Chapter 8
The next two days passed without much excitement. This being the case, one must mention that we took two days to cover ground that should have only taken us half a day. This being the case, Adelio made a few sarcastic remarks about how slow our progress was. Needless to say I was less then amused.
On the morning of the third day we awoke at roughly the same time. I prepared breakfast again and we set off on yet another long, dull walk through the woods. The weather showed no signs of an eventful day, but instead looked just as it had yesterday and the day before.
We were about an hour into our daily journey when I felt that something was amiss.
I stopped. I looked around.
"What is it? Osian asked. He looked around too, his hand slowly moving to the hilt of his sword, where it rested.
Adelio squinted his eyes in the direction of the road. "I don't see anything," he informed us.
"It was probably just my imagination," I replied. Never the less, I was unnerved. I pushed all thoughts out of my head with a little dose of logic, and continued to walk.
I should have trusted my instincts then; I should not have been as careless as I was. By the time I realized what was really going on, I risked the life of one of the people who was closest to my heart.
Our progress was much as it had been the days preceding it: slow. I managed to pass the time by thinking of new ways to solve my teacher's puzzle (namely, his code), but, alas, to no avail. We were in mid afternoon when I had the same feeling I had had earlier that morning.
My hand rushed to my bag as I stopped walking, and I knew then that I had been a fool.
Adelio knew something was wrong at that moment. "What is it?" he cried, "What is going on?"
"Band of ogres," I replied. "They have been following us all day. They are planning an attack soon. I don't know how many there are, but there are at least five of them, although I doubt there are more then 15."
"Great odds, don't you think?" Osian said sarcastically as he whipped his sword from his belt. I glanced at it briefly and saw it was one of the best swords I had ever seen. I prayed he knew how to use it.
"This is no time for sarcasm!" I almost screamed the words. "Here," I said, opening a small tin under his nose to reveal beeswax. We all took a portion and stuck it into our ears.
I have rarely used beeswax, but it is hard to describe what it is like to not be able to hear anything but your own voice. Even when you put your hands to your ears, sound passes through. This is something rare; it is almost as if the beeswax traps the sound. But enough of that:
We stood in a circle (or as close to a circle as three people can be expected to get) with our backs touching each other. We waited. And we waited. And we waited.
I knew that Adelio would not challenge my knowledge, no matter how long we waited. The attack was coming, no doubts could be held. But we simply did not know how long we must wait before they would attack. They always started off in the same pattern; an enticing voice asking us to draw near to them, to trust them in some way. As the beeswax prevented this, they would soon surround us and attack. But who knows when that attack would come?
We stood there for a good three-fourths of an hour, when the attack came. Luck was on our side, for we were only facing six Ogres (only!). I was correct; they had attacked us in a circle. How I wished I were not!
I quickly attacked the two nearest to me, sword in both hands. I risked a glance to see that Adelio and Osian were still fighting together, although Adelio seemed to be struggling. Osian was already facing three, as Adelio had trouble with one.
Block!
Lunge!
Perry!
Block!
Side Step!
Kick!
Retreat!
Block!
Lunge!
Twist!
Lunge!
Victory!!!
I ran to Osian, who had been cut on his waist and was loosing blood quickly. Adelio was the one fighting three Ogres now. I quickly took two of them.
Several minutes later we were down to two Ogres, and I had gained a minor scrape on my leg: not due to the Ogres but instead to an attack move I had used (successfully). The four other Ogres, none of who had been killed, had regained their strength and run off, no doubt to seek help from their band. Unfortunately for us, we were loosing the battle. Then something happened that made my blood run cold.
Adelio got hit. Hard.
His left arm was bleeding like who knows what, and he was in serious danger of loosing his life. The anger rose within me and I slashed back, knocking both Ogres into trees and into a state of unconsciousness. I took a few deep breaths to control my anger and ran over to Adelio.
He was in worse shape then I thought. His muscle had been cut and he had lost so much blood that it was out of the question to move him.
I stitched up his arm with some of my supplies, crying all the while. I knew that if I had been responsible, he would not have been hurt. After controlling the bleeding and making sure he was comfortable, I turned to Osian.
He had been standing there the entire time, not wanting to say a word, and knowing that nothing could be done to clear my conscience.
I glanced at his side. It had completely slipped my mind until that moment that he was there too, and hurting. One look told me that he was in worse shape then I thought he was.
"Sit down," I ordered.
He realized immediately what I was doing, and protested violently. "No!" he said. "It is not necessary. I can manage on my own."
