The Forty Knives of Fifty Theives

Chapter 9

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, I've been busy but here it is. Comment if you like it!!

Chapter IX

It was a little windy as a young man walked down through the streets of a small trading town. The man had never been here before but it was in his past, a few generations before him his ancestor had lived nearby here, in a castle. Somewhere along the way his ancestor had met a woman in the town. He was careful to not tell her anything of the castle he resided in. He finally courted her and eventually she became pregnant. To protect his lady and his child he sent them off to a fort guarded by thick walls. She never heard of the castle till after it was attacked and her husband died. When the nation was threatened the woman and her child were forced to leave the fortress and make a life somewhere else.

Now years later this man returns to the place where his ancestors had once lived. The castle is gone, buried somewhere beneath the sand in need of rescuing before it crumbles. But that isn’t why the man had come. He was looking for his brother. When they had been young he had been recruited into the army and never spoke again. He had only received one letter from his brother, when they were both grown up. His brother had told him of the family he had made. How he had two children, a boy and a girl.  

The man walked into a pub connected to a general store and an abandoned building by a veranda. He went up to the bartender.

“Do you know where the residence of a Maria, Nathaniel’s wife?” He asked.

The bartender’s expression flickered to that of pain for a second, “Yeah up the hill you see down the road, it’s the first house on that you see, across some big fields. Why?” I bartender answered.

“I’m her brother-in-law,” The man answered.

“Oh so you heard the news then,” The bar man said.

“What news?” the man asked.

“You didn’t hear? Both her children were taken into the army, one just yesterday and the other only a few days before that. It was very sudden, especially for the boy. All he had done was play darts with knives with a couple of friends. Boy got three bullseyes in a row and then, well, they just took him away,” explained the bartender.

The man was shocked. His niece and nephew had both been recruited in the army. He thanked the bartender and went up the hill. He knew he couldn’t stay long. No doubt his brother already told his kids about the castle. If anything the man had to save them before they got themselves in deep trouble. He prayed as he rode that he wouldn’t be too late.

Megan

The sun came up too quickly and we were off again. But I was still exhausted from last night. By the dark circles under Josh’s eyes I could tell he was exhausted too. The horses were moving slower and we tried not to rush them. We had given them water this morning to boost their energy but what we all needed was a really long sleep. But Josh told me we were close to our destination and if we hurried we would make it there before nightfall. I was wondering why we were even doing this. What would the army gain in helping some random wandering guy in a desert? More importantly, he could be an enemy spy playing at our weaknesses to destroy us. So much could happen that it made me feel queasy about it.

Then there was the feeling that I should be doing something else. I have to finish the quest my father sent me on. There was so much to do and in so little time, if I wanted to finish what my father started then I needed to start. But could I abandon Josh after all he did for me? Would I risk being an assumed traitor punishable by death? My brain told me to think rationally and that this wasn’t the right time to go chasing fables. But my heart, my soul, and my spirit told me that it was time to face the mission. It had to be my destiny to figure out the giant puzzle my father left behind. And in the process prevent a catastrophe unlike any the world has seen before. Maybe it was too much for one girl, I hadn’t really thought of allies for the mission. What if I convinced Josh? He didn’t seem very happy about his army position any more than I did. But would he abandon his country? It was highly unlikely. But some nagging part of my brain told me he’d be willing, because I impressed him and he knows that there’s more. Curiosity could be a convincing factor if I wanted to try to include him.