The Hard Times. (My own writing)

[kaza125]

Description- After the siege of their village when the Arberstan rebels attack, they are split from their people in unknown territory, a man and his family struggle to survive the wilds in attempt for the south where the Eastern City lies. Food ad water is not the only thing to worry about in the wilds of the East...

 

[kaza125]

Prologue






"Rynic, we haven't found any food for days. What are we gonna do?"
"I'll figure it out," Rynic says to his wife.. "Just give me time." I hope I'll figure it out, Rynic thinks. They've been in the woods for 2 months since the siege of their village happened: Rynic, his wife Isha, his son Beric and daughter Elisha. Food has been the main priority, but anything that's edible is extremely scarce.
"But, we're going to starv-" Isha starts.
"I said I'll figure it out, alright?" Rynic says with an edge to his voice.
"Hey, keep it down," Beric mentions. "Eli's sleeping." At that, Eli stirs in her blanket on the back of the horse, rubbing her eyes. "Well, not anymore..."
"Good morning, sleepy," Rynic says affectionately to his daughter, looking at her behind his shoulder. "Had a nice nap?"
"I guess..." Eli says sleepily. "I'm hungry."
Rynic clenches his jaw at this. "I know. We all are. But there's just not enough food to go around. You understand?"
Rynic hates saying no to his daughter, especially in desperate times like this. He wants the best for her, but he feels like he's failing her. Thinking about this leaves an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He knows what will happen to all of them if he doesn't find shelter or food soon.
"Yeah, I understand," the 5-year-old says dejectedly.
"It's getting dark," Isha observes. "Are we going to find a cave, like last time or sleep on the dirt?"
Rynic scans the woods eagerly looking for some sort of shelter, just enough to keep his family safe. Nothing appeared in his sight.
"I don't know," Rynic replies. "Let's ride for a little while longer and see what happens." He said with doubt in his mind.
After riding for another hour, they see a small lone cabin. "Beric, get the weapons from the bag," Rynic orders. "We don’t know if any there might be bandits, tribes or…Arbers." Said with disgust on last words.
"Yes father," Beric replies. He hurries off the horse and ties it to a nearby oak tree. Out of the bag tied to the horse he pulls out two short iron axes.
"Isha stay with Eli by the horses. If something happens, you take her, keep heading south”.
"Of course. Come on, Eli. They'll be done soon."
Beric silently comes over to Rynic from the horses and hands over an axe to his father.
Rynic holds his axe at the ready and signals his son to stay behind him. Rynic approaches the cabin door with his son close to him.
"You ready?"Rynic asks his son.
He nods in action. The cabin. It was small; it couldn't be more than one room. The wooden panels that made up the walls were falling off. The twowindowswere boarded up tight. Rynic and Beric silently stand near the door.
"You hear anything?" His son whispers.
"Nah. You?" Rynic asks. Beric shakes his head.
Rynic grips the handle of his axe and takes a deep breath. He locks eyes with his son and gives a slight nod of his head. Rynic tentatively reaches for the doorknob and slowly opens the door. He steps in first, surveying the small room.
An unmade bed stands along the left wall. Next to it is a nightstand with a blood stained dagger. Along the right wall was a hanger which held a green cloak. Towards the back of the cabin is a small table with a butcher’s knife and a dead rabbit, still fresh. A wooden chair was pouched under the table.
Nothing looks dangerous to Rynic, so he takes some more hesitant steps into the cabin. He turns to Beric, who is still standing by the door, and gestures for him to come in.
"My god. It fucking stinks," Beric whispers.
“Watch your language, your fifteen old boy not a thirty old drunk”. Rynic shoots him a glare and puts a finger to his lips. Rynic bends down and looks under the sagging single sized bed. Nothing. He gets up and points Beric to the only door in the cabin besides the front door. It could have been a closet, but Rynic wasn't sure.
They slowly approach the door and listen for any noises. Silence. Beric reaches for the handle.
In quick motion, Beric opens the door and finds spare clothes and sheets, with scattered arrows.
”We should stay here father, it seems safe”. Rynic shakes his head in disagreement.
“What you smelt before was that rabbit, it’s a fresh kill. Someone lives here, they might return soon… Though… Maybe we could reason with him, get some supplies and head off”. He looks towards his son in a hurry.
"We're done here. Go get the girls," He orders his son. Beric hurriedly jogs back to the horses.

 

[kaza125]

