Chapter 12

As I ran through the thick brush, I started to hear more noises cutting through the still night air. The sounds of clashing steel and panicked cries echoed through the forest. Nightfall had rendered the forest too dark to navigate by sight, but the sounds guided me. My mind raced as I ran towards the screams.

When I broke through the final line of trees, the scene that unfolded could have been plucked from a nightmare. The caravan was in chaos, and a couple of wagons were on fire. People struggled against shadowy figures clad in black bandages, their movements quick and precise like predators closing in on prey. They were just like the previous assassins I had stopped from attacking Jessica Maxwell.

This time, however, there were far more of them. More than a dozen assassins moved through the caravan, one with the night, their weapons glinting faintly in the moonlight as they struck. The caravan members were scattered, some cowering behind wagons while others bolted into the forest in sheer terror. The ornate carriage was abandoned by the side. Lady Jessica stood atop a wagon that held some of the cargo, her maid cowering beside her. Around that wagon, huddled together in a tight circle, were some of the other passengers, including the crippled old man.

Jessica’s guards had formed another circle around the wagon. Their blades were joined by some of the other able-bodied men from the caravan. They outnumbered the assassins slightly, but I knew the assassins would be able to overpower their ragtag group.

One assassin who was at the edge of the circle noticed me and charged, brandishing two small daggers that gleamed red in the firelight. I managed to grab both of his wrists and throw him violently to the side. He crashed into a tree, crumpling to the ground.

I thought it was over, but he stood up slowly, shaking his head like a dazed animal. Then he looked at me, and I could see the anger in his thin eyes, visible from a small slit in the bandages that covered his body.

“Hero! Catch!” I heard a voice call out.

I turned to see Laine standing atop the wagon beside Jessica, throwing something in my direction.

‘A weapon. Finally, he shows some use,’ I thought to myself as I snatched the object out of the air.

It was a frying pan.

‘Never mind. He’s going to get a beating from me later.’

The assassin I was facing screamed, running right at me. I threw the pan with full force at him.

It hit him square in the face, bounced off, and ricocheted back to me. The assassin fell like a sack of potatoes as I grabbed the pan again and observed it. His face had been engraved into it.

I threw my weapon to the side and looked at the site of the main battle. The protective circle had shrunk as our injured men retreated to the inner ring of frightened passengers. Still, they were holding out pretty well. It probably had something to do with Jessica, who stood atop the wagon, shouting orders and motivating the men. She told them where to focus their defense and when to fall back and advance. With her help, the caravan barely held on against the dozen remaining assassins. But it didn’t take a tactician to see they wouldn’t last much longer.

My mind raced for a way to help them out. I couldn't rush in without a plan, and my magic—if I could even call it that—was unpredictable at best. The memory of the lightning strike during the bandit attack lingered, a reminder of both its devastating power and my lack of control. But standing idly by wasn’t an option either.

"Alright, think," I muttered to myself. "Lightning? No, it's too risky. Fire? Definitely not."

Just then, I heard someone walk up behind me. I turned immediately, fist raised, and saw Ghis put his hands up.

“Please,” he said pitifully, holding his hands up in a guarding posture. “No more.”

“Sorry, but you have to stop sneaking up on me,” I gestured towards the assassins. “Any ideas? I don’t want to summon something powerful and end up hurting the passengers and guards.”

Ghis stood awkwardly, holding his groin uncomfortably. He pondered for a second before speaking, “How about a distraction of some sort? If it works properly, the guards will be able to deal with the assassins themselves.”

It sounded like a good idea. If I couldn’t summon something destructive, maybe I could use magic to disrupt the assassins. Just shouting out at them probably wouldn’t grab the assassins’ attention. A blinding flash of light might work, though.

I closed my eyes and focused, extending a hand toward the fray. I imagined light bursting forth from my palm, pure and brilliant, enough to halt even the most hardened attackers.

I felt nothing but heard gasps, and the sounds of battle stopped immediately. With my eyes still closed, I whispered to Ghis, "Did it work?"

“Uhm. Yes, but probably not in the way you were expecting.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Confused, I opened my eyes and looked down upon myself, understanding immediately what he was referring to. The light had burst forth, but not just from the palm. A brilliant glow radiated from my entire body. I blinked in confusion, glancing down to see my arms and chest bathed in a luminous white light. I looked like a human lantern, glowing brightly enough to make even the shadows retreat.

I looked up to see the battlefield frozen, with every eye focused on me. The assassins hesitated, their bandaged faces reflecting the glow, and even the guards paused mid-swing to gape at the bizarre spectacle.

“Shit,” I muttered, scratching my head. The faint tingling sensation from the light made my skin feel like it was coated in static electricity.

From behind me, Ghis whispered. “Great job, Sam. Now you’re the world’s biggest target.”

He wasn’t wrong. The assassins, no longer focused on the guards, turned their attention to me. Without hesitation, they all charged.

One of them shouted at the others, “That’s the sorcerer who defeated our brothers. Get him first before he can summon lightning.”

I turned to Ghis to tell him to run away but saw him already slinking away into the forest. He was way ahead of me on that one.

