Freedom's Haven

Freedom's Haven (Chapter 1 part 1)

Strange Wood:

               'This is it. This is Kristwood, home to the mighty stubborn ass elves.' I thought vehemently.

               I had left the Compound for Kristwood just shy of a month ago and the entire journey had been one disaster after another.

               'This had better not be an Omen, Morak. I need luck on my side for this.' I thought ruefully at the God of Chance. He had been the one I'd always turned to in times of trouble. Most of my family tended toward either Eaethelin the Goddess of Humanity, Ryenthold the God of the Sky, or Siya the Earth Goddess; but I had never felt any real draw toward those major three Gods. Instead, I had always felt a certain connection to Morak, a God that was mostly a mystery, shrouded in legends and mistrust. I had always felt that life was one great gamble. Secretly, selfishly perhaps, I had always felt that Morak was watching out for me.

              A sharp cry from a hawk pierced my thoughts and I quickly shook off my rambling thoughts, to focus on Chakori as she circled high above me. I smiled pleased as, her hunting had gone well. Slowly, she circled lower until with a final cry, she dove sharply before pulling up to hover a foot above me. I held my arm out and gracefully, she perched upon my forearm.

              She was heavy, a female red-tailed hawk, weighing about three pounds and standing almost two feet above my arm, her wingspan easily reached four feet; she was an impressive bird. Her beak sharp and her talons deadly, her feathers shining, not one ruffled or out of place. Chakori's eyes held a keen intelligence and her posture was proud as she held out the arrow in her slightly bloody beak.

               I took the prize as it was offered and studied it as Chakori preceded to clean off her beak.

I had known for some days that we were being followed and the fact that they were not Elves was obvious by their lack of stealth, still... This presented problems.

               "Good girl, Kori. You did wonderful, my beauty." I cooed at the obviously smug bird.

Chakori had been my friend and companion now for almost five years. In some very real ways we had saved each other's lives.

               I had been walking through the forest in the spring, stalking a young rabbit with my bow, when Chakori, a juvenile then, had swooped down to make off with my prey.

I was so startled by the unexpected interference of a hawk that I let out a scream and fell backward, accidentally loosing an arrow. The young She-hawk dodged the arrow but dropped the rabbit in the process, and tried to turn herself completely around in the air to catch it once more, instead she flew head-on into a low branch.

                Just at the moment when we both had lain recovering our wits on the ground, a volley of arrows burst into the little opening we were in, barely missing us.

I'd scrambled to my feet as best I could and knocked an arrow, drawing back my bow and placing my back against a tree. My heart had been drumming so badly that I was certain it would either give out or that it would carry me away into the sky with its beating.

                The first hooded man to step into the opening received my arrow in the center of his chest. My father had taught me to always aim for the largest target and this man had been big and barrel-chested, I could see even through the black cloak he wore. Instantly he fell forward onto his knees, his bow dropped from nerveless fingers.

                The next two to step out of the trees had been luckier. I hit the first as he dove aside in his thigh and heard his muffled cursing, as the arrow in his leg snapped under his weight and his own bow was dropped among the bushes. The other, shot another arrow toward me forcing me to dive aside and roll behind a stump right next to where the startled hawk had landed.

                 In the back of my awareness I realized that she was not beside me on the ground but missing; however, I could not concentrate on her, my whole attention now focused on two more cloaks that had joined the archer who'd just shot at me. Only two of the three cloaks were archers, the other held a deadly looking sword. All three, still unharmed, were surrounding me. Slightly less of my attention was on the one that was trying to remove my arrow from his leg.

                 Just as I had knocked another arrow and was raising myself slightly over the fallen log to fire at the nearest of them, a sharp kee-eee-aar pierced the air and the hawk, uninjured from her fall apparently, dove straight at the middle man, an archer, and hooked her deadly talons deep into his face, piercing an eye.

                 His scream sounded just as I loosed my arrow and hit the front man in his shoulder, just as he in turn, let loose his arrow. His shot was a result of surprise rather than intent, and the arrow went wide of its mark, me, and instead stuck solid in a nearby tree.

                 For a moment we all froze in stunned silence, the young hawk hovering just in front of the now deformed man, before uttering another sharp scream and flying quickly up out of the trees. The man she had attacked dropped to his knees, while the one in front, the one I had hit in the shoulder, his face twisted with anger, hate and pain, pulled a long dagger from his hip and stupidly attempted to charge me.

                 I calmly and effectively knocked another arrow, drew a steady bead on him, and struck him in his throat. My shot spun him around, until he was looking back at his two companions, before he began suffocating and thrashing about on the ground. It took him more than a minute to die. While he was convulsing the third cloaked figure, the one that was still unharmed, had been making a very wide circle, his sword drawn and a small dagger in his other hand.

                I did a quick mental calculation; I had come into the forest with only seven arrows, not as many as I was usually armed with. I had already shot five. I knew that four men were down, two of which I was sure were dead, the other two simply in bad shape, but still dangerous and one that was unharmed and stalking me with a long sword.

               Two arrows left and possibly three enemies still to be dealt with. I snorted. Well, dammit it to hell! Morak, I could use some help! I thought angrily.