Hecktore

frantically.

  A quick pat on its side gave the creature a start until it realized that it was me and continued finishing the puddle. I took my time and found several fruits to eat and found several left over animals that the beast did not finish. I could tell he must have been hunting all morning I found several squirrels, a deer and a strange creature that I had never seen before but the meat was good so I did not care what it was.

  Staring down the landscape I finished taking in the sights. When the beast nudged my shoulder letting me know it was ready to go. I gave a final look behind me where the witch’s tower was and only saw a small pile of stones sitting motionlessly in a field. I gave up trying to find reasons for the things that have happened and mounted my steed and headed towards the East….as least I thought it was east.

  The journey seemed to brighten a little with my new surroundings, it is far better to travel in the spring than in the winter. I then thought about how it was winter only a few days ago and now it is full into spring. I spent the next week in uneventful travel, the grasslands slowly moved into pebble top ground with a few mountains in the distance. The fruit I carried with me did not spoil but it was all I had since I finished of the meat earlier in the week. Fruit does nothing to ease my hunger but I know I have to eat something to keep moving.

  I spent the next few days trying to come up with a name for my beast but it did not seem to like anything I had to offer. I deciding to simply call him Beast it seemed to prefer it since I mentioned it and it gave me an approving snort or at least I thought so. The next night I discovered that it was a he, his……activities were fairly common for a male animal.

  Another slow week had passed and I was getting tired of traveling the last of the trees had left a few days ago and there was nothing but rocks in every direction. I managed to fashion a bag to hold more meat from our last kill. Again the fruit was not spoiling and for some reason I was never thirsty, maybe there was something special about the fruit I was eating.

  My mind was about to explode after several more days of boredom. I spotted a path running from south to East. I saw a wagon on the trail slowly moving towards the rising sun. There was nothing special about it simple wooden wagon pulled by two brown pack horses. Beast snorted very loudly causing the driver to turn and look at us. Turning back the driver gave a quick snap of his reigns and the packhorses started to trot quickly away. I was not looking for trouble right now I could use a peaceful village to lay my head and get something solid to eat. We travelled for two more hours the sun was blinding from its perch in the sky. I covered my eyes enough to block most of the sun but still see where I was going.

  Up ahead there a few small shacks that I spotted in the distance. I could barely make out a few people moving around. My stomach growled at the thought of real food and my body ached for a decent place to sleep. We came to the edge of the town and noticed many more buildings than I thought were there. Beast snorted loudly again causing several people to turn and look. There was a shock of fear on their faces as they stared at us.

  We quickly made our way into town. Several people began to surround me gawking and whispering. They were simple peasants dressed in mostly brown leather and some tattered rags. I noticed that everyone’s hair was grey silver or white just like the merchants I traded with not long ago. After a few moments more people gathered around us I tried to speak to them but no one would answer. I tried again to see about food and shelter for the night but again no one answered. They all seemed deathly afraid to speak to me directly but were curious enough to get a closer look.

  A man emerged from the crowd he was dressed in a red and gold tunic with bright blue trousers. His white hair was well kept and could reach his lower back. He made his way to the front of Beast without hesitation questioned me. “Who are you and what are you doing in my town?” I decided to try and bluff him and replied with sincere gruffness, “Who I am is none of your concern I am here for food and shelter for me and my companion, unless of course you want me to set him loose so he can prey on little ones roaming the streets.”

  I seemed to get a stir out of them at the threat of Beast eating their children. The leader mumbled for a moment and parted way while pointing to a large stable on the west side of the village. It wasn’t much but they had hay to lay on which was 100 times better than having rocks dig into my back every night. I found a comfortable spot next to Beast I propped my back up on him. An hour passed quietly until small footsteps startled me to my feet a young boy no older than ten came up to Beast trembling with fear. The boy could barely hold the raw piece of meat that was as big as he was. Beast growled loudly setting the boy in a panic; he dropped the piece of meat and was frozen in place.

  I felt a smirk cross my face and I asked the boy if there was somewhere I could get supplies. The boy quivered as he tried to answer, the villagers were gathering bread and dried meat so I would leave by morning. I asked him for a blade for my travels he told me that the people around here did not carry weapons of war only to hunt but their leader might have something I could use, the boy hustled away into the darkness.

  As a boy I was never fan of raw meat but recently I have developed a taste for it and have become comfortable eating it. It didn’t bother me to tear of chunks of Beasts meat and eat it myself; he never made a sound so I have to think that he does not mind either. I found a couple water skins tied to a post and claimed them for my own. I found a clean water well nearby and filled them to bursting as I drank my fill. No longer thirsty, not hungry and content I lay next to my now snoring companion and fell to sleep with no trouble.

  The dawn came swiftly when the sun rose I thought it was turning to summer since I became very hot and the sun was not setting well with my eyes. I patted Beast on his side waking him from his sleep. I found on the ground a pack full of food with a wool blanket tied to the outside of it. I tried to put it on Beast but he didn’t like it and he kept shrugging it off, it did not bother me to much I was used to riding without it as well.

  I took the pack and mounted Beast; we made our way towards the main road where the leader of the village and several large burly men were standing. I still played on my bluff giving them no sign of weakness and demanded that they give me directions. He said there was a very large city several days away from here and I should head in that direction and never return. Without waiting for me to respond he walked up to me and handed me a large heavy object wrapped in leather casing.

  I unwrapped part of the leather binding and saw what looked like the head of a double headed axe. There were strange runes etched into the head of it. I asked the colorful village leader where he got such a weapon he shrugged me off and told me it was an antique from many generations ago as long as I don’t have the children killed I could keep it. The small group followed me out until I passed the edge of their village and they turned back as Beast and I continued our journey without looking back.

  The terrain changed fairly quickly from rocky grounds to low grasslands with large patches of flowers. After a few more days I could see in the distance a shining tower touching the sky, the road continued straight towards it. One more day passed with no incident and at midday I noticed the walls of stone surrounding a very large city. I wondered if there was going to be a hostile greeting when we arrived so I decided to rest for the remainder of the day.

  I decided not to ration my food for the night as the city would most likely have a market and I could snatch a few things if I needed. The night was cool and crisp but not so cold to warrant a fire. Beast and I were full from the dry meat and leftover fruits that I had kept. Beast nested close to me and fell quickly to sleepy. I tried to close my eyes and fall asleep but it was not going to happen.

  So I stared at the tower that glistened with torchlight above the city. As the moon reached its highest point the tip of the tower began to glow blue becoming brighter than the moon itself. The light grew brighter and started to arc across the c
ity like giant cones searching the ground.

  The light crossed over the wall and began to scan the field. The flower patches changed to a see through green when the light passed over them. It moved in my direction and crossed part of my hand when it passed. The light shifted to a deep red and focused on me followed swiftly by the other lights the formed together into one. I quickly got to my feet and tried to mount Beast but my body froze in place.

  The sound of men shouting and metal clanking echoed across the field and was getting closer. I whistled through my teeth since nothing else on my body would work. Beast woke to the sound and started to growl at the sounds of approaching enemies. A dozen soldiers appeared wearing red cloth uniforms under chainmail armor. A voice snuck up behind me and spoke loudly, “Take him alive and the animal as well.” The last thing I remember was a painful blow to the back of my head right before it went dark.

  I was tired of getting knocked out it would have been nice to speak with people before they put me under. I opened my eyes and all I could see was I was in a small study with several wooden tables lined up against the walls. There was a