Safety? Is that what is up in the trees? For the longest time I would not have had to think in order to answer that. My home town was hidden away from the world and so the world left it alone. Even the creatures that lived in the forest were no threat. The only beast that would ever attack us, fercacs, could not climb and so would only ever be encountered on rare journeys to the floor. But anyone travelling to the floor would be at their highest level of alertness and in a group of no less than six. The chances of being harmed by a fercac before one of your party slew it were so remote that it hadn't happened in over 20 winters.
Now, however, after my actions I would not be safe. I would be hunted. I would be paraded before the town and thrown into the clearing. Escaping the forest was the only chance I had to avoid such a fate. As long as I'm out they will consider me dead anyway.
I shall be forced to start a new life in the wide world. N'Ras, the inn keeper, had been kind enough to offer me a bed for one night after my long journey out of the forest but for any longer I would have to pay my rent. I would need work. N'Ras had none for me but he pointed me in the direction of the small village where he had spent his childhood and suggested that I look for some there.
The walk to the village took little under an hour. As I arrived and saw the stone, moss covered buildings I did not hold out much hope for finding anything to do. Not until I overheard a small girl asking her father what was for lunch. His reply was, "whatever you can catch, same as usual." Perhaps they would pay me to hunt for them. I had to find out.
As it happened the man was very grateful for my offer and sent me off to the wilderness north of the village with the promise of 5 to 15 coins, depending on what I brought back. Eager to earn as much as I could I set off to find him a meal.
The sun moved in the sky and I didn't see so much as a rat. I began to wonder if that man had sent me away just to get rid of me. Perhaps nothing lived in these wastes. Nothing but insects anyway. I considered catching some beetles and taking them back. He had promised to give me at least 5 coins as long as I brought something back. But then I spotted it. High above me a flock of birds flew. I had to find a way to tempt them closer to the ground. I grabbed a scurrying beetle. I withdrew my sword. I launched the beetle as high into the sky as I could manage. The birds took the bait. Five of them swooped down; racing each other for the insect. I readied myself and ensured I had firm footing. I didn't want this to go wrong. I looked up and watched as the birds came ever closer to catching the beetle hurtling through the air. I timed it perfectly. I threw my sword up and just as the leading bird caught the beetle my sword pierced four of the five birds through the chest and clipped the wing of another. All five fell to the ground with a crash. All five were dead.
When I arrived back at the village the man who had hired me was delighted at what I had returned with. So much so that he gave me 15 coins for each bird. With 75 coins I returned to the inn, paid N'Ras for another night and climbed back into a slightly more familiar bed.
N'Ras' Inn
No comments:
Post a Comment