Cearbhail:

Yay, new chapter day. I love new chapter day. It took me three days to prepare this. I kept getting stuck, but here it is. Enjoy.

[Malik Ishtar]

Dear journal,

Today is December 13th, 1189. Yesterday, as food and supplies were dwindling low, Hood led a bunch of his men, my sister, and me to a secluded part of the woods. Our mission was to collect some food to bring back with us, perhaps some pelts to sell in the marketplace to make some gold coins. Anything to put food in our mouths really. While we were out, we ran into Little Ashley, one of the older generation witches. While not overly powerful, and probably as talented and as old as Red, she has a lack of confidence in her own abilities. We tried to get her to call some food to us, but instead she attracted the attention of hunters. A fight broke out and through a series of unexplainable events (that in no way reflected any shortcoming of my own) led us to be captured by the hunters.

I woke up wrapped in a bed, my sister taking care of me apparently. She told me that we had stumbled upon an opportunity to help the people of this land, put a dent in the King's operations, and not affect our overall mission in Nottingham. I sure hope what my sister sees here is correct, for I have yet to see it. Then again, I've yet to talk to anyone yet. Let's see what's going on here.

Malik Ishtar,

Assassin.

…

My ribs were not too happy with me climbing out of my bed. I must have bruised a few of them falling on top of Little Ashley yesterday. I wonder how she felt when I crashed down on top of her. Of course, my balls hurt worse than my chest did. That was because I jumped down a frozen branch and landed right on top of them. Next thing I knew, I was lying on top of Little Ashley. According to what Laila said, I had groped her before she passed out. Well, I think I was too busy groping myself in pain to feel her up, but if she believes I did, who am I to say what I did or didn't do?

I looked around my tent. It was a nice sized tent. They definitely put me in something bigger than we had resources for back when we lived in the woods. It was cold though. I could feel that winter air brushing right through the cracks in the ground. I was unhappy when I pulled the sheets away from me. I found out that I was half-naked, the other half wrapped up in a light layer of bandages. The cold bitter air stung my skin on contact, forcing me to throw the sheets around my body as I dragged myself out of bed. I looked around for my Assassin robes, and found them folded in a little stack on a nightstand.

I took a few minutes to prepare my robes, one layer at a time. My weapons were gone though. They even took my hidden blade. Great…no chance I'll get to kill someone without some type of obvious choking maneuver then. Oh well.

I exited the tent to see Laila waiting for me. She was leaning pretty heavily on her cane, glaring at me. "Follow me, brother." She said as she turned and limped towards a building made out of straw…well, more like a triangular tent made out of straw. It was weird looking.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" I looked around the camp. I could see a lot of women and children gathering around various fires, all wearing torn and ragged clothing. They looked thinner than anyone I'd seen while I had been here. When they saw me walking with my sister, the younger kids faced lit up with some sort of spark of hope. The adults looked more wary of me, and I can't blame them. I do not know if they know who I am or what I do. What they probably knew was that I was a fighter armed to the teeth that was brought back to camp alive. If my sister even shared a suggestion of what we did, the adults would be even more afraid of us.

Laila looked back at me for a second. "I'll let Harry Pig tell you." She paused by the opening of the straw tent thingy. "Go on inside, brother."

"Where's Locksley?" I looked around for him.

"Still sleeping it off. You're the first person awake other than me and Ashley." She nodded me to walk into the tent. "Just go in and talk to Harry. You'll understand soon enough."

I looked over to her as I walked up to the straw tent. "It's not like you to hold information from me."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It would take me too long to say what needs to be said, and he's going to say it anyway. Waste of words, obviously." She grabbed me by my arm and shoved me into the tent.

I stumbled for a few seconds before I regained my balance. The inside of the straw tent was huge, and there was even a small metal cylinder that was glowing with bright red pieces of charcoal. The tent felt very warm, warm enough that I was beginning to think that I might start sweating. Why were the people outside freezing when they could be in here warm?

Sitting down with his legs crossed was a shorter fat man wearing a tan vest. He looked up at me like he was trying to read my mind. Sitting next to him was Little Ashley, who looked more or less confused about what was going on. She had a bruise on her face, but I'm guessing that was from me falling down and slamming her to the ground. Honestly, I'm surprised one of my many pointy weapons didn't end up killing her.

I nodded to Little Ashley, and then turned my attention to the short Pig sitting down. I walked over to him, trying my best to keep my very flammable robes away from the cylinder bowl filled with glowing charcoal. "I hear you have a problem with Wolfe?"

