Chapter 6

Enjoy!

The Patrol

Villian, now well rested, felt refreshed, and was hoping for a peaceful day. Unfortunately, the first eyes he saw were Loylen’s, and he had another job for Villian; patrol duty. To make matters worse, Maron was on the same patrol. Quickly, Vill made his way down from the bedroom, to the armory, and fit on himself a chain mail shirt. Then, he put on a guild shirt, (a gray shirt with the guild crest, (four squares checkered blue and white,)) and an iron helmet. He also took up a shield with the guild crest, and a steel broadsword. After arming himself, Villian made his way to the kitchen, where he packed some mutton, with some cheese, as well as a small pouch of berries. He also packed a pouch of water. At that moment, Maron entered the room; he himself was already wielding his weapon, and already wearing his armor.

“Are you ready to go, my friend?” he said with a smug face. Villian said nothing.

The two exited the guild, and made their way towards the main gate of Cath-Lenor. The sun had already risen above mt. Azelworth, and stalls had been opened within the city gates. The day was now underway. Just as Villian was admiring the day, he saw an empty stall. There were some barrels, smelling of cheese, and a scale and knife. This was in fact, Villian’s old cheese stall. He was gazing at it in sadness, when he heard a distant call from Maron. Villian looked, and saw him leading two horses from a stable.

“These beauties will be our way to the East Fields,” he said with a smirk. Villian again said nothing.

As they rode through the castle gates, Villian remembered selling cheese to all the peasants and merchants that came by that way. He remembered the carpenter, who was well built with a round face and a brown beard; and the baker, who was fatter than a hog, with a mop of yellow hair; and the butcher, who always wore an apron that was covered in blood. But these thoughts were pushed away as Villian and Maron rode through the countryside. On their left they could see the river, and across it, a black forest; but as they continued, the forest fell behind and great bluffs came into view. And on the horizon, he could see what looked like a bunch of tiny square-like stones, piled on top of each other.

“What are those?” Villian inquired Maron.

“The Were-wolf Ruins,” replied Maron, with a grin. “In the day, wild men live there; but every night, they make their transformation, into wolf-like beasts.” All that was being said had to be said in a sort of yell, because of the noise of the horses’ galloping hooves.

Then, they saw on their right, they saw a large plain, stretching all the way up to the Sunrise Mountains. These were the East Fields.

The river now took a turn to the left, but Maron discontinued following the river and instead took a steady right turn; Villian followed.

Soon they had arrived at their destination, which was a stake in the ground. Both Maron and Villian dismounted, and tied up their horses, and then unpacked their daily supplies. Maron, had a section of ham, along with some cheese and wine, and Villian pulled out his own meal, that he had packed beforehand. They ate, and talked about very light subjects, such as the weather; although, most of the talking was done by Maron, because Villian had no desire to interact with him.

The sun was soon at its high point, and it was then that they saw it; lumbering across the plain in the distance, was a Minotaur. Though it was a good mile or two away, Villian could tell that it was large, nearly fifteen feet tall, with giant hooves and horns. The Minotaur seemed to notice the duo that stood far away, but he couldn’t be sure whether or not anyone was actually there, because they were so small. So he moved on. Villian couldn’t tell what to make of this creature, except that it was large, and frightening.

“I’ve killed one of those,” said Maron with a grin. “I had to cut off its legs at the knees, and then after it fell, I stuck my sword in its ugly neck!” Villian thought it an interesting piece of advice, due to the fact that he had normally received advice like, “milk the cows just after sunset instead of before,” or, “let the cheese age for one extra week before you sell it.” “Cut a Minotaur’s legs of first, and then stab it in the neck,” sounded much different. But Villian thought he would remember this piece of advice for a long while.

Hours past, and soon the sun had nearly done its duty as being a light. It was at this time, that Villian and Maron were ready to return to the castle.

“It’s been a long day, has it not?” said Maron. He didn’t wait for an answer. “I have long pondered the lengthiness of  days, such as the day that Marsen was killed, (he was the warrior that you replaced.) Yes, I remember that day for a long time, as I will remember this day. For today, someone will either choose to listen to me, or they will choose to die.” Villian knew what was about to happen, so he quickly readied his shield.

“I think I know your choice Villian,” said Maron, “You have chosen death!” Maron drew his sword, and carelessly attacked Villian, hitting only his shield. Then he stabbed, and Villian parried. Maron continued to attack, and Vill continued to block. Then, Maron, tired of sword-fighting, dove at Villian. Villian had nowhere to move, and he had not yet drawn his sword. Also, Maron was on his shield, so he had no way to block. Maron readied to deal the death blow, when Villian drew a small dagger and stabbed Maron in the leg. Maron stumbled backwards, holding his leg in pain. Vill rose quickly, drew his sword, and drove a deep cut into Maron’s other leg; Maron screamed. Villian, carried him to one of the horses, and strapped him down, and then went to untie the horses. Villian mounted the other horse, and they began to ride, only to dismount again because Villian forgot to bandage up Maron. Once off again, they had no other stops.

