Chapter Three
"Shingo?"
Sie Kensou looked around the massive crop field that they were passing through. Shingo seemed to have disappeared.
"Shingo?"
Kensou called a little louder this time, glancing around himself with wide eyes. He'd never been this way to the village of Bree before. Only Shingo knew the way.
Suddenly, Shingo appeared from around the small pathway dividing two sets of crops. "I'm over here, Kensou. What's the matter?"
Kensou breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I'd lost you."
"What are you talking about?" asked Shingo, frowning.
"Oh. Just something Miss Kagura said," Kensou answered a little sheepishly as he looked at the ground in front of him. "She said to me 'Don't you lose him, Sie Kensou.'," he looked up and at Shingo. "And I don't mean to, Shingo."
Shingo let out a small laugh. "Kensou! We're barely out of the forest," he smiled warmly and added "What could possibly happen?"
Kensou returned the smile and opened his mouth to say something when he was suddenly bowled over by a fleeing figure, who tumbled over Kensou and landed in a heap on the floor. As Shingo went to help his friend up, he too was knocked over by another person. Looking up, he saw the face of a very familiar Hobbit grinning down at him.
"Heya, Shingo!" Chris looked over at his comrade. "Hey, Bao! It's Shingo Yabuki!"
"Hi, Shingo!" Bao, another Hobbit, giggled before being thrown to the ground by Kensou, when was immediately there at Shingo's side to pull Chris away from his friend. "Come on, Shingo. Let's go."
They were just about to walk off when they were stopped by Chris and Bao handing them some vegetables.
"What's the meaning of this?" Shingo looked confused.
Kensou looked at the pile of vegetables in his arms and then looked back at the two other young fighters with a look of realization dawning on his face. "You've been stealing from the village's crop fields!"
No sooner had Kensou spoken, did all four boys hear the barking of dogs, followed by a bellowing voice.
"You get back here, you little thieves!! You know what's gonna happen when I catch up with you??"
"Run!" shouted Chris and Bao at the same time as they cut through another field of crops.
Shingo and Kensou exchanced panicked glances, their hands full of stolen vegetables, before they followed suit, running after Chris and Bao as fast as they could.
"I don't know why that guy's so upset," panted Chris as he ran as fast as he could alongside Bao, Shingo and Kensou right behind them. "It's only a couple of carrots."
"And some cabbages and tomatoes," Bao pipped up. "And those sacks of potatoes last week. Oh, and those mushrooms the week before-"
"Yes, Bao," Chris cut in hastily. "But my point is that guy is seriously overreacting!"
Suddenly, the land cut out in the form of a steep hill and Chris skidded to a halt at the very last moment, putting his arm out to stop Bao from falling over the edge of it. Luckily, they stopped just in time. But before either of them could let out a sigh of relief, Shingo and Kensou ran into them, sending all four of them tumbling uncontrollably down the hill and landing in a heap on the bottom of it.
There was silence for a long moment as none of them moved from their akward positions on the ground. Then, Bao was the first to break the silence.
"Well, that was close."
Kensou was up in a flash, glaring at the two other boys. "Trust you two to land us all in a predicament like that!"
Chris looked at Kensou and grinned as he shrugged. "What? It was just a detour, Kensou. A shortcut, so to speak."
"Shortcut?" growled Kensou. "To what?"
"To more mushrooms!" Bao lept up excitedly as he spotted some wild mushrooms growing along the path. He grabbed a small sack and began to pluck them, Chris and Kensou forgetting about everything else as they went to help.
Shingo stood up, brushing himself off and shaking his head at his friends' behaviour. He was just about to comment when a strange whispering seemed to sound around him. He stopped, looking cautiously around, trying to trace the source of the sound over the cheerful comments of his friends over the fresh mushrooms groing wild along the path.
"I, er. I think we should get off the road, guys." Shingo's voice was barely above a whisper and he turned around to see the three Hobbits still busy with filling the small bag with mushrooms and the vegetables which they had dropped earlier on.
