New Beginnings

Chapter 4.

The farther along we got down the tunnel, the colder the air got and the more the area smelled of stagnant water and decay. A few rats had tried to attack me as I had made my way through the twisting tunnel hallways, getting lost a few times in some dead ends. I had managed to wander for what felt like hours before I came to a section that was wider than the rest of the tunnels. A torch illuminated the area up ahead and as I drew closer I heard voices. They seemed to be older than I was. The hall made a sharp turn left and a set of stairs descended to a more lit room from which the voices emitted from. I followed the sound cautiously, making my way down as slowly as I could. Two shadows extended closer to the base of the steps and the talking became louder, footsteps drew nearer to where I was and I froze in place. Maybe it was still dark enough that they wouldn't be able to see me...

I waited, five minutes, ten minutes, and so on. The footsteps stopped, I sighed in relief only to scream in terror a few seconds later. They were sneaky, more than I had predicted, and fast too. It wasn't more than a moment after I made a sound that a hand was over my mouth and a blindfold over my eyes being dragged across the slimey floor of the tunnel. I must have been squirming around too much for their liking. I remember something cold and hard connecting with my temple and then waking up in a room tied to the leg of a large and heavy table. I could hear a few voices, the twang of an arrow being let loose and the dull thud of a target being struck. The smell of fresh cooked food wafted through my senses as the faint sound of music muddled with the sounds of revelry and heavy footsteps.

"Well what do we have here?" a deep voice I did not recognise called from what sounded like a few feet away.

The voice got closer and closer, chastising the ones who must have dragged me in here, reprimanding those who did not bring it to his attention early before coming close to me. I felt his hand on my face and I kicked, started fighting for a way away from his touch.

"Woah there, easy lass. I'm not here to hurt you. Calm down,."

The blindfold came off once I had settled. My head was on fire, what dim lighting this room had hurt to look at. A man knelt in front of me, he looked like an older human, a rough, short, ginger beard covered most of his face, his hair in a similar color but more swept back into a ponytail.

"Now, what's your name?"

I paused, taking everything in. I looked around seeing at least seven other people in the room. All of them wore the same dark leather armor. Some had hoods on and some did not, though most of the hooded ones had their mouths covered as well.

"Not much of a talker, eh? Well I'll start. My name is Bryn, I run this here guild of misfits. How a kid like you found your way down to our little hovel, is beyond me," he said standing up after untying me from the table.

"Yer welcome to stay lass, doesn't look like you have much of anywhere else to go."

I stood up, debating if I should run. But if I ran, how many crowns guards would just send me back down? A guild of misfits didn't seem so bad at the time. I stayed.