Harry Pig nodded, pushing himself up. When he stood up, he came up to my chest on size. "Yeah, I do." He nodded at me and then to Ashley to follow him. "Come, I want to show you something."

He slipped on some boots and grabbed a thick coat. I followed him outside, Ashley following behind me. "You see where we are, right?" I looked around. I already knew we were in the woods, and that there were enough tents here to qualify for an entire village. There were a lot of women and children running around, but I didn't see many men. The men I did see, I was pretty sure I saw earlier today when they almost killed us. That wasn't a lot in proportion to all the women and children.

"We're in the woods." I said to him.

He nodded. "Not just any woods, the Enchanted Woods. Wolfe and his gang won't come in here."

"Why not?" Little Ashley asked him.

"Afraid of the curse." Harry Pig stated. "We are too, but we have no choice but live in here."

"What curse?" When I asked the question, Harry Pig looked around the woods like he was uncertain how much he should say.

He leaned closer, whispering, "They say faeries live in these woods. That evil witches will bewitch any who walk alone in these woods and do God's knows what to them."

"Ok." I looked over at Little Ashley. "What do you guys do to get this type of hype?"

She shrugged, looking at me. "Well, you saw what we did with a ship trying to steal us. We can do a lot of damage if we wished it. It's isolated incidents of people with Power not knowing what to do with it that causes our name to go to dark places. Those of us who use it for selfless purposes, or as little as possible, get overlooked. It's the ones that cause accidents or purposely uses it for selfish purposes that give us our name."

I looked back at Harry Pig. "So, why are we here then?"

He nodded. "It all started a few months ago." He started walking towards the campfire and I followed him. Little Ashley stayed beside me, looking around for any signs of something that might go wrong. Maybe she was looking for a faerie, whatever that was. I've never heard of one before. "I was living in my village, called Strawsville. We're a farming community that grows and sells straw. Well, Wolfe and a legion of knights come by and say that our village was being given over to King John so that they could begin transport of straw to the front lines so that the horses had food to eat. I suggested he perhaps get a discount and buy some of the straw and hay to send to the horses. That way, the horses get regular piles of hay and straw to eat, and my village gets a nice economic boom to go with it."

I nodded to Pig. "And he didn't like the idea."

Pig nodded after a second to think about it. "Yeah. The King apparently doesn't like to spend money when he doesn't have to. So, Wolfe marched into the town, chained up all the men and made them get to work. When we tried to fight them back, Wolfe's men gathered me, all the women, and all the children. He was going to execute us all so that the men in the village knew the consequence of fighting back."

"How'd you get away?" Little Ashley asked.

He shook his head. "That's the thing: we don't remember. First we were kneeling over a death pit, and the next we woke up in these woods." He waved his hands around to the woods surrounding us. "It was weird, but we thought for certain that we were all dead and that this was purgatory or something. We made ourselves a small camp in the woods while we looked for some explanation of what was going on. One of the children found the town a couple days later just on the outskirts of the woods. It was our town, no doubt, and the men were all working in the field for the knights. So, we were still alive, at least." He shook his head. "So, I went to my brother's lumber mill. The town was small and dedicated to cutting and selling lumber. I found out that he too had been kicked out of his lumber mill for the same reasons. So, the two of us decided to run to our third brother, Bricks. We got there right before Wolfe and his men did. It wasn't easy for any of us. Wolfe went right to war, but since we got to Bricks first, we were able to barricade his town's wall. Wolfe has committed war against him, trying to do whatever he can to fight back. It's been two weeks now, and Bricks is fighting with everything he has to get rid of Wolfe. We're trying to help, but we don't have a lot of men here, and I refuse to let the children and women fight this battle for us."

I nodded. "Ok, I think I understand now. So…Bricks is fighting against Wolfe and his army?"

Harry nodded. "Yup, and our men are too stretched thin to keep up the fight. They're just lumberjacks; not soldiers."

I thought of Lockley's men, my sister, Little Ashley, and myself. "You may not have soldiers, but you have just gained an army." Not the biggest army, but an army nonetheless. I could spend a couple days teaching these men how to fight, and with Locksley's help, we'd take the town back. I wanted to keep this mission to England as peaceful as possible, but there are just sometimes that you need to fight for what was right. This was that time. Wolfe had gone too far. It was time I killed a Templar. I should have killed him for stealing women, but now I would have to kill him for taking men against their will and forcing them to work for their government.

"What army?" Ashley looked up at me. "You're the only one not in medical care."

I hadn't thought of that. I looked over at my sister, who was now sitting next to one of the fires, talking to some women about something. They looked like they were having a nice chat. Some children were talking to her as well, and they looked excited.

