Shadows of Honor: The Arcane Warrior

Chapter 5: Through the Darkness

The fairground was beginning to settle down as all the patrons of the kingdom began finding their final stops for the evening show. Galador was famous for its evening light show, and many people from all across the continent arrived just to witness it. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink, and the air was cooling down to a comfortable temperature as the last quarter of the hour began to countdown.

Emile pushed his way through the dense underbrush of the forest, his eyes focused intently on the direction ahead. The evening light filtered through the canopy, casting long shadows and creating an almost ethereal atmosphere. Part of him began to contemplate whether or not he should have gone with Olivia to retrieve help, but he quickly pushed the intrusive thoughts away, knowing there was no turning back now.

Minutes passed by, feeling like hours, as Emile stumbled through the forest, one foot after another. He tripped over what he thought was a large log, but glancing down, he saw a pair of boots tangled in the vines and mud. He examined them to see that they were a woman's pair of boots.

"Madelyn," he thought to himself before pulling himself up and continuing in the same direction.

Another few minutes passed, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, darkness began to take hold. Emile saw in the vague distance a clearing with lights coming from a source. "A torch?" Emile thought to himself before crouching low and sliding towards the source.

It wasn't long before he came into earshot of the individuals. He crept forward, listening to several men speaking to each other. Finally, he was able to make out the tail end of their conversation.

"Are you two stupid? Don't you see the crest on his chest?" One of them, most likely the leader, shouted. "A farmer goes missing, sure, that's fine, but a Knight Squire?"

Emile was finally close enough to make out the group of people. Laying across the ground were a young man and a young girl, both unconscious and motionless. He examined the three bandits and saw one of them, the leader he presumed, was wearing black leather armor with a blue bandana pulled down from his face. He held a short sword at his side, and his hair was shaved on the sides with the top long in a ponytail.

The second one wore a similarly colored bandana but was dressed in a ragged tunic with holes and patches scattered all over it. His hair was short, black, and unkempt. The last one wore a dark blue cloak with his hood pulled up, masking most of his appearance.

"Well, it's too late now, Lenny. He's here, and we gotta get rid of them somehow," the cloaked figure stated. "I say we take the girl as insurance and off the boy." He hissed, "Once we get away, we can ransom her off for extra coin and make our way south. This place was a dump anyway. What do you say, Spence?" He glanced at the second man, his eyebrow raised.

"I don't care what happens to the girl, as long as I finish the boy up," Spence winced as he revealed a deep cut along his forearm.

Emile felt his opportunity slipping away, and without hesitation, he revealed himself to the three men, drawing his dull sword.

"That's enough! Touch either of them and you'll regret it!" Emile bolstered, adrenaline coursing through him, his hands beginning to shake slightly.

"Control yourself," he thought to himself. "Don't allow them to get too close. Keep them at a distance."

He remembered Sir Richard's lessons regarding being outnumbered: "One on one, you already have less than a good chance, but two on one, and gods forbid anything more, and your best chances are to retreat." Sir Richard's words echoed in Emile's head.

The cloaked figure drew a shortsword hidden under his cloak, revealing chainmail armor. He approached Emile, sword up and ready to strike.

"Another one?" he questioned. "I don't recall seeing you back there. The other one must have left a trail or something."