“I wish to sincerely apologize for this transgression, Sir Ailbern. I do not intend to let this go uncorrected—I give you my word that your possessions will be returned and the knaves who dared to commit this misdeed would be brought to justice. As a sign of our goodwill, I’ll be sending in my finest knight and his cavalry to take care of this matter”, the old man remarked with contrition as he stood up in deference after being perched on the ornate throne for what seemed like an eternity.
“You have my profound gratitude for the kindness and respect you have shown me so far, our Your Highness. Your words have indeed put my concerns at ease. Let us continue with our negotiations because I, along with his majesty King Hilderic, believe that peace between Gundering and Gunthamund is no longer the unattainable dream that it once appeared”, the middle-aged sturdy knight reassured with a stock smile plastered on his face as he continued to look up to the king with his pair of sharp blue eyes, reminiscent of the great oceans, that contrasted his light brown hair.
A group of soldiers clad in armor gathered in the middle of a forest, numbering around fifteen, rode on their fine horses through a narrow path with their clopping hooves brushing gently against the grass wet from the morning dew. The giant trees surrounding them continued to extend as they progressed deeper into the heart of the woods, their enormous frames blocking the sunlight and taking it all in for themselves. Soon even the chirping of birds had ceased—it was as if they had entered a completely different space not from this world. The only signs of life aside from the traveling party were the unabating buzzing and chirping of insects.
“I can’t believe his majesty is having us run an errand of nabbing a bunch of petty thieves. If I am completely honest, I’m not really fond of the way he has been completely servile towards Gunthamund. What has happened to our pride? What about avenging all the lives stolen by them in a war that they started?”, a juvenile soldier, who appeared to be no older than 17, dissented—breaking the longstanding silence within the group.
“Seven years. It has already been seven long years since the war began. Countless lives have been lost on both sides and both nations have suffered immensely as a consequence of this war. Even if Gunthamund are the aggressors and even we if we are being inordinately subservient–if this brings us even one step closer to ending this senseless bloodshed and destruction, and allow us return to our idyllic days of the past–I believe it is more than worth sacrificing our pride for ”, the remarkably handsome young man in his early twenties leading at the front spoke out, his armorless figure and lean frame standing out from the rest of the group. A gentle but sudden breeze brushed against his long chestnut hair reaching all the way to his shoulders as his focused hazel eyes looked into the distance.
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“I have to agree with you there, Sir Fendrel. I am not particularly fond of the fact that we’ve been relegated to catching bandits as much as you do, Galen, but this might be our best chance at ending this war. We should return our focus to the surroundings because this part of the forest can be quite treacherous with various dangerous beasts silently lurking around, waiting for unsuspecting prey. We also have to worry about not alerting our target as well. I’ve heard stories about this particular group of bandits and they’ve been described as being quite tough and elusive by other cavalries who previously encountered them. Strangely enough there hasn’t been a single reported casualty–not even the ambassador’s group. With that said, I do wonder how Sir Isolde and the others back home are doing right now though”, another voice in the group interjected.
“I am certain that they are doing fine and once we get back, we’ll…”, the youth named Fendrel replied with a smile before his voice trailed off and his expression quickly changed to one of conspicuous wariness.
A twig snapped.
“Did you hear that?”, one of the knights whispered.
A figure suddenly jumped out from the thickets in a flash and blocked the path at the front. Others who appeared to be in cahoots also followed suit by emerging from behind the trees, surrounding the soldiers from all sides. All of them were equipped with lethal weaponry ranging from swords to warhammers and rode on horseback.
“Please hand over all your belongings, including your weapons, and you can go back to where you came from. We have no desire for conflict and would rather part ways with peace”, the bandit with an enormous frame blocking the path at the front, and the apparent leader, demanded.
“As do I. However, I’m afraid we cannot comply with that. As a matter of fact, it is our duty to retrieve the belongings of the ambassador from Gunthamund that I presume you have stolen the day before. Return the items and turn yourselves in for you are under arrest by the authority of His Highness, King Theodoric. If you follow my orders without resistance, I promise to appeal for a more lenient sentencing for your crimes”, Fendrel proclaimed with a gentle but stern tone.
“I’ll be offering you one final chance to resolve this without resorting to violence”, the leader of the bandits exclaimed as he drew his sword. Seeing the defiant face of the knight before him, he swung his blade upwards, signaling the commencement of the battle.