Chapter one

Beric, Isha and Elisha all huddled together and joined Rynic in the cabin. On Beric’s shoulder he carries the group’s luggage. He threw it down in the middle of the wooden floor making an abrupt sound. Rynic turns to his family to give his thoughts. “Ok everyone, with what I can see. Someone lives here, probably lived here for a while”. Rynic points out the arrows in the closet and the fresh kill.
“The guy’s probably hunting, he could be dangerous we don’t know. When he comes we need to be prepared”. Isha comes over to Rynic and takes him to the table to discuss something without the others to hear.
“This isn’t safe, what if thi-this guy comes and he attac”
“I’ll deal with it” Interruptedly said.
“But what if-“
“I said. I’ll deal with it”. Said cold and bluntly.
After an hour passed they were still in the cabin, Eli was with her mother being told stories. Beric was playing with his axe, and Rynic was peering through a gap on in the wooden barricaded window. The horses were still tied up, Rynic could tell they were agitated. Then out of the blue an arrow pierced through the brown horses temples. The black horse reared and tried to catch away, but he was brought back by the rope tied to the tree. Then another arrow took flight to the black one’s head. The horse’s laid dead puddled by their blood still flowing from their skulls.
“Son of a bitch”. He whisper to himself said.
“Rynic what is it?” Isha rushed over to hold his shoulder. He shrugged off her grip and went for his axe on the nightstand. He turned to the group and readied a command.
“He knows someone’s in his cabin. He don’t know that we know he’s out there. I want you all to hide in the closet, I’ll stay by the side of the door.” He ordered.
“Can’t I help? I’ve got a pretty good sw-“
“No. If something happens I need you to take care of the family. Ok?” Rynic drops his hand on his son shoulder and smiles.
“Now get in there quick, and make no sound”. They all hurried into the closet, Beric had his axe with him and his father’s warning. Rynic planted himself to the front wall, right side of the cabin door. He could hear the slow crunching of leaves. Then a foot, slowly being planted on the first steps of the cabin. It was silent for a few seconds, Rynic’s heart beat rose dramatically. He heard a sword slowly and un-smoothly being draw from a leather holster.
“BOOM” The wooden door kicked back to the left side of the room. The hunter charged in and immediately slashed to the right. Rynic quickly pulled up his axe and held the strong force of the hunters slash. The hunting was battling for submission on Rynic, he was pushing down on his axe with his blade. Rynic kicked him in the balls and he was stunned in crouch position. Rynic brought his axe up and back down to splinter the hunters skull. Blood and brain flew rapidly out across the room. Rynic caught a few breaths and then the closet door opened. Beric charged out with his axe and then halted. He looked at the hunter’s body and then back up to his father.
“You.. you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” He reassured his son. “Watch the girls while I get rid of the body”. He ordered. Beric nodded in response and went to shelter the girls. Rynic attempted to pick up the body, but it was too heavy to put on his shoulder. So he took the hunter by both of his armpits and dragged him out the front door. Blood trailed from where he died to out of the cabin. He threw the body in a nearby bush, which he hoped is daughter wouldn’t be able to find.
After the incident, they settled in the cabin. There were sheets taken from the closet laid out on the floor with a few pillows. Their luggage was stored in the closet and there was a small pan which Isha was managing and trying to get the rabbit to cook. They had a fire going, but a small one. Eli was sleeping in the single sized bed, wrapped up in the green cloak. She let out a snore once and then, but she managed well in the uncomfortable bed. Beric was looking at the arrows and bow which Rynic scavenged from the body. Rynic sat at the end of the bed where he daughter laid. Night started to settle in within the cabin, it was only lit by the inch fire.
“Pssst, Rynic”. He turned his head to the side of his shoulder for a few seconds. He stood and silently walked to Isha trying his best not to wake Eli.
“What?” He asked bluntly form behind. She was still cooking the rabbit meat.
“When are we.. going to talk?” She questioned. He huffed.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” Said cold and frosty.
“Rynic, please.” She pleaded and turned to him. He lost his patient.
“No. After what you did during the siege… I will never forgive you for that”. He turned to stare at his daughter, she was calm and full of life in her sleep. He leaned over a bit and pouched his face into the palm of his hands and rubbed his eyes. She tried to turn her husband round with what strength she had, he turned on the feeling of her touch. Anger was taking over him. He stared blank and openly into her face, her eyes started to well up with tears.
“Rynic, I-I didn’t- I didn’t mean to, I just w-“ He broke off her pleading speech.
“You just what Isha? You left our little girl in our burning home! You said you didn’t have time to save her, that you wanted to get of their alive, what kind of mother are you?” He started his rage full speech and continued.
“I had to cut through the blood, and the fire to get my little girl. I risked my life for her. The only reason you’re here now, is your daughter wants you… So don’t expect any care or sympathy from me”. Rynic stormed outside to let out his anger. The slamming of the door awoke Eli. She sat up quickly.
“What was that?” She demanded. Beric looked at her mother and saw her tearing, he took himself to his sister and sheltered her.
“It was father, he’s just getting some fresh air, that’s all.” He said, lying to his sister. She looked aat Beric and saw the lie in his eyes. She got up and ran free from the reaches of Beric’s arms. Eli got through the cabin door and her father turned round.
“Eli.. you shouldn’t be out here”. He said with a slight tone of anger. She ran towards him and hugged him. She could only hug his leg, because of her height.
“Are you ok father?” She asked. Rynic looked down at her daughter with her ocean blue eyes.
“I’m fine Eli”. He smiled and she did to. Eli pressed her head into his leg.
“I love you”.
“I love you too Eli”.

