The Forgotten
Chapter 3

“Who was that Suzy? Where did he even come from? We are miles from any town, village or even any home.” Said Rolf as he stood shaking. The pain from his torso causing him to lean on his right side, clutching at it with his hand.

“I don’t know.” She replied, staring in the direction Rendall ran.

“We need to replace him,” she continued,. “He can’t stay out there. It is nearly dark and who knows what might happen to him.”

“There is nothing we can do my love, we owe him our lives. We are beaten and bruised as we are and won’t be catching him anytime soon. Besides, it looks like he can handle himself better than we can, especially with that wolf following him”.

“Rolf! He was a boy and only God knows what he has been doing out here. And the wolf, how and why is that beast with him?” Suzy replied, getting frantic at the idea of Rendall being alone.

The couple were travelling back to their home in Tocking Vale after they had been asked to recruit some new servants from the local settlements nearby. Their effort was successful and new staff would arrive at the castle later that week, though both knew it would not be enjoyable. They would be knocked and tortured, even Suzy and Rolf knew they would get lashed after being late back to the castle, no matter if they were getting robbed or not. It was believed the king enjoyed the screams of his victims, always having someone nearby to torment.

They looked at the scene and damage around them. Two bandits lay on the floor unmoving, one with an arrow through his neck and blood pooling around him. The man was a large fellow who seemed to enjoy the thrill of his trade. The smile that plastered his face while he dragged Suzy harrowed her, and while she didn’t want to admit it to herself, she was glad the man suffered before he died. The man’s expression though while dead was one of confusion, eyes while and mouth slightly open. Pondering Suzy wondered if it was the shock of imminent death or the boy.

Muttering to herself, “Did he know the boy?”

Confused and still shaken Suzy would never know, at least not at the moment. The boy had ran and the thug was long dead.

“What was that Suzy?” Rolf said while staring at the scene around them.

“Nothing, just trying to understand.”

The other man, further down the road, was barely recognisable. The wolf had done a thorough job. Her face tightened as she noticed the blood on the surrounding stones and grass, thanks to the body being thrown around.

“No one will recognise him,” Rolf said as he walked up beside his wife.

“No, certainly not,” she replied passively.

“We need to leave Rolf, people will ask questions and no one will believe us if we said a boy and a wolf did this. We will be painted with their murder.”

A moment’s silence went between them before Rolf agreed. He wasn’t sure what the right thing to do was. He wanted to go after the lad as he was clearly in pain but knew he was long gone and seemed to know his way.

Ralf bent down and picked up a knife that had been dropped by the man that ran away. It was quite a long blade nearly a foot and a half in length that had clearly been used as it was blunted. Its handle spun with brown leather, giving good grip for Rolf should he ever need to use it. Holding the weapon in his hand Rolf saw specs of dried blood all over the blade. Rubbing it on his clothing the dried blood seemed to be almost engraved into the edges and despite his effort, would not budge. Looking at the knife in his hand again he hoped never to use it, but after the events that had just unfolded, he did not want to be caught unarmed again.

After a moment, the pair gathered themselves and started to run slowly away from the scene. It wouldn’t be long until someone comes across the dead bodies and they needed to be as far out of sight as possible.

Running, Rolf looked at his wife and said, “We will need to lay low for a while, people know we walk this path.”

“If we take a few days extra to get back to the keep we can say we got held up.”

Nodding in agreement, he thought about what punishment the king would come up with if he found out about their tardiness.

They ran for an hour before slowing into a walk, and began to see farmland on the horizon. Coming the way several times before, Suzy knew there was another road about a mile to the north they could get to a local town from.

“We should change roads. People will note who they saw come into town from here if we are found.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned to cut through the fields of overgrown corn. Her husband on her heels, his ribs making him grimace after each step.

The corn was taller than either of them, so they often had to slow to get their bearings. Despite their hesitation, they found themselves at the dirt path that looked little different from the other they were on only a short time ago.

To avoid any unwanted suspicion, the run turned back into a walk. They began straightening out their clothes, flattening their hair and wiping the sweat off their face that was now dripping off their cheeks from running. They were lucky as they had not been seen by anyone else and as they walked into the local town of Windermore four hours later than planned. It was now late in the day, with the sun dipping over the distant hills and many people now sitting down for dinner in their homes.

Windermore was a well-worn farmer and woodcutters’ town that merely stood as an outpost for travellers going to and from the city. Cart tracks were imprinted into the dirt road with weeds and patches of grass on either side. The houses were mainly identical, all terrace in nature, the only difference being how well they were kept. Some of the homes were clearly abandoned, either from lack of money or from accidents, which seemed to be quick common as they passed three burnt-out husks in one street.