Suddenly a shrill shrieking sound filled the area ahead of them and Shingo reckoned he could see the pathway ahead begin to darken as an evil aura began to fill the space ahead, growing stronger and stronger.
"Get off the road!" yelled Shingo, pushing Chris, Bao and Kensou to the side of the pathway and under the huge roots of a nearby tree and Shingo noticed that everything in the woodlands had suddenly gone suprisingly quiet. Even the birds had stopped singing. All he could hear was the sound of an approaching horse and he gestured at his three friends to keep quiet as they all huddled beneath the giant root of the tree just off the pathway.
In the near silence, they could hear the horse stop just next to them on the pathway, it's rider dismounting with a heavy thud, and through a slight arch between the tree root and the ground, Shingo could see armoured boots and long black shrouds.
Just then, a pair of gauntletted hands gripped the root in which the boys were sheltering under and they could all sense an evil presence scouting for something. A large spider crawled over Bao's shoulder but Chris' gaze made him hold back on doing anything.
As all of this was happening, a weird sensation was beginning to overcome Shingo. His eyelids seemed to grow suddenly very heavy and, without knowing what he was doing, he began to take the ring out of his pocket, drawing it towards his finger.
The peircing neigh of the cloaked horseman's steed snapped Kensou's attention to his far right and his eyes opened wide when he saw Shingo about to slip the ring onto his finger. In a flash, he reached over past Bao and pulled Shingo's hand away from the ring, whilst at the same time, Chris threw the small sack of vegetables over in another direction of the woods. The sound of the sack falling onto the vegetation alerted the mysterious rider and with a shrill sound that sent shivers down the boys' spines, it rode off in that direction.
As soon as they felt that the strange rider had gone, the four boys tore off deeper into the woodlands.
"What the heck was that??" Chris asked, trying to keep his voice low as he looked at Shingo and Kensou.
The four boys stopped running, Chris and Bao looking expectantly at Kensou and Shingo. Kensou shook his head in a silent answer whilst Shingo continued to stare at the gold ring in his palm.
Later, as night began to fall, the four young Hobbits had nearly reached the large river at the edge of the woods. The shrill and haunting sounds of the mysterious rider and his steed still ecchoed occasionally throughout the area, making all of them uneasy and cautious wherever they went. They ran as silently as they could, sometimes hiding behind the thick bases of the trees and peering out to see if their path was clear of any danger.
"See anything?" asked Kensou as Shingo ran ahead, creeping around a tree to see where the rider had gone.
"Nothing." Shingo answered, a puzzled look upon his face. He could have sworn he had seen a shadow just moments before.
Standing next to Kensou, Chris and Bao exchanged glances before Chris finally spoke up. "Look, guys. What exactly is going on here?"
"That black rider was looking for something," Bao glanced at Shingo. "Or someone," he walked over to Shingo, Kensou and Chris close behind him. "Right?"
Shingo turned to look at Bao, a slightly hunted look in his eyes.
"Get down!" Chris suddenly whispered harshly and all of them dived for the bushes as the black rider appeared on his steed, highlighted by the faint moonlight at the top of the hill in front of them for a brief moment, before disappearing down the other side of it.
"I have to leave here," Shingo whipsered to Bao and Chris. "Kensou and I must get to Bree."
Chris looked at Shingo and the two held each other's gazes for a brief moment before Chris nodded. "There's a ferry nearby on the riverside. Follow me."
He got up and darted across the woodlands, making for the river, Kensou, Shingo and Bao close behind him. They didn't get far before the dark rider seemed to appear out of nowhere and cut in front of Shingo, the black steed rearing up and letting out a hellish sound.
"Run!" shouted Bao, back tracking and hading in another direction, grabbing Shingo's hand and pulling him along. "This way! Follow me!"
The dark rider seemed confused at first - the boys had split into groups of two - but then he sensed the presence of the Orochi Ring and guided his stallion in the direction of Shingo and Bao.
Shingo ran as fast as he could, trying to seek a clear path ahead of him as he followed Bao to the riverside. He could hear the thundering of the horse's hooves approaching from behind him and pushed himself to run even faster. As he and Bao cleared the edge of the woodlands, they could see Chris and Kensou running a few yards ahead of them, appearing from the other side of the woodlands. 'At least they're ok." Shingo thought to himself.
