Rider Ward: The Dark Woods

One

The stars were twinkling above as if it were wishing him luck,  the wind was calm and slow, which mimicked his mood. He knew that this would yield great rewards if done right, hence he was for once, completely focused with the task at hand.  

She got out of her carriage, and... this was looking rather difficult. Personal guards shielded her, and if that wasn't enough, the whole alley was bustling with commoners. The street itself had few, low buildings, and only one streetlight, which cast a strong yellow glow onto the oak structures, some of the more expensive ones bore some rusted steel. On the other side of the alley we bushes, trees and beyond that open fields. Nature was alive with wildlife, from simple fireflies to quite foxes prowling around, and with a young orphan, Rider hiding within a bush. The woman surrounded by the guardsmen seemed quite posh to Rider, wearing a silk dress with illustrations worthy of tapestries, and her hair shone a deep crimson in the starlight. The guardsmen wore formal clothes, trimmed with glittering gold, and their silver blades shone, not unlike the moon and its light.

Rider tracked the women's movements carefully, in hope that she would walk into the quieter alley behind, but alas she did not. She seemed to be heading towards the plaza, which was the least quite place around. Rider seemed to have no choice but to wait for and follow the woman, in hope that the commoners would slowly disperse. Or, a distraction was necessary, quickly he formulated a plan and gripped his bow. He murmured a prayer to the gods as he unslung his polished oak weapon, a weapon that, unlike Rider's attire, had some value. He nocked an arrow into it, not his best one, a rather blunt one. The shaft was slightly crooked yet this held no importance. Naturally, Rider was a good shot, he did not know how, or if he had any training. Not that he remembered much of his past...

He shrugged of that distracting train of thought and aimed at the the only streetlight. He hoped that no injuries would occur from the glass shards in which he hoped would fall. Although many of Rider's fellow orphans  had seen Rider as a character that had no emotions, he cared about many things. For starters, no one realised that he only stole from the rich. He would never steal from lower class citizens as they were like him, poor, surviving on scraps, nothing to eat most of the time, and always looked down upon.

He pulled back the drawstring, breathed in and out, and as he breathed out, he let the arrow whistle through the damp air. His aimed proved to be true as his arrow had pierced the streetlight, right through the glass. The guardsman, as predicted by Rider, pushed the woman out of the way to ensure her protection from the glass shards. It was now, or never. Instantly he was on his feet and running towards his target. As he got closer he slowed down to become inconspicuous. He reached into the woman's bag, grabbed the purse, but not only that.

Rider learned a while ago that a skilled pickpocketer doesn't take the purse, but whilst its in the bag, opens the purse, takes the money out, closes the purse, then goes of in a walk. Which is exactly what Rider done. He set of at a brisk walk to the left, the cobblestone alley lead into the stronghold's, Woe, plaza. The name woe came from the ancients, this stronghold was used as a prison. It's history is full of torture and blood, the captors of the prison would make the victims scream and cry out, hence the name woe. Rider had now entered the town plaza, which had shops surrounding a magnificent fountain which was there in honor of the four noble gods, not the warlock nonsense. The buildings surrounding the fountain were the most expensive you could find in this stronghold, Made of solid oak planks, and the iron trim gleamed in the light from the fireflies. The plaza was alive with streetlamps and wildlife, which gave it a warm atmosphere. To Rider's right was the holds blacksmith, so skilled he could fashion a steel dagger in mere minutes. He could hear the guardsman shouting , they must have found the arrow in the streetlight. And he had a bow str...

"Oh look, its Rider, looking good in your.... what do you call them? rags? prison clothes? no even worse than the two" Said the figure in front of him. It was Valen, son of a powerful man. His father was in control of this stronghold, charming to the people, dashing to the woman. He was loved everywhere. But Rider knew what he was really like. Valen himself was a rather beefy character, with blonde hair that no barber could make good on him. He was there, surrounded by his group of hired friends and laughing at Rider.

But Rider replied with confidence"Hmph, well Valen, i don't think we would want your, what should i call it? acciden..." 

"Do you, Rider, have any idea how powerful i am?" Valen interrupted, in fear of the secret being spilled, " Do you have any idea that lower class citizens are forbidden to posses weapons, such as that blow slung over your back?"

Rider cursed himself silently, he forgot to hide the bow.

"Rider, it is your lucky day, i am feeling merciful today" Valen said, in a tone that suggested he was a powerful, being ", why don't you just give me that amulet of yours in exchange for me keeping my mouth shut." He finished, with a smile growing onto his face

His amulet was the only expensive looking thing he had. He had no idea of its origins, or how he came to posses it, but just wearing the amulet filled him strength, as it reminded him of his parents. Parents which he has never seen before. Without it he felt empty.

But he had to give it, if Valen told the smallest punishment would be ten year imprisonment, and the worst, banishment from this stronghold. Rider would be considered a threat, and that would be the only reason.

With some difficulty, he took of his amulet,he twisted it in his palm, and the moonlight showed him the engravings of a sword, he then handed it over to Valen.

"Well, nice trade, boys, kill him, he his already enough of an annoyance to me." Valen said, whilst twirling the amulet in his hands

Riders eyes blurred red with a blazing anger, but fear overcome that anger as he saw he was hopelessly outnumbered. He tried to run but was punched in the face. He doubled over, but as he did so he came back up, smashing a knee into the attackers face, crimson sprayed everywhere. Another grabbed him and he was punched in the stomach several times, but he managed to flip the assailant over his head. He grabbed an arrow from his quiver and attempted to stab Tore, Valen's personal bodyguard. Tore sidestepped and Rider almost fell, Tore then knocked the arrow out of his hand and sent a smash to his face. He could barely stand, the world around him fading into darkness. Rider had stumbled onto the cobblestone. He caught a gleam of silver and felt something pierce his stomach. Blood poured out of his mouth.

The world around him continued to darken, he could sense the glacial arms of Thanatos welcoming him.

And then he feel it. Just for a mere moment he could feel lightning thundering in his eyes. He caught a blur of a big figure, who seemed to punch people around him. Rider then descended into the darkness, but had missed the arms of Thanatos...

Well this my first part to my first story on wattpad, currently over 1000 words long! I hope this is good and please, i would appreciate feedback below :D