The Royal Bandits

Chapter 1: The Merry Men

It was another day, working at this old tavern. I am finally of age to go on my own, but I didn't ever have enough earnings to make it on my own. Every time I had tried, I'd end up broke again by the end of the weekday. "Ember!" the tavern clerk is yelling for me. "yes sir!?" I respond to him. He looks at me sternly. "is something wrong?" I ask him "you haven't sold a single ale in days, you're not making payments. At the rate, I will have to release you." Around these days we didn't get many visitors, so I didn't have much of a choice "yes sir..." I say to him, standing up straight, and stretch my back, pulling a muscle "ah..." I say, wincing in pain. The bell rings as the door opens. "Welcome!" I say to the person who has walked in. As soon as I turn around, I see what appears to be a knight with a broadsword in his holster. "Ember Hanse, you must come with me, regarding your safety" his voice was sharp and stern. I couldn't see his face too well, it was hidden under a helm.

"Who are you? How do you know me?" The knight grabs my arm, and starts to yank me, and pull me... "HEY!" I scream at him to try to get him to stop. "Ember... calm down..." he says to me. His voice; I remember the calm tranquil tone. I stop resisting, only to take off the young knights helm. It was Ashe...my ...childhood friend. He was drafted to join the royal guard after he beat the prince in a 1 on 1 duel. "There was an assassination, we need to go, fast" he says to me. I get a bit hesitant and filled with disbelief. "You're ludicrous! It has been half a century, and you want me to follow your hand?" I try backing up a little, but he looks me in the eye sternly "Like the good old days; come on Ember, you want to waste the rest of your life here, in this run-down tavern. If you follow me, we can be free, away from everything, from this kingdom. There isn't a day that goes by, where you don't see manslaughter in the street."

I hesitate again and start thinking. What if the boy I once knew, has become a mad man, or was he onto something? I started to ponder this in my head for a second or two. he looks anxious. A thought came into mind. Did he commit treason? And what stopping him from drawing his broad sword, he was the king's appointed knight...best swordsmen in the entire kingdom. "Were you the one who committed treason?" I ask, out of my fears. He looks at me with the face of guilt and anger." I grab my belongings and decide to follow him wherever he may take me. He leads me to a chariot, that was right outside the small tavern. He opened the door for me, only to reveal a group of people. One of the men was in a hooded robe, the other had a longbow on his back, and the other man had a weird knife to his side. The knife was twisted and sharp to a point, it was as if a long dagger. They were all looking at me with this strange feeling, it had made me uneasy.

The chariot started moving, and it was going off-road for a bit. Everyone was staring at me, and my tattered clothing. "Are you alright?" he asks me. "I'm fine, don't worry about me, please." I try to convince him that I'm independent. "You always reminded me of something-" I look up at him, confused. "you reminded me of someone pure, you never deserved the path which you've traveled. We are here to show you the way." this makes me think about something "You're the merry men?" I ask out of pure curiosity. Ashe looked at me, with a big grin on his face "Quite exactly!" He seemed genuine. My heart started racing, I started to think if this was a good idea. The hooded man quickly looked up, out of fear. "Something...is heading straight for us..." The weird man takes the tattered hood off his head; his hair was sharp as a needle. One of his eyes looked to be made of marble, and it seems he just came of age. The chariot stops in its tracks, and we look over to the right of us. We see something in the tall grass, as the wind swiftly blows by. The hooded man stood up, with a long stick in one hand, and something happens to the grass. We hear a loud squealing noise, and this red liquid starts to shoot from the patch of land where the hooded man pointed his stick.

"Witchcraft..." I say out of pure fear. The man looks at me, with only a wink. Ashe stares at me with a guilty smile "Well, not exactly." he tries to explain it to me that he is some type of warlock, that he uses something called 'magic' of sorts. The chariot begins to move again. Today had been a long day, the sun begins to set an I slowly start to doze off. As I rest something starts abruptly poking my arm. "We're staying here for the night..." Ashe says to me. I look up, and we seem to be in a small village, far from the kingdom. It sits upon a lakeside, where the docks meet the water. The men get out chariot and they walk up to the big building in the center of the village. I get out and head towards the lake, to stare out onto the water. The archer branches off from the rest of them, and he comes over to where I am "l...lady Ember..." he says to me very hesitantly, to the point of stuttering" Yes sir!?" "Are...y..you airtight ma 'lady?" He says with a smile upon his face. "Yes, I'm fine! Thank you, sir, I'm a bit tired; and if I may ask, what is thee name, sir?" He stands in front of me, and bows down to me " I am sir Husk!" He says clearly, and with a happy expression.