Arriving in the city, Villian was greeted with gasps and screeches. He hurried to the guild, where he would have to explain the situation. He thought he would give himself some time to think, but for every second thought, one second Maron would be closer to dying; so Villian hurried on.

He didn’t know who the horses belonged to, so he tied them to a random hook in the wall, to be attended to later. He unstrapped Maron, and carried him into the guild. In the Loylen and Stolar were in the living room, and Villian immediately walked in. Stolar stood up abruptly, and without saying anything, stole Maron from Villian’s hands and made his way out the door. Loylen looked startled, and soon inquired Villian rapidly.

“What happened?” he asked. Villian wasn’t sure whether or not he should answer truthfully, so he decided to try and not mention anything that put him in bad light, (such as dealing his second blow.)

“Maron attacked me, and I defended myself,” answered Villian. Loylen looked puzzled.

“Then why is his leg nearly severed, and you remain unscathed?” Villian knew that the truth would have to come soon, but he decided to prolong it.

“He,” Villian stuttered, “tripped on a sharp rock after I pushed him away.” Villian knew that Loylen saw dishonesty in him, but the truth would surely have to stay unsaid, for his sake.

Silence followed the short discussion, such a long silence that Villian decided to sit down. After a good ten minutes or so, Stolar burst into the room.

“He’ll live,” he said, “but his leg won’t heal for a few months.”

Stolar noticed the silence and sat down on a sofa. Eventually Loylen left the room, and Stolar followed, leaving Villian alone. He thought of the truth, and knew that it would have to be mentioned; but now was not the time he thought. So Villian walked upstairs to the barracks, and fell asleep.

Chapter 5

Sorry for the delay. I had this chapter written, but I forgot to publish it. Enjoy!

Life as a Warrior

The next few days, Vill began to regret all his thoughts of greatness, and all his dreams of becoming a warrior. But now he had no choice, and his actions were no longer undoable.

He arrived at meals either before or after any of the warriors had eaten, and left before they could find him. Actually, he hardly even ate. He grew skinner than he had ever been before, and became more and more tired. He felt he had no reason to live.

After a while though, he decided to try and see his fellow warriors. This happened quickly, since all he needed to do was to arrive at a meal on time. When he arrived, he saw all four warriors eating, barely saying anything.

“I am sorry for my absence over last few days,” said Vill.

“Separation is normal for a warrior in his early stage,” replied Sir Loylen. “But you have only experienced the first part of it.” These words were all that were said at the meal, confusing Vill. But Vill thought little of it, since he knew that warriors were quiet people.

But soon, (after many more meals,) it seemed to Vill like the only his made Vill feel even worse than he had felt before; not only had he lost his mother, but now he had lost the only people he was allowed to be friends with. For, according to the rules, he could not have relationships of any kinds with anyone but his fellow warriors; and the relationship seemed to not even be there. When Vill said something, he would receive no reply, and the others would continue to eat in silence.

Soon, Vill could no longer tolerate anything; he said a simple hello when he arrived at supper, but again, received no reply. Vill did not even sit down. Off he tramped to the sofa room, where he began throwing things around; picking up a chess table, he hurled it against the stone wall. He picked up chairs and threw them as wall, and he destroyed small tables. He with burned with rage that he had never felt before. Soon, he was turning over sofas and cutting them with a sword that hung on the mantel piece.

Vill was too busy destroying things that he didn’t notice Loylen who had come in the room and sat down on an almost destroyed chair. When Vill noticed him, he just continued to trash the room.

“You’re a little angry I suppose?” said Loylen. Since he received no reply, he continued. “I did the same when I was at your stage in the guild. Only I tried to destroy the bedroom.”

“Why were…you…angry?!” replied Vill while destroying things.

“For similar reasons as you are right now. But there was another reason.” Suddenly Vill realized that he was having a conversation with a fellow warrior, something he had not experienced. He stopped destroying things and made eye contact with Loylen.

“What was the other reason?” he asked. Loylen thought for a moment, and then said, “When I was a boy, I had dreams of becoming a warrior. My father was the head warrior at the guild in the cold city of Orel, and my mother and I lived in the same city. My father had a bright red beard, and he was slightly slim. His sword was a beauty, with a red ruby in its handle, and is the one that you are holding right now.” Vill immediately began to return it.

“It’s quite all right that you hold it,” said Loylen, “for the only one who has not handled it is Maron, who would keep it if he ever saw it.” Vill returned, holding the sword.