The four Hobbits climbed over the wooden fence that marked the boundary of the woods, and ahead of them, they could see the wooden jetty that lead to the small boat that was the ferry.
"Undo the rope, Kensou!" Chris shouted as he and Kensou reached the boat first. Kensou hastily dived at the thick rope which was securing the boat to the jetty, his fingers working fast to try and untie the large knot.
Bao was the third to jump onto the small boat. He spun around just in time to see Shingo stumble and fall on the ground. "Hurry, Shingo!" he yelled. Shingo scrambled to his feet, his heart racing like nothing he had ever felt before. As he resumed his sprint towards the boat, he stole a glance over his shoulder just in time to see the dark rider's horse leap over the fence, clearing it completely. The sight of it made fresh panic surge from within him as he saw that the distance between himself and the rider was greatly decreasing.
"Come on, Shingo!" shouted Kensou, who had finally managed to release the boat from the jetty. "Jump!!"
Shingo could see the boat starting to gradually drift away from the jetty and forced his protesting legs to run faster as his feet hit the wood of the jetty. The whinny of the horse was laouder than before now and at the last moment, Shingo leapt from the edge of the jetty and landed on the boat where Kensou was there to catch hold of him, stopping him from falling in the water.
The dark rider's stallion jolted to a halt at the last minute, avoiding a plunge into the river and all four of the young Hobbits on the boat could hear the hellish scream of frustration that came from under the black hood which covered his face in shadows. Then, the rider turned his horse and rode off along the bankside.
"How far to the nearest crossing?" Shingo's voice was shaking.
"20 miles to the Brandywine Bridge." Kensou's eyes were still wide as he remained gazing in the direction that the dark rider was leaving.
"Look!" Bao gasped as he pointed in the same direction as Kensou's gaze. The dark rider continued to ride on, and was soon joined by two others, dressed in the same fashion and all riding black stallions.
"Shingo?"
Sie Kensou looked around the massive crop field that they were passing through. Shingo seemed to have disappeared.
"Shingo?"
Kensou called a little louder this time, glancing around himself with wide eyes. He'd never been this way to the village of Bree before. Only Shingo knew the way.
Suddenly, Shingo appeared from around the small pathway dividing two sets of crops. "I'm over here, Kensou. What's the matter?"
Kensou breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I'd lost you."
"What are you talking about?" asked Shingo, frowning.
"Oh. Just something Miss Kagura said," Kensou answered a little sheepishly as he looked at the ground in front of him. "She said to me 'Don't you lose him, Sie Kensou.'," he looked up and at Shingo. "And I don't mean to, Shingo."
Shingo let out a small laugh. "Kensou! We're barely out of the forest," he smiled warmly and added "What could possibly happen?"
Kensou returned the smile and opened his mouth to say something when he was suddenly bowled over by a fleeing figure, who tumbled over Kensou and landed in a heap on the floor. As Shingo went to help his friend up, he too was knocked over by another person. Looking up, he saw the face of a very familiar Hobbit grinning down at him.
"Heya, Shingo!" Chris looked over at his comrade. "Hey, Bao! It's Shingo Yabuki!"
"Hi, Shingo!" Bao, another Hobbit, giggled before being thrown to the ground by Kensou, when was immediately there at Shingo's side to pull Chris away from his friend. "Come on, Shingo. Let's go."
They were just about to walk off when they were stopped by Chris and Bao handing them some vegetables.
"What's the meaning of this?" Shingo looked confused.
Kensou looked at the pile of vegetables in his arms and then looked back at the two other young fighters with a look of realization dawning on his face. "You've been stealing from the village's crop fields!"
No sooner had Kensou spoken, did all four boys hear the barking of dogs, followed by a bellowing voice.
"You get back here, you little thieves!! You know what's gonna happen when I catch up with you??"
"Run!" shouted Chris and Bao at the same time as they cut through another field of crops.