 

[kaza125]

Dawn broke through the cabin. A shudder of light came in where there were gaps in the boarded up windows. Rynic laid on the broken floor, slightly covered by a torn old sheet. Isha was on the opposite side of the room, clinging to her sheets for warmth. Beric and Elisha were together on the single bed, being as warm as they could be. Rynic moderately opened his eyes. He kept his eye on the children, but only left a taste of disgust when he looked upon his wife. He rose from the floor, making a creak which awoke no one. We have shelter, but no food. He worriedly thought. He stealthily took to the closet and grabbed his axe. He peered round the room once more and saw his children stirring in the bed. He smiled with gratefulness for his children and headed for the cabin door for a hunting session.

Out in the open, deep in the wild, dawned in savagery. He was a few miles north of the cabin and recognised the area around him. Rynic has been tracking this deer for too long to give up. Found droppings leading to a full sight of the deer, and he hasn’t stopped tracking it since then. The forest was dense and confined with tall oak trees. It was midday, the sun was glazing on the bark and the age of the brittle, wrinkled leaves covering the ground. Rynic was following footprints, one similar to the ones at the droppings. Then, a sound of something rustling in a bush. He turned at the very instant to the sound. He saw it. Bold and big the deer was, Rynic crouched and without sound attempted to get nearer. Rynic was a few meters away and hidden behind a bush, out of sight from the deer’s eyes. Rynic rose his axe to crush the deer’s skull. Before he was about to bring it down, a thundering sound bolted and blistered through the open air. A crossbow bolt went straight though the deer’s skull and into a tree. The deer fell without hesitation as did Rynic so he could not be seen.

“A fine kill my Lord”. Stated a voice.
“I’ve never seen a better kill myself, you really show true skills of a hunt-“ The weak voice was cut off by one much deeper and cold.
“Kedrik. Do you need some rope?” Questioned by the deep voice.
“No, my Lord why do you ask?”
“To climb out of my arse! You shit stained toad!”. He laughed for a few seconds, his laugh was rather hatful and unnatural. Rynic peered through the bushes to get a glimpse of what was happening. He could pick out a tall, beefy bald man in iron. He was cloaked by white silk. He had two men with him, who must be his squires. They looked young and wore common clothes, one red, one blue.

After the laughter had finished, they sat down to make camp. Rynic still hidden by the bush decided to listen in to their conversations’s . They made a small fire, surrounded by two tents. Next to the fire was the bald man skinning the deer.
“My Lord, when will our mission be complete, if I may ask?” Said nervously by the squire in blue. The bald man continued to skin the deer and gave no eye contact to his squire.
“You got somewhere to be? Something more important than this?”. Aggressively stated by the Lord.
“N-no my Lord, I mean no offence, I was just asking…” The boy sheltered his eyes back to the fire which seemed to burn less than the eyes of the bald man. The bald man looked up from his kill with his dry, bitter looking lips and onyx eyes to his squire.
“This ‘mission’, will be done when I say it’s done”. Blunt and frosty he put out.
“When will it be done?” Stupidly asked the squire in red. The bald man, stopped skinning the deer and looked up to the boy with such resentment.
“Don’t question a man with a knife, you might get a bit of blood on your clothes, made by that whore you call mother… I say it’s done. When it’s done”. He returned back to skinning the deer, which he butchered more than skinned. The boy in blue starred into the fire, he couldn’t risk starring at their Lord. The boy in red marked his eyes on the knife his Lord was using. Rynic still laid in the bush, just waiting for them to leave. He was positioned behind the boy in red, who then slowly and trembling pulled a small dagger under the back of his shirt. He gripped it tight to stop trembling, but he couldn’t. He feared too much. The lord looked up again to him with little question and care.

“Got something to say red?”. The boy continued to be silent and stared at the knife.
“I said. Have you got something to say?” He repeated, but with a tone more aggression. The boy continued to stare at the knife. The lord was growing furious, he tightened the grip on his knife and like a bolt rose it up and drove into the deer’s stomach. He stood up and lodged his iron boot into his squire’s jaw. He was tightened to the ground, struggling to move. The boy lifted his dagger from behind and attempted to drive it into the Lords ankle. The small blade was kicked and fired from his hand into the bush Rynic was in. The boy’s face was already blood and bruised, but the Lord grew intoxicated with anger. He pumped his iron boot into the boy’s nose. “Got something to say red?” Stamping the iron into his disfigured face, again.
“Got. Something. To say. RED!”. Making splinters of his teeth.
“RED!”. Pushing metal into his eyes.
“RED!” The sickening sound of a skull being demolished and planted into the ground.
“RED!!!”. The head was a fraction of what it was once. The Lord had delivered his iron boot over ten times into the lads face. The anger was in his eyes, widened and ready to murder, butcher, kill. He took his foot away from the boy’s head, the blood on the sole of his boot seemed to smoke in the cold afternoon air. He turned to the boy in blue, who was cradling himself by the fire, his head buried into his knees. You could hear the soft wailing of fear. The Lord took a long look at the boy and spared him of any more pain.
“Clean this up”. The boy shot up and stormed over to the body. He tried to put his distance away from what remained of the head. He gripped the body’s ankles and went on to drag it across the forest. He buried the body in a bush, not too far from their camp. The boy looked back to the camp and saw his Lord glaring through him.
“Boy, we scout ahead, and look for the left overs”. Ordered the Lord. The boy nodded back, still in shock he came back to the camp and they collected there gear together and started to head south, the same direction of the cabin…

 

[kaza125]

Run Rynic, just run, run and kill them. He thought. He was still in the bush which he surveyed the killing. The two that left the camp were heading south, towards the cabin which they would eventually find. Rynic knew instantly that he couldn’t let them even plant a foot on the steps of wooden floor, but he could see failure in his plan. Death of not just his family, but himself. The tall bald man, was the threat. The way he butchered that innocent boy over what? Nothing.

