Prince simply stared at him before smiling, a smile that did not touch his eyes. He turned and rushed out the door into the hallway beyond and rushed to catch up to the Mage.


    Painin was at a loss for words as he looked at the Battle Mage moving about his room until he found a blue vial that he had been looking for amongst other vials. He tossed it to Painin and motioned for him to drink it down. Opening the vial Painin sniffed the contents which smelled faintly like falling rain before drinking the contents in a couple of quick gulps. Waves of cool refreshment surged through his body and he felt all his aches and pains begin to float away. Even his chest stopped hurting so bad and the pain kept receding as the potion continued its work.


    ¡°Go and wash that blood off. The healing potion should take care of any other injuries you may have. I will meet you downstairs in the fighting arena shortly. We have work to do to get you ready in three days.¡± Master Pierce said as he pushed Painin out the door into the hallway beyond.


    The door clicked shut as he stood there, and he turned and began to head down to the washroom to clean himself up as requested. Though to be honest he had no idea what had happened there in that room, or the power game he now found himself in.

 22. Magical Surprises

    The potion had worked amazingly well in healing his injuries leaving not even a mark as he set about removing all the blood from his head and face with a rag. He sighed as he quickly washed the rest of his body before heading towards the training area where he noticed Nich and Pierce in conversation at a far corner of the yard. The Battle Mage was talking very animatedly with lots of hand gestures while Master Nich stood there with his arms crossed and occasionally shook his head as Painin walked towards them.


    ¡°He can not win against someone trained so.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to. All he has to do is draw first blood and the match is over.¡± Replied Master Pierce motioning with his cup as if what he proposed would be the easiest thing ever.


    As he approached Master Nich turned to look at him and he could feel the master¡¯s eyes silently weighing and appraising him. He shook his head and turned back towards the interior of the training area. Painin watched him walk away and turned to face Master Pierce who had a broad smile on his face.


    ¡°Take a sword and let¡¯s get to work then lad.¡± He said motioning towards the practice swords leaning against the railing of the training area.


    He picked up a sword of his own and took a sip from his cup before moving to stand in the center of the circle. Painin picked up a sword of his own and carefully approached the Battle Mage with a look of confusion on his face.


    ¡°Not to be rude¡­¡±


    ¡°But you are going to be anyways.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well. Why are you holding a sword?¡±


    ¡°Just because I am a mage does not mean I wasn¡¯t trained in the art of the sword.¡± He said as he swung the sword around in the air before him.


    Painin just looked at him the look of confusion on his face still present as the Battle Mage lunged forward unexpectedly his metal sword snaking out and hitting him in the arm. Painin growled and clutched at his arm. The Battle Mage retreated into a guard position with his sword held down and out before him.


    ¡°Right. On the line then.¡± He said motioning for Painin to move forward back to the line in the middle of the circle.


    Rubbing his arm, he moved back into position holding his sword before him. The next couple of series between them ended with the same result and Painin rubbing multiple new sore spots from the blunted blade. He sighed as walked around the circle trying to breathe through the pain. While Master Pierce leaned against the fence taking small sips from his cup.


    ¡°Here. Drink this!¡± He said pulling a vial out of a pocket in his jerkin and tossing it across the ring to Painin.


    He juggled the vial but managed to finally hold onto it and examined the blue-colored liquid inside it. A small dollop of wax sealed the top of the glass potion. Pulling it off he poured the fresh-smelling liquid into his mouth and swallowed it down. The same sort of refreshing feeling flashed through his body and his hurts and pain began to fade away. He looked at Master Pierce and felt a sense of disappointment that he had yet to score a strike on the man.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go again.¡± Master Pierce said moving back to the center of the circle.


    ¡°How do you know how to fight so well?¡± Said Painin while trying to avoid the Battle Mages sword that seemed to bend around his defenses.


    ¡°Before I went away to the academy, I was the second-born son in my family. I was groomed to take over the family estates if anything befell my brother. I however had other plans and decided to pursue my passion for magic and study.¡± Each sentence was punctuated by another attack that came from some new and different angle to strike another unprotected body part.


