My frantic escape through the woods saw many a glancing blow with nature. Low hanging branches and bushes all took their toll on me, swiping at my flesh and leaving anything from scratches to thin cuts. I didn’t feel any of it since I was more concerned with gaining distance from the village.
There was nothing else in my head but the command to run, and I followed it until my body finally gave out on me. I collapsed, gasping for breath and trying to get control of myself. My throat felt dry, my head light, and my heart heavy. A wave of misery threatened to wash over me, but I didn’t let myself fall to it, I couldn't afford to right now.
Despite me being out of immediate danger, I was now in the middle of nowhere in the forest. I had never been this far away from home and was unfamiliar with everything around me. It wasn’t like I could find a road and follow it, not when I was being chased, so I was forced to take the rough path.
I was trying my best to draw a mental map of the area and create references based on what I knew of the landscape around the village, but sketchy would probably be giving me too much credit. The plan was to move in the general direction of where I thought the river might run through. Following the water would probably be a good way of finding civilization.
Through some combination of miracles, I managed to find the river. The sense of relief was palpable as this discovery removed a significant amount of guesswork from my navigation. I set off along the side of the river, hoping that I didn’t suddenly encounter a cliff that would bring my path to an end.
The river gently snaked back and forth through the landscape, babbling softly to me as if it were attempting to soothe me. My goal right now was to get as much distance as I could before night fell. When I thought about night in the forest, I got a little scared. Not only were animals a valid concern, but monsters couldn’t be discounted either, no matter how uncommon they had been previously.
After hours of just walking my feet were killing me. I wanted to take a long rest, but every time I sat down to catch my breath, I would get this feeling like I was making a mistake. Call it paranoia or intuition, it didn’t matter, they both accomplished the goal of keeping me moving.
The light was starting to fade quickly, and concern was eating at me. I didn’t want to spend the night huddled under a tree in the cold, and desperation drove me to move just a little bit quicker. There had to be something, a shelter, a road, a sign that people were around.
I was moving so fast along the river that I nearly missed what I was looking for. Doing a double take, I looked down at the ground, noticing that it had been thoroughly trampled repeatedly. In fact, I could see fresh footprints in the mud going both to and from the river.
With a surge of hope, I followed the footprints until they revealed a worn trail. My pace quickened until I was at a run, and after a minute, I saw an isolated cabin through the trees. Slowing again, I warily approached the building.
Smoke was billowing up from the chimney on the side of the house, which meant that someone did live here. Other than the cabin itself, there was a small stable that housed a singular pony that appeared to be resting. With tentative steps, I walked to the front door of the cabin and gave it a few knocks.
I waited, but no one answered the door, and no sound came from inside. Not wanting to leave my possible salvation, I went to open the door, barely even cracking it before a loud voice shouted at me from the side of the house.
“Hey!” I jumped and spun towards the voice. My gaze fell on a dwarf only slightly taller than I was. His long hair and braided beard were stark white, and deep wrinkles were set into his skin while he scowled at me. He wore simple woodsman's clothes and carried an axe slung over his shoulder in one hand, and a cane in the other.
He did not look happy to see me, and I seriously began to think that maybe this wasn’t the salvation I was looking for. “The hell you doing out here kid? You trying to rob me?” His gruff and aged voice came out with the same consistency as gravel. He took a step towards me, and I immediately retreated several in a slight panic.
The dwarf stopped on the spot, raising a furry brow at me before scanning me up and down for a moment. After he was done inspecting me, I saw the features on his face soften slightly. “You okay kid?” There seemed to be a hint of genuine concern in his voice now.
Small as the change of demeanor might have been, it was enough to ease my concerns about him, at least a little, and I managed to shake my head ‘no’ in response to his question. He hummed a little in contemplation for a second before taking measured steps towards his front door, pushing it open.
I thought he might lock me out for a moment, but his voice called from inside his house. “Come on in then, we’ll get you cleaned up at least."
There wasn’t much of a choice for me in this situation, so I followed him into the cabin. The interior was warm, bringing pleasant relief to my aching body. There were some fur rugs spread about in a sparse manner, but other than that, the amount of furniture and decoration were minimal. I could see a rocking chair in front of the fireplace, a table with only a single seat by it, a small kitchen that had a few cupboards above a shelf with a little brick oven, and a lonely bed tucked away in the corner.