Shingo and Kensou exchanced panicked glances, their hands full of stolen vegetables, before they followed suit, running after Chris and Bao as fast as they could.
"I don't know why that guy's so upset," panted Chris as he ran as fast as he could alongside Bao, Shingo and Kensou right behind them. "It's only a couple of carrots."
"And some cabbages and tomatoes," Bao pipped up. "And those sacks of potatoes last week. Oh, and those mushrooms the week before-"
"Yes, Bao," Chris cut in hastily. "But my point is that guy is seriously overreacting!"
Suddenly, the land cut out in the form of a steep hill and Chris skidded to a halt at the very last moment, putting his arm out to stop Bao from falling over the edge of it. Luckily, they stopped just in time. But before either of them could let out a sigh of relief, Shingo and Kensou ran into them, sending all four of them tumbling uncontrollably down the hill and landing in a heap on the bottom of it.
There was silence for a long moment as none of them moved from their akward positions on the ground. Then, Bao was the first to break the silence.
"Well, that was close."
Kensou was up in a flash, glaring at the two other boys. "Trust you two to land us all in a predicament like that!"
Chris looked at Kensou and grinned as he shrugged. "What? It was just a detour, Kensou. A shortcut, so to speak."
"Shortcut?" growled Kensou. "To what?"
"To more mushrooms!" Bao lept up excitedly as he spotted some wild mushrooms growing along the path. He grabbed a small sack and began to pluck them, Chris and Kensou forgetting about everything else as they went to help.
Shingo stood up, brushing himself off and shaking his head at his friends' behaviour. He was just about to comment when a strange whispering seemed to sound around him. He stopped, looking cautiously around, trying to trace the source of the sound over the cheerful comments of his friends over the fresh mushrooms groing wild along the path.
"I, er. I think we should get off the road, guys." Shingo's voice was barely above a whisper and he turned around to see the three Hobbits still busy with filling the small bag with mushrooms and the vegetables which they had dropped earlier on.
Suddenly a shrill shrieking sound filled the area ahead of them and Shingo reckoned he could see the pathway ahead begin to darken as an evil aura began to fill the space ahead, growing stronger and stronger.
"Get off the road!" yelled Shingo, pushing Chris, Bao and Kensou to the side of the pathway and under the huge roots of a nearby tree and Shingo noticed that everything in the woodlands had suddenly gone suprisingly quiet. Even the birds had stopped singing. All he could hear was the sound of an approaching horse and he gestured at his three friends to keep quiet as they all huddled beneath the giant root of the tree just off the pathway.
In the near silence, they could hear the horse stop just next to them on the pathway, it's rider dismounting with a heavy thud, and through a slight arch between the tree root and the ground, Shingo could see armoured boots and long black shrouds.
Just then, a pair of gauntletted hands gripped the root in which the boys were sheltering under and they could all sense an evil presence scouting for something. A large spider crawled over Bao's shoulder but Chris' gaze made him hold back on doing anything.
As all of this was happening, a weird sensation was beginning to overcome Shingo. His eyelids seemed to grow suddenly very heavy and, without knowing what he was doing, he began to take the ring out of his pocket, drawing it towards his finger.
The peircing neigh of the cloaked horseman's steed snapped Kensou's attention to his far right and his eyes opened wide when he saw Shingo about to slip the ring onto his finger. In a flash, he reached over past Bao and pulled Shingo's hand away from the ring, whilst at the same time, Chris threw the small sack of vegetables over in another direction of the woods. The sound of the sack falling onto the vegetation alerted the mysterious rider and with a shrill sound that sent shivers down the boys' spines, it rode off in that direction.
As soon as they felt that the strange rider had gone, the four boys tore off deeper into the woodlands.
"What the heck was that??" Chris asked, trying to keep his voice low as he looked at Shingo and Kensou.
The four boys stopped running, Chris and Bao looking expectantly at Kensou and Shingo. Kensou shook his head in a silent answer whilst Shingo continued to stare at the gold ring in his palm.
