"Andreanna!" the centaur said as i turned to face it. i blinked. its voice was definitely not the voice i dreaded. was this...
"Aero?" i asked. she smiled showing her yellowed teeth. "you almost scared me!" i told the centauress.
"what are you doing here?" she asked. "my brother is going to kill you."
"could ask you that."
"there's been movement around the forest and theres rumours of war brewing up north and they are about to break the treaty." she pointed at the campers a few hundred yards away.
"they aren't." I told her. "they are here to hunt humans. kids at that." i said as i felt disappointment in my own tone. my tongue became bitter at the thought of me being them hunting the kids i thought were nothing but witches. even as they had told me with their cries, i never listened. i just...
"where's your brother?"
"Oh Arium?" she asked. " hunting you. he heard the old lady say you were jn the forest a few hours ago and he went to the armoury. he is going to if yoh dont get out of the forest, hes gonna kill you."
"i know."
"she td me yo give you this." she said taking out a folded cloth packages out of her sad... bag. bag. i knew where it was from. it had the mark of the royal family of the Mooring forest on it and i could guess what it was. armour.
"why are you mad at her?"
i took the package and looked away from the centauress.
"i dont wanna talk about it." so leave me alone.
"well, i dont wanna intrude in your business, but i know she is the closest thing to family to you, so, dont take too long running away from her." and she said she didnt wanna intrude.
"I'll tell her you saod thank you." she said and looked back with worry. " you better leave, my brother is coming." she said and turned back into the forest and galloped away.
i didnt blame her. her brother will kill her if he caught her with me.
i circled the campers and walked foward trying to put as much distance between me and him as possible.
as day broke, i was out of the forest. i was halfway through the abondened farmland and i only had half my armor on. the upper body armour made from the Uriel black leather sandwitching some golden metal i didnt know what it was. but i knew it was from Uriel. so i was certain whatever metal it was, it would be tougher than steel. if not it was as tough as Damascus steel. they came with Damascus steel as far as legends of the blacksmiths go. so i was certain an arrow would have to be stronger to pierce me.
having walked for the whole night cleared my mind. i now knew what i was going to do.
the church had sent its hunters after me. i needed to know why. i wasn't going to believe the words i heard through the grapevine.
but i was going to make sure what was what.
i went home, to the little cottage i owned at the edge of the city of Arga to get my weapons. i even stopped by the blacksmith's to make sure that the weapons i lost were still not in the market. but still they werent. but darm i loved that sword. it's blade was not straight, like other weapons. it was wavy and sharp enough to tear anything apart should it come in contact with flesh.
my home, when i got there was ransacked. the neighbors said the church and hunters came by and turned it upside down.
now they were pushing it.
really pushing it.
i looked all around the house and everything valuable i had was gone. this wasnt a search. it was a robbery. the only thing they left were bits of my clothing and nothing else. my cutlery, my weapon stacks they were all gone. even my fathers locket. even bits of food i had on storage.
i went to the secret room i hid its entrance behind my fathers memorial stone in the backroom and found it untouched. at least they didnt find it. but i didnt have to be relieved. i got pissed as the crones words hit home. why do i think they are witches? they just had something that the king and church wanted and were being killed for it.
i took the daggers made feom the dragon talons and put them on and every weapon i could spare, especially my throwing knives. i put the rest of the armor on and put the long black robes with hoods on too. and after buying a meal from the neighbors, who insisted on not selling me one but just feed me, i took their horse and rode into the city. next stop, The Canteen.
i sat in the middle of the room and asked the bar tender for tea as some hunters waited for a bounty from the church to be presented. in front of me on the bar, a bounty on my head stood, a hundred and fifty gold coins. probably the one they took frkm my home.
On my third cold cup, the monk came in as everybody talked of the centaur spotted in the towns nearest to the Mooring Forest that killed hunters and everyone on its path. rumours had it that he was coming this way and his bounty was to be presented all over the kingdom today.
so he was coming for me. i smiled.
the monk, as usual, went to the high point and started iterating thw bounty and showing the next target's pictures.
before he could put the first cheap bounty paper down, i got up and threw a throwing knife at his thigh, catching him. he screamed ad went down as the hunters all drew rheir swords.
first rule of the canteen, never touch the monk or government officials presenting bounties. to heck with it.
they turned to me as i drew my last wavy sword too. "hello boys," i said moving towards the monk nnot givkng a shit if they were gojng to kill me or not. "sorry, but i have business with him if y'all dont mind, fuck off!"
the looked at me, wondering who was going to act first.
i didnt waste time and swung my sword to the nearest hunter, cleanly taking his head off. Now i knew they werent going to mess with me. in anger, and rage, or fear, or whatever the heck they felt, one of them charged at me and i simply hit his sword aside and slashed their chest apart.
who the heck comes to a muscle bar without having armor on? doesnt he know fights happen every five beers?
i toom a look at the others who attacked too. stupid guys. stupid move.
the second to lunge at me came with an axe. i ducked and tore his bowels out. they all came at me with their weapons and i couldnt care less. numbers didnt matter. never mattered.
eight moves and i was done with heads rolling here and there and the monk running out the back of the canteen.
he walked, dragged himself into the middle of the busy road asking for help from the passers by. i took my hood off revealing the metal helmet j was wearing and slowly approached him.
"do... do.. do you... do you know... I am?" he asked as i got withing ten feet of him and he leaned against the street light.
"i know exactly who you are." i told him squatting jn front of him. i took the knofe off and stabbed him again on the other thigh. he screamed and i looked at him. he quickly closed his mouth and groaned. "Im gonna ask you a question. you dont answer it, j kill you. Who gives out the bounties?" i asked.
"the church!" he cried out tears, saliva and mucus all mixed into one.
"who at the church?" he shook his head.
i took the knife off his thigh and stabbed him on the neck. "wrong answer."
the passers by looked at me in horror and i put my hood on and turned in the direction of the nearest church. if there's no specific person responsible for the bounty, then, the whole church has to burn then.