Rider Ward: The Dark Woods

Two

Crimson, blood, pouring everywhere. Crimson upon green grass of a forest, with the cloudless sky watching above. He could barely see, Vision blurred by pain. There was an arrow lodged in his right arm, with an obsidian point. But... hope? He heard a cry to his left, and saw a baby. Left on the forest floor, bawling at the top of its lungs. He started towards it...

"Awake at last, lad" Said the person in front of him

Rider was lying on a soft feather mattress, and was comfortable in the folds of some sort of animal skin. His light face was unusually white, and his dark hair had spots of red,  but apart from that, there seemed to be no evidence of his encounter with Valen, his amulet was still on him. His stomach was... Healed. He sat up to get a look of the room, there was a single candle which revealed the oak planks around him. The man standing above had a muscular build, dark skin and dark hair. Though his face seemed friendly.

"Am i... Dead?" Rider asked, the place seemed so... heavenly to him.

"No lad, you safe and sound." He answered, with a soft tone" Some fight you got into there. It see..."

"Why did you help me? I can't give you anything as i am a stray orphan, i am... worthless to most" Rider questioned, here in the hold it wasn't likely for a man to help someone to this extent

"No, i am not asking for anything like that, this is something more... serious"

Riders heart dropped. He must have been a guard, and. Valen must have known about him stealing. He must have snitched Rider thought. But... then why did this man save him? after all, Rider thought, it must have been him. So that meant he owed this man his life.

"Well, thanks for saving me, I didn't catch your name before" Rider decided to act cool, as if he didn't know about his crime

"I go by Buck" The person said, however Rider thought he could detect... a lie

"so... you said something about me being here for a serious reason" Rider had now built up the courage to ask him

"Rider" The man said slowly "Do you about the witch and warlock burnings?"

Rider was shocked that he knew his name, but was curious to see where Buck was going to question that

"Its not exactly a hard thing to miss" Rider reasoned. He felt a spark in his hair but ignored it

"Do you know why they are burned?" Buck asked, while an expression of deep concern gradually revealed itself on his face

Rider thought for several seconds. The king always said they were a threat to the land, but Rider did not believe this. He believed the king to be just like Valen's father, even though he had not met nor caught a glimpse of him.

"The king says they are a threat, but i think he is wrong" Rider replied, rather defiantly

Buck sat down on the mattress, by Riders feet

"Do you believe in the Warlock Gods?" Buck asked, a peculiar an oddquestion

"No..." Rider replied, slightly confused at his question

"I- I am not sure the time is right yet" Buck said quickly, "perhaps you should get some rest"

And suddenly the urge to rest beat Riders curiosity, and he drifted into a dreamless sleep

---------------

He awoke to the sound of metal hitting metal, he had just realized he was inside the skilled blacksmiths home. He could hear the sizzling of metal, the clang of a hammer beating against iron. He could smell the smoke from the burning iron, and the home was full of heat. He rose from the mattress to stumble upon a dining table which he hadn't seen before. It was directly in front his bed and Upon it was a thin iron dish with bacon placed on top.

"Eat up there lad, your too skinny" Buck called, from down stairs, how he head him over his work remained a mystery

Rider took a seat in a solid oak chair, grabbed the bacon with bare hands and stuffed it down his throat.

"Gods, did the wild teach you no manners?" Buck questioned

Rider rose from the chair, and for a moment he felt something prickle in his skin, like a zap. The pain was little yet Rider was curious of its origins, but his urge to see Buck work was overpowering. He got of the chair, descended the stairs to find a counter, with a sword and shield hanging up on the wall behind it. There was a single wax candle on the counter which illuminated the shop. apart from the counter, the room was empty. Directly in front of Rider was the fountain in the town plaza, it was early morning so it was rather quite. Smoke  and warmth snaked in behind him, Rider turned around and there was the forge. He walked to the anvil, where Buck was hitting what appeared to be a silver sword.

"Good for warding of werewolves, and good for money" Buck stated

Rider admired Buck's skill, he held the hammer and bam a heavy strike to the sword, and without breaking a sweat, and after a brief rest, another bang and another dent. And buck did this in a quick succession, only pausing to think where he should next deliver another blow to the sword. Rider desperately wanted to be taught this skill, and so asked Buck

"I was wondering if you could... perhaps teach me how to forge items?" Rider asked with unusual politeness

"No, its too dangerous m'lad" He replied

"Oh come on Buck, please? perhaps i could start with something simple like shaping iron" Rider begged

After several moments of silence, Buck concluded, "Well... perhaps two people work faster than one"

And so Rider was handed a small hammer from Buck, whilst he was observing it Buck picked up an iron ingot and began to heat it until some of the iron became a glowing white, he then placed it onto the anvil and began to teach. He taught Rider how to sharpen the ingot, which Rider proved to be a natural, expertly hitting the ingot until it became surprisingly sharp for someone's first try. Buck then taught Rider how to make a dagger, which proved to be difficult, as he struggled with the handles. But as time passed Rider managed to craft his first iron dagger. It was rather blunt, and a little uneven but he was proud of his handiwork. Even Buck seemed impressed with how fast Rider learnt how to craft an Iron dagger. This process took about five hours, as Rider refused to have a break. Sweat was pouring down both him and Buck

"I must say, you are a fast learner, but now i am telling you to have a break, here take some silver and buy some meat for me will ya?" Buck said, while handing over 5 pieces of silver.

Rider reluctantly gives a nod and then doubled back towards the entrance. He exited the shop and was now standing in the plaza. Directly opposite the forge was the butchers. A tall, wooden building with a single window at the bottom, to reveal pieces of meat that were dripping slightly with blood. He headed towards it but stopped almost immediately as he  heard footsteps on his right. He turned and saw Vale, and his bodyguard Tore.

"You may have won yesterday, Rider, but i swear, i will make you suffer!" Valen exclaimed, raising a fist in a threatening manner

And as that sentenced ended, Tore jogged towards Rider. Gave a punch to the stomach as fast as lightning and winded Rider. He felt Tore search his pockets then Tore took of, he ran towards Valen, who had acquired a black eye, and they both ran off, to the pathway that lead to Valens home.

After Rider had recovered from the assault, he searched his pockets to find the five pieces of silver. His heart dropped, Buck was like a father, and he couldn't let him down like this. With unbearable disappointment, he limped back to the forge.