Later, as night began to fall, the four young Hobbits had nearly reached the large river at the edge of the woods. The shrill and haunting sounds of the mysterious rider and his steed still ecchoed occasionally throughout the area, making all of them uneasy and cautious wherever they went. They ran as silently as they could, sometimes hiding behind the thick bases of the trees and peering out to see if their path was clear of any danger.
"See anything?" asked Kensou as Shingo ran ahead, creeping around a tree to see where the rider had gone.
"Nothing." Shingo answered, a puzzled look upon his face. He could have sworn he had seen a shadow just moments before.
Standing next to Kensou, Chris and Bao exchanged glances before Chris finally spoke up. "Look, guys. What exactly is going on here?"
"That black rider was looking for something," Bao glanced at Shingo. "Or someone," he walked over to Shingo, Kensou and Chris close behind him. "Right?"
Shingo turned to look at Bao, a slightly hunted look in his eyes.
"Get down!" Chris suddenly whispered harshly and all of them dived for the bushes as the black rider appeared on his steed, highlighted by the faint moonlight at the top of the hill in front of them for a brief moment, before disappearing down the other side of it.
"I have to leave here," Shingo whipsered to Bao and Chris. "Kensou and I must get to Bree."
Chris looked at Shingo and the two held each other's gazes for a brief moment before Chris nodded. "There's a ferry nearby on the riverside. Follow me."
He got up and darted across the woodlands, making for the river, Kensou, Shingo and Bao close behind him. They didn't get far before the dark rider seemed to appear out of nowhere and cut in front of Shingo, the black steed rearing up and letting out a hellish sound.
"Run!" shouted Bao, back tracking and hading in another direction, grabbing Shingo's hand and pulling him along. "This way! Follow me!"
The dark rider seemed confused at first - the boys had split into groups of two - but then he sensed the presence of the Orochi Ring and guided his stallion in the direction of Shingo and Bao.
Shingo ran as fast as he could, trying to seek a clear path ahead of him as he followed Bao to the riverside. He could hear the thundering of the horse's hooves approaching from behind him and pushed himself to run even faster. As he and Bao cleared the edge of the woodlands, they could see Chris and Kensou running a few yards ahead of them, appearing from the other side of the woodlands. 'At least they're ok." Shingo thought to himself.
The four Hobbits climbed over the wooden fence that marked the boundary of the woods, and ahead of them, they could see the wooden jetty that lead to the small boat that was the ferry.
"Undo the rope, Kensou!" Chris shouted as he and Kensou reached the boat first. Kensou hastily dived at the thick rope which was securing the boat to the jetty, his fingers working fast to try and untie the large knot.
Bao was the third to jump onto the small boat. He spun around just in time to see Shingo stumble and fall on the ground. "Hurry, Shingo!" he yelled. Shingo scrambled to his feet, his heart racing like nothing he had ever felt before. As he resumed his sprint towards the boat, he stole a glance over his shoulder just in time to see the dark rider's horse leap over the fence, clearing it completely. The sight of it made fresh panic surge from within him as he saw that the distance between himself and the rider was greatly decreasing.
"Come on, Shingo!" shouted Kensou, who had finally managed to release the boat from the jetty. "Jump!!"
Shingo could see the boat starting to gradually drift away from the jetty and forced his protesting legs to run faster as his feet hit the wood of the jetty. The whinny of the horse was laouder than before now and at the last moment, Shingo leapt from the edge of the jetty and landed on the boat where Kensou was there to catch hold of him, stopping him from falling in the water.
The dark rider's stallion jolted to a halt at the last minute, avoiding a plunge into the river and all four of the young Hobbits on the boat could hear the hellish scream of frustration that came from under the black hood which covered his face in shadows. Then, the rider turned his horse and rode off along the bankside.
"How far to the nearest crossing?" Shingo's voice was shaking.
"20 miles to the Brandywine Bridge." Kensou's eyes were still wide as he remained gazing in the direction that the dark rider was leaving.
"Look!" Bao gasped as he pointed in the same direction as Kensou's gaze. The dark rider continued to ride on, and was soon joined by two others, dressed in the same fashion and all riding black stallions.