A Kaskian Story: Leaon, the Kings General

Chapter Three

"Take those chains off and let me fight her!" Garneth yelled.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt your pride?" The woman mocked, while being dragged by soldiers through the forest.

"Enough!" Leaon yelled, grabbing Garneth by his collar. "Put your pride aside and do your job! If you can't handle it, then go explain to the King why you failed!"

"You don't want to upset your King, do you?" The woman continued.

"Gag her!" Leaon ordered the soldiers holding her chains.

A scout led the Leaon's group of soldiers through the woods towards the home of the woman. The man had been sent by Kerd to find Leaon and escort them to the rendezvous point. The Felein surveyed his surroundings as they marched through the woods, wondering how the woman became as skilled as she was in fighting, not just with a bow, but with weapons of her enemies. "You will tell us who else is out there."

The group emerged from the trees to see a house with a forge, resting on the north side of the property, where Kerd was waiting with a man in chains. The man's eyes widened as he saw the woman in chains, his eyes searching the Leaon's group, looking for the others that escaped. Leaon saw a look of relief briefly cross the man's face as his gaze bore at the woman, as if they were talking through their minds. The Felein looked back to see the woman give the slightest nod as she stared back at the man.

"About time you showed up." Kerd ridiculed. "Who's that?"

"From what I'm guessing, his wife." Leaon replied, pointing to the man in the chains. "Take her in the house and away from him."

"Is that so?" Kerd asked while pulling the man to his feet by his hair. "Leaon! You'll never guess who this is!"

Glancing over the scene, seeing the bodies of Kaskian soldiers and archers who appeared to have had him surrounded and failed in their attempt to capture him, plus Kerd's Elite guard looking exhausted and covered in dirt and grime. (A man who out matched all these soldiers and archers, and even Kerd's elite. A woman just as equally skilled in battle, if not more so with a bow. A forge...) Leaon processed the information in his mind before answering. "The Anvil warrior and Lightning Arrow?"

"Of course you figured it out." Kerd sighed, releasing his hold on the man. "Also known as Erik and Brittany of the third war."

"So it's not them that we're looking for." Leaon realized as he watched the look on the man change to fear. "We're looking for their children..."

"That's what it looks like. I'm guessing you haven't seen them?" Kerd asked as he looked over Leaon's soldiers. "Where's the rest of your regiment?"

"There's two squads searching the woods for whomever she was protecting." Leaon replied, gesturing towards the house where Brittany was being held. "The rest are dead."

"She really did a number on your forces." Kerd replied, shaking his head, amazed at the strength of their prisoners. "I guess we're lucky we caught these two separately, otherwise they may have defeated all of them and escaped."

"The sounds are coming from over there!" Reshmi yelled, weapons drawn and ready for a fight. She burst through the trees into a small clearing where she found a dozen dead soldiers. Biting her lip as her eyes darted back and forth over the carnage. A man lay slumped against a cracked tree trunk as if he was thrown by some powerful creature. On the other side she saw three more soldiers who were thrown into trees with such force that their crumpled bodies cracked the trunks. Every direction she looked, there were soldiers lying in front of a tree, every one of them dead. In the center of the clearing had only a couple of soldiers, who appeared to have been wounded by weapons.