Finding Peace

Chapter 2

Ten years has passed. War has taken over the entire land. There are very few safe places left.There are small towns scattered throughout the lands. Traveling between these places is incredibly dangerous for either side. Nothing is safe. Nobody should travel alone. Mobs of Swampies travel across the land searching for anything to destroy.

I am sitting high up in a tree looking over a large valley. The sun is high in the sky. I can feel drops of sweat forming on my forehead. I debate internally whether I should take a dip in the river to cool off. As appealing as the idea is to jump into the fresh water, I know that it is not the safest idea. There are too many places filthy Swampies could be lurking. I know that I will be able to take a dip when Bane returns.

Bane is my only ally and closest companion. He is a very large pure black wolf with one brown eye and one blue. I sent him into the woods to hunt. A light breeze starts to pick up and instantly my body cools by a few degrees. I sigh with pleasure and close my eyes. I sit there in my tree, just listening to the sounds of nature. A few birds can be heard off in the distance. My mind wanders into memories of the past years. Learning to survive off the land. Learning to fight enemies that are trying to kill me all because I am a Pack member.

It is definitely not the way I had hoped to grow up. I know my parents had wanted better for me. But I met many colorful folk on my travels.There was an old man that taught me to hunt for food. He was a kind of gentleman. He actually caught me trying to steal food from his storage shed. I was lucky the old man took pity on me. I think I reminded him of his daughter who had been lost in war. I will never forget that old man. He taught me survival skills that have been invaluable to me.

A small group of elves taught me to fish. I even spent a year on a boat with them. There I learned the skills of cleaning and cooking fish but also how to make money. Watching those elves trade and barter was something I loved to watch. I got pretty good at mimicking them until it became second nature. I now can sell things at the marketplace and actually make a little profit.

A wolf's howl in the distance snaps me out of my trance. I recognize Bane's raspy voice anywhere. He prances into the clearing with a smug look on his face, a few squirrels dangling in his mouth.

"Don't you look pleased with yourself?" I say as I land on the ground next to him. "Good job Bane. These look amazing."

Three fat squirrels with broken necks. Bane was a wonderful hunter and made sure to take care in his kills. He never destroyed an animal in a way that would make it difficult for me to eat as well. Within minutes I have a fire heating up. I pull a small dagger out and begin skinning the squirrels. Once I have them cleaned, I begin roasting them on my fire, which is burning brilliantly. The first few hunks of meat that are cooked completely, I blow cool slightly and toss them at Bane. He starts munching happily.

After eating my fill, I threw what was left to Bane. "Eat up bud, I'm going for a swim." Bane watched me intensely as I skipped off towards the water. At the edge, I sat in the dirt and took off my boots. I carefully laid my socks in each one to keep them from getting wet as well. Nothing bothered me more than wet socks. I took off my pants and my top next, I carefully folded them and laid them on top of my pack.

Normal people when deciding to go for a swim do the silly one toe dip to test the temperature. I believe their theory is to get used to the temperature change slowly. I have never been one of those types. I immediately plunge myself feet first into the cold water. The chill came over my entire body in an instant. I felt the tension in my body releasing and the relief from the heat. I surface for air and glance in Bane's direction. I expected him to be sitting where I had left him watching over me as he always does. To my surprise he looked to be sunbathing. His eyes were closed and he was stretched out. He let out a big yawn.

I grin to myself and decide to dive under again. The feeling of weightlessness is so fascinating to me. I contort my body in different ways and allow myself to just float in whatever direction the current happens to be going. This time when I come up for air, I run my fingers through my long, raven colored hair. It felt amazing to have it somewhat washed. Bane and I hadn't been to a town in weeks and I cannot remember quite what soap feels like. I float on my back for a while longer before I decide to finally get out.

I lay in the grass next to Bane and let the warm sun dry my body off. I keep my eyes closed enjoying being so relaxed. I start to dress as soon as my body was acceptably dry. As I was tying the laces on my boots, I heard a most horrific scream. Immediately, my instincts are going into overdrive. Bane is standing at attention next to me looking in the direction of where we heard the sound. I grab my pack, my bow, and my quiver of arrows. Another scream. It was distinctly male.

"Let's go." I say and Bane takes off towards the sound, me racing after him. We are racing uphill and past trees. As we draw closer to the next clearing, the smell hits me. Swampies. Three huge orcs are circled around a body. A young Elven male. He is unconscious. I could run, the Swampies have no idea I am here. But the boy will die.

Bane and I make eye contact. We both know the plan. I raise my bow. I take a deep, steadying breath as I take aim at the head of the orc that is leaning in closer to the boy. One more deep breath in and I let my arrow fly...