Rynic decided to track them, maybe they would go past the cabin, not even see it. It was a chance he had to take. Taking behind oak trees and over stepping the brittle leaves while trying to mark out where the two were heading. The squire kept distance from his Lord and still had fear bubbling in him. Rynic heard a grumble from the bald man. He then proceeded to crouch down and spread his palm on the ground. He gently formed a fist full of dirt and heavily brought it up to crush the ground. He examined the woods around him, looking to the dull sky and warm ground he then proceeded to follow a set of steps while he looked at the ground in front of him. My footprints… uneasily drumming through his mind. Rynic continued to follow them, but keeping good distance from them.

Unfortunately… Rynic followed them to a sight which gave him a painful feeling through his body. His faced worried, contempt with fear, sacking his head into the palms of his trembling hands already sweating. “Oh God, oh G-God…No”. He quivered to himself. The lord and his squire looked at the cabin and without hesitation did the same as the hunter. The cabin door, forced by his blooded boot knocked down a wooden panel on the outside. Rynic heard a shout, a groan, a slash against meat and… a drop. The squire stood outside of the cabin, keeping himself to only himself. Rynic was speechless, he put his back against the north side of a tall oak and let out a few tears into his palms. Then a sound which was familiar to him. One which he did himself. He peered round the oak with his fingers clutching the bark and saw the tall bald man towing a body. The blood trailed through the exit of the cabin to the spot it was laid in. Blood seemed to form a puddle around the body, dark, and red, fresh, and warm. It was the body of Isha, she wore a deep wound, bearing across her stomach. There was no movement in her body apart from the fluent running of blood streaming from her. The lord kneeled to her and put his ear to her chest. He looked up and grinned to the squire.

He must of a said a command, for then the squire pulled out the knife used before on skinning the deer. The lord took hold of the butchers knife, flipped it, so the point faced Isha. The knife plummeted to her forehead, a second lasting fountain of blood spewed from that gruesome stab. Rynic’s whole body flinched in shock, he was unstable mentally, and physically. Rynic turned his eyes back and saw them coming his way. He moved around the tree so he wouldn’t be in their sight. He was lucky on that incident.

As the two men were far from the cabin, Rynic made his move. His eyes were to the cabin, rather than the body of his wife. He came inside and saw blood on the surface. His children were not there. “Eli! Beric!” He screamed with fear not knowing if they were alive or dead. Then out of the closet Eli came and shivered, and shuddered towards her father. He had never held his daughter this tight since the day they survived the siege. He crouched down to her height and cupped his hands on the sides of her trembling face.
“Eli, did they hurt you?”. Questioned with no hesitation.
“No”.
“You’re ok? You didn’t see anything?” He had to ask.
“I’m…Ok… Where is moth-“. She said with feeling of loss in her eyes. Rynic was about to give her an affectionate smile, until he realise something was wrong.
“Eli, where’s your brother?” He ordered.
“I…I”. She started to whimper. He lost patient and it triggered something hatful.
“WHERE IS HE!!!”. He demanded. He shook her, but only more tears came out. He let go and she ran to the bed, hiding herself under the covers. Rynic picked up his axe and lodged it into the inner panels. He let out a warriors cry and then he fell backwards to the wooden floor with his head once more in his palms, crying and whispering his son’s names.
“Ber-Beric……Beric”.

 

[kaza125]

“Da-dad…dad”. A soft voice attempted to fade through his mind. Rynic was staring through the cabin door at the body of his former wife. She laid, butchered and pooled by her fresh blood.
“Dad…Dad”. The voice came louder, still fading further through him. His boy Beric was missing, in the unknown with brutal animalistic people.

“Dad…Dad!”. Rynic felt a weak grip on his shoulders in effort to shake him. He snapped to his left shoulder and made his daughter dart back in vigorous fear.

“Dad… are you.. ok?” The words nervously crawled out of her.

“We’re going”. His words chilled and icy. Rynic stood from the ground and in quick movement took his axe that was lodged into the inner wooden panels.

“Where are we going?” Said as innocent as a fly. He clutched the handle of axe even tighter, with pure anger.

“To find your brother”. He headed out the cabin and Eli followed, but with a distance of alarm of her father. They ventured through the woods looking for any sign of movement. They were walking west for hours and in silence. Eli would often ask a question, but would only get a remote response.

They were hopelessly, trekking through unknown land, the moon was starting to rise and the darkness was setting in.

“Da-dad I’m cold”. The words trembled out of her. Rynic turned and came to shelter her.

“Hey, It’s ok, here take my cloak, I’ll wrap you up nice and warm”. Rynic bared the green cloak around the little girl who seemed small compared to the cloak. Rynic looked into her eyes with care and question.

