The Forgotten World

The Forgotten World - Part 8

After a long walk Michelle and Alex returned to Shelton’s cottage and were greeted to the smell of cooked meat.

Against the walls of Shelton’s cottage lay 3 bags and 2 sets of swords. Shelton sat a little away eating of last of his meal by the fire with his sword, bow and quiver laid out beside him.

"What's with the bags?" Alex asked.

Alex’s words got Shelton’s attention. He stood up and kicked dirt over the fire, putting it out. He then proceeded to stretch.

"Sir, what's happening?" Michelle now asked.

Shelton ignored them. He finished his stretching, equipped his gear and grabbed one of the bags.

"Grab a bag and sword, both of you. We're leaving."

Michelle and Alex were both confused.

'What's going on?”

"Sir, where are we going?" Alex asked.

"Later"

Alex erupted.

“No!” Shelton stopped in his tracks. “I’m tired of being kept in the dark. Tell us what’s happened and what’s about to happen. It’s been too long.” Alex sighed and continued, a little more softly. “Please sir, we need to know.”

Shelton and Alex exchanged looks. For a moment, Alex thought he wasn’t going to get an answer.

Shelton turned away, but he didn’t ignore Alex’s request.

"I will tell you, but not now. Soon. So please, be patient” Shelton spoke quietly, with no trace of the anger or frustration Alex was expecting. "Please, grab your things and follow me".

Shelton slung his bag over his shoulder and walked away.

Alex felt guilty about the way he’d just treated his teacher. Shelton was taking longer to recover than all of them.

#

They walked around the borders of the water until they came to a stream branching away from the lake. Leaving the lake behind, they followed the stream north west.

It was a long walk and the sun was setting when the group came to a rest.

They put down their gear and Shelton held out his bow and arrows to Alex.

“I presume you know how to use this” Shelton said.

Alex nodded and took the bow and arrows from Shelton.

“Go and hunt tonight’s meal.” As Alex turned away Shelton added: “I’ll tell you what you want to know later tonight.”

That put a smile on Alex’s face.

Whilst Alex was away hunting for food, Shelton used this time to spar and train Michelle. When he returned, Shelton trained with Alex as Michelle prepared a meal.

Alex was huffing and puffing as Michelle gave him his food: Shelton on the other hand barely lost a sweat.

When the meal was over, Michelle and Alex waited patiently for Shelton to start talking.

 “We all lost people who we held dear yesterday. The cause: something called a dragon that shouldn’t even exist anymore.”

Michelle gasped but Alex portrayed no reaction. He'd already seen it in person.

"Only centuries ago things were different. Mythical creatures still existed but all was quickly forgotten when magic was forbidden and the arts were no longer taught.”

“Back then, there was a very mysterious woman. No one knew who she was or where she came from but one day she appeared and spoke of a prophecy”

“She spoke of man of evil taking rule over the land. A man who would control the beasts of sky and land and enslave the world. She foretold the arrival of saviours who would banish him away. And she warned of the time he would return to start it all again”.

“After that the woman disappeared with her servant, never to be heard of again.”

“A year later and a sorcerer took control of the land. Ten years after and eleven mages made the ultimate sacrifice to banish him away. Everything returned to how it used to be and people lived in peace, or at least how much peace they were capable of upholding.”

"But what does that have to do with now?" Michelle asked.

“It means, after all those centuries of peace, Cain has returned.”