    ¡°My father spared no expense in training my brother and he would need someone to spar against, so I have spent a lot of time in a fighting circle. My brother also ended up being in the same circle as the Prince growing up and I am no stranger to his cruelty.¡± The sword once more snaked in and struck him in the wrist.


    The bone broke with an audible snap and his sword fell from his nerveless hand. While it took a few heartbeats for the pain to rush to his brain he stared at it dumbly. The pain rushed in and pushed him to his knees. The Battle Mage rushed forward and with a swift motion popped the cork off another potion and poured its contents down Painin¡¯s throat. The potion worked fast but not fast enough as it didn¡¯t cancel out the pain in a fluid motion.


    ¡°How many of those do you have?¡± He asked the Mage from where he was sitting down against the railing, he still rubbed his wrist even though he had felt the bones snap back into place.


    ¡°Enough for the moment. Now let us go again.¡±


    Painin walked into the main dining area and went to get a plate of food. Apparently healing your body took it out of you and forced you to feel like you hadn¡¯t eaten in days. He shoveled the food into his mouth and swallowed without noticing that Berm had entered the room with another of the Prince¡¯s men.


    ¡°Fucking peasant. As if he has any idea about honor. Doubt he even knows who his fucking father was.¡± Said Berm standing over Painin.


    Painin clutched the sides of his plate so hard that his knuckles were white, and the pewter plate shook. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself as he stared at the men. They laughed together as they noticed his reaction.


    ¡°Oh. I am sorry did that hit too close to home? I meant to say that your mother didn¡¯t know which mangy cur your bastard father was that parted her legs.¡± Painin wrapped his legs around the chair under him so hard that his joints cracked from the strain.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Kurk. This fucking place has too many rats for my liking.¡± Brem knocked into Painin as they left the room.


    Painin slammed his plate down onto the table and kicked his chair backward where it crashed against the wall behind him. He got up and made his way back outside to the training area where he pulled a training sword and began to hack at a training dummy with abandon. He slammed the sword into the wood and straw dummy the tears started to stream from his eyes as he pictured Berm and the rest of the miserable whoresons in front of him.


    From the darkness of his private living quarters, Master Nich watched the young man just blindly hack away at the dummy. He sat back and kept an eye on him as he drank a goblet of wine and allowing him his time to get the feelings out. Finally, the swings slowed down. The point of the sword landed in the dirt and Painin slowly made his way back into the keep stopping only to throw the sword into the bucket. With a sigh, Master Nich went back into his quarters and shut the door behind him.

 23. Lessons

    The days quickly flowed into a rhythm of waking up and practicing either with Master Pierce or Master Nich. They didn¡¯t ease up on him and his injuries were repaired by a seemingly never-ending supply of healing potions. The magic in the vials however did not stop the pain from those injuries from being felt in agonizing detail.


    On the morning of the third day from the challenge Painin found himself standing in the sand ring. He was wearing a basic leather chest guard that was loaned to him from the armory. Already a rather large group of people from the keep had found their way to the outside of the ring. Even Commander Novik was outside though he was currently talking to Master Pierce in a very animated manner off to the side. The Battle Mage calmly took a second to drink from his ever-present cup before he answered the Commander, turned, and walked towards the ring.


    The Prince walked out from the keep his armor breastplate which shined in the morning sun as he was followed by his retainers. Brem stared at Painin his hate evident as they approached, and he opened the small wooden gate for the Prince to enter. The Prince carried the same bored face that he always did as he moved to the far corner and waited to take a sip from a cup offered by a serving girl.


    Master Nich walked out to the center of the circle and motioned both young men forward he held two seemingly identical-looking swords in his hands and offered them to the Prince.


    ¡°We are here to settle a dispute of honor in the court of battle. Does the aggrieved still wish to continue?¡± He intoned looking to Painin.


    ¡°He does.¡± Said Master Pierce loudly before turning to Painin and smiling.


    ¡°Very well. I have two weapons here milord please as the accused make your selection from them.¡±


    The Prince hefted both blades and moved them around checking their balance. He sighed and handed one back to Master Nich who offered the blade to Painin. Painin took the offered sword and held it by his side. Master Nich motioned that both young men should approach him in the center.