“I know that was scary. You know you can tell me if you're scared.”

The girl bursts into tears, pooling her emotions out. Rynic pulls her in for a hug. "Hey, don't cry, alright? It's over now. We're safe."

Elisha sniffles and wipes her nose. "Are you sure?" He isn't.

"I'm positive," he lies. He gives her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you. Now, come on. We're gonna look for somewhere else to stay, then in the morning will find your brother”. She smiled back.

“Ok”. Said with a side more of hope. Rynic snapped up with the hearing of a rustling bush.

"Wait, stop. Do you hear th-" Rynic starts before someone bolts from behind a nearby tree and knocks him over.

"Don't move," the person says. It's a man; he shoves his knee into Rynic’s neck, preventing him from speaking. Out of the corner of his eye, Rynic sees another holding Eli from behind, covering her mouth with his hand. Rynic frantically tries to wriggle free, wanting nothing more than to protect his daughter. "Don't hurt her," he tries to call out, but the man's knee digs even deeper into his throat. This guy isn't letting Rynic free.

"Stop moving!" the man over Rynic whispers. He has light brown hair and a slight beard; he couldn't be over thirty-five years old. He snatches the axe from Rynic’s hand and as it at the ready. "I think they're gone," the man behind Eli says to his partner. 'Who's gone?' Rynic thinks to himself.

"If I let you go," the man subduing Rynic says, "don't do anything stupid. Got it?" Rynic doesn't respond. "I said 'Got it?' Rynic attempts to nod his head. "Good." The man removes his knee from Rynic’s neck. He gasps for air and rubs his sore throat.

"Let the girl go," he orders the man holding Eli. He removes his hand from Eli’s mouth and she runs over to her father.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing!?”. Rynic threatens from the ground.

“Hey keep it down”. Demanded by the one who was holding Eli “Don’t know how close those Arber troops are, and the tribes included. We were trying to help you”.

“You've got a funny way of helping people," Rynic croaks out.

There seemed to be a bit of tension smoking through the group.

“I’m Rodrik by the way”. Introduced by Rynic’s tackler, but he didn’t have time for talking.

"Give me my axe." Rynic insists.

"Can't do that," Rodrik replies . "We don't know if you'll attack us. But look, we have a camp. There's about 10 other peop-"

“You've got a camp? With food, and water?" Eli asks excitedly.

"Yes, we do little girl." Rodrik replies.

"That's good," Rynic says. "We have two other peop- We had… two other people." He painfully lets out.

"Man, that's two new people," Eli’s tackler observes. "You think we can feed two more?"
"I don't know," Rodrik says. "But Darien would want us to bring them in."
“Who's Dairen?" Rynic asks.
"I guess you could call him the leader of our group."

"And what's your name?"
"Like I said before, Rodrik". He offers his hand to lift Rynic up. Rynic accepts the assistance and gets to his feet. "And yourself?" Rodrik asks.

"I'm Rynic and this is my daughter, Elisha."

"Nice to meet you. Sorry about the introduction. We meant no harm., but enough talking, let’s head to camp before dark”.

Rodrik and his partner lead the two newcomers through the woods, carrying the small amount of supplies they had with them. "You two really know your way around these woods," Rynic says.
"Sure do," says the man. "We make a lot of runs in and out of these woods. There's a good hunting spot we go whenever we’re down. We also got a friend who was actually East of where we found you, and he hunts and trades with us. Lived in a cozy cabin, built it himself." Rynic tried to get away from that convocation.

"Are you guys stocked up pretty good?" Rynic asks.
"Everyone's well fed, there's water, herbal remedies. So yeah, we're doing all right."
"The camp's pretty close," Rodrik says. "It's a big secluded spot in the woods. We got it locked down tight with wooden poles circling the area."

The fence Rodrik bragged about starts coming into view. It's about five feet tall, and it looks like some parts are still being worked on.

Rynic is getting more excited with each step toward the camp. Food, water, herbal remedies. They haven't had a lot of that in weeks.

"Hey, Elzar!" Rodrik shouts. "Open up the gate."

They hear some fumbling and the gate opens. They're greeted by an older man with graying hair and a grey clothing.

"Who the hell are these people?" Elzar asks.

"We found them in the woods. Go get Darien, will you?"

"Fine. More goddamn mouths to feed," he mutters as he walks away.

Come on," Rodrik says, inviting them into the camp.

 

[bowduim400]

*head explosion of epicness*
Great job friend!

 

[kaza125]

*head explosion of epicness*
Great job friend!

Wow bow, I have never had 6 alerts in the period of an hour, and you have even liked the posts with no content
By the way, chapter 2 will be up soon.

 

[bowduim400]

Yay!

 

[kaza125]

UPDATE: Chapter two is finished.

 

[GhostKairo]

Cool stuff,dude.

 

[kaza125]

UPDATE: Chapter three done

 

[GhostKairo]

Chapter three is sad....

 

[Angryboy]

Great work so far!
That part with the Lord surprised me, hope you don't turn out like him XD

 

[kaza125]

Great work so far!
That part with the Lord surprised me, hope you don't turn out like him XD

*Stops his plan of impaling his steel spiked boot into angry's eyes* Sorry what was that?

