Gloe crept carefully through the underbrush. He was nearing the threshold of the deep wyld. There was no clear line of demarcation, just a gradual growth of vegetation. As far as he could tell the deep wyld was an area that had higher overall levels of magic due to its isolation. Fewer human excursions extracted magical plants, animals and minerals from the area, so the magical balance was a good bit higher than areas around civilization.

The danger balance was higher too. Even from here Gloe could see heavily armored herbivores grazing. “Don’t want to encounter whatever is able to prey on those.”

He turned away, heading back into the more normal woods around him. After a time he stepped aside and began checking on various trap sites, muttering to himself all the time. “Need to build up before I can head in. Build up a lot. First thing is to try to find a way to flee or hide. Then I can start working on the means to travel, gather and hunt. After that…”

“You could maybe consider trying to stop talking to yourself?” a strange voice broke in.

Gloe turned and smiled at the stranger. “Nope, can’t do that. Talking to yourself is a proven coping mechanism. When you’re all alone out in the wilderness it’s important to try to stay sane despite the loneliness. We’re social creatures you know.”

“Bit of a bad habit for a poacher though.”

“Well, I don’t consider myself a poacher, so that’s fine.”

The stranger frowned. “Doesn’t matter what you consider yourself. You’re setting a trap, this is the Duke’s land. For a commoner to deliberately kill anything is a theft of experience.”

Gloe smiled. “Ah, I see where the confusion springs from. Your duke has no authority over me. Every government’s legitimacy springs from the consent of the governed. I don’t consent, therefore…” he held up a hand “…wait, I know what you’re thinking. Does that make him completely illegitimate, or simply remove me from his list of subjects while leaving his sovereignty untouched? Truth be told that hasn’t been resolved yet, but either way, you can see why I’m just a trapper, not a poacher.”

“No, this is the Duke’s land. He rules here.” The stranger seemed a bit confused by the exchange.

“I’ve been here a while though, and you’re the first person I’ve seen. Is it really his if he can’t even be bothered to maintain a presence here, or at least some minimal sign of ownership? Laws need to be readily accessible. Ignorance is an excuse if the law is some sort of hidden cipher.”

“…are you a sojourner? You’re talking funny.”

“No, just a man…or boy…or whatever…with a dream.”

“Well whatever you are, you’re also a poacher and under arrest. Come with me.”

Gloe made a face. “I feel like you haven’t been listening. No.”

“Resisting will just make things worse for you.” The stranger reached out and seized Gloe’s arm. Gloe tried to knock him away, but just ended up flailing around in a circle defined by the stranger’s grip.

“Wow, you’re incredibly weak. Just come along quietly.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“…lifelong malnourishment will do that for you. Still a no from me.” Gloe tried again to pull away, this time frenetically throwing himself back and forth until the stranger’s hold finally slipped. Triumphantly Gloe stumbled to his feet and took off running.

“You’re also incredibly slow. Astonishingly so.” The stranger tackled him to the ground. Gloe tumbled uncontrollably for several yards, then immediately scrambled back onto his feet and resumed running.

“You can’t escape me with these kind of abilities. I’m a trained Border Warden. Just give up.” Gloe was knocked prone again. This time the stranger fell atop him, attempting to pin him in place.

“We’ll see.” If Gloe was perturbed it didn’t show at all in his voice. He continued to energetically try to wriggle free. The warden worked to immobilize him, but Gloe just wouldn’t quit.

“Can’t fault your enthusiasm, but you just don’t have the physical ability to match. Give up.”

“No.”

Somewhat exasperated the warden began trying to drag Gloe back to the scene of the initial confrontation. He had rope in his pack, and it looked like it was going to be needed. Gloe fought him every step of the way, writhing and flopping around. Finally he got lucky and dropped at an opportune moment, breaking free. Without a pause he got up and began running again.

“Pff.” The situation was so ridiculous the warden couldn’t work up to serious anger. He jogged back to his pack and retrieved the rope, then set off in pursuit.

...

After an hour the warden began to flag. “How are you still able to run?” He had downed his quarry dozens of times. The boy was slow, weak and unskilled, but he never seemed to tire. It was shockingly difficult to restrain someone who never stopped struggling, even for a moment to catch their breath. Now the warden was tiring, but Gloe kept on trotting ahead at a slow but steady pace.

“I can track you know. You’ll never get away. You really ought to give up!”

Gloe turned and jogged backwards for a moment. “Okay, thank you for the advice. Have a great day!” Then he continued on his way.

...

The town wasn’t enormous, but it was fairly large for one on the border. Its guard contingent was certainly oversized, but things had been quiet lately. They were bored.

“Tien.”

“What?”

“There goes that bum again.”

“Why do you think he’s always running like that?”

“I don’t know. But I mentioned him at the mess one night. Seems like he runs the entire perimeter of the town. They see him at lots of the other guard posts too.”

“Freak. Wonder why he does something like that.”

“The question I have is how he does something like that. He’s not very fast, but he runs most of the day. Where does he get the energy?”

“Especially dressed like that. Can’t be eating too well if he’s as poor as he looks, and he’s just a kid.”

“When would he have any time to steal though? He’s just always running.”

“Yeah.”

They stood in silence for a while, conversation exhausted. “There he goes again.”

“…huh. Hasn’t been all that long. Is he getting faster?”

...

The warden had worked himself into a near frothing rage. It had taken him over a week to track his prey. The boy had run through just about every body of water in the area, and each time the warden had been forced to conduct a lengthy search to pick up his tracks again.

He’d finally run him to ground though. There were no rivers in this town! The time of reckoning was at hand. He pulled the manacles out of his pack. He’d had to pay for them with his own money, but they’d be worth it. No trying to fumble around with rope this time!

Now he just had to start asking around. The fugitive was probably lying low somewhere, but without money or connections that couldn’t last long. He’d start with the guards.

“Excuse me gentlemen. I’m Taurrence Clary, Border Warden.” He showed his badge of office and a wanted poster. “Have you seen or heard of anyone matching this description?”

“Eh? Oh sure. Been here for days. Due to pass by any minute now.”

“Uhh…what?”

“Oh, there he is. That the kid you’re looking for?”

Clary stared in stupefaction at the boy running by. Then Gloe noticed him. “Oh, warden!” He waved and jogged on up. Clary’s rage was replaced by bemusement. “What are you doing?”

“I took your words to heart, as you can see. I’ve been training so I can outrun you. Thanks. Oh, you’re probably here to capture me, eh? Guess I’d better run. Have a great day everyone!” Gloe sprinted out the gate, leaving a slack-jawed Clary in his wake.

“He’s definitely gotten faster Tien.”

“Yeah. You think we should try running around the town?”