Chapter 9: Friends in Strange Places

The rain fell softly against my face as I looked up into the sky. There wasn’t much to look at in the vast sky. As my eyes returned to the ground I refocused on my task. I needed a spot to hide out. That reminded me of something Ruth told me earlier. Ruth said nearby the castle there was also a cave to hide out in. It shouldn’t be too far from where I was either. If I could quickly survey the area I could avoid getting caught. I had about forty minutes or so before the soldiers searching for me returned to check out this area. If I couldn’t find the cave by then I’d just have to risk getting caught to find the castle.

I started looking through the area. Caves are typically in uneven terrain or near hills. That was something I had once read in a book. If it were true the only hilly area around Densle was actually pretty close to the graveyard in the city. Densle was only a few miles ahead of me. I got on the main path and threw over my cloak. If the soldiers came by looking for me I could easily lose them in the forest. I only didn’t want to get caught because if my location was given out I’d have a lot more trouble to deal with. It was already bad that I had killed someone and been seen doing it, but I only furthered the damage to my irreplaceable reputation when I escaped from prison and when I turned into a monster. That’s not even getting into the damage to Carlisle and me putting the King’s life in danger by causing an uproar.

I jogged down the main road towards Densle. I could get there in about forty minutes which would be right about the time the search party would get back. I would have to figure out something to do about the soldiers before I got there. The soldiers would be housed in the inn so that wasn’t really an option. I couldn’t be housed anywhere either because they undoubtedly had wanted posters already. I would have to keep my cloak on the whole time. Alternatively if I managed to get to the cave on the outskirts of the cemetery without getting caught I wouldn’t be found easily.

Forty minutes had passed and I was now about three minutes from the front gate of Densle. Densle was apparently only a temporary fort that had been built, but after the war ended it got turned into a town for people to live in. Directly behind Densle was the cemetery. I could honestly just walk around the side of the wall and reach it. I walked along the side of the wall until I found the cemetery. The cemetery was connected to Densle by a barred metal fence that went all the way around the cemetery. The fence was about eleven feet in height which wouldn’t be too hard to climb if I ever needed to go in there.

As I looked around the cemetery I saw a hooded figure kneeling in front of a decorated grave. A honorable soldier must’ve died here. The figure hadn’t noticed me so I decided to walk off. I didn’t know exactly where the cave was, but I was certain I’d find it. When the cave was listed on the map it showed it being directly behind the cemetery so I decided to head in that direction. I looked up at the gloomy sky, soaked to the bone by rain. The sky was always bland and gloomy during rain and when you looked at it, it was almost as if the weather affected your mood. Looking up at the sky as cloudy as it was seemed so close to my fate: uncertain, but not happy.

While I was walking a nostalgic memory resurfaced from when me and Mira used to be younger. I was around thirteen and I was training to be a soldier in the army. It was about midday and I was practicing swinging the sword while Mira sat about twenty feet away from me, on the fence around the rancher’s field. Mira asked me “Ruthven, why do you want to become a soldier?”

I responded with “I want to be strong enough to protect everyone. Plus I can travel if I reach a high enough position. I’ve always wanted to explore the world.” I said smiling at her with a big grin.

“Promise me if you ever decide to leave for real you’ll take me with you. I don’t want to be away from you.” Mira said with a bit of concern.

“I promise you.” I said while giving her a thumbs up.

I snapped back to reality. Things weren’t the same as they were back then. I was no longer with Mira and I had protected nobody. I only made things worse. It made me wonder if my death would have been more meaningful. The thought gave me a cold chill. It made me think of that cold voice I heard in the bathroom. I decided to stop thinking about that at the moment. I pulled my eyes up from the ground and started earnestly looking for the cave.

I was about two minutes into the forest when I spotted the entrance to the cave. It was about eight hundred feet from where I stood. I quickly bolted over to it eager to get out of the rain as I was already soaked. The entrance of the cave was only about twenty feet wide. It wasn’t a very large cave, but it would keep me out of the rain and that was all that mattered. Unlike most caves that go down and in this one seemed like it was man made because it went straight back into the hill. I walked to the back and layed my bag down. It was too dark to really see anything in here so I decided I would just sit down. I had my lantern, but I had no matches on hand to light them with. I would just have to sit in here the dark until the rain stopped.

Someone would be out here sooner rather than later to look around for me. It would be a matter of time and then I would once again have to kill someone. I didn’t much like that idea, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I was being hunted right now and considering how many I killed it was probably for my head. I had turned into a monster anyways so there was no way they didn’t want to kill me. I sat in the dark for several hours until I drifted off to the sound of the rain.

When I awoke several hours later the rain was still ongoing. It was now dark outside and that meant I would be staying the night here. Although light was a bad thing I really wanted a match for this lantern. I wanted to look at the map to see if I could now get directions to the abandoned castle. Sitting here in the dark wasn’t ideal at least not for me anyway. The smell while it didn’t bother me wasn’t the greatest either. It smelled like some kind of game animal.

After another hour passed the rain finally stopped which meant I could leave. However it was still dark out. It would be several more hours before I finally got the chance to leave here. As time went on my desire for a light source grew stronger. Another hour passed and then I heard Ruth’s voice.

“You were calling for me earlier?” he asked nonchalantly.

“No thanks to you I am currently lost right now.” I replied with a hint of anger.

“You can blame me for getting you lost, but I was the one who gave you the suggestion to go to the castle in the first place. Without my help you’d have to fend for yourself because you’d have no guide.” Ruth said unapologetically.

