Tales Of The Continent - Part 5

Chapter 2

The snow was chilling me to the bone, turning my insides into icicles and making my breath appear in a cold white cloud. I wiped the blood from my cheek, looking over the small flock of vultures on the ground, the rock falling from my hand. With nothing but a t-shirt that was two sizes too big, trousers that just about reached my ankles and a pair of patchy shoes around my feet. "I have to get back to the castle," I said to myself, "just keep heading towards the mountains," I often talked to myself when I was alone, never in front of people though because that was a great way to get shouted at by Keiger, or get called crazy and beat up by the other kids. They wouldn't dare try anything when I have a sword in my hand, only when I was without a weapon did they want to prove themselves, even if I wasn't talking to myself.

I continued towards the distant peaks, one foot at a time. After about an hour of walking, the cold was becoming more and more unbearable, with the tips of my toes and fingers feeling numb and getting pink and puffy. I had to get to the fortress soon or I wasn't going to make the night. Keiger was always putting us through challenges like this, it usually yielded the desired result, one less hungry child's mouth to feed and a new set of children who were now even stronger. Suddenly, the ground changed underfoot from snowy grass to trodden ground,

'A path!' I thought excitedly. I followed it towards the mountains, concentrating carefully on what the ground felt like on my feet, until I eventually came to a crossing in the road. One going to the left, one to the right. I knew that whilst one would lead me to the fortress, the other would leave me stranded and shivering, waiting for death to creep up on me in the night. I crouched down in the middle of the two roads and put my hand into the soil, the cold making my fingers tremble. Desperately trying to think back to when Keiger was talking about various spells you can use, I tried to visualise the fortress, picturing its tall, looming towers, the gatehouse full of horses, its outer gates, and lastly the great looming keep that stood central within the high standing walls. Straining at this point, I was forcing all my blood and energy into visualising the fortress, praying this spell worked, closing my eyes on the verge of screaming into the forest. And then, suddenly, I felt a warm feeling spread through my body. Stopping myself from yelling in excitement, I concentrated even harder, pushing throughout my body and into the ground, imagining the different parts of the fortress even harder than before. And then, as I nearly blacked out, it clicked, and I collapsed to the ground almost immediately. I allowed my body time to recover the breath I'd lost and waited for the blood to go back round my body. But it didn't matter because I now knew which way to go. After about five more minutes of lying in the snow shivering, I set off to the left, this time at a run. Taking no note of the unrelenting cold that was setting in.

After half an hour of running I saw the east tower come into view, it was the tallest thing for miles other than the mountains. Even though I was already exhausted, I put on a burst of speed and continued up the path, before I eventually came to the main gate. It was wide open with the battered walls of the fortress guarding the inside from out. Keiger stood just some feet away from the entrance, his great battle axe strapped to his back. My exhaustion now in full effect, I walked across the drawbridge, but suddenly something didn't feel right, I could feel my heart beginning to beat faster but yet my head was feeling incredibly light. Before I knew it, I had fallen over, my eyes closing, and the last thing I saw was Keiger walking away.

My eyes open, dreary, I see a straw roof and big wooden beams above me. Underneath me feels like wool and some sort of fur. I turn over and see three wooden walls surrounding me, with a table in the middle, and some sort of kitchen tucked away in the corner, with the popping of bubbles coming from it. 'Where was I?'. I sat up, immediately clutching my stomach, as a sharp pain ran through me. I then felt a hand on my shoulder, looking up I saw a woman with strawberry blonde hair, wearing what looked like a farmer's outfit, "Shhh," she said, pushing my shoulder down towards the bed. 'Why couldn't I push back,' I wondered silently. "You still need to heal, you've been out cold for three days,"