Dead Eye

Chapter 1

Wind came rushing over the land, running it's hands across every stock of wheat. Scattered throughout these lands are families who work tireless hours since the harvest moon rose a week before. Few trees with leaves an orangish, red tinge scattered across the fields that were visible. Adam a boy exiting the forest from the north eastern corner had light brown skin and dark brown eyes.

Adam drudged down the dirt path, as it weaved in between two fields. Beyond the hills the sun was setting, slowly the shadows on the ground grew with each passing second. Just over the fields of wheat he caught a glimmer of the wood walls of Solidale, a town residing in the east side of the Arkean Empire. At his heels Adam tugged a dead deer carcass by it's two legs. Drops of blood slithered down the deer's skin, painting the ground. The wind picked up again managing to pierce through his tattered clothes, wedging itself between his back and the bow which dug into his skin. Small bumps formed across every inch of his skin, the stump like hairs covering his body providing neglable warmth.

Up ahead two guards stood stiff as a tree trunk in front of the town gate wearing chainmail armor. Underneath they wore their blue linens. According to the few people Adam talked to throughout Solidale these guards had specially crafted chainmail armor to compensate for their protruding bellies. They stood at the front gates protecting the city incase of another bandit attack.

Both guards remained stiffen as Adam reached the front gate, almost as if they were holding their breath, their cheeks turning a bright purple. The one on the right broke his position, eying Adam as he came towards them.

His stomach extended beyond the toes, his rusting armor looked ready to burst from all the pressure. Facial hair which looked as if it were cut by a six year old, and his short chopped hair was twisted in knots. "Look who we have here." Glaring at Adam, his hands resting behind his back.

"Ahh and he brings a friend with him as well. To bad he can't keep any of his friends alive." The second guard who broke ranks as well chuckled at what he must have considered as a joke. His stomach almost matched the other guard's in size and shape. Although his armor seemed to fit better, he must have tipped the craftsman a little more. It was a bit more polished with an extra shine coming off the metal. Unlike the other guard he bore no facial hair. The hairs on his head had a clean cut each hair a bit curly but nothing in knots. The guard took his wooden spear and jabbed it into the deer. "A bit bloody ain't it. By the time you get that to the butcher there won't be anything left."

The guard with rusting armor chimed in. "Nah. There be bones. Maybe he could use the bones to train a dog than he'll finally have a friend." Adam's head hung low to the ground, checks red and mind going distant. As they sputtered more and more and more about the dog the more it appealed to Adam. If he had a dog he'd order it to attack the guards. The only problem was finding a dog that he could train.

After there banter and laughs the guards quieted down. The clean shaven guard finally said. "Get a move on. Get the bloody carcass out of here."

Adam at first walked slowly, drudging his feet as he moved through the town gate which was just a bunch of wood logs jutted into the air with a door cut into a set of them. He jumped as the door slammed shut behind him.

The two guards continued to speak. "Boy that boy's just like his father. What a bloody swine. 

"You think that the boy hid something in the carcass?"

"I'd bet my life on it. Probably something illegal for his father." Every time Adam saw people throughout the town he was, is, and always will be reminded of his father. Few in town saw him anything other than his father's son.

He took in the small city with it's one story buildings typically made of cracking stone brick or rotting wood walls. On either side of the street piles of trash, paper, and excrement perched up against the merchant shops. During the night all the trash is delivered by a gong farmer to a river just west of Solidale. On occasion the trash is left overnight to rot, only to pile up more the next day. Off to the left Adam could see the owner of Loftyman's Bakery, a man of a rather average size, came out and tossed a bucket of a deep brown liquid onto the dirt road. Along with the heaps forming on the side of the road there were posts that elevated above them with lanterns dangling down from them. They whipped around in the air as if the chains were able to be ripped from the post. The lantern almost swung itself into the baker, who ducked momentarily before his head was knocked off his body.