The next morning Prince Asher and his unlikely new companion saddled their horses and rode out of the village and into the woods. They traveled in silence, galloping side by side across dark forests, vast plains, and grassy hills. They were headed for the great city of Andross, a two days ride away. The pair of travelers were blessed with warm sunshine and made good time on their first day.
The sun was low in the sky when Asher spotted thick plumes of smoke in the distance. He held his hand up, signaling to Colin. The pair halted their mounts.
“That can’t be good,” Colin said dryly.
“We should investigate,” Asher replied.
“I agree, but we must remain hidden until we know what we’re dealing with,” Colin said.
“That hill should give us a good vantage point,” Asher said, motioning to a wooded bluff nearby.
The two dismounted, and hid their horses amongst a grove of dense trees. They ascended the steep hill, and looked out into the valley. They were shocked at what they saw below. The land ahead was once a village, but little remained of it. The buildings were burned to ashes, and the entire area had become a smoldering stain on the otherwise green grass. To his despair, Asher could make out blackened bones among the rubble, cracked and broken.
“Who could have done something like this…” Asher said.
Colin’s expression twisted into one of rage. “This must be Oak Hollow,” he said quietly. “One of the elders in my village has family here. He told me they were on the brink of starvation, and refused to pay tribute to the Azirian army. It’s an easy decision when your children are wasting away. This must be the result of that decision,” he said somberly.
“The Azirian army did this? How could they? We swore to protect the people!” Asher said.
“I’m afraid theres few in Aziria who take those vows seriously. Our kingdom has become infected with hypocrisy” Colin said. “Even you were heading down that path Asher.”
Asher shook his head, knowing Colin’s words were true. “That’s why I’ve dedicated myself to protecting the people. I must atone for my sins,” he muttered.
Colin spotted something in the distance. “Look there,” he said.
Asher was able to make out a group of small, flickering lights moving away from them.
“Torches,” he thought anxiously. “It must be a quite a few people to be carrying that many,” he said.
”Those must be the Holy Knights who attacked the village,” Colin said. “And look! Do you see that armored carriage in the distance?”
Prince Asher squinted his eyes in the darkness. “They seem to be transporting something back to the capital. And whatever it is, it seems important. I’ve never seen this many knights guarding a single carriage,” he whispered. “We should get out of here while we still can."
“Hold on, it looks like they’re going to set up camp right below us. This could be an opportunity to find out what precious cargo they’re transporting,” said Colin.
“Are you crazy?! There’s probably twenty knights down there. What could possibly be worth tangling with them?!” Asher replied.
“Thats what I aim to find out,” Colin said with a wry smile.
“Not a chance. It’s not worth the risk, and i’m still not fully healed yet.” Asher said firmly.
“Come on, where’s your sense of adventure? I have a plan, and if it succeeds we could be heading to Andross as rich men. We need all the resources we can get right now. Think about it,” said Colin.
“I guess you’re still a bandit after all,” Asher said flatly. "Fine, I’ll trust you this time. But if this goes wrong its on you.”
“I’ll take full responsibility for whatever happens. Now this is what we’re going to do...” Colin began.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Down below, the Holy Knights were busy making camp for the night. They had several fires lit, and their horse were tied to wooden posts, munching on the sparse patches of grass scattered around them. Some of the men hammered stakes into the ground and began lashing their tents to them, while the others cooked supper over the fires.
“Sir William, are you sure our transport will be safe here overnight? We don’t have much of a vantage point down here on the plains,” said Sir Hawthorne.
“Of course it will! Look around you, do you see anyone out here? We’re in the middle of bloody nowhere! Now get back to work,” Sir William barked in response.
Suddenly, the men heard a great crashing sound as the night lit up in a bright orange blaze.
“What the hell?” Sir Hawthorne said as he looked towards the source of the commotion.
Several enormous, fiery logs were rolling down the nearby hill at breakneck speed, heading straight for the men and their camp. The knights attempted to scatter but the scalding logs were on top of them in an instant, crushing bodies like dry leaves underfoot and spreading flames indiscriminately. Chaos and confusion ensued, and the horses whinnied in fear, pulling at their tethers to no avail. The survivors formed a perimeter, looking around wildly to identify the threat.
“Over here gentlemen!” A voice called. Colin was on horseback about one hundred feet away. He smiled and waved at the panicked knights.
“You bastard!” Sir William screamed. He quickly turned to his men. “Half of you are with me! The other half stay back to guard the carriage! Lets kill this asshole!”
Sir William and his knights charged Colin on foot, four strong. Colin sat calmly and watched them approach until they were about twenty feet away. At that moment, four throwing knives darted out of Colin's hands, so fast you could barely glimpse them flying past. Three of them buried themselves in the necks of the approaching knights, but Sir William’s sword sent the last knife clanging to the ground with ease.
“Thats a nice trick you got there! Too bad it won’t work on me!” Sir William yelled as he closed the gap and took his first swing at Colin’s legs. Colin managed to block the powerful strike but the impact caused him to lose his balance and fall from his saddle. He regained his composure just in time to block Sir William’s second dizzying attack. The two squared off, probing each other for weaknesses.
