Ring of Power

Chapter 3: The Explosion

     Emerald woke up the next morning and looked out onto the path, making sure the patrol wasn't out in the morning. She slowly rose and stretched, then she carefully left her fort and climbed a giant oak tree. She sat on a thick branch that hangs right over the path through the trees, just as she did every day.
     She saw no travelers or traders all day, nor did she see anyone from the Guard Patrol. The sun was beginning to set as she crawled down out of the oak tree. She weaved silently through the trees to check all her traps. She had caught no game, but she had plenty of fruit and nuts to get her through dinner. It seemed as if the forest was silent, and that's never a good sign.
Emerald automatically suspected something was array and went in search of the problem. She crept through the woods, not to be seen nor heard. She had been walking through the woods for some time, and was about to brush away the uncomfortable feeling when suddenly she heard a big explosion. It shook the earth and knocked her to her knees. It came from a part of the forest close to the outskirts of the village her parents came from. Once she regained her footing and the dizziness the explosion caused had settled, she started to move quickly in the direction the explosion had come from.

In the city of Tyreenion, there was a boy who thought much like Emerald. He thought his life was adventure-less and boring and he wanted to leave. His parents would never let him do this of course, so he had no luck.
     He lived farther out of the village than the other towns people. They were one of the few with a farm and they always needed money because all the money they got was spent on their animals. He was an only child so he did all the chores while his mother sewed and his father went to work.
     The day of the explosion he had many chores to do. He had to feed and water the animals, clean them and their stalls, and he had to go to the market to buy feed. He skipped lunch every day because they barely had enough money for two meals, let alone three. He was always dirty and could only bathe once a week. He never got a break and his parents always yelled at him. He never got their approval on anything, he was wrong all the time and couldn't get things right.
     He wanted rest, he wanted to do something great that he could be known for, but he knew it would never happen.
     That night he washed his face and changed, glad the day was over so he could sleep and relax. He had no bed so he had to sleep on the floor, but he slept by the fire. He laid down and thought of the work he did that day and if his life would change. His parents were sound asleep in the bed next to him.
     He was just about to drift off to sleep when he heard a loud explosion. Filled with curiosity, he took his chance to leave the village to find out what it was.
He jumped up, careful to not wake his still sleeping parents, and slipped on dark green tights, a loose black cotton shirt, and brown boots so he wouldn't be seen. He also grabbed a light black jacket to protect him from the cool night.
     He quietly walked across the room and slipped out into the night, closing the door softly behind him. The looming village was dark, but he knew the way to the gate like the back of his hand. He tried to go down to the gate every day just to look at it and wish he could be on the other side. He'd never had the chance to cross through it before, but now he would.
     He crept through the village and down to the gate, making no sound as he walked. He knew what time the guards would change their shifts and knew it would be soon. He waited until the first guards left their post and began heading into the village. He slipped out unnoticed before the new set of guards arrived.
      He didn't know what was in the forest or how to get through it so he decided to avoid it as much as possible. He walked along the wall of the village until he thought he was near where his house was on the other side of the wall.
     Taking a deep breath, he walked into the dark forest. He put his hands in front of him to avoid running into trees. He tripped over tree roots several times, and was scratched by bushes and briers as he passed. He couldn't tell if he was on a path or not and tried to walk in a straight line, but sometimes he had to detour if trees were blocking his path.
     After awhile, he could tell he was becoming hopelessly lost and was about to turn around and go home when he saw a faint light up ahead. He started to run toward it, he was excited but stayed cautious. He didn't know who they were and if they would kill him or not.
     As he got closer he slowed his pace until he was walking toward the light and he noticed that the light was a fire. He slowly approached and crouched down behind the bushes near the camp he had stumbled upon. He saw the figures of two men outlined around the fire. They were lightly armed and wore long hunting cloaks. Their cowls were pulled up, covering their faces from the boy's view. They were talking in hushed voices and he only caught a word here or there.
     He saw three horses tied to the trees behind the fire. The men had small packs by their sides and one was holding what looked like a kind of black powder in his hands. The boy wondered what that could be...