"Are you usually this stubborn or do you just hate me?" I asked. He started to respond and I said "It was rhetorical. At any rate, it doesn't matter. If you don't let me help you, you could be in for some serious health issues."
Two minutes or so passes of this verbal thrust and parry before he finally sat down and let me examine him, mumbling to himself all the while.
He had done a great deal to control the bleeding, and he wasn't as helpless when it came to medicine as I had imagined. Still, I managed to help him in small ways. After I was done, I stood him up, stood on my tiptoes, and slapped him, openhanded, across his face.
The momentum made him stagger for a moment. "What was that for?!" he bellowed, his temper rising.
"That," I said, "was for not telling me anything!"
"Did I miss something?" he asked. "What, pray tell, did I not tell you?"
"That you are so good at fighting and medicine and," my voice trailed off.
"'Lot of good that will do me," he said, "when I am going to be leaving you."
"What?! You are leaving?"
"Well, you said if I slowed you down at all you would leave me."
"Don't be ridiculous! The circumstances have changed," I said.
"What? But you said,"
"I know, I know! But let's just say that your fighting techniques allowed you to stay on," I told him.
"Oh, well, uh, thank you!" He managed to stutter.
"No problem," I smiled.
"Well, what do you say we grab Adelio and get our of here before those Ogres come back?" He said.
"Uh, small problem." I interjected. "He can't be moved. He needs to stay flat on his back or he will rip the stitches and loose even more blood. And if he looses any more blood, he will die."
"Well what are we going to do?" Osian said. "We can't stay here, it would be suicide if we did."
"Perhaps I can be of service?" I voice uttered from the woods.
*Author's Note(s): I'm sorry!!!!!!!! I know it has taken me forever to update, but I have been hounded by evil teachers who give me tests every class and like to fail people! I know I know: no excuse. But at least I finally updated (gets evil eyes from audience)! Ok, so anyway, I know I left you at a cliffhanger, but hopefully I won't leave you there long (and if I can't write a full chapter, maybe a page or two just to get you off that cliff!). Let me know what you think! Please make my day and review this story! I would also like some criticism besides the short chapters and my spelling please! Or a suggestion or to would be nice (haha, like you are going to do it). Anyway, thanks for reading!*
The next two days passed without much excitement. This being the case, one must mention that we took two days to cover ground that should have only taken us half a day. This being the case, Adelio made a few sarcastic remarks about how slow our progress was. Needless to say I was less then amused.
On the morning of the third day we awoke at roughly the same time. I prepared breakfast again and we set off on yet another long, dull walk through the woods. The weather showed no signs of an eventful day, but instead looked just as it had yesterday and the day before.
We were about an hour into our daily journey when I felt that something was amiss.
I stopped. I looked around.
"What is it? Osian asked. He looked around too, his hand slowly moving to the hilt of his sword, where it rested.
Adelio squinted his eyes in the direction of the road. "I don't see anything," he informed us.
"It was probably just my imagination," I replied. Never the less, I was unnerved. I pushed all thoughts out of my head with a little dose of logic, and continued to walk.
I should have trusted my instincts then; I should not have been as careless as I was. By the time I realized what was really going on, I risked the life of one of the people who was closest to my heart.
Our progress was much as it had been the days preceding it: slow. I managed to pass the time by thinking of new ways to solve my teacher's puzzle (namely, his code), but, alas, to no avail. We were in mid afternoon when I had the same feeling I had had earlier that morning.
My hand rushed to my bag as I stopped walking, and I knew then that I had been a fool.
Adelio knew something was wrong at that moment. "What is it?" he cried, "What is going on?"
"Band of ogres," I replied. "They have been following us all day. They are planning an attack soon. I don't know how many there are, but there are at least five of them, although I doubt there are more then 15."
"Great odds, don't you think?" Osian said sarcastically as he whipped his sword from his belt. I glanced at it briefly and saw it was one of the best swords I had ever seen. I prayed he knew how to use it.
"This is no time for sarcasm!" I almost screamed the words. "Here," I said, opening a small tin under his nose to reveal beeswax. We all took a portion and stuck it into our ears.
I have rarely used beeswax, but it is hard to describe what it is like to not be able to hear anything but your own voice. Even when you put your hands to your ears, sound passes through. This is something rare; it is almost as if the beeswax traps the sound. But enough of that:
We stood in a circle (or as close to a circle as three people can be expected to get) with our backs touching each other. We waited. And we waited. And we waited.