The dwarf slowly walked to the back wall, his cane thumping on the floor with every other step. With a thunk, he put the axe down, leaning it against the wall as he stepped into the kitchen for a moment. I saw him take a bowl and scoop up some water out of a bucket in the corner. On his way back towards me, he casually snatched a rag off the shelf without even looking.
He set the bowl down on the table and made a gesture towards the chair. “Sit here.” I followed the command and sat.
With me now in the chair, he dipped the rag into the bowl to soak it in the water before bringing it up and wiping my face with it. I winced a little when the rag dragged over the small cuts on my face but was glad for the relative cleanliness that it brought. He wrung the rag out and got more water on before cleaning my arms.
“What’s your name kid?” He idly asked while cleaning me.
I still wasn’t sure about him, but I figured my name wouldn’t hurt. “Samuel.”
He hummed a little with a slight nod before moving to my other arm. “I’m Garth, nice to meet you kid.” There was a slight pause in the conversation before he continued. “What are you doing out here anyway?”
That question made me clam up. I didn’t know much about why those people showed up and destroyed my home, but I could assume that it had something to do with me bringing everyone back to life. There was always the risk that if Garth found out he would react the same way they did, so I just stayed quiet.
Garth gave me a rather pointed look for my silence. “It’s easy enough to see that you’re running away from something. If you don’t want to tell me, fine, it’s none of my business. However, if you make it my business, and drag me into something unpleasant, I’ll tan your hide and hang you out to dry so fast you’ll be wondering which way’s up.”
The intensity of his threat made me shrink into myself a little. Despite his apparent advanced age, it was obvious that he was still very much physically capable of making good on that promise of retribution. Luckily, he saw no point in continuing to pressure me for answers.
After he finished cleaning me to the best of his ability, he tossed the soiled water outside and instead grabbed a cup of clean water, presenting it to me. “Drink if you need to, I'll get something cooked up for tonight. If you want, I can drop you off in town tomorrow and we can part ways there.” I was a little taken off guard by the offer and didn’t know how to respond. “You don’t have to answer immediately, but the offer is there if you want it.”
He turned to the task of preparing a meal, leaving me to think about things. If his threat was to be believed, it was probably better to take him up on the offer. Those mercenaries and maybe even that knight I saw might still be looking for me. If that was the case, then I should get out before I make it Garth’s problem as well.
Dinner for the night consisted of some seared meat strips and garden vegetables. Garth and I ate in relative silence that felt very awkward. Neither of us really knew the other, and I could tell the old dwarf was not used to company. Despite this, it felt nice to eat with someone again instead of being the only one receiving any food.
I managed to survive the experience with Garth and helped clean up a bit after dinner was done. Garth threw another log onto the fire before grabbing some of the pelts and a blanket, laying them down on the floor a comfortable distance from the flame.
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“You can sleep here for tonight; the fire should keep you warm enough.”
Taking that as an invitation, I tested my new makeshift bed. There was very little in the way of support as I was lying on the floor, but the fur at least made it somewhat soft. At any rate, it beat sleeping outside, so I was thankful to Garth for the accommodation.
Garth only grunted to acknowledge my thanks. “Get some sleep kid, my day starts early.”
I was no stranger to an early rise, but I followed his suggestion regardless, tucking in and staring into the dancing flames of the fireplace. My mind wandered for a bit, and eventually focused on the recent events that had befallen me. I curled up into a ball, hugging my legs close to my chest as the faces of all those that I cared about popped in and out of my head. It all came crashing down on me that I would never be able to see any of them again. In the end, I finally went to sleep with silent tears running down my face.
Once I was asleep, I did manage to rest soundly, having been completely exhausted over the course of the day. However, the rejuvenating rest was abruptly ended when a loud series of bangs made me shoot straight up on high alert. My mind was still trying to catch up to what happened as I looked around for the source.
Garth grumbled from his bed, stirring under his sheets, and then another couple of bangs came from the door followed by shouting. “Open in the name of the Lord of Light.”
My stomach sunk into a bottomless pit. They found me already!? Panic immediately set in, and I started to hyperventilate. Garth for his part was still ignorant of the enormity of the situation as he mumbled under his breath while throwing a shirt on.
