Trial of The Wolf

Prologue: The Start of the Trial

Lucian ran through the forest, clutching a bag of scrolls to his chest. He was dodging roots and big rocks as he ran, weaving between the trees in an unpredictable way, hoping to confuse his pursuers. There were three people following him. The first person, barely three yards behind him, was clearly the leader. He was the biggest, standing a few feet above the knight. From what the young knight could tell, he was the strongest of the small party, but he certainly wasn't the fastest. He had a battle axe strapped to his side, his hand resting on the pommel as he ran. 

The person directly behind him was a lot smaller, almost a full foot shorter than the leader and thinner than average. Still, he was agile and light on his feet, he could easily catch up if it weren't for the leader constantly getting in his way. In fact, all three of them seemed to be running into each other, trying to follow Lucian's seemingly random pattern as he weaved through the thick forest. The third person was behind both of them, seeming to be there simply to help out. He wasn't strong or fast, he seemed to Lucian to simply be an average farmer.

. Lucian knew he couldn't hide, the clinking of his armor would give him away as he tried to find a place to run to, but he couldn't outrun them all forever. Eventually they would have to figure out that working individually was getting them nowhere. Unfortunately for him, that moment came before he had figured out what to do.

He could hear them yelling behind him in some foreign language, which was odd. Most of the common folk, which he assumed these people were, couldn't even read the common tongue. He couldn't imagine them speaking a different language. Still, he knew that the rebellion was a bigger threat than they had been told. He was carrying the proof with him; it would make sense that they had some way to communicate with each other without the knights understanding them.

He heard the running and shouting behind him stop, but he pushed on. He wasn't sure what they were planning, but he didn't want to be around to find out. The knight made sure that the bag of scrolls was securely fastened before draping it over his shoulder, drawing the sword from his hip. It was excellently crafted, with perfect balance. The blade had a blue hue, showing the extraordinary durability of the weapon. It wasn't very extravagant when it came to looks, it was simple and not flashy.

He gripped the sword tightly as he ran, waiting for the inevitable ambush. He knew that it would be the smartest move, it was three against one, and they had the advantage of attacking first. It was another ten minutes, once the knight's breathing was labored and his legs burned from running, when the rebels attacked. The first one jumped into view from the side, the battle-axe that he previously wore at his side down in a dangerous downward ark. 

The knight slowed to a near stop, watching the blade swing down and get stuck in the soft ground, but he didn't linger any longer. The smallest of the group was now on his left, lashing out with his sword. The knight deflected it with ease, thrusting out and cutting straight through the thin leather armor that they all wore. These people didn't seem to be very good with their weapons, and the knight almost felt bad that this had ended in a fight.

He turned to the other attacker, since the third member of this ragtag team hadn't shown up yet. The bigger man had managed to get his axe unstack and went to attack again, using the same downstroke. He hadn't had any more training than his companion. The knight swayed out of the way, bringing his sword up and catching the man in the gut. He saw his eyes go wide in shock before he crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

The knight looked around for the third person, not even hearing the quiet footsteps behind him. That is, not until he felt the searing pain in his side. He grunted in pain, looking down, seeing the blood soaking through his armor. He glanced over at the man, he was clearly smarter than he looked, the knight realized. The wound was on his right side, he would have trouble wielding his sword properly. He made a split-second decision and sheathed the weapon, starting to run again.

He pressed on his wound, hoping to stop the blood flow as much as he could. He was almost out of the forest, he just had to get to the village and give someone the scrolls, they would get them to the king. He got on the main trail, before he had been trying to confuse them and use their inability to work as a team against them. Now he simply needed to go quickly. 

Welcome to the first installment of Trial of The Wolf! This has been in progress for around three years, and hopefully now I'll have the motivation to actually write it. Let me know any feedback you have.

-Ranger