Angelsson

Chapter II

I woke to the sound of leaves crunching, wheels rattling, and oxen grunting. I stayed where I was, and peeked open my eye. I saw nothing, so I opened the other eye. Nothing still. I looked around and still saw nothing, but the sounds were still happening, and they were destroying the silence of the forest.

I got up, put my sword in its sheath, and strung my bow. I nocked an arrow, and I started to peek around the tree. I saw tons of soldiers marching in formation eastward, with a load of...whatever was in the wagon. I slowly pointed my bow down, but with the arrow still nocked.

"Ho there!" I said.

A soldier on a horse looked over to me, then motioned for the soldiers to stop. He seemed to be the leader of the group. He looked me up and down, then he said, "You may unnock your arrow, we won't hurt you."

I slowly, but reluctantly, unnocked my arrow. I put the arrow in my belt so that I could take it out instantly if anything happens.

"What brings you here?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

The man laughed, and said, "The better question, what brings you?"

I grunted, and lied, "My father wanted me to hunt."

The man laughed again, and said, "You are quite a few ways from the nearest village, my young man." Well, a lie for a lie.

"It took me a while to hunt my buck." I said.

The man looked around, and said, "Where is your prize? I only see the forest for miles!"

I motioned toward the rope that was tied around the tree. His gaze followed the rope, and when he finally got to the buck, he gasped. "W-Well, young man. That is q-quite a buck."

I nodded, and said, "Yes. But it is quite heavy, and I need help bringing it to Eqvahall, the nearest village."

The man didn't leave his gaze from the buck, but he said, "Can I be of your service then? I could help you bring the buck to Eqvahall for...a small price..."

I raised my eyebrow. "Oh? And what might that price be?" I asked.

"25 pieces" he said, slowly bringing his gaze back toward me.

25 pieces was a staggering amount, but since I never really use my currency, I can pay for many things.

"25? Don't you think that's a little big?" I asked.

"For you maybe. You look like you can't afford even a strip of cloth!" laughed the man.

All the other soldiers laughed. It took all my strength not to nock an arrow. I flashed out my pouch, and protruded 25 pieces. I held them out on my hand. The man stopped laughing when he saw the amount of money in my hands. He picked up the pieces, and began to count.

"23, 24, 25...Boy! Where did you get this?" The man said harshly to me.

"I never have any use for currency, so I have about...75 pieces in my pouch now." I said, putting my pouch away.

The man pocketed the money, then said, "Well then, bring you buck down from that tree, and my men shall show you where to put it."

I grinned, nodded, and started to untie the rope from the tree. I slowly brought the buck down from the tree, making sure that no funny business was happening behind my back. When the buck got down, the man motioned for a few of the soldiers to bring the buck onto the wagon.

I went up the tree, then undid the intricate tangle of knots that helped me keep the buck in the tree. I then put the rope on my belt, and then I started to descend the tree. When I got down, I saw that the men had the buck all tied up to the wagon. I nodded, covered my use-to-be-fire with dirt, and went over to the soldiers.

I started to get on the wagon, when I felt a hand grip my shoulder. I immediately grabbed the hand, twisted it, then threw whoever was grabbing me onto the ground. I turned and saw it was a soldier. I stared, then helped the man up.

"Sorry..." I muttered as he got up.

The man nodded, then said, "Don't get on the wagon. What's in there is only for a few eyes to see."

I nodded, pulled my hood up, and started to walk to the back of the group. I heard the men mutter things like, "Thief" and "Peasant" I didn't mind though. What they said didn't affect me. When I got to the back of the group, I looked and saw that the man had a cloth wrapped around his hand.

"That's what you get for scaring me..." I muttered.

The group then began to move. I felt sorry for the man, so I sped up my pace to where the man was. I tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at me and smiled. I coughed, and said, "Sorry...Is your hand ok?"

He nodded, and said, "Its fine."

I motioned toward his hand, and said, "Here, let me see."

The man hesitated, but he reluctantly put his hand up. I put it in my palm, and examined it.

"Mih laeh." I muttered under my breath.

The man shuddered for a second, then lifted his hand. He tested it, then took off the cloth. He rubbed his hand, the looked at me curiously.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"Hm?" I said, trying to hide the fact that I did it.

"How did you...oh, never mind." He said.

I nodded, then slowed my pace so that I slowly fell back to the rear of the group. I noticed that my bow was still in my hand when I went to pull my hood down. I unstrung my bow, then put it in my quiver. I then pulled down my hood, and let the sounds and smells of a river fill my senses.