Travelers on the Horizon Book 1: On a Mission from (a) God

Chapter 1: Fleeing Spalak

Odnam could only think one thing as he traveled down the road on his horse: "That could not have gone worse." He wondered how long it would be before he could return to Spalak without a giant bounty on his head. How was he supposed to have known the guy he was asked to steal from was in the king's court? He chuckled. It wasn't his fault he was running low on funds and needed to get a bit of money. At least the guy was willing to pay him half before the job, so he wasn't walking away empty-handed. Plus, he was still able to get some of the loot from the guy's vault, that is, before the guards showed up. Just as he was rounding a turn, he heard horses behind him. He was nearly out of Spalak, but getting caught within the borders would mean serious trouble for him. He looked behind him to see three armed riders galloping towards him. He immediately spurred his horse forward.

Just as the first rider was pulling up on his right, Odnam took out his club and, with both hands, swung at the rider. He'd rather go to Hell than get caught now. He missed. The rider, however, was clearly taken by surprise. Because of this, Odnam was able to take another swing at him, this time striking him dead in the chest. The man almost immediately pulled out a shortsword and stabbed at Odnam. However, he was able to dodge it, striking at the man again with his club. He missed again and cursed under his breath. By this time, the second rider had reached his other side. Both men tried to attack him. Odnam timed his dodge perfectly, and the second rider stabbed the first, who screamed out in pain. Odnam took this opportunity to strike the second rider with his club. This time, the two riders took turns trying to stab him, and the third rider behind him tried to shoot him with his bow. The two swordsmen missed, but the arrow grazed Odnam's arm.

Furious and desperate to escape, Odnam used his club and knocked the two swordsmen off their horses. However, just as he turned to deal with the last soldier, an arrow whizzed past him, striking the final rider in the chest. He fell off his horse, barely alive. Odnam looked towards the woods where the arrow had come from. He saw a woman sauntering from the trees, wearing a black cloak and dark green armor.

"You're the ranger that idiot hired? Ha! You're not half as bad as I thought you'd be. I guess he made his second smart decision to hire you."

"What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"Not now. We have to get out of Spalak if both of us want to live to see the sun rise tomorrow." The lady approached the man, pulled out a dagger, and cut his throat. "Let's move." She took one of the soldier's horses and hopped onto it after removing all symbols on it that would've clued in that she'd just stolen it. Odnam hopped onto his horse, and the two continued down the roads.

"So, are you going to tell me who you are and how you know me?" The lady chuckled.

"I was the first person that guy hired."

"You failed to rob that guy's vault?"

"No. I succeeded at my job just as you did yours."

"I don't quite follow."

"You were the distraction. While you were robbing his vault, the guards ran to stop you, and I was able to sneak in and kill him."

"You what?"

"Relax. He was a pretty bad dude, complete creep. Spalak is better now that he's dead. The guy who hired us will discreetly send information to the king later this week, revealing all of the man's dirty secrets. Hopefully, that'll at least lighten up the bounty on our heads." After a few minutes, Odnam finally spoke again.

"I wish I'd been told of the entire plan."

"What, so you could have backed out?"

"So I would know what kind of bounty would be on my head. I wasn't even told he was in the king's court!"