“Look can you just give me directions to the castle?”

“I’d advise you wait until daylight before you move out. It’s not wise to move at dark unless there is no other option.”

“Can you at least re mark the map for me? That marker you placed disappeared.” I asked trying to be considerate.

“Oh, my bad sorry about that. I had to deal with some urgent matters. I’ll remark it for you. Wait here till its light enough you can see and then head out.”

“As you command, sire” I said sarcastically. Ruth stopped speaking after I said that.

It would be annoying waiting for enough light to move out, but I had no other option. I hated to admit it, but Ruth knew what he was talking about. So I sat there for hours bored out of my mind until finally I saw a small, dim ray of light peak into the cave.

As soon as I saw it I walked to the front of the cave and pulled out my map. The marker indicating my current location was now back and I could see my destination as well. The castle was located in the Forgotten Kingdom apparently. That hadn’t been listed on my map beforehand. The Forgotten Kingdom was an interesting place and I had always wanted to explore it. This chance made me even more excited to see the place.

The Forgotten Kingdom was something of a fable I had always heard about. Everyone always said it was a real place, but nobody ever searched for it which I always found to be confusing. During the Holy War between the Occult and the Holy Empire Straton there was a third party organization that was unnamed assisting in the war. The Forgotten Kingdom was where they stayed. Nobody ever visited because it was so heavily populated in monsters more likely than not you’d end up losing your life trying to get in. Nobody listed it on the map in hopes that no poor fool would ever venture off and get themselves killed. The legend would never get back to the people if the storyteller always died and so eventually people forgot where it was all together.

The castle according to the map was located about twenty miles away and the province around it was five miles wide in every direction. It would take me half a day to get to the forgotten kingdom and then I would have to slay my way through monsters which sounded fun. Who was I kidding? I was still being hunted down. I wouldn’t have time for fun. Now that I knew where the castle was It would be best if I headed out. I rolled the map back up and put it back in the bag. I had the area memorized I wouldn’t need to use it again.

I ran out of the area at full speed with full confidence I wouldn’t get lost again. The run felt great I couldn’t deny it. As much as I was concerned about being caught and captured again I didn’t feel like anything could go wrong. The idea of living in the Forgotten Kingdom was also enticing. As I ran several times I found myself slipping and falling into the mud so I decided despite the time difference It would probably be best if I walked. While I walked I listened around for any noises indicating I was being followed. There were none.

I let my guard down and casually started strolling through the forest. Listening to the songs of the various birds and other animals that happened to be scampering about. I never had time to do this on patrol because I always had to be vigilant. It felt so much better to just let go and let nature's song play. I kept tuned in as I was walking until I heard the fluttering of birds quickly taking off half mile away. The noise of the birds taking off got closer. Something was coming. Birds don’t take off that quickly unless there is a predator or something that the birds view as a danger. I had an ominous feeling about it.

I grabbed my sword and pulled it out. I looked in the direction of the noise and waited. As it got closer I could hear the quick movements. Suddenly a large wolf came bounding into the area. It stood about eight feet in height. I didn’t really want to get into a fight with it. I didn’t much like killing things. Most dogs and wolves weren’t smart enough to understand the human language. This one as it approached instead of lunging for me stopped and slowly started circling me. It was sizing me up. Most wolves would have immediately lunged at me. This one was definitely a little bit more intelligent. I decided as risky as it was I would put my sword away.

There was no chance of the wolf permanently killing me. It would hurt quite a bit, but the moon would still be out tonight and I would revive. “Look I don’t really want to kill you. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t attack me.” I said to the wolf in a calm tone. The wolf seemed to understand this. It stretched its paws down slightly and then playfully bounced forward. I smiled at it. The wolf got closer and started sniffing me. Its nose must’ve picked up the scent of human blood because it pulled back.

I turned around and started walking away from the wolf. It followed behind me and put its large paw on my shoulder as if to hold me back. “I’m not good company to hang out with. I’m a monster so let me go.” I said lifting its paw of my shoulder. I continued walking forward and it put its paw on me again. Once again I lifted it off and continued walking. It gently swiped at me and knocked me over. I got up and slammed my hand into a tree. The outer part of the tree cracked and the bark fell off. “See I’m a monster.” I said.

The wolf gave a little yiand nodded its head. “Fine you can come along. Don’t expect anything from me though.” I said to it. The wolf howled in agreement and followed along in pursuit. We walked for several minutes and then I heard voices. The wolf lowered itself and layed down to try and make itself less visible. It certainly was smart for sure, but it was not a normal one. I crouched behind a tree and listened for the voices the got closer to us. The voices came from directly ahead. There were five of them all male in the same cloaks as last night. I drew my sword and waited for them.

Once they spotted me the yelled “There he is!” I guess my search party finally caught up to me. I ran towards them at full speed. I threw a knife into the first ones neck and then shoved my sword through one of them. I dashed behind the next one and kicked the back of his leg. He fell to one knee and them I grabbed his neck in a reverse headlock and snapped it backwards. I pulled my sword out of the guy I killed and slashed the next guy twice across the chest before I ran it through him. The last guy started to run. I saw a spear that had been dropped by one of the soldiers. I picked it up and threw it through the last guys back pinning him to a tree in the process.

I wiped the blood off of me and my gear and looked back at the wolf for its reaction. The wolf was no longer there. Instead I heard a voice behind a tree. It was a female speaking. “You really are a monster aren’t you.” She said.

“Who are you I asked?” Ruthven.

“Let’s talk about you first.”