“Gods damned solicitors.” He hopped out of his bed and started walking towards the door, which sent me into a frenzy.
I burst out of the covers and started to frantically search for somewhere to hide, but the house was so empty that there wasn’t anywhere I could. Garth finally took notice of my alarm and gave me a quizzical look before putting two and two together. His eyes burrowed into me for a second before he changed directions and walked up to me.
He spoke to me in a low enough voice that those outside wouldn’t be able to hear. “You’re running from them?” He thumbed at the door.
The situation was already past the point of being bad, and I frankly had no idea what I was going to do. So, in an act of desperation, I confided in Garth. “Yes.” I admitted.
Garth ran a hand through his beard a few times, seemingly thinking deeply about the situation. He apparently concluded his thoughts quickly, because he grabbed me by the arm and started to pull me along behind him. At first, I thought he was about to make good on his threat and throw me right to them, so I tried to struggle out of his ironclad grip.
“Stop squirming and hurry up, we don’t have much time.” He growled in a low voice. I realized then that he wasn’t dragging me towards the door, but to the bed.
He quickly hooked a hand under the edge of the bed and lifted it up, revealing that there was a bit more space under the center of the bed than I first thought. Another series of knocks pounded on the door.
“Open immediately!”
Garth directed his voice at the door. “Unless you want to see my bits dangling in the wind, you’ll give me a damn minute!” The lie bought us a little more time as he directed me to lay down underneath the middle of the bed. “Stay quiet.” Was the last thing he said before dropping the bed back down on top of me.
It was a good thing I didn’t have a problem with tight spaces, because there was hardly any room to even wiggle under here. Once I had calmed down a little, I noticed that there was something attached to the underside of the bed. Upon closer inspection, I identified it as a sword resting in a wrapped scabbard.
Why does he have this under his bed? A lot of the weapon’s surface was swaddled tightly in a cloth, probably to keep it at least somewhat clean. My inspection of the sword came to a halt as I started to pay more attention to the conversation that had just started at the front door.
“Do you have any idea what time it is? This is early even for me.” Garth opened with complaining to the people at the door.
“Our apologies sir, but we are here on official business. We’ve been tracking a fugitive and found that the tracks have led through here. Have you seen a young human male with brown hair around here? Any information at all would be helpful.”
“What the hell did a kid do to piss you off so much?” I could tell that his question was designed to find out if I was worth the trouble of hiding me.
“I’m afraid I'm not at liberty to say, just know that it is sufficient enough that the order wants him apprehended as soon as possible.”
“Hmm.” Garth grumbled a little in audible contemplation. My heart was pounding so loud in my ears that I was afraid someone might hear it. I prayed that Garth wouldn’t give me up to them, I was afraid of what might happen to me if I was captured. “I haven’t seen any humans around here, so go away so I can at least try to get some rest that you're denying me.”
“Sir, please think a little more, any information can help us.”
“I said, get walking. You’ve already pissed me off by waking me up for your wild chase after some kid, so if you don’t get out of my sight right now, I'll shove my cane up your spindly ass and prop you up outside my garden to keep the crows away. Maybe then you’ll actually do some honest work in your life.”
The tirade left the man at the door speechless for a moment before he seemingly corrected himself. “Ahem. Well, if you don’t know anything, then we will leave you be. My apologies for disturbing you at this hour.”
I listened as the trackers mounted up and road away down the road. Garth closed the door again after they had fallen out of earshot. The heavy gait of his footsteps coupled with the occasional thump of his cane moved over to the bed. His fingers gripped under the edge and hefted the whole thing up.
“Get up.” He commanded simply.
Complying, I crawled out before making it to my feet. He dropped the bed heavily and with little regard for its integrity once I was clear. I turned towards him with the intent to offer my gratitude for keeping me hidden, but the words died in my throat when I noticed his glowering gaze.
Suddenly his hand lashed out and snatched me by the collar of my shirt. He then began to drag me through the room. It scared me how differently he was acting, and I tried to dig my heels in to resist him, but I might as well have been trying to fight an ox.
I was roughly spun around and thrown into the chair by the table. Immediately I tried to stand, but his paw like hand caught me on the shoulder and shoved me back down into the seat. “Sit.” He commanded with a threatening growl in his voice.
