Distractions abound, but I am getting along with it. I really wish I had written it in 1st person, as I intended, as I think I write better that way. Perhaps the next story, I will. Oh well. Best laid plans, and all that.

This word count is the count as of right now, not at the end of this chapter, meaning it includes chapter 5.  Cranking it out, as they say.

So, here is Chapter 4, as promised. Chapter 5 is nearly done, but I need to take a break and post later.   I see a lot of editing needed on this one, but I have successfully resisted.

I think I have grown.

Chapter 4:  To the Wood

“A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

– King Solomon

Damon ducked low under the swing at his head, and thrust in with his sword at his attacker’s ribs.  The man spun his body just offline of the swing and brought his elbow back into Damon’s head, making his ears ring for a moment.  As he tried to right himself, Damon felt the ground disconnect from his feet, as his shoulder’s rapidly switched places with them. Overhead, he heard a voice through the ringing in his head.

“What is with you, boy?  You haven’t connected a blow in days!”

There was love and concern in the old sword master’s voice, as he extended a hand to help the boy to his feet.  Damon took it, and let himself be pulled upward to his feet.  He staggered a bit from the headshot, but managed to maintain balance.  He stood there, reeling slightly, waiting for his next instruction.

“Did you hear me?  I said, what is with you?  Still whining about Marcos leaving? No future in it, but I guess that is what little boys do, right?”

Damon stood straight up and looked at his master with a look that should not be given to one’s sword master.  Still, it was given, and in return the elder shot him back a smile that said, “Come do something about it.”

Damon picked up his sword and staggered a bit forward when he did.  He caught his balance, and stumbled to a ready stance.  The two stared at each other for a long moment, eyeing the other like two predators that had wandered into each other in disputed territory. Without warning, Damon lunged at the man with a fury unbalanced.

Stepping to the left outside the boy’s blade, the old man came in hard with a kick to the stomach, making Damon crumble to ground once again.  He made a loud “uumph” as it landed, and then again when he hit the ground.  He lie there with a mouth full of dirt, deciding whether to stand again.

Oren walked back over to his student and extended his hand once again, which was accepted.  Damon rose to his feet, readied his practice blade, and waited again for his master to speak.

“Perhaps you just like misery?  Or you want everyone to feel sorry for you?  Poor little Damon.  His mean younger brother finally ran away.  He’s probably out in the woods torturing little bunnies, the evil little bastard.”

“EEEEYYYAAAAA!” came the battle cry from the enraged student, with a powerful overhead swing at Oren’s head. Stepping to the right, Oren dodged the blow, and swung for the back of the boy’s head.  The wooden blade bounced off his skull with a resounding “whack” and sent its receiver straight to the ground again.

Once again, Damon found himself flat on his face with dirt in his mouth.  This time, he ignored the offered hand, and just lie there, blowing dirt out of his nose and mouth.   A few moments went by, when the silence was shattered by Oren’s gravelly voice.

“Ahhh.  Lesson’s over, then.  Come back and see me when you are ready to face me like a man, instead of a boy.”

He heard the last words receding, along with the footsteps of his teacher, and soon the room was in silence.  He rolled over onto his back, eyes closed, feeling the pain in various parts of his body.

For a short while he wept, until he heard a familiar voice drown out his own breathing.

“That was quite a beating you took.  You ok?”

Invictus.  My best friend.  Who talked me into letting my brother leave.  Who is now here, when Marcos is not.  Even Father seems to have given up.

Damon didn’t hate him.  No, he loved his friend Vic.  Like a brother; the brother Marcos should have been.  He only wished it could be three brothers, laughing and pursuing adventures together as brothers should.  But that was not how it was.

“Damon?”

Invictus sounded worried, but Damon still lied there, until he heard Invictus start chanting a spell.  He sat up and thrust his arms in the air, and made a loud “aaaarrrrr” sound at his friend.

Invictus reflexively redirected his energy into a shield and Damon was pushed back to the ground again onto his back.  The shield went down immediately, and Invictus started to curse.

“Damn you!  That wasn’t funny!  I might have hurt you.”

Damon lie on his back again, and burst into laughter at his friend’s words.

“After the beating I just got, I really doubt it,” he choked out between laughs, “as Oren seems to be trying to train me out of my sadness.”

“Damon, I…”

“No need to apologize again, Vic.  It was not your fault.  You are not responsible for the actions of my brother.”

Invictus extended his hand to his fallen friend, and Damon began laughing again, remembering how many times this had happened today.  As he got to his feet, he heard his own words echoing from the mouth of his father some years before.  He looked Invictus in the eye and told him.

“And neither am I.”

 

*****

                They rode hard out across the countryside towards the Great Woods.  Invictus spell was leading them there.  He complained the whole way that they should not be going, but Damon ignored him.  His stubborn tendency to never give up had kicked in and he planned to ride until he got where he was going or the horse had to stop for the day.

