A Song of Silence

Chapter 4: A Scuffle in the Dark

I left before dusk two days later. The hangover from our celebrations still made my head ache even with all the coffee and cold water I had drank. Brynn would leave later that day to return to Brightton at an "acceptable time to get up," as she liked to call it. I had left a note wishing her goodbye before I had crept out on silent feet. She knew goodbyes weren't my thing so as long as I left a note, she didn't mind my early leaving.

My favorite horse, Millie, was antsy in the stables when I had gathered her. She had always been a wild horse who didn't like being cooped up and she always knew when we were getting ready to go on a journey.

I greeted her with a rub on the nose as I attached my bags of supplies and food to her saddle. Little needed to be brought on such a journey and if anything else was needed I could grab it on the way towards Endale.

I took Millie out of her stall and she stomped her feet in anticipation for the road ahead. Quickly lifting myself onto the saddle I kick her into a canter and we set off towards the mountain pass.

Endale is one of the larger dukedoms on the west side of Orange Rivers. The dukedome is farther away from any of Orange River's many bodies of water so Endale gets most of its profit from its clothing industry.

The Duke of Endale is known to be a cruel, greedy, man despite the wealth of his dukedom. He is sure to have many unhappy, unloyal, servants because of this. Finding one of these servants to tell me the duke's daily schedule will be an easy task and once they are found, a few drinks and a bit of flirting and I'll have all the information I need.

Millie and I reach the pass in no time. The sun has just started to rise and the morning light had yet to make its way past the mountainous walls on both sides of the path. Many highway robbers had tried to make the pass their home as they ambushed defenseless travelers, but I killed most of them off years ago. Any robbers that remained were smart enough to leave while they could and the ones that stayed, well they couldn't stop the kiss of my blade from reaching their necks.

"Halt!" Someone yells at me. My gaze sweeps the surrounding rocks before it lands on a small band of mercenaries blocking the road. The leader, a bulky man with a sharp scar running across his face, leers at my cloak that obscures my face from view. The other mercenaries around him either point arrows at me or hold their crude weapons in a fighting stance.

"Remove your hood stranger and dismount from your horse!" He yells, "Or you'll taste the sharp sting of my men's arrows on your flesh!" I huff a sigh at their foolishness. They would have been well warned of what had happened to others like them that tried to wreak havoc on this path and they chose not to listen. The morons.

Reluctantly I slide from my saddle and stand next to Millie. "I said remove your hood stranger!" The mercenary shrieks again, his reedy voice hurting my pointed ears. I shake my head and move to grab something from my saddle bag. "I said stop!" He says a third time, striding towards me. I'm quickly becoming tired of this idiot man's repetition.

I pull a pencil and paper out and start to write my message to them. I don't want to kill these men, but I will if they continue to threaten and steal from those using the pass.

I write, I cannot speak boy and I will not remove my hood. You and those with you have been warned by others who passed before me what happens to those who threaten the comers and goers of this road. You have one chance to gather your things and leave this pass immediately. Make your decision quickly. I don't like to be kept waiting.

I fold up the paper and hold it up, folding it into a shape that will soar in their direction. Brynn had shown me how to do it years ago and I had yet to forget how to do it. I throw it and it swiftly lands at the feet of the head mercenary. He picks it up and reads it. Rage contorts his features quicker than I can blink and he crumpled up the paper.

"How dare you!" He roars, his voice now resembling a male's, "You dare make demands of us while you are the one being held captive! You know what, I was going to let your sorry ass live after we robbed you but now, now I think I'll kill you myself."

He pulls his sword from his side and advances toward me. I quickly put up my pencil and paper back in the saddle bags and walk towards the man. "Well lookie here boys!" he yells. "Looks like we've got ourselves a hero!" His men laugh behind him and sheathe their weapons, estimating an unfair fight before its even begun.

As soon as the mercenary and I are feet apart, I grab the knife at my waist and throw it at my opponent. It hits dead on as it goes into his brain through his eye socket. He hadn't even had a chance to lift his sword arm before he died. His men gape at me as the dead mercenaries body falls to the ground and I pick my knife out of his flesh, still advancing towards the group.

The smell of someone pissing themselves hits my nose. What a bunch of pussies. Pissing themselves at the sight of blood. Finally they snap themselves out of their reverie and yell, "Quick! Let's get him!" All at once they unsheathe their weapons and charge at me.

The skinniest reaches me before the rest. I cut him down before he knows what I'd going on. The next is the same, dead in a blink. The third had learned from the others and was slower to approach. The double edged blade he wields comes towards me in a slow arc as he uses his earth gift to rain gravel in my eyes. I dodge his blade and slit his throat. One remains, an archer, his bow quivers at me as her tries to gain the nerve to avenge his fallen brethren around him.

He is younger than the rest, seeming never truly tried at dealing with the thought of killing someone as the rest of the mercenaries were. The boy throws his weapons to the ground and get on his knees with his hands in the air. Smart boy. "They threatened my family and said they kill all of them if I don't join their party," he says, quivering even more as I approach him.

I tilt my head down at his slight frame. Pity claws at me as I gauge if he is telling the truth. To me a truth smells like a fresh breath of air on a warm day while a lie smells like rotting garbage. All I smell is the clean, fresh air of the mountains around us. Truth. I nod my head to the road ahead that leads to SilverHollow. He can make it to the village and then the townspeople can decide what to do with him. I have killed enough today. The boy quickly gets to his feet and scurries down the road.

I clear the road of the bodies that lay there. Millie is still where I left her. I grab Millie, not even bothering to search the mercenaries camp in the woods. I would smell it if they had any prisoners and I'll leave the gold for the villagers from Brightton who come to clean up the bodies. They are used to me coming into town and asking them to remove the bodies of idiot robbers enough that it will take little time for them to find the mercenaries gold. Frowning at the blood staining the road, I mount Millie once more and set off towards Brightton and eventually, Endale.