“That is indeed a famous sword,” continued Loylen. “It has slain yetis and were-wolves of innumerable amounts, and has killed many other beasts. The ruby was mined from a mountain in the North Mountains, and the sword is called ‘The Ruby of the North’.

I now use this sword, but only to kill the pests of the street.

“Now, when I was young, (maybe only eleven or twelve years old,) the yetis attacked Orel, crushing its walls and houses, while the were-wolves ran into the city and slaughtered thousands. My father was fighting the beasts, while my mother and I fled from the city on horseback. But soon the were-wolves had caught up with us and were galloping beside us. Then, from nowhere known, my father attacked from horseback. He killed all the beasts that were close to us, and then said simply, ‘You are brave my son, and you shall use this sword as I have.’ He then gave me his sword and rode away. I would never see him again.

“Soon though, my mother and I were hunted down; a were-wolf had caught up to us, and was gnashing its fangs. Then, unexpectedly, my mother jumped of the horse, landing on the wolf. I stopped the horse and watched my mother being torn apart by the beast. I soon killed the beast with my sword, and listened to my mother’s final command: ‘Warn the villages.’ I did so quickly, and not a single village was touched.

“I was praised, but I felt like a wretch who had let both my father and mother die.

“Never the less, they made me a warrior, instead of having a tournament, which made me feel even worse, since I felt that I had not earned a position. I am the only warrior to have been made warrior and have not won a tournament.” Both were silent for a few moments, and then Vill said, “I have acted rashly, but have never experienced anything like you have described. But it must be explained to me why you do not normally speak to me.”

“A code has been created,” replied Loylen, “that favors those who are wise and modest. You have just shown me that you are modest, but as I look at this room I can tell you are not wise.” The two chuckle before Loylen continues, “The privilege to speak to those who are of higher rank is only given to those who honor them. You need not worry of this now, for I have seen your modesty in what you have said of your life. Wisdom will come with common sense. You’ve destroyed things that are difficult to replace, so now you must do the task of finding and moving in new ones. And you also will fix the paint that was destroyed from the things that you threw against the walls. Does any of this make sense to you?”

“Yes, but where will I find furniture and paint?”

“You are to make the furniture yourself, and you will find the paint in the city. Also, you must find the supplies you will need tonight, and you will do nothing else during you days until you are finished. And also, because of your understanding, you will be the third in command, and Maron will be fourth in command, because of his disrespect for the code. Begin your task.” Then Loylen went off.

Vill soon went out into the city, looking for paint and wood. He found the paint around midnight, and the wood, cushions, and cloth a few minutes before the sun rose. The only problem was that the shops were not open, so he had to wait until mid-morning to actually buy them.

He had nearly fallen asleep by the time the shop keeper had arrived, and he had a hard time telling the keeper what he wanted, and asking the price. It was then that he realized he had no gold, so he trudged back to the guild to retrieve some. He thought of asking Loylen, but Loylen did not appear to be there; nor did anyone else. So he decided to search for some, and make sure it was okay that he used it. He finally found some in a pouch with his name on it on his bed, and figured it was his. He then returned to the shop, but then thought it best to buy the paint first, since it would be easier to carry.

So he stumbled to the paint shop, (since he remembered where he had found it. He bought a bucket of red paint, which he hurried to the guild where he placed it against the wall where the paint was non-existent.

Vill finally bought the wood, cushions, and cloth, but could not think of a way to transport them. The only thing that he could think of was to push. So he started with the three large wooden pieces, (which would support the cushions, and push/carried them to the guild, where he collapsed in exhaustion. But he couldn’t rest until the day’s end. So he slowly returned to the shop and eventually brought every single piece of wood back.

Vill decided that the best way to transport the cushions was to make a kind of sled that he could drag along with him. So he found some string and tied it to one of the large boards. He now could transport everything else.

Soon everything was before his feet, (in the guild.) He could start building the furniture, and do the easy part of painting last. So he started nailing the boards together, and placing the silky cloth over the cushions.

He had finished one couch. Vill could not guess the time, but he figured it was late in the day. Then a source walked in; it was Maron.

“You’re having a tough time eh’?” he said.

“Just tell me the time please?” replied Vill tiredly. Maron looked out a nearby window and said, “The sun is nearly in the sky.” Vill was both surprised and relieved.

“You know,” said Maron, “you don’t have to do all that work. If you don’t do it, then Loylen will do it for you. He’ll see you doing other things, and will think you are too busy and doing things of more importa nce.” Vill thought for a moment how nice it would be to sleep and make up for all that he had lost the previous night; but then he thought of how disappointed Loylen would be, and it was then that he realized that it was most important that he finish his task, and that he not give into Maron’s temptation. So he just quietly worked on, and Maron finally left the room.

Vill was so relieved when night came, for he had finished everything he had been assigned; and that night, he slept well, and into the morning.