I had been following the pace of the horses, which were following the carriage and the lieutenant, for some time. The sun was very well setting, with only two or so hours left of daylight left. My hands were bound by a single rope, which was tethered to the saddle of the lieutenant’s horse. Thankfully there was enough slack that I wouldn’t get hit by any unidentified flying objects from the stallion’s rear. I had worked around horses for a couple of years now, but I still hadn’t gotten use to their “habits.”
But horse crap was the least of my worries. We were being taken to Mentings, which was completely locked down. No one could get in or out without them knowing about it. I feared that once inside we would never be able to get out. Not with our lives, at least. I wasn’t counting on Valen or Howard to come save us. We, I, had been too much of a nuisance for them.
I don’t why I jumped at Valen when I did. He was saying something about someone doing the right thing for Crossroads, Orin, and how that had been the cause of this. He wasn’t completely wrong. Orin’s inability or hesitation to pick a side had thrown a town on edge right over. But it wasn’t his fault. Orin didn’t ask for this civil war. Neither did Valen, for that matter. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to react...
Just then, one of soldiers fell off his horse. Then another. In the next second, the driver to the carriage was slammed to the hood of the carriage. A long, dark shaft sprouted from his chest. Soon enough, while riders and foot soldiers were being picked off, the Lieutenant’s horse was hit, tilting to the side before collapsing to the ground. The Lieutenant let out a sharp cry of pain when he slammed to the ground. Unfortunately for me, I was still bound to the horse, so I got yanked forward when the horse fell. I got back up to my feet and up to the saddle to see if I could untie the rope. The lieutenant was a breath’s distance, his leg trapped underneath the fallen horse.
My mind was only focused on getting to cover, but we were exposed on a dirt path road in the middle of the woods. I was surprised and glad that I wasn’t already killed by one of the bandits’ arrows. For the most part, travelers would occasionally encounter a band of highwaymen every now and then. Local rulers would gather an army to capture or kill them. Sometimes they just pushed them to another town’s area of jurisdiction. Nobody had time to deal with thieves and bandits now that there was a civil war going on. Word was that both sides would try to recruit the many roving criminals of Andurovia. But neither side ventured to Allensport often.
Allensport was a lawless port town that opened up onto the Laikanthia Ocean, It was within Andurovian territory, sitting just North above what was now the Durovian League. It was not always the haven for criminals, more like a common resting point in their travels. But now that there was a war going on, the number of criminals seemed to multiply over night.
As soon as I got my hands freed, I dove right under the carriage. I wasn’t sure from which direction the attack was coming from, so I figured the carriage would offer enough protection from arrows. The assault continued until there weren’t anymore soldiers left to shoot at. These highwaymen were skilled, I’ll give them that. Maybe they were good enough to let me live. Or the others inside the carriage. I didn’t even bother trying to get it open, because I wasn’t sure if it was locked. If it was, I would have been exposed. And just being out in the open was too much of a risk.
But now they attack had stopped. The woods had grown silent and the darkness of night was approaching. I waited, keeping my breathing still as I tried to listen for the bandits. I could only hear my own breathing, even as I tried to mute it. My heartbeat was quickly rising. That was when I saw the pair of boots approaching the carriage. The highwayman whistled off to the distance, judging from the direction the sound was coming from. In no time there was a second pair of boots. Both looked worn by weather and use. At first I hadn’t noticed that they were both wearing cloaks, but I was able to tell when they had gotten closer to the carriage.