His voice petrified me, but I still looked around, trying to find a way out of this situation. That was until he grabbed me by the chin this time, forcing me to come face to face with him. “Look at me! Did you steal from them?”
“N-no.”
“Did you hurt someone?”
“No.”
“Are you lying to me?” His voice dropped dangerously low with that question.
“No!”
His gaze burned holes into me while I just sat there trying not to have a panic attack. After an uncomfortable amount of time had passed with him just staring at me, he eventually closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. He released me and took a few steps to the side before leaning on the table for support.
While I got my breath under control again, I tried to plead my case with him a little more. “I-I’m telling the truth.”
Garth raised a hand at me. “I know. I can see it in your eyes that you’re just a scared kid who doesn’t understand what’s happening.” He shook his head a little. “Tell me, do you have any family, friends, hell, even acquaintances that would be better prepared to take care of you?”
Just thinking about them hurt, so I answered quickly so we could move on. “No, they’re all dead.”
A long sigh escaped from Garth as he ran a hand through his hair. “Earth mother, grant me strength. I can’t in good conscience just dump you off in the middle of town knowing you have nowhere to go. Plus, I don’t imagine you would last a week with the followers of light after you. I’ll let you stay here until we can think of something else.”
He’s... letting me stay? I wasn’t expecting that. “I... Uhm... T-thank you.”
Garth scoffed. “You can thank me by putting in some work around here. If you’re going to stay, you’re going to work, I'm not a charity.”
“Of course!” I had no problem with helping him, especially if he was going to hide me here. “Uhm, but won’t it be trouble if I stay?”
“You plan on causing trouble?”
“No! But, what about the followers of light?”
“Those annoying bastards won’t set foot on my land if they know what’s good for them. Honestly, this recent incident was the last straw. Who the hell bangs on a door like that at this ungodly hour?” The next bit he grumbled a little under his breath. “Besides, no good reason to be hunting a kid like that.”
Garth continued to grumble and sigh incoherently as he moved into the kitchen, digging around in some of the cupboards. He dragged food out and seemed to be preparing a meal. “You’re making breakfast?”
He shrugged while continuing to prepare the meal. “I’m far too awake right now to even get a nap in, so I might as well get a start on the day. I think you should stay inside for a while though, just in case those fools are still lingering around. Once I confirm that they have left for good, then I'll put you to work.”
“Okay.” Despite my initial misgivings about the dwarf, I came to the realization that he was kind. A bit rough around the edges and obviously jaded about a great many things, but he was still kind. I was ready to bend over backwards to make sure I could justify his decision to let me stay.
Once he had prepared and served a simple meal to start the day, we both ate quietly much the same way we did last night. Part way through the awkward breakfast, my curiosity and desire to talk got the better of me.
“Why do you have a sword under your bed?”
Garth immediately dropped the bit of food he was working on and jabbed a finger in my direction. “Do, not, touch. That’s not some toy to play with.”
“I know, I was just curious.”
Garth sighed and shook his head. “Not much to say about it. It’s a relic from when I was an uppity little shit in a time where I didn’t consider my actions all too well. Leave it be.”
Not wanting to push my luck, I dropped the subject and finished the meal. I helped clean the plates and Garth went outside to check the surrounding area for lingering trackers, leaving me with my thoughts. The free time left me to consider my future, what I was going to do, what would happen to me. I had lost my family and friends not once, but twice. It was a devastating series of events, and I was still in shock over it all.
The situation I was in now was strenuous at best. I was adrift in a world I was unfamiliar with, amidst people that largely didn’t care about me or worse, were actively hunting me. Me meeting Garth was a tiny bit of mercy, and I considered myself lucky that I managed to find someone who cared even a little bit.
For now, the plan was to attempt to stabilize my life, catch my breath, maybe find out more about what was going on with me and that strange voice I heard. I would mourn my lost home, the people that I loved, but I would honor them by continuing to live against the odds and in doing so, keep their memory alive. The thought was a small comfort against the cold world that I had been exposed to, but I held onto it for all it was worth. My life may have been shattered, but I was still here, and I wasn’t going to give up. Dad would have been disappointed in me if I did.