Meanwhile, Prince Asher descended upon the knights who survived the initial ambush. They were still reeling from the prior chaos and were vulnerable to attack. Asher cut down the first one with ease, leaving only two. The remaining knights realized they still had him outnumbered and used it to their advantage, attacking simultaneously, and retreating to block afterwards.
Instead of engaging them both equally, Asher decided to risk leaving himself open and to focus his attack on the weaker of the two. When the time came, he parried and put all his strength behind his sword, running one knight through the stomach. The other managed to land a blow to Prince Asher’s shoulder that was left exposed, but it was a glancing blow, and didn't cause any serious damage. However, the knight used this window to follow up with another deadly attack. Prince Asher was caught off guard, and barely able to deflect it.
“I’m done playing around!” Asher thought as he unleashed a diagonal strike with all his might. It caught his opponents leg and swung clean through. The knight fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
“It’s over for you!” Asher screamed as he lifted his sword high, preparing to finish off the maimed knight. When he glanced down, the mans face caught his eye. He recognized the knight. It was Sir Hawethorne, a member of the Crusader class, elite knights who fight on the front lines of the war. He’d occasionally report the King himself, and Asher would see him in the throne room. There was nothing but fear and despair on his face now. Asher hesitated, debating on what to do. He knew it wasn't wise to leave enemies alive. He had been taught by his Sir Tristan to show no mercy. Still, a part of him found it cowardly to finish off a defenseless combatant.
“It doesn’t matter, you chose this when you decided to follow my father!” Asher thought as his sword came down, piercing the man's throat. He felt a chill run down his spine, realizing he had just taken yet another life. It felt different this time, as it wasn't a life-or-death call like it was before.
A piercing yell brought him back to reality, and Prince Asher looked over quickly. He saw Colin nearly lose his head to his opponent’s sword. Something was wrong, as Colin's movements looked significantly slower than usual.
“He’s injured!” Asher thought in a panic. “There’s no way I’m losing my first ally so soon.” He sprinted over, desperate to reach his companion.
From several feet away, Asher saw Colin get knocked down, and the knight he was facing jumped at the opportunity to finish him off. The Holy Knight reared back, preparing to take a final devastating swing. Asher used his last burst of strength and managed to intervene, thrusting his weapon between the knight’s sword and Colin’s exposed throat. The knight's longsword went clanging away, and he almost lost his grip on the weapon. He looked up and made eye contact with the prince, smiling with familiarity.
“Not bad, Prince Asher!” he chuckled.
Asher recognized this knight too. “It’s Sir William, a legendary Holy Knight. What could be so important that they need this many elite knights to guard it?” he thought to himself. He quickly realized he needed to focus if he was going to have any chance at survival, and he shook his head, clearing his thoughts.
“Thats nothing compared to what i’m about to do!” Asher yelled defiantly.
He swung violently towards Sir William, but his attack was deflected easily, and followed by a devastatingly fast attack that he was scarcely able to avoid. He tried to remain confident, but as he faced off with the knight, his anxiety grew. His pounding heartbeat had started up once again, and he tried to remain in control of his senses as they traded blows back and forth. “This man is on par with Sir Tristan,” Asher thought nervously. “But it can’t end here! I’ll put all my strength into one attack!”
He swung at Sir William with everything he had, using ever fiber of his muscle to hurl his weapon forward with terrifying speed. Sir William’s sword glanced the blow but Asher's sword pushed through, finding its way into the knight’s outer chest near the shoulder.
“I did it!” Asher thought in relief, but before he could blink, his own sword was flying through the air and Sir William’s was hurling towards his throat.
“You see boy! This is the power of the Holy knights!” Sir William screamed.
Asher prepared to feel the cold steel of death, but for some reason he didn’t flinch or look away. He saw everything happening. He knew he had fought his hardest, and felt no regret towards how his fight would end.
In an instant, he saw a throwing knife protrude through the eye of his opponent from behind. Sir William fell to the ground, dead.
“Man! That was a little too close eh, Asher?” Colin stepped over the body with a laugh just like the time before, although this time he had a sizable gash in his thigh.
Prince Asher scowled at him.
“What, do you think it was cowardly to kill him like that? He was about to take your head off if you remember,” Colin chuckled.
“I don’t care about that, but your plan was way too risky! You almost got us both killed, and all for a gamble. There better be something pretty damn amazing in that carriage over there!” Asher said bitterly.
“Oh I have a feeling there will be,” Colin said with a smile. “Gold, diamonds, and jewels!” He thought dreamily.
They approached the carriage carefully. “I think I can hear something knocking around in there, what if it’s dangerous?” Asher said nervously.
“We can handle whatever’s inside, I assure you,” Colin said.
Colin chopped the chain off the door and it fell with a clunk. He grabbed the heavy wooden door and swung it open. Colin peered inside carefully, hoping to see mountains of priceless treasure. Asher followed behind, reluctantly looking into the carriage.
Asher heard Colin let out a heavy sigh of disappointment. “What’s wrong, no gold and jewels-“ he stopped mid sentence when he caught sight of what was inside.
It was a girl. The moonlight was cast upon her face, illuminating her features brilliantly. She had long, shimmering, silver hair and eyes that shined like the night sky. Her ivory skin looked softer than silk.