Aryo & the Missing Prince

CHAPTER FOUR: TAKEN

Aryo had heard stories about Minotaurs. They were huge creatures—half-man, half-bull—that roamed catacombs and labyrinths, waiting to devour whatever unfortunate soul wandered in. They were monsters of legendary proportions, striking fear into the hearts of all who heard tell of their sharp horns, serrated teeth, and unquenchable thirst for battle.

Unfortunately, what Aryo and Barin faced in the forest was not a Minotaur. It was worse.

Minotaurs were loners, but Minoboars traveled in herds. And that's what charged at them from among the darkness—a herd of Minoboars.

Minoboars were similar to their bullish cousins in that they were huge, dangerous, and an unnatural mixture between man and beast. They were, however, uglier, with their pink pig-ish noses, yellow tusks, and coarse, bristling hair. Despite their enormous, filthy bellies, and their tiny hooves, the Minoboars moved fast. They were charging.

With a flash, Barin's sword was out. An instant later, Aryo's was, too. He was ready. As a shepherd, he'd fought off jackals with his staff. How much harder could this be?

Unfortunately, the answer was: much harder.

The first of the monsters rushed at Barin, fearless and huge. It raised a crude club and would have smashed the old man to pieces with it had he not dodged out of the way at the last second. Then, with a speed of a man half his age, he spun and slashed the boar across its back and it fell lifeless to the ground.

"Alright!" Aryo cried, raising his little blade in victory. But the old man didn't waste time on celebration. Another Minoboar was nearly upon him. He twirled to block a blow from the next boar's ax. For a split second, ax and sword were locked in place as the huge creature pushed against Barin's defenses with all its might. Barin grit his teeth and yelled just before he let the beast's ax slide down his blade and slam into the ground. The creature was strong, but it was too slow. In a flash, Barin had whipped his sword back around and ended the monster's life.

"Behind you!" Aryo shouted as the old man looked up from his defeated foe. But it was too late. His eyes widened and he spun around just in time to get his sword in front of him as a particularly large boar tackled him to the ground.

"Barin!" Aryo screamed as he watched creature sit up, still pinning Barin to the ground. It was snorting heavily from the exertion and squealing with rage. With every squeal, the Minoboar slammed both fists down on Barin with so much power Aryo was sure the old man would die. But then he saw Barin's old vambraces come up to block the blows.

Aryo looked at his blade. Barin wouldn't last forever under those thundering fists. He knew what he had to do. Stepping up behind the hulking beast, he turned the sword upside down, steeling himself.

"Three..." he counted down. "Two..."

He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and raised the sword high into the air. "One!"

SLAM!

Suddenly, the world was spinning. The only thing he could think of was that he'd dropped the dagger. Now, he was floating. His head hurt.

And what was that awful stench? He blinked and his vision cleared. His head still throbbed, but now he could at least see again. The world was upside down. He shook his head and blinked, trying to shake the discombobulation he was feeling. There was a snort from above—or maybe it was below him?

Then everything made sense. Hooves. He was looking down at a pair of fast-moving hooves, something held him around the waste, and the world was whipping rapidly past him in a blur. And it stunk.

He had been captured by a Minoboar.

Before he could do anything about the fact, he began to feel very sleepy. Blood was rushing to his already aching head and the stench of the Minoboar only made him feel more nauseous and light-headed. He fought to keep his eyes open.

"I have to stay awake," he told himself. "I have to stay awa..." And just like that, the darkness closed in around him and he closed his eyes.

He dreamed of Barin, fighting in a black fog against a swarm of Kappas. They crawled all over him, pinching him with their little claws and smiling their little turtle smiles. Then the Minoboars came and surrounded the old man. Together, they closed in on him, snorting and squealing with excitement. Once they were only a few feet from the him, they leaped at him, but he fell down, down, down into the dark fog and out of the grasp of the Kappas. Aryo couldn't see the monsters anymore, but only Barin as he fell forever down into the darkness.

***

THUD!

Aryo jerked awake to a face-full of mud. He sat up and spat, wiping it out of his face. It was then that became aware of the chaos that surrounded him. He sat in a small, muddy valley at the base of low, greyish mountains. All around him, Minoboars of all sizes sprang up out of the mud and ran frantically past him—sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four. They squealed, too, with a squeal he hadn't heard yet. They were long, screaming squeals—terrified squeals.

Aryo looked around for the monster that had taken him, but it was nowhere to be seen. In fact, none of the Minoboars seemed to notice him at all. They rushed past, some carrying weapons and some carrying little brown bundles that Aryo soon found were piglets. And they weren't merely springing up from out of the mud. They were climbing out of holes—burrows—in the mud. Then Aryo understood. They were fleeing. They were leaving their homes behind and running away from something that absolutely terrified them. But what?

Within moments, the valley was silent, the last of the Minoboars rushing past Aryo without a second glance, terror in their eyes. Now the boy was very much alone.

Aryo stood up and turned to watch as the last Minoboar disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Terror seized him. Those creatures were monsters and monsters shouldn't be able to get scared, but they were. What on earth could scare away an entire herd of Minoboars?

Aryo spun to face the mountains as a horn blast echoed down from the stony hills to fill the valley, reverberating through the entire forest.

"What was that?" Aryo asked aloud without thinking.

"Orc horns," came a voice from behind. Aryo turned to see a man standing just on the edge of the valley. He was young, tall, and regal-looking, with a shining breastplate, pauldrons, bracers, and greaves. The rest of his clothing was blue, including a mud-stained cloak. He held a magnificent sword in his hand and a shield that bore the king's insignia.

Aryo's jaw dropped. There was no doubt about who this man was. Aryo was certain he knew. It was the prince himself.