I looked over at Ashley. "They have me…and they have you."

"Me?" She pointed to herself. "What can I do?"

I smirked at her comment. "You said it yourself. When you put your mind to it, people with your Power can do amazing things." I turned towards her. "You're the only one here. Not Red, not Mother Goose. You. And you want to help, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but…" She paused and looked around. "I'm not as strong as Red is. Maybe more experienced, but I lack that will she has."

"And we will fix that." I replied to her. I turned to look at Harry. "I want you to gather whatever men you have that will volunteer for battle. Tell them to meet me by my tent in ten minutes or so."

He nodded. "Aye, I will." I watched as Harry quickly waddled off. He looked funny when he ran.

I looked back at Ashley. "You don't have to fight, if you don't want to."

She stood there for a few seconds. She looked around the camp, looking at everyone. "It was your plan to attack the ship carrying us to France, wasn't it?"

I shook my head. "No. It was Mother Bo-Peep's. She told me to help you, so I decided to help you while helping myself. And my plan went horribly wrong. I should have gone there myself, and that was the plan. I was held back by unforeseen circumstances, and because of it, a lot of bad stuff happened."

Ashley nodded. "It was my plan to fly us into the harbor. I could have aimed my wind spell to the side of the harbor, out in the mud or something, but it was my fault we crashed into the harbor." She shook her head. "It's my fault all those people are dead." I could see tears forming in her eyes.

"The only person at fault is Wolfe. He put you in the situation that ended up with needing us to free you. It was because of him that you were on that ship to begin with. And if we're comparing mistakes, I put everyone at risk for my actions that led to the purge. The accidents that led to Mother Bo-Peep dying…to everyone in our part of town dying." I started to think about my past mistakes. And if I didn't watch it, I might have another mistake that would follow this battle, this war. If I did something wrong, it would mean the end of these people. Killing Wolfe might not be enough. King John would just send more troops. Could I do anything at all to resolve this peacefully?

I looked over at Laila. She looked happy to sit there, chatting with everyone. What would she do? Oh…I know what she would do. She'd go blow up the knights, kill the leader, and then go on a shopping spree. Probably loot their corpses too. Not going to lie, I do it too. Might as well, they don't need the money anymore. Not to mention I get nice drugs from time to time that make my wounds heal up nicely. Thank the coven living underneath the castle. I'm sure they came up with the medicine that made that possible.

I looked over at Ashley again. "So, what are you going to do?"

She looked confused for a second, as if she didn't quite understand what I asked. "What?"

"What are you going to do? Are you going to help me fight the knights, or are you going to stay here? I won't judge you for it, but I could use the help." I waved my hand across the camp. "They could use the help. Their homes were taken from them. Their families have been torn apart by Wolfe, the man that tried to take you away from yours. He wanted to own you, sell you like property. And he's doing the same here. Owning people and using them as he sees fit. I will not stand for it. I will kill him this time."

She looked me in the eye for a few seconds, rubbing her arm tentatively. "So, I might be able to help them, like you helped me?"

I nodded. "That's what we're going to do. Help them."

That caused her to smile a little. "I don't know what I can do to help, but…you will have it."

That's when I started to think of a plan. It wasn't just me anymore, now I had Ashley here to help me. It sucked that I couldn't rely on my sister, or even Locksley to help me, but it was something at least. Allah, I wished Red was here, or Mother Goose. This thing would be over before it started.

I nodded my thanks to Ashley. "Thank you, Little Ashley." I looked around the camp. I didn't know what we could do to help, or where we should start, but I would think of something. There were two towns currently being held by Wolfe's men, and one town currently under siege. I think I knew where to start, but I had to be sure of something first. "Follow me." I said to Ashley as I walked over to my tent. I hurried over to the tent, hoping to see some amount of people waiting for me.

My tent had perhaps six men, one of which was that leader I tried to kill yesterday. When he saw me, he nodded his head in appreciation. "I hear you're going to help us." He said to me. "I'm Phatty Pig. Just call me Woody." He stuck out his hand for a handshake. I was surprised by just how different he was from his shorter, stockier brother.

I took his head and shook it. "Malik Ishtar, I'm an Assassin."

"Assassin, huh?" He scratched his head. "Is that like some sort of knight or something? You look more like a priest with those robes."

I snickered. "You'd think, but I'm better than a knight. I'm a trained warrior with no equal."

