“Edmund, pack your things. We're going to the city to deliver some fish.” Edmund's father says as he walks into Edmund's room.

Edmund groggily lifts his head and looks at his father with squinted eyes. “The city?” He says.

Edmund's father waves a hand to signal that Edmund hurry. “Yes, the city. Now hurry up. And bring your bow. You never know what will happen on the road.” He says before exiting the room.

Edmund stretches his body, the pushes himself to get up.

…

…

Edmund lets out a yawn as he sits in front of the carriage. He wasn’t expecting to be on a trip today, but he wasn’t opposed to it. It would be nice to see the bustle of the city.

Edmund’s father waves a hand to the other carriage. “Everyone ready? Alright, let’s go!” He calls out before climbing onto the carriage. He picks up the reins and begins to drive the carriage ahead.

The horses trot forward, and Edmund watches as the carriage drives through the town and onto the road heading for the city. He kept his bow close and as they got onto the main road, the clear fields opening up, be began to watch the surroundings carefully; there was no telling what could happen on the road.

The carriages trotted forward for half an hour with no sign of trouble, and it was as it should be. There usually wasn’t any signs of bandit activity this close to the city, but there was always a chance.

Suddenly, Edmund’s father slows the carriage. “Hey, do you see that? There’s a commotion ahead.” He says as he squints his eyes to look forward.

Edmund raises an eyebrow and also has a look. He couldn’t quite see, but it looked like a carriage was stopped on the road.

Need a hand, young warrior?

The warrior's spirit asks.

“Hmm, yes please.” Edmund says, not quite sure what to expect.

The warrior spirit lets out a chuckle.

Very well.

Suddenly, Edmund’s vision begins to focus, and the events in the distance began to grow crystal clear.

People dressed in leather armor, and black face masks had surrounded the carriage. There were also wounded men on the ground. One of the masked men forcefully opens the carriage door and drags a woman outside. The woman seemed to be holding a baby wrapped in cloth. The man forcefully grabs the baby, and kicks the woman to the ground before signaling to other men.

Edmund’s eyes widen. He quickly grabs his bow and aims an arrow. I have to stop them! He exclaims.

Easy, young warrior. Feel the target with your heart. Feel the pulsing in his veins and the blood coursing through his body. It craves release. Allow it satisfaction.

Edmund’s vision was clear. He aims at one of the men and his arrow loosens.

With a thud, one of the masked men is hit in the chest. The arrow had pierced through his armor and into his chest.

Another! Another! Edmund demands as he nocks another arrow to the bow.

With the sound of wind rushing and a thud, another of the masked men was shot to the ground.

The man holding the baby, quickly realizes something is wrong and he begins to run to the horses. The other men join and quickly move to flee.

Edmund hurries, his heart racing as he nocks another arrow. With a woosh and a thud, another man was down. But he couldn’t stop them all, and he certainly couldn’t stop the man holding onto the baby.

“Edmund! What’s going on!?” Edmund’s father exclaims. His son was shooting arrows wildly into the distance. Who knows what would happen if he really hurt someone.

Edmund continues to stand, tense. He watches as the men hurry off on their horses. Damn. He exclaims. There was nothing he could do.

Edmund lets out a breath. “Several men had attacked the carriage ahead. They took a baby.” He says.

Edmund’s father opens his eyes in shock. “Let’s hurry.” He says as he pushes the horses forward.

…

…

When Edmund and his father approached, the woman was kneeling on the ground crying mournfully. A man held her body to comfort her, but the woman couldn’t restrain her tears.

Edmund’s father approached but he wasn’t sure what to say. The event was tragic, and there was no real consolation he could offer.

Edmund walks over to one of the men he shot and kneels down. He searches the man’s clothes for any sign or signal of who they were, but couldn’t find anything. Edmund removes the man’s glove and sees something he didn’t expect to see. It was a tattoo of a symbol, a fully red circle with a black skull in the middle.

Edmund raises an eyebrow. Warrior spirit, do you know anything about this? Edmund asks.

Hmm. You best speak to the master. He would tell you more. The warrior spirit says.