    ¡°This will be decided by blood. The first to draw blood is the winner and the match ends. Any final words?¡±


    ¡°This will be a long lesson for you.¡± Said the Prince the bored look no longer in his eyes as a predatory smile formed on his face.


    Master Nich looked at both of them and raised his hand between them. He looked them both in the eye and then quickly dropped his hand in a chopping motion.


    ¡°Fight!¡±


    The Prince wasted no time and began to attack. His sword moved incredibly fast and it took all of Painin¡¯s effort to simply parry each of the blows with his sword. Suddenly the prince¡¯s sword seemed to reverse itself in mid-move and slammed into Painin¡¯s shoulder sending him staggering sideways. He dropped his guard, grabbed his shoulder, and was left unprepared when the prince¡¯s blade slammed into his midsection.


    His armor softened the blow but not by much, driving the wind out of him. Grimacing he pushed through the pain and tried to mount a counterattack of his own with a flurry of attacks. The prince deflected or outright avoided his attacks, and Painin quickly realized how overmatched he was. Master Pierce had explained to him how much training the Prince had received, but seeing it in practice was amazing. He would have been more impressed had he not been on the receiving end of the attacks.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Painin began to feel himself slowing as he swung his sword trying in vain to hit the Prince who seemed to be moving so much faster than he was. The Prince seemed to get tired of defending himself and pressed his attack again. His sword shot out catching Painin on his arm with the flat of his blade. Two more attacks came just as quickly striking the same arm as he tried to pull it back hitting his forearm.


    Grimacing as his arm began to throb with each of the strikes. He lowered his sword with a sigh at being so clearly outmatched. He snapped his blade upwards at the last moment as he felt more then saw the Prince swinging his sword back in again barely deflecting it. A look of confusion crossed his face and the Prince smiled more.


    ¡°No blood yet. The lesson continues.¡± He said pressing the attack even more.


    The blows just kept coming and Painin was starting to become disoriented from the strikes. He began to realize that the Prince was only hitting him with the flat of his blade. Not the edge which would be more prone to breaking the skin. He saw Brem behind the Prince his eyes wide with glee as he watched the beating continue. Painin began to panic as he realized exactly what the ¡®lesson¡¯ actually was going to be.


    Painin began to grow more reactive trying to avoid the attacks where he could but the hits began to add up quickly. Again, the Prince got past his defenses and his evasions became more dire. This set up a pattern where the more he moved to avoid the attacks the more he opened himself up to attacks. He felt the bones of his wrist break with one swing which seemed to change direction mid-swing. He yelled out in pain, but it only seemed to drive the Prince into more of a frenzy of attacks.


    For every attack he managed to block, parry, or even disrupt 2 or 3 more made it through to hit him. He felt more bones give way to the metal blade his agony growing with every strike. The leather chest guard managed to stave off the worst of the strikes to his torso, but the damage was still done with every hit. It soon became hard to breathe as he felt at least one of his ribs break. He doubled over in pain and fell to his knees.


    This did not slow the attacks from the Prince, and he found himself laying on the sandy ground looking up at the Prince. His smile was like something of a nightmare and he slowly and methodically aimed his strikes and Painin felt the bones in his other arm break. The Prince kicked his sword away from him and knelt to look Painin in the face as the young man struggled to hold onto consciousness.


    ¡°I told you the lesson wasn¡¯t done you miserable little shit heel. I will break you for your insolence until I get bored and then I will let you live out your life a broken shell.¡± He said twirling the tip of his sword in the sand.


    If he wasn¡¯t in so much pain, he would have been terrified from just the look in the Prince¡¯s eyes. It was like looking into the abyss itself. Over to the side, he could hear shouting distance but couldn¡¯t make out what was being said. He watched the sword descend and smash into his hand and more agony washed through him. Darkness began to overtake him and instead of fighting it, he tried to go with it to try and escape the pain. The Prince knelt next to him and slapped him in the face bringing him back out of the darkness.


    ¡°Can¡¯t pass out now. I am just getting started.¡± His grin seemed to go even wider if that was possible extending almost across his entire face.