It was more likely that Invictus would give out before the horse, truth be told.  He is a powerful wizard for his age, but fast, long distance travel was not his forte.  He would tire soon and they would have to rest.  This was not to Damon’s liking, but he may need Invictus fresh when they arrived.  A tired wizard is as good as a pile of sticks when you peel all it all away.

Still, he would push it until he had to stop.  They would rest before they went into the Wood, as the men would not go there at night.  It was hard enough to get the guard to come with and not just drag him off to father for punishment, so he decided to not anger them as well.  Besides, there were things in the Great Wood that liked a good meal of Half-Elf, and he wasn’t about to get himself eaten.  He would remain long lived only if he didn’t get himself killed.

And, I am sure father would be upset if half a dozen of his royal guard were killed and eaten.  Especially considering he didn’t order them on this little mission; his bull headed son did.

I’d best bring them all back alive, or it’ll be the kitchens until I marry.

He could hear Invictus start to moan again and began looking for a good place to camp for the night.  Someplace with a little cover would be nice, in case the wild things of the area got curious.  The tents they had would keep out the weather, as he had taken the better ones from the war storage.  These survival tents would keep out all but gale force winds with the spells they had on them, but they were still just leather, after all.  A bear or a hungry pack of wolfen could cause us to have a really bad night.

“Damon, when are we stopping?  I am exhausted.”

“Just looking for a place to put the princess to bed now.”

“I can set you on fire, if that would speed things up.  It’s no problem, really.”

“I’m looking, your highness!  I’m looking.  No need to get snippy.”

Invictus looked around as well, as though he could find a camp spot.  He probably could, with a spell or two he knew.  With the exception of fireballs and the like, finding things was his specialty.  I never lost anything for long that Invictus hadn’t located for me.  And we never get lost, as he just seemed to know where we need to go to get anywhere.

“There,” came his voice, “Over there.”

He was pointing at a small outcropping of rocks near the tree line, where we would be shielded from the eyes in the woods and the strong winds that blew across these plains at night.  I signaled the men to head that direction to check it out.  Someone – or something – may already have had this idea.

“Well done, Vic.  You are quite the outdoorsman after all.”

With a laugh, he spurred his horse on to follow the guard, hopefully to be there first if anything hostile popped up.  The guards were capable, of course, but his father had chosen them more for loyalty than for skill.   Damon knew he could take most of them in a duel, but he hadn’t been this far from the castle without Father and his personal guard more than a few times.  These men did it all the time.

He wanted to be there first so he could get a shot at whatever came at them, assuming something did.  If they could, they would get in the way and try to protect their Lord’s son, so Damon wouldn’t get any action.  And he was determined to see some action.

He was really looking to see what would happen in a real fight outside the castle against real opponents that were really trying to do him harm.  It was stupid, really, looking for a fight.  He could really get hurt killed doing this kind of thing.

He spurred the horse on again, a smile growing across his face.  In the dim light of early evening, he could still see clearly into the rocky area with his Elf sight, one several birth-gifts from his mother, while the guard would need light soon to see clearly.  They called out to him to slow down, but he kept on riding.

He arrived at the spurs and leapt from his steed into a roll, coming up into a fighting stance with his sword free of the sheath.  He looked about him in the failing light, but nothing was there save some vermin that scuttled off as soon as he emerged in the clearing.  He walked around the clearing, but nothing evil tried to slay him; nothing hostile appeared.  With a short exhale, he began sheathing his blade as the guard caught up to him.

“It truly is a clearing, Bom.  There is nothing here.”

“M’lord,” Bom cleared his throat before continuing, ”If you would please not do that again?  Our job is to protect you, and we cannot do that if you don’t stay with us. “

“Yes, yes, of course.  I will endeavor to do that in the future.”

“Thank you, M’lord.”

Both of them knew, from the frown on the guard and the smile that Damon wore, that the boy would run off again as soon as he could.  They walked back to their horses and began unloading gear to make camp.  Invictus strolled up and dismounted, walking a bit funny after the long ride.

“6 hours on a horse is a bit much for you?  If you would learn that Flash Travel spell the Master used, this wouldn’t be so hard.  We’d have been here forever ago.”

“I don’t see you learning any new spells.  What will you do if I am not there?”

“Dear friend, you will always be there, won’t you?”

“As long as I am able, you know that.  But if you would just study…”

“I hear enough of that from the old man.  I don’t need it from you, as well.  Let’s get camp ready.  Can you see to the meal while I help with the tents?”

“Of course.  I’ll go get my apron.”

Damon chuckled, and slapped the smaller boy on the back.  “That’s the spirit, princess.”

As he walked away, Invictus flicked his wrist in Damon’s direction, and his shirt sleeve caught on fire.  Damon noticed after a few more steps, and dropped to the ground to beat the growing flames out.  As he did, he called out behind him in a mildly annoyed voice, continuing on toward the horses.

“Not funny, Vic. This is my favorite shirt.”