 

[kaza125]

The camp was huge. The entire area was fenced off and tents were placed all around. Four horses could be seen from where Rynic was standing: Two black stallions and two brown pony’s. "Wow," Rynic. mutters to himself.

"Come on," says Rodrik. "Set your stuff over here." He leads them over to a row of tables, the wooden ones you see at picnics with benches. They set their things down, and Rynic praises the set up. "This...this is amazing. It's better than anything we've seen since everything happened."

"We're trying," says Rodrik. A black haired man approaches where they're standing. "Hey, Darien," Rodrik says to the black haired man. "This is the people Elzar told you about." Rodrik introduces Darien to the couple."This is Rynic, and his daughter Elisha."

"Darien Longbow," the man says. "Nice to meet you all," he says pleasantly.

"Amazing set up you've got Darien."

Darien chuckles. "Well, thank you. It's not much, but we take what we can get," he says modestly.

"Thank you so for letting us in," Eli pipes up.

"You're welcome; I'm happy to help those in need," Darien says charmingly. "We've gotta at least keep a shred of our humanity, am I right?" Darien smiles at Eli and bends down to be on her level. "And you're Eli right? Nice to meet you, Eli." Darien extends his hand. Eli takes it; her hand looks comically small in his large hand.

They shake hands and Eli shyly says, "Hi."

Darien laughs. "Don't worry. I don't bite". Darien stands up straight. "Isn't she as cute as can be?"

Rynic smiles, entertained by the interaction between Darien and Eli.

"Anyways, I'm sure you folks are hungry. So let's eat, and I'll introduce you to the rest of the group."


Darien feeds Rynic and Eli fruit, rabbit, and vegetables. It actually wasn't much, but to them, it seemed like a feast fit for kings. Afterwards, Darien showed them around the camp and introduced them to the rest of the group.

They first meet a young black woman, she's probably in her early twenties, named Isabelle and her teenage brother Tyrone. The boy acted shy; he hid his eyes and made no eye contact with anyone. The girl was more talkative, telling them about how long they'd been there and what her responsibilities were: cooking, cleaning, occasionally going out to hunt down a small animal for meat. Next was a black man named Dominic and his wife Tysha. They were both nice enough, and they warmly welcomed the two into the group.

Dairen then introduced him to a white woman named Julia and her son Davon. The boy was about Elis age, and he took a liking to Elis pretty fast. The woman was very nice, telling them to come to her if they needed anything.

Lastly, Darien leads them to an older man sitting on the remains of a log by himself. "You guys have already met him, but this is Elzar."

"Just leave me the hell alone, and I'll do the same for you."

"Nate's not the most...personable guy," explains Darien.

"Fuck you," replies Elzar.

'Nice guy,' Rynic thinks, and they head back over to the tables.

"Maybe I'm counting wrong, but didn't Rodrik say there were ten people here?" Jack asks Darien.

"There are," says Darien. "Someone's on a run into the western forest.. Her name's Molly Ann. She should be back any minute."

"You let her go out by herself?" asks Rynic.

"Oh, yeah. Molly can handle herself pretty well out there. Now come on, let's get you all settled into your tents."

 

[kaza125]

The entirety of the camp sit around the tables eating dinner.

"So, what's your story?" Molly asks Rynic. "Everybody has one."

Everyone was listening in, waiting to hear the story of the newcomers. What was there to tell? That they survived the sack of their village? Perhaps the killing of the camps ally? Or even the death of his wife and the unknowing of his son?

“What’s there to say… We all came from that village, our home, our life. I left with my wife, son and daughter. I sit now with only one of them.” He stares to the fire and glares back to Molly. “I’m sorry… I’m shouldn’t be bringing down the mood” Molly reaches out for Rynics shoulder.

“Hey, don’t worry about, we’ve all been in the bad, it’s just trying to survive now”.

“Well then”. Rynic raises his eyes to the rest of the group. “To those we’ve lost. And our lives today”.

“Well said”. Darien states. “Now a question for you, have you run into any trouble on your way?”

“It’s… personal, I’d rather not say-“

“Say no more”. Darien respectfully puts in.

"Darien tells us you went out on a run. Alone," says Rynic. "Are you THAT good?"

"I'm alright, I guess," Molly says. "I'm pretty stealthy."

"Ah, come on, Molly," says Tyrone. "She's more than good. She can get into the woods, fill a bag full of meat, and she’s killed a few Arbers." Molly blushes. Rynic decides to drop the subject, not wanting to embarrass Molly any more than she already is.

"So...uh...that's what you guys call them? 'Arbers?'" Rynic asks.

"It's a pretty straightforward name," Domnic says. "They Arberstans, so what the fuck else we going to call them? 'Shit for brains?'"

"Domnic, watch your mouth. We've got kids," says Tysha, and Isabelle shoots him a glare.

"Damn, sorry. Anyways, what do you all call them?”

"Mean people" Eli says. Everyone at the table chuckles.

Everyone finishes every last bite of their meal and stacks up their dishes. "Molly, you're on dish duty," Julia reminds her. Molly groans.

"Would you like some help with the dishes?" Rynnic offers.

"Thanks, but that's all right. I know you've had a long day."