    Shadows moved in the background as he stared into the Prince¡¯s eyes which almost seemed to glow from inside his head. Every time the darkness began pushing into his vision, he was rewarded with another slap across his face followed by more strikes to his arms, legs, and torso. He felt more bones break adding to the agony that he already felt. Painin wondered how long this was going to go for and tried to almost will himself to bleed so that it could end. He reached out and placed his limp hand onto the Prince¡¯s lower leg which brought him a sneer from the Prince.


    The practice sword rose and fell once more, and the darkness rushed in from the sides of his vision like black water. Voices began to yell around in the distance as he felt the coolness of the darkness envelop him in its embrace. Painin smiled as he felt himself fade away with the darkness and he realized that he was free.

 24. Lessons Over

    The sun was high in the sky as he exited the woods carrying the bucket of water back toward the house. There was a thin plume of smoke that rose from the small chimney. The southern breeze blew the fragrant smell of his mother¡¯s stew toward him and set his mouth salivating. He walked towards the house and the front door opened revealing his father holding a cigar and looking very healthy.


    ¡°Ho Lad.¡± He called out with a raised hand as he saw Painin.


    Suddenly his father was standing in front of him and Painin rushed forward to hug him the water bucket laying forgotten behind him. Tears streamed down his face as he breathed in the scent of his father the smell of leather, sweat, and smoke that he associated with him.


    ¡°I¡¯m so happy to see you!¡±


    His father ruffled his hair and returned the hug while holding the cigar away from him to not burn him. Stepping back Painin rubbed the tears from his eyes as he simply took in his father and noticed his siblings standing on the porch waving to him enthusiastically. He waved back to them as his mother walked out to stand behind them. He tried to run to them but found himself being held firm by his father¡¯s iron-like grip.


    ¡°You can¡¯t go to them lad. It isn¡¯t your time yet.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t understand. I want to be with you all. I miss you all and want to be with you.¡±


    ¡°I understand that son, but it isn¡¯t up to you or me. It is not your time yet to be here. We can¡¯t change the path that the universe has laid out for us. No matter how hard we try. Just know that we love you and we are here waiting for you.¡±


    Painin began to cry again knowing deep inside on a basic level that his father spoke the truth. He could not deny the overwhelming feeling of being pulled backward that he was experiencing. The feeling seemed to grow in strength the longer that he was present in the space with his family. He raised his hand and waved it at his mother who smiled warmly at him and blew him a kiss before gathering the children back inside the house. He looked up at his father and noticed that they were now separated by space, but he could not remember moving.


    ¡°I am sorry that you have to go through this son. I just hope that we have prepared you well enough. Remember that we love you, be tough, but also be kind.¡± He raised his hand as Painin found himself even further away now.


    He threw himself forward and dug his feet into the ground pushing with all his might as he strained forward his hands reaching outward. He pushed with all his might, but his feet slowly began to slip on the ground under him as he continued to go backward.


    ¡°Dad!¡±


    ¡°I love you, son. I am proud of you.¡±


    The world around him blurred and he lost focus as everything went black. Gone were his family¡¯s lands and home. He became aware of an intense pain that seemed to wrack his entire body seemingly everywhere at once. Voices floated around him at various levels, but they passed him by. He tried to force his eyes open but found that his muscles failed to react to his demands despite the effort put forth. Everything faded away until there was nothing left, and he found himself floating in a black void.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The void of darkness did not go away all at once and he could best describe the feeling as if one was walking out of water. The sensations and light slowly built until they could no longer be contained. Master Pierce¡¯s face dominated his field of vision as a blurry blob slowly came into focus.


    ¡°He is awake again. Hold his head again so that I can get more potion into him.¡±


    His head was grabbed in a fierce hold that caused more pain to lance through his body as his mouth was also held open and cool liquid flowed down his throat. The cooling feeling spread outward through his body as it had done so many times before. This time however the feeling traveled slower, and he felt the flush of cold in multiple places all over his body before it slowed down. Again, and again the liquid was poured down his throat each time spreading further out into all parts of his body and slowly he began to regain control and feeling within his body besides just pain.


    His eyes focused more, and he saw Master Nich holding his mouth open as Pierce poured the remaining contents of the vial into his mouth. Dropping the bottle Master Pierce began checking over his body and sighed deeply.