Following the main street in town, it took them to a market square with covered stalls all clearly closed. The only light was now coming from the few lamps and the fire from peoples’ homes.

Sparing a glance at one another they heard loud laughter coming from one of the side streets off the main square. Following the direction of the noise, they finally stopped at a tavern packed with people standing outside sharing stories while holding a mug of the local ale in their hands. Not having any other option the couple, walked into the inn with little delay.

The inn seemed to be no real different from the houses they had walked past. In fact Rolf thought that it was actually someone’s home who had just stuck a sign with a beer mug outside, then opened for business. The inside of the building only reinforced this idea as they arrived into a hallway with the bar in the room to the left that housed some bar stalls, then in the other three rooms off it held a staircase and numerous tables spread throughout.

The placed was packed, either it was a popular destination or the townspeople had little other choice. After some scouting for a free table, the pair sat themselves down in a corner that was barely lit, the candlelight only giving a small shimmer of illumination.

They sat and in a few breaths a man who clearly had one too many to drink came over and hugged the pair.

Bewildered, Suzy said, “I think you must have us mistaken for someone else?”

“No not at all, welcome to our humble town. Micheal, Micheal! Get these two a mug of ale and some food.”

After the greeting, the man left quickly before the two could even say thank you. The crowds of people quickly swallowed the man up not to be seen again.

Rolf and Suzy looked at one another, puzzled by the friendly nature of the townspeople, but never rejected it, they enjoyed the comradery which brought a smile to one another’s face.

The meal came out quickly. It was hearty, not skimping on the amount of stew that was served. The bowl was overflowing with liquid with giant chunks of potato and various greens piled on top. The food made up for the warm ale they both sipped, having grimaced several times until they were used to it.

Eating they listened out for any news that had made its way into the tavern about an attack on the road. The noise in the place made it hard to pick up anything that wasn’t loud laughter and cheers from groups of drunk friends. They didn’t hear anything for some time but upon seeing a couple of people talking seriously at another table both Suzy and Rolf did their best to work out what was said.

“Have you heard?” One man said to the barkeep.

“Two men found dead on the road, a horrible scene they say. Blood everywhere, some say it is the work of demons.”

“Don’t be stupid John, this isn’t a fairy tale. It is only the work of outlaws and brigands who got a bit too excited.” Replied the barkeep.

“Outlaws don’t dress the scene in blood unless they have a serious vendetta. Since when do they leave giant bite marks on their victims?”

The barkeep looked back at the gruff, middle-aged man for a moment, his gaze a mixture of confusion and horror. Taking longer then he should to gather himself again, the man shook his head and walked down to another paying customer who was waiting for a round for his table.

Suzy and Rolf listened intently. Both seem to be relieved that neither had been entangled in what had happened. Though happy they may not be questioned by the guard, it didn’t help the worry they held for the boy who saved them.

They sat in the tavern sharing few words with one another though secretly held one another’s hand under the table. For several hours the talk in the room had died down and there was little gossip or other murmurs left to listen out for. With an emptying bar, they both retired to one of the rooms in the inn costing them a bronze penny, cheap for anyone’s standards.

The room was a cramped affair that housed a mattress on the floor, a set of draws next to the door and a wooden stall in the opposite corner to the mattress. Too tired to notice, they fell onto their makeshift bed and despite its lumps and tears, they both fell asleep in moments, the stress of the day overwhelming them.

-

The lone brigand that survived the assault ran. With no direction in mind, he ran for survival, hearing the screams of his friends in the distance as one was being torn apart by a wolf. He spared a glance as the wolf had thrown the other man to the ground. The beast’s silver eyes glared at him, only adding to the horror of his friend’s blood dripping from its mouth. A silent pray past his lips as he breathlessly ran for all he was worth.

Perhaps the Gods answered the man’s prayers or it was sheer luck the wolf had turned around back towards the boy that had planted an arrow through another of his companion’s neck.

He ran on, taking a sharp turn off the road to get away from the carnage and into the woods. Within moments he was surrounded by towering trees that stole the light. There was no visible end to the woods. The world around him seemed to close in on him, and it was then that he started to hear leaves rustling and twigs snapping on the floor.

With no obvious light and now lost after mindlessly running from the horror that had come around him, he realised there was no way back.

As footsteps and creaking trees grew louder, an unknown creature drew closer with a loud growl.

“Leave me alone.” The man shouted as he started to shake in fear.

Drawing his sword from its hilt, he started carving at the wind. In fear and lack of a proper stance the man quickly hit a root with his blade and went tumbling to the floor.

“Pl…please!” The man sobbed.

He had lost his sword as he fell and frozen in fear he lay as the temperature dropped around him. With a final scream, the man cried in pain.