"Think you can take me then?" He questioned as he flexed his muscular arms. "I'm a lumberjack…I lift trees on a daily basis. I'm tough." He stepped up to me, a smile growing as he did so. "Want to have a match to see who's better?"

I stepped up to him. "Anytime, anyplace."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Why do guys do stuff like this?"

I looked back at her. "I'm seeing if he can be useful to this fight."

"And I'm doing the same to you." Phatty replied. He looked back at his smaller brother. "And you thought he was just some god before you fought him yourself?"

Harry crossed his arms. "I'm no fighter; I'm a farmer. Besides, Phatty, you should have seen all the weapons he had on him. The man's no joke."

"I'll be the judge of that." Phatty looked back at me. "Should we establish any rules?"

I shrugged. "No between the belt?"

He smirked. "I like that. Ready?"

I started scanning Phatty. The man was a tank. He was not what his name led me to believe about him. I assumed his name was Fatty, but I'm guessing that was not true. I could see the muscles pushing against his tunic as he began pumping himself up. Logically, he was just as tall as I was, but I had no real muscle definition. But standing in front of him, he just seemed so much larger than me, like I was some insignificant worm he was ready to step on. I didn't really need all those muscles though; I had speed. And I had training that was not limited to just swords and throwing knives. Or poison, or my newfound skills with a crossbow. No, I had arms too. And I knew how to use them.

"Ready." I replied. And as soon as I said it, I felt an impact on my face. My lights went out immediately. I hit the ground pretty roughly, but my reflexes were quickly catching up to me. As soon as I hit, I threw my legs back and rolled over my shoulder onto my knees.

I looked up at Phatty. He stood there with a single fist stretched out. I could see sweat evaporating off his arm like a light steam. It was pretty impressive. I hadn't even gotten myself truly ready, but Phatty was more than prepared to start. "Not looking so good yet." He replied to me as he brought both his fists up to protect himself. "Still feel like fighting?"

I smirked I pushed myself up. I tilted my head away and spat out the blood collecting in my mouth. "I'm just warming up."

"I'm the one warming up." He replied.

"Oh my gods, just kiss already!" Laila screamed from behind me. I turned to see her standing next to Ashley. "If you don't, I will." She eyes Phatty with a smile.

That broke Phatty's attention too. "What?" He looked at her and winked. "Why, hello, Miss…" He took his fists down and walked over to her. He took her hand, addressing her with his eyes.

She looked confused for a second before saying, "I'm Laila."

"Miss Laila, I knew that the second you fell from the heavens into the Enchanted Woods that our meeting was destined." He lifted her hand up, kissing it.

She frowned and almost gagged at the gesture, looking over at me for a second. "Brother…are you going to kick his ass or not?"

Phatty looked away from Laila over to me. "I will gladly kick his ass for you, but I'm not your brother. I plan to be your lover." He replied to Laila as he turned to face me. "I will now beat you to the ground to prove my love for the fair maiden."

"What?" was all I had time to say before Phatty dashed up to me, throwing a fist right into my gut. I had time to remember how fast he moved, and I was able to jump out of the way this time. I took a second to activate my Sight. I scanned his body for any weaknesses, but I didn't see any outright. His arms weren't the only powerhouse on his body. His legs were strong too, and so was his torso and back. He didn't have a weak spot on him.

I tried my best to kick his knee out while I had his back to me. My kick managed to throw him off balance and he fell to a knee. I took that time to put my arm around his neck for a choke hold. Next thing I knew, Phatty was leaning forward, grabbing onto my shoulder, and throwing me off his neck. He pulled me straight down, slamming me right in front of him. Then I felt another slam on my face. Then another. By now, I was so lost that I didn't know how I ended up in front of him, my hand clutching his neck. He was lying down, I was on top of him, and he was winded. By the time I came back to my senses, I had taken my hand off his neck, nodding an apology to him.

"Sorry." I said to him, stepping away.

Phatty looked at me, then smiled. He broke out into a laugh. "Now, that was quite the fight." He nodded to me as he pushed himself back onto his feet. He looked over to Harry, nodding his approval. "I like this guy. He's scraggly, but he's got some moves on him. He's a true fighter."

I looked at my shaking hand. What did I even do? I couldn't remember whatever happened. All I did know was that my face hurt, a lot. I looked over at Laila. She looked just as confused as I felt. And Ashley looked mortified. I would have to ask them what happened later. I really needed to eat something now. And we had a war to plan. I would address my plan of action after lunch. Overall, I wasn't too displeased with Phatty. He was a remarkable warrior, enough to knock me senseless. Literally.

Cearbhail:

Ok, war is approaching.