I knew that Adelio would not challenge my knowledge, no matter how long we waited. The attack was coming, no doubts could be held. But we simply did not know how long we must wait before they would attack. They always started off in the same pattern; an enticing voice asking us to draw near to them, to trust them in some way. As the beeswax prevented this, they would soon surround us and attack. But who knows when that attack would come?
We stood there for a good three-fourths of an hour, when the attack came. Luck was on our side, for we were only facing six Ogres (only!). I was correct; they had attacked us in a circle. How I wished I were not!
I quickly attacked the two nearest to me, sword in both hands. I risked a glance to see that Adelio and Osian were still fighting together, although Adelio seemed to be struggling. Osian was already facing three, as Adelio had trouble with one.
Block!
Lunge!
Perry!
Block!
Side Step!
Kick!
Retreat!
Block!
Lunge!
Twist!
Lunge!
Victory!!!
I ran to Osian, who had been cut on his waist and was loosing blood quickly. Adelio was the one fighting three Ogres now. I quickly took two of them.
Several minutes later we were down to two Ogres, and I had gained a minor scrape on my leg: not due to the Ogres but instead to an attack move I had used (successfully). The four other Ogres, none of who had been killed, had regained their strength and run off, no doubt to seek help from their band. Unfortunately for us, we were loosing the battle. Then something happened that made my blood run cold.
Adelio got hit. Hard.
His left arm was bleeding like who knows what, and he was in serious danger of loosing his life. The anger rose within me and I slashed back, knocking both Ogres into trees and into a state of unconsciousness. I took a few deep breaths to control my anger and ran over to Adelio.
He was in worse shape then I thought. His muscle had been cut and he had lost so much blood that it was out of the question to move him.
I stitched up his arm with some of my supplies, crying all the while. I knew that if I had been responsible, he would not have been hurt. After controlling the bleeding and making sure he was comfortable, I turned to Osian.
He had been standing there the entire time, not wanting to say a word, and knowing that nothing could be done to clear my conscience.
I glanced at his side. It had completely slipped my mind until that moment that he was there too, and hurting. One look told me that he was in worse shape then I thought he was.
"Sit down," I ordered.
He realized immediately what I was doing, and protested violently. "No!" he said. "It is not necessary. I can manage on my own."
"Are you usually this stubborn or do you just hate me?" I asked. He started to respond and I said "It was rhetorical. At any rate, it doesn't matter. If you don't let me help you, you could be in for some serious health issues."
Two minutes or so passes of this verbal thrust and parry before he finally sat down and let me examine him, mumbling to himself all the while.
He had done a great deal to control the bleeding, and he wasn't as helpless when it came to medicine as I had imagined. Still, I managed to help him in small ways. After I was done, I stood him up, stood on my tiptoes, and slapped him, openhanded, across his face.
The momentum made him stagger for a moment. "What was that for?!" he bellowed, his temper rising.
"That," I said, "was for not telling me anything!"
"Did I miss something?" he asked. "What, pray tell, did I not tell you?"
"That you are so good at fighting and medicine and," my voice trailed off.
"'Lot of good that will do me," he said, "when I am going to be leaving you."
"What?! You are leaving?"
"Well, you said if I slowed you down at all you would leave me."
"Don't be ridiculous! The circumstances have changed," I said.
"What? But you said,"
"I know, I know! But let's just say that your fighting techniques allowed you to stay on," I told him.
"Oh, well, uh, thank you!" He managed to stutter.
"No problem," I smiled.
"Well, what do you say we grab Adelio and get our of here before those Ogres come back?" He said.
"Uh, small problem." I interjected. "He can't be moved. He needs to stay flat on his back or he will rip the stitches and loose even more blood. And if he looses any more blood, he will die."
"Well what are we going to do?" Osian said. "We can't stay here, it would be suicide if we did."
"Perhaps I can be of service?" I voice uttered from the woods.
*Author's Note(s): I'm sorry!!!!!!!! I know it has taken me forever to update, but I have been hounded by evil teachers who give me tests every class and like to fail people! I know I know: no excuse. But at least I finally updated (gets evil eyes from audience)! Ok, so anyway, I know I left you at a cliffhanger, but hopefully I won't leave you there long (and if I can't write a full chapter, maybe a page or two just to get you off that cliff!). Let me know what you think! Please make my day and review this story! I would also like some criticism besides the short chapters and my spelling please! Or a suggestion or to would be nice (haha, like you are going to do it). Anyway, thanks for reading!*