CC2

1.3 - The merchant

I couldn't help but wonder how a travelling merchant could survive in such a chaotic world. The old man seemed to be quite confident of his safety. He didn't reveal what classes he had, and perhaps had skills to defend himself easily, despite being alone, but he gave a very simple and vague reason why he could survive.

"I simply possess the right information of where to go. You don't come across archers if you only travel between towns of the varied..."

But the town he just visited used to be that of archers, so I wasn't completely convinced. He had more up his sleeve, but it didn't matter to me. He was just a traveller, someone not connected to those that trapped and tortured me all those days... I kept my weary guard up as much as I could, but I still felt like I could trust him a little, at least...

I was aware of the concept of merchants, as they would occasionally come to my home town, too. I didn't see them much, but it was still nice to be familiar with something, since it felt like I knew nothing of the world around me. They usually had more people, either an escort or just a group of merchants together for safety, but at least the fewer there were the less I had to worry about betrayal, since this route was supposedly already safe.

I was half-asleep, the rocking of the cart keeping my eyes just barely open and awake, like I was forever trapped in the limbo of just about to sleep, with no peaceful slumber ahead. The cart hit a larger rock, the jolt lifting my head and eyes open suddenly in shock. I looked around in a daze.

"Oh, you're awake. You might want to keep your head down for this, though, miss" the merchant said.

I didn't reply or see anything around us, but then heard the whoosh of an arrow be fired through the air. I instinctively ducked and closed my eyes, expecting an impact, despite being completely unaware of where it came from or went, but then slowly looked up after the few moments of silence followed it.

The merchant was holding the arrow, as if he had somehow caught it mid-flight, as I saw no signs of damage to him nor the cart.

"I'm their target, at least, but you still need to be careful little girl. I can't say I know why they're here, sadly, and while I'm able to protect myself, I'm less confident in my ability to protect you in the same. I don't suppose you have any abilities that could be useful for this situation, as it would make things a bit easier for this old man."

Abilities...

I guess, it's what I get for focusing on item transportation. It was easy to forget how irrelevant my abilities were in the outside world, as I had always lived in my little, closed-off town. I still had little to offer, but in this case, any curse-user was likely to be just as useless in this type of scenario.

"I guess not..." he said, after looking at me slightly. "We aren't too far away from the next town, which should be varied territory, so we'll be fine if we can hold out just a little longer."

I kept my head down and huddled my body like the weak coward I was, but it was like I was witnessing a miracle, as every arrow fired towards us failed to hit either one of us. When I looked to the man, he would always be holding an arrow or pulling one out from the cart it was stuck into. I could have sworn that I saw him snatch them from out of the air with his bare hands, and every one he grabbed he put aside as if collecting them.

I imagined I was missing something here, unaware of an ability or something that was being used here. I could understand the archers being quite far away for their safety and stealth, but no way these arrows were slow enough for one to catch with their bare hands. The man didn't have a scratch on him, like he was blessed with a form of luck or guardian angel for protection. It made me think of the charm the field user gave me, but that didn't explain this, either...

I heard the sound of more arrows being fired, and despite my curiosity I kept my head down and closed my eyes with fear. The cart was going steadily along, but then it hit another rock on the road, forcing the carriage into the air suddenly for a brief moment as another arrow whizzed through the air.

The man grunted in pain, as the arrow was met with a different sound when its momentum had ended. I looked up to see the man with his outstretched arms, as if ready to catch something, with a stream of blood down his arm and arrow lodged in his left shoulder. Three more arrows were fired, and with his free arm he was able to knock one away, but the other two hit him dead-on in his torso, his life disappearing in an instant before my very eyes.

The horses, now directed towards a tree, halted, lacking a driver to guide them. I huddled up in a ball, lost and confused, closing my eyes as if it was just a bad dream I would wake up from.

I didn't see any way out of this. I heard more arrows be fired, knowing full-well that I was the only target left, the only life to be taken...

Why is this happening to me...

I shrieked as two arrows skinned my arms, and one lodged itself into my shoulder from behind. The blood and pain woke my body and mind up, forcing me back into reality. I jumped off of the cart and ran into the forest. Two more arrows nipped me, ripping off more of my flesh. I forced myself to keep going, but my weary, dazed self, tripped and hit my head on a log. An arrow hit my left leg, my body weakening more and more as the blood spurted from all my open wounds.

I tried to stand up, but faltered and fell once more. My bag had fallen off in all the commotion, and I could see the charm I was given lying on the floor. In desperation I picked it up and held it in the direction of the attackers. A single arrow cut one of my arms as I held it out, but I forced them up despite the pain, being left with silence.

It was completely surreal, as the only things I heard were my breathing and the drips of blood falling from my body. For many moments, there was not a single sound.

A bush, not ten metres away from me began to rustle, and an archer within it sprinted away, looking in my direction in terror. In the distance I could see more archers fleeing. I began to look around, but fell over, remembering my wounds and weakened state.

"You're nearly at the town" a voice said to me. "Just a little to your right, then keep going. You can make it, you're almost there. You can do it."

I was delirious, so it was probably just my way of telling myself to focus, though a part of me liked to think it was CC1. I decided to follow their directions, hobbling on with all my strength. If there really were another enemy, I wasn't going to survive it regardless, so I saw little reason not to... Not that I had the strength to even think...

Every step took all my strength, and I could feel my head getting dizzy and body dehydrating as the lack of blood took its toll on me. The voice didn't stop encouraging me, though. I heard no other sounds of their presence, so it was strange for an illusion to be so persistent. There was only one person I could think of that would have cared if I survived or not...

CC1...

I told myself he was wishing for my good fortune with his spirit, like he was the guardian angel that directed me and pushed me on. I began to see a wall in the distance, as my torture in this endless forest could finally be over.

My life made no sense... It must have been the most depressing sight to behold, as the tiniest, weakest, little girl was slowly drudging her body along with all she could.

Why was I even the one to survive this...

I stood in an opening between the wall, and as I looked to my sides, I realised it was the gate, the entrance to a town. I didn't know what was ahead of me, as both my body and soul were at their limits. For all I knew, it was a town filled with archers, just waiting to kill any varied that came their way.

But that was all I had left in me, so I embraced the darkness that overcame me as my body collapsed in a heap at my destination.