    ¡°Well that didn¡¯t go as planned but I am glad that we got you back there boy. It was kind of scary for a bit there after the Prince lost it went after you once you went unconscious. It didn¡¯t help that his men also joined in when we were trying to get him off you.¡±


    ¡°They did retreat when they became overwhelmed by our response. That one-man Berm I thought would fight to the bitter end. No matter how much the odds were stacked against them.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­ I lost.¡± Painin croaked out through his parched throat a by-product of the healing potions for some strange reason.


    Master Pierce just stopped and looked at him with a look of confusion on his face.


    ¡°What are you talking about boy? You didn¡¯t lose, you won.¡±


    His face must have given away his utter disbelief at hearing the news. The last thing that he remembered was laying on the sand of the ring being struck by the flat of the Prince''s sword. Master Nich laughed at seeing his face as he was trying to process the information.


    ¡°When he had you down on the ground beating you, he still had not drawn any visible blood. However, when you reached out to grab his leg you managed to scratch him drawing a thin line of blood from the wound. This is what caused me to call the fight for you.¡±


    ¡°He went even more crazy when Nich saw that blood on his leg and declared you the winner of the duel. He ended up damn near taking your head off before we could get him separated from you and things were not easier when his men jumped to his defense. Finally, though they departed from the Keep in a hurry not wanting to stay around afterward.¡±


    ¡°The fight might still be going on if Commander Novik had not stepped in and reminded the Prince of the rules of the duel and challenge his honor. He had finally reigned in his men and left to head back to Culum but not before making several threats to all those involved.¡±


    ¡°Fuck him the pompous little ass.¡± Master Pierce mumbled before taking a sip from his cup.


    ¡°Now how are you feeling lad? I am leery of giving you more of the healing draught tonight lest it leave you more drained.¡±


    The Masters left him alone in his room and he could see that it was night time and he fell into a deep slumber brought on from the quick healing and the after-effects of the potions used on him. As he drifted off his mind kept trying to make sense of that he had somehow won the duel and those thoughts carried over into his dreams.


    Master Nich left Pierce in the hallway outside of the room and walked down toward his private quarters next to the practice ring. The signs of the fight were still present in the sand of the ring and the surrounding area. With slow and deliberate moves, he took the wooden rake from its place against the wall and began the slow and arduous task of raking the circle free from items that may have been hidden in the sand. Once he had raked it clean, he flipped over the rake and began to smooth it back over until it was uniform and unblemished.

 25. Aftermath

    Waking up he watched as Master Pierce sat in a chair at the foot of his bed his head buried in a large tome mumbling to himself through heavily veiled eyelids. His body was more a mass of aches and pains than the raw unbridled pain of the previous day. Letting his eyes close again he tried to fall back asleep but a chuckle from Master Pierce caused him to peek at him again from under his eyelashes.


    ¡°You know that I am aware that you are awake. Yes?¡±


    Painin groaned and opened his eyes fully as the Mage looked at him over the top of his book. He motioned to the small table next to the bed that had yet another small bottle full of blue liquid and mimicked drinking it. Popping the cap, he sipped at the cool liquid and he felt the chilled flush rush through it his body, and the feeling of pain lessened further. Master Pierce took a sip from his cup as he silently watched the young man.


    ¡°I wanted to apologize to you.¡± The Mage stated with a sigh.


    ¡°I wanted to apologize to you for using you in the manner that I did. I put you into a struggle that you had no business being involved in. My issues with my family are and should be my own and not involve you. Let alone almost get you killed.¡±


    ¡°Your family?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I am not proud, but I was in line for the throne until I went to the Citadel of Magic. My older brother was marked for leadership and I was more than happy to follow my heart and pursue magical inquiry and training. When my brother died our youngest brother stepped into the role of next in line.¡±


    Painin pushed himself more upright in the bed with a groan from his struggling muscles and looked at the Mage in disbelief.


