Chapter I - Hunted

Chapter 1 of the Defenders of Faith short novel.

The chilly wind murmured in their ears as they plodded on a narrow, muddy road. It carried the rustling of tree-leaves from the nearby forest and also the distant noises of several animals. Here and then they heard a wolf howl from a distance, but the offset they could not guess, for it always changed place; sometimes they heard it coming from deep in the forest, and sometimes closer to the edges, but never at a dangerously close distance. Besides, they still had their blades and spears(they had to cast away their helmets and shields, for they were too battered and heavy to carry with the rest), and only a very desperate wolf pack would try to attack them. The only thing to worry about now would be other people wandering the Wilderlands, namely bandits and guard patrols that occasionally wandered into the place. If they ever encountered any bandits, which would be incredibly lucky anyway, they would probably come in blows with them for supplies and equipment. They had never learned the art of hunting(nor the art of moving quietly), and every animal could hear their heavy leather boots trampling the ground from afar. Only Dante managed some manner of quietness.

 

As they had trodded on for a long time, three hours or so, Darin turned to the others, gesturing desperately.

"This can't continue like this. We can't die like this! We must find food and a shelter, or we won't survive the night!"

As he spoke the others could see the ground darkening quickly, and they watched up in the sky. They saw a large, dark cloud moving across the firmament, and fear filled them. Darin gazed at his friends, the look in his eyes determined.

"Run, in the forest!", he shouted, and something in his voice seemed to prevent all counterarguments. The forest wasn't far away - they could probably reach it before the rain would start if they started right away. They entered the forest just as the first droplets of water hit the ground, and they hid themselves under the ancient trees on the edge of the forest. The trees were so massive that the leaves protected them from most of the rain, and they could wait there until the skies had cleared.

"Fortunately rains are quite rare in the Wilderlands," thought William, who was well-knowledgeable in these sorts of things. He was the most noble of the knights, but also the most naïve of them. Dante, who had stayed silent for the whole time, handled swordplay the best, and his blade was almost untouched - it only had one notch, near the hilt of the sword. Darin, who had saved his friends from a very uncomfortable night, was the most determined of them all. If he took up some errand or work, he would do it quickly and efficiently and never speak of it to anybody. He would almost always do it alone, or perhaps with a good friend of his - for example one of this companions. He also was the sharpest of them, and only his wits and quick action had saved them. Although rains were very rare in the Wilderlands, they were also long. During these long hours they had time to wander around and explore the place, for which they otherwise would've had no time for. The trees were giant all around them, and they could feel that the forest was very old. Dante found some bushes with berries in them, but at first they were suspicious about them. They had an odd, blue color with a slight hue of purple mixed in - extremely suspicious indeed. However, soon William recognized them as blueberries and the others sighed of relief. They shared the berries and ate them with passion. It helped a little, but they were still tired and lost. They couldn't climb the trees and sleeping on the ground would be very uncomfortable. They began arguing.

 

"I will rather stay awake, despite of my weariness, than sleep on this ground," said William, gesturing with his arms.

Darin replied with a look of determination in his eyes:

"But there's nothing else we can do. If you're scared of the wolves, you can watch us while we sleep."

Dante's eyes flickered of amusement, and fortunately it was left unnoticed by William, who was already protesting furiously:

"We should have rotation instead! I don't want to stay awake through the whole night if you're going to sleep."

Darin smiled reassuringly as he replied softly:

"In fact, I'm a bit scared of the wolves too. I think that we should set a watch. Who volunteers?"

William was the only one to raise his hand, and so he became the first guard. The two others fell on the ground beside him, falling asleep almost instantly. Soon he could hear their deep, calm breathing behind himself. He could not stop himself from nodding in the cold wind. After a time that felt like an eternity, he woke up Dante and managed to tell him that it's his turn before falling on the ground in a bundle, ignoring the drop and falling asleep.

 

The morning came quickly, as if the clouds had released all their anger and were now empty, and the cold morning sun began to rise in the horizon. The weather was dim and cold; a light fog had risen during the night, shrouding the area and filling it with a dreamlike feel. Now they understood where they were and what they were doing; they were snared by the forest and the mist - truly trapped in the forest. Although the rain was now over and they felt rested, they could not continue their journey except by risking getting even more lost. They could follow the road to where it leads, but not with guaranteed safety; they could easily get attacked during the journey or end up in a place much worse than the forest. But the road was the best choice.

 

William, the honorable, kept watch on their surroundings as the two other cavaliers exchanged casual comments of the weather. He couldn't stop the thoughts from taking over him; why were they so casual? So happy? There was nothing casual or happy about their situation! Surely he should teach them a lesson? No, it would only make him look like a jerk. No point in that. Better let them have their fun, let them spend that energy and preserve yours for possible surprises along the journey. As always, William was the one to look after the others. Well, trying to. They would not let him, if they knew; and they most probably did not need such looking-after. Darin, the Chaplain, would insist on that he was the one looking after everyone, and Dante, the Bard, would simply laugh at both of them. Indeed, it was the most unique cavalcade that traveled through Wilderlands. It was said that there was civilization beyond them; great estates, cities and prosperous villages. So the merchants said, and they usually brought news from lands distant and far away. You couldn't trust half of what they said, but you listened anyway, because you had no other way of finding out. That was back then. Now they had no idea of what would await them in the Kingdom of Amadaria. What, indeed? But they had to reach the place. They had not thought about it before, but there could well be someone following them. If they would reach Amadaria, it would bode ill to the evil that conquered Calis Keep, the place where they once dwelt and rose into knighthood together. Now the wolves howled again. It was still a long distance, coming from deep within the forest, but somehow it seemed closer now. The companions could feel it; but then the north wind was still blowing. But this proved that anything could still happen to them. William decided on keeping an even firmer watch on their surroundings than before.

 

Although Dante was engaged in a deep conversation with Darin, he still could hear everything around him. The wind rustling the leaves in the distance, the wolves' occasional howling, even the wind picking up their snow-white surcoats as it passed under them and along the surface of their battered suits of armor. It was truly wonderful; he had been gifted with a superior hearing. He supposed that it had something to do with musical talent; it was something he had had since childhood. It was simply something that was part of him; he didn't feel special because of it. Yet he knew that he had an advantage. Frowning, he tried to shut off the howling from his mind. It had bothered him since it had began; it had an evil feel to it, truly evil. It was the kind of howling you heard from a pack of hunting dogs when they were chasing down a wolf. He could not stop himself thinking that they could be that something the wolves were hunting. Darin looked at him quizzically; he probably did not understand the frown. Dante rushed in to explain.

"It is the howling. Don't you hear it? It's evil. I don't feel very well about those wolves, Darin. We should fasten our pace. The quicker we're out of here, the better."

His musical voice took in an anguished tone as he continued.

"It is truly an evil sound. I wish I would never have heard it."

Darin flashed a wide grin at him.

"But then we would've never heard about it. Truly, fortune shines upon us that we have a Hearer among us."

Darin moved to William to notify him, but Dante picked up his pace and zoomed past his companions. He had no idea how long the journey would still take, but at least he didn't intend for his body to end up in a wolf's stomach. He had no idea about his companions, however. Sometimes William developed almost suicidal tendencies in battle. He just hoped that it would not come to that.

Author's Note

Most of it was wrote a long time ago, although the last few paragraphs were added later.

Reviews

[R. Kaid]

Cool names.

[Mikael Malmberg]

..Ok?

Thans for the review.