"You guys took us in. The least I could do is wash some dishes."

"If you insist. Come on, this way." Molly leads Rynic to two large buckets of soapy water. "You take the left bucket, I'll take the right."

"Whatever you say, boss," Rynic jokes. He heads over to the bucket and starts washing a plate.

After a few minutes of silence, Molly asks, "So, what's the deal with that story of yours? Is it that bad?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, really, sorry?"

"Yeah. Why are you asking?"

"Just wondering. That's all." After a few moments of silence, Molly pipes another question to him.

"How old is your daughter?"

"She's only five. Her birthday should be coming up, but I've lost.track of time a while ago."

"She's a sweet kid," says Molly.

Rynic smiles. "She is, isn't she?"

"And you. How old are you?"

"31. Yourself?"

"29. I'd probably be freaking out that my twenties are almost over, but with a war going on, I guess there are bigger things to worry about."

Rynic laughs, and there is more silence between them. "So. What's your story? Everybody has one," Rynic says, good-naturedly mocking what Molly said at the table.

Molly grins, but stays silent for a moment. Then she speaks, "I was in the village too, like you, when it went to shit. I took too long to get out; I mean, the guards told everyone it was going to be ok. I was trapped with my sister. Eventually these two strangers found us hiding out in my home and offered to escort us to the countryside. How could I refuse, you know? So me and my sister go, and we think these two guys are great and all. Shit, were we wrong. They got us to trust them, then one night they grab us and try to...you know." Rynic nods his head. "So...I killed them. I grabbed a knife and stabbed them both. Then me and my sister were on the road for a little while." Jesse goes silent for a few moments. "Obviously, I don't have a sister with me. She was grabbed. Tribes took her. She still might be alive, I don’t even know. That’s my story Rynic." She says that last part with an edge to her voice.

“I'm sorry, Molly. I couldn't imag-"

"Dishes are done," she says dabbing her teary eyes with a rag. "Hope you have a good night's sleep." She walks away to her tent at the far end of the camp.

Rynic wants to call out for her, but it's no use. 'I'll just let her sleep,' Rynic thinks. He heads back to his own tent where Eli is already getting ready for bed. Rynic goes over t her and kisses her affectionately on the forehead.

“Eli, no nightmares ok?”

“Ok”. She looks up and smiles.


Rynic wakes up happier than he's been since the siege started. Almost immediately after he wakes up, Eli stirs next to him. "Good morning, Daddy."

He leans over and kisses her forehead. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Good. No nightmares."

He affectionately tousles her hair. "That's great, Eli."

"Can I go play with Davon?!"

Rynic looks out the tent and sees the early morning light breaking through. "Come on. Let's go see if anyone's up."

Rynic notices only a few people are up as he exits the tent. Elzar is sitting on the top bark of the log where he was yesterday, cleaning his sword. Tyrone’s up working on a busted part of the fence. Julia and Davon are also awake.

"Daddy, can I go talk to Davon?" Jack gives her the go ahead and she skips over to him. "Hi, Davon!" she calls out to him.

Rynic notices that Molly is awake, too. She's cleaning one of the tables with a rag; her red hair is shining in the bright sun. He heads over to help her out.

"Morning, Molly," he says politely. He grabs a rag from one of the buckets on the table.

"Good morning. Had a nice sleep?" she asks.

"Yeah. It was the first in a long time."

"Good to hear."

"I've noticed something," Rynic says.

Molly looks at him quizzically. "And what is it you've noticed?"

"You always seem to be the one doing slave labor."

Molly gives a hearty laugh, and Rynic smiles. "Maybe they're out to get me."

"They've got you washing dishes, wiping down tables, going on lone runs."

"I usually offer. There's not much to do around here, anyways."

"That makes sense, I guess. Listen, I'm sorry about last night. I...I shouldn't have asked."

Rynic moves on to the last table, wiping the surface with a rag.

"It's fine. Really. I'm still...sensitive about it, that's all. You asked, so-"

"Good morning, everyone!" Rodrik shouts. "What a beautiful day!"

"Rodrik, will you shut up?" Molly tells him. "People are still sleeping."

"'Still sleeping?' But it's such a beautiful day!"

"That guy is way too happy, given what’s happened," Molly says to Rynic.

Rynic waves to Rodrik and calls out "Good morning!"

"Oh, hey; it's the new guy! How you holding up?" Rodrik asks, walking up to Rynic and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Great, actually. Well-fed, well-rested. Not much more I can ask for," replies Rynic.

"And thanks for helping out." Rodrik notices the rag in Rynic's hand.

"It's the least I could do."

"Speaking of that...would you mind going on a hunt with a few people this afternoon? Are you good with a weapon?"

"Um...yeah. I'll go. I'm decent with my axe."

"That's what I want to hear. Well, get ready to leave in a few hours." Rodrik pats Rynic's shoulder before leaving back to his tent.

"Hey, Domnic!" Rodrik. yells into the tent. "Wake your ass up!"

 

[kaza125]

Later that afternoon, Molly, Rynic, and Rodrik are gearing up for their run into woods.

"So, why don't you guys go for the Southern Kingdom?" Rynic asks as he prepares his weapons.