    ¡°The Prince is your brother? Don¡¯t you think that you should have let me know that before now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You have a valid point and sadly I don¡¯t think of myself as part of that family anymore. But no matter I shouldn¡¯t have drawn you into my family drama, I am sorry for that. I had no way of knowing that Reckin would react like that during the fight. He took his anger for me out on you and it wasn¡¯t fair or right in any instance.¡±


    Painin stared at the ceiling in the room trying to get a grasp on the different thoughts and feelings that were running through his head. He felt at a loss like the one aspect of his life that was starting to make sense no longer did. He felt anger at the fact that Master Pierce had used him to settle some sort of grudge with his brother and the rest of his family.


    ¡°The potions have healed you, but you will still feel the aftereffects for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    ¡°Look, lad¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Shut the fuck up!¡± Painin yelled at the Mage slamming his hands on the bed.


    ¡°Shut the fuck up and get out of here!¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Master Pierce nodded his head and closed up his book and slid it under his arm as he rose from his chair and moved to the door.


    ¡°Again, for what it is worth lad I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°Get out.¡± Behind him, he heard the sound of the door closing as the Mage left the room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come back.¡± Said Painin to the now empty room.


    Things around the Keep returned to some semblance of normal in the weeks that followed the fight. Painin found himself avoiding Master Pierce and his rooms and focused more on busying himself with his work with Commander Novik. The Commander was getting ready for the annual purge of the mountain passes. He informed Painin that he was able to go and take part this year and would be his valet.


    When he wasn¡¯t running errands for the Commander, he divided his available time working with Master Nich in the forge and pulled extra details around the Keep with Marki and the guards. One night he found himself on duty walking around the parapet with Kemp their measured steps keeping time as they made their rounds. Painin enjoyed the act of doing guard detail it allowed him to feel as if he was adding to the security of the Keep and not just enjoying its benefits.


    The wind coming from the passes to the West still carried a chill to it that said that Winter had not released its grip from the mountains just yet. They paused to look into the distance and Kemp sighed deeply before he began to sing a song his deep voice traveling out into the desert beyond. The song was one that Painin had not heard before and though he didn¡¯t understand the words it spoke of loss and pain. He had never heard Kemp sing before and it was beautifully haunting in the darkness of the night. Even the carryings on down in the drinking establishments in Wildrest seemed to go quiet as he continued his song.


    Painin lost track of time as he listened to the man sing and thought he caught a glimpse of a tear as it escaped his eye and rolled down his face where it was carried away by the wind. The pair stood quietly just looking out in the darkness before he found the silence to be too much.


    ¡°Kemp. That was an amazing song. What was it about?¡±


    ¡°It is an old Retae song of loss. I would honestly be surprised if you had heard it before. Most do not know it any longer as the younger generation of my people have forgotten their past. I was once apprenticed to a minstrel who went from town to town and entertained the people there.¡± He went quiet again and looked out into the darkness.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were a minstrel.¡±


    ¡°No reason for you to lad. I don¡¯t go around talking about my past. Just made stupid choices and had to pay for them. It was either join the guards out here on the edge or go and do time in Edrag. I choose to join the guards.¡±


    ¡°Why would you have to go there?¡±


    ¡°Like I said lad I made stupid choices. Becoming a guard and giving up the drink though has turned me into a new man.¡±


    ¡°Well you have an amazing voice and it would be a waste to not share it with people.¡±


    Kemp chuckled and motioned for them to continue their patrol, but he did start to hum under his breath as they walked. Finally, they were relieved and Painin made his way down to his towards the Commander''s room. He went about setting out the Commander''s uniform and quickly polished his boots and belt for the morning. He checked to make sure there was water in the pitcher next to the basin before he let himself out of the room and past the guards that nodded to him.


    His room had a slight chill to it despite the small fire that was still smoldering pile of embers inside the fireplace. Tossing some wood onto the pile he was rewarded as they quickly caught fire and began to put out more warmth. He took off his sword belt and hung it on the wall and began to get ready to go to sleep. Painin took a sip of water from the clay mug that sat on the little table next to his bed. Holding it in his mouth he slowly let it run down the back of his throat savoring the coolness.


    Laying back on the bed he closed his eyes and said a quiet prayer to the old gods for the souls of his family. The morrow was the day they would begin their ride to clear out the mountain passes. He struggled to clear his mind and it took some time for him to fall asleep, but finally he did though his dreams were troubled.