I turned back to the attackers just in time to see them launch a barrage of throwing knives and arrows. I braced for impact, knowing it was too late to dodge. But the weapons either clattered harmlessly to the ground or bounced off me, leaving nothing more than a buzzing sensation where they struck.

“Okay, at least my promised immortality is starting to show its usefulness,” I grumbled, swatting at my glowing arms as if I could shake off the light. “Though I still don’t prefer it over the ability to get drunk.”

The assassins encircled me, attacking with punches, kicks, slashes, and stabs in every way they could. They couldn't draw a single drop of blood, but it was very irritating being in the middle of a dozen guys trying to kill me.

“Why won’t you die?” one of them screamed at me while swinging his sword. I just shrugged at him, which seemed to anger him even more.

As I pondered my next move, a thunderous crash broke through the forest, drawing everyone’s attention. My stomach sank as the King Boar burst into the clearing, its battered crown askew and its tattered cape trailing behind it like the banner of a mad monarch.

“Come on,” I groaned.

The glow from my body flickered like a light bulb as the boar began speaking.

“GIVE ME MY TRIBUTE!” It roared, its voice shaking the ground.

The assassins turned, their confusion palpable as they faced the massive, enraged boar. Its eyes met mine across the battlefield and began to change without warning. The surrounding assassins stood confused, but I threw myself to the side. On the ground, I turned to see the boar barreling into the assassins’ ranks like a battering ram. They were sent flying, their cries of pain mingling with the boar’s triumphant bellows.

But it wasn't done yet. Immediately, it turned and began to charge at me again. I ran in between another two attackers, who had dodged the earlier attack, and immediately jumped to the side. The two men were hurled through the air just like their friends and landed on either side of me. Then, when some bandaged men began to get up, I led the boar to them again, knocking them down again.

“Can’t believe I’m saying this,” I muttered, diving out of the way once again as the boar’s rampage continued. “But man, am I glad to see you.”

The boar showed no signs of stopping, its fury unmatched as it trampled and tossed assassins like rag dolls. One particularly unfortunate assassin found himself pinned beneath a hoof; his muffled screams were drowned out by the boar's triumphant declaration: "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR TREASON AGAINST THE KING!"

But the assassins were starting to get up slowly, and I knew that it would soon be my turn to get trampled. I didn’t want to try leading it away and potentially endangering the people of the caravan. I decided to try another tactic and played dead when he charged next, making a dramatic death cry as I fell to the side again.

After this, the boar immediately stopped its rampage. It looked around and seemed to admire its destruction. Seemingly satisfied with its job, it trotted away into the forest. “LONG LIVE ME!” it bellowed before disappearing into the shadows.

As soon as he left, Jessica shouted at the caravan to take hold of the advantage. Regaining their composure, the guards surged forward, taking down the weakened assassins with renewed vigor. Within minutes, the battle was over, the last assassin falling to a well-placed strike from Laine holding another frying pan. What did he have against frying pans?

The clearing fell silent, save for the labored breathing of the guards and the quiet sobs of a few caravan members. Jessica climbed down and hugged a crying little girl at the foot of the wagon. After she was done comforting the child, she walked over to me, still composed and confident.

“Impressive work, Sir,” she said, a smile playing at her lips. “It seems I made the right decision hiring you.”

I wanted to point out that the boar had done most of the work, but I was too exhausted to argue. Instead, I looked around at the caravan. Some of the men were finally working on getting that fire under control.

“How many were injured?” I asked Jessica.

“Some light injuries, but miraculously no one was seriously hurt. All thanks to you showing up when you did.”

I felt like some more claims about me being a hero were going to get thrown my way, so I tried to share some of the credit with her.

“It was all you, my lady. It seems you were able to gain control of the situation quickly and quickly gather most of the people together. That takes some quick thinking.”

“Oh my. It seems you are very humble as well,” she said sarcastically, smiling as if she could see right through me.

I shook my head and brushed right past her.

“I’m going to bed.”

As I trudged toward my tent, the adrenaline began to wear off and was replaced by a bone-deep weariness. I was halfway there when I heard hurried footsteps behind me. Turning, I instinctively grabbed the figure and slammed them against a tree. The guard who had laughed at me on the first day stared back, his face pale with fear. He held out a trembling hand, a letter clutched tightly in his fingers.

“This… this is for you,” he stammered.

I frowned, taking the letter. “Who sent this?”

“M-my boss,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Lady Jessica?” I asked, confused. I had just come from speaking with her. Why the letter?

The guard’s eyes darted nervously, and without another word, he bolted into the forest, away from the caravan. Before he disappeared into the night, I noticed that the man’s armor seemed suspiciously clean of blood, unlike the other guards.

‘He must have hidden during the fight,’ I thought to myself.

I looked down at the letter in my hand. It was sealed with an unfamiliar crest, the wax stamped with an intricate design that meant nothing to me.

I had a strange feeling that the letter was not from Jessica and that if I opened it, more trouble would soon follow. My curiosity overtook my caution, and I broke the seal. Looking back on it, that was perhaps the worst mistake I had made since my arrival in the new world.