"The road isn’t safe," Molly explains. "There's no way we'd be able to clear it out."

"And why risk it when we're safe enough here?" says Rynic.

"Smart people," says Rynic.

"You guys ready?" asks Molly. She has two small hatches in her waistband and a large oak bow; with a quiver filled with arrows strapped to her back.

"Yes, ma'am," replies Rodrik. He dons a dark brown vest and carries hatchet similar to Rynic's.

Rynic wears new clothes provided by Darien: a long sleeved grey shirt and a dark black cloak. He pats his holster that holds a small dagger and says, "One more thing. Hold on a sec." He jogs over Eli at one of the tables.

"I'm heading out ," Rynic informs her.

Eli runs over to him and gives him a hug. "Be safe, daddy I love you," Eli says to him.

"Of course. I'm always safe. I love you, too."

Rynic says his last goodbyes and jogs back over to Rodrik and Molly. "Sorry about the delay; now, let's go."



As the three exit the camp and enter the wilds, Rodrik explains their plan. “You see Rynic, what we do first is find some tracks. Once we got the tracks we just follow what we got”. Explains Rodrik.

“Your not a hunter, are you Rod?”. Molly mockingly states. Rodrik grins through his yellow tainted teeth and carries on walking.

“So, what if we run into this ‘trouble’ that you spoke of? Which is what by the way?”. Half question, half demanded by Rynic.

“Could be anything. Arber troops, tribes, maybe other survivors”. Molly puts out.

“Other survivors? Why would they be a problem? Surely they would join with you guys?” Rynic questions. Molly replies in a bolt.

“Other survivors are a problem coz you don’t know them. You don’t know if there on the edge of survival, and when their at that ‘edge’ they will do anything to get an extra glimpse of life. Anything”. She turns from Rynic and focuses her attention on the woods.

“Had a problem like this before?” Rynic queries.

“Something like that”. Rodrik half arsed stated. He wasn’t up for small talk, he would rather focus on the game.

A few moments of silence pass over when Rodrik beams up.

“Wait!”. Rodrik lets out in a burst. Rynic and Molly turn in a flash, she even grips the handle of her hatchet.

“What is it Rod? See something?”

“See something? No, I’m meant to pick up some supplies from Faldor”.

“Well, at least were close. Rynic, you haven’t met him, he’s a skilled man, with a short temper and very protective, so don’t go touching his gear”. She says with a hint of agression.

“So, where is he?”.

“He lives in a cabin, just East of here. I’m surprised you haven’t seen it, Rod here says he found you just a while from his cabin, west of it”.

Rynic feels something crawling up his spine and open like an umbrella in his mind. The same hunter killed and left in a bush. “We must of past it”. The thing he could say that would be accepted.

As Rynic was starting to realize the path and how close they were to the cabin, he remembered the dead horses lying in the puddle of blood and his wife same as the horses. He had no remorse for how he treated her, she deserved it. Molly was leading them, passing through the tall oak trees and breaking the brittle brown leaves beneath her small feet. “Hey, there it is, come on lets g-“. She halted. Her body was frozen. Rodrik confused by her movement he steps to the side of her to see what has shocked her. Rynic knew what they were seeing, he said nothing, he held no tears, the emotion for his wife had gone. Molly took action, she drew he hatchet and paced along to the cabin door, passing round the body which she gave no look to.

She knocked on the door, and was given no response, she shouted his name and no reply came. She entered the cabin and came storming out, back towards the group. All of sudden she took a stop. She had spotted something in the corner of her eye. Flies. A small herd of flies were swarming on a bush, you could smell the rotting from where Rynic was standing. She took a few paces to the bush, one glance and looked over to Rynic with a tear dripping down her soft cheeks.

“Rynic, did you come through this cabin?” She questions.

Rynic looks to the ground and rubs the back of his bald head then back to her eyes which were welling up anger. Molly could see the lie within him.

“I said, did you come through this cabin?”. This time she puts more demand on the question. Rodrik turns to have eye contact with Rynic.

“I-I can explai-“.

“No that bullshit. I started to trust you, and your no better than those tribes. They butcher, slaughter everyone in their path… You son of a bitch”. She draws out her hatches and hold them by her sides. Rodrik stands with no action just an expression of hatred.

“Molly pleas-“.

“Begging’s, for the weak”. She rushes towards him with her axes ushering for attack. As she attempts to slash his face, Rynic ducks and rolls forward and misses the attack. Molly turns and repeats the same move. Rynic quickly draws out his hatchet and deflects her slash and kicks her in the legs and she stumbles to the ground. She darts up and takes a warrior’s stance.

“That the same axe you killed him with?”. She coldy questions.

“Molly, don’t do thi-“.

Behind Rynic, a sound blistered through the air, he heard the spurt of blood. Molly quick glances to her right then darts off back to the west. Rynic stands hopeless in the wild then from out the trees and bushes emerge bare chested men, some were scarred, painted with warrior marks. “Tribes, They butcher, slaughter everyone in their path”. Drumming through his mind.

 

[kaza125]

UPDATE: Chapter four done!

 

[kaza125]

UPDATE: Chapter five done!