Legend of Arcadia: Battlefield Ometin
-II-
Matthew awoke with a start. His head ached his legs ached and quite frankly, his entire body ached. His mind was fuzzy and his thoughts raced about in flashes of vivid colour. As the images began to become solid in his head, he made out the kindly face of Jessica above him. She shouted something indistinctly and then propped Matthew up. The group assembled, dizzy and aching, near a forest and found themselves in an alien environment. The sun was rising in the distance and they could make out a small village not too far away.
"Wow….I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, guys," joked Caitlin. The rest of the group scowled.
"How can you be making jokes at a time like this?" asked the irate Kenneth.
"It's just my way of cheering people up. Don't you yell at me…you kicked the door down," Caitlin defended. The pair stood glowering at each other for several minutes until the tired voice of Matthew spoke up.
"Guys…let's go to the village," his voice started weakly, " maybe we can find someone who can help us…" His voice trailed as he fell unconscious and crumpled to the ground. Jessica propped him up again and felt his head. A fever raged and burned within his small form as he took shallow breaths.
"Why don't…we just leave Matthew here for now? We can go to the village and come back…that way, we cover more ground without the dead weight," offered the impatient Caitlin.
"How can you even suggest that? Matthew is our friend…and he's already as beat up as he can get. We can't leave him here," Alexa defended, vehemently.
The group discussed among themselves how they could carry the feverish Matthew to the village without too much hassle.
"He's only eighty pounds…I'm sure anyone can carry him without too much strain," informed Kenneth.
"Then we should get the strongest person to carry him…because that way, none of us will be too tired by the time we make it to the village," suggested Jessica.
"I'll carry him. I'm the strongest and not to mention the biggest among us," volunteered Gary. The group nodded in agreement and headed towards the village with the young Matthew being carried by Gary.
As the group neared the village, dawn spilled over the horizon, illuminating a group approaching them. As they bridged the space between them, the group realized that it was a heavily armed battalion of soldiers.
"Halt there!" commanded one of the soldiers as they met. The group conceded and proceeded to meet them in good faith.
"We're just a group of teens who are lost. Could you please inform us where we are?" asked Jessica.
"Lost? That is unfortunate for we cannot escort you to a nearby town. You will have to travel yourself. Tell us. Who among your number possesses any magic? Perhaps we can get our resident magician to send you to the town of Rananculus."
The group looked at each other and shook their heads in disbelief. Magic? Was this some sort of trick? "Sirs," Gwen respectfully replied, "None among our number possess magic."
The soldier frowned and whispered something indistinct to a comrade of his. He then proceeded to speak, "We will dispatch a messenger to the village informing them of your presence. We will try to find you accommodations for the night. Be swift and make your way to the village tonight. The villagers will know that you are lost and will try their best to accommodate you. I see one of your number has been felled…I am truly sorry. We will have a ceremonial burial for him. The loss of a child is nothing light."
Gary spoke up as the soldiers approached him, "He's not dead! He's just unconscious. Matthew isn't really a rough-and-tough type of boy."
The soldier looked at Matthew sourly and asked "What kind of boy cannot even walk on his own regardless of injuries? If he were with my group, he'd walk through the snow and ice regardless of his condition. However, he is your chore and may whatever evening star watches over you gives you strength." The soldier nodded and began to ride off with his battalion towards the horizon.
The group was bewildered. What time were they in? What kind of place has soldiers in full armour on horses? Questions filled to the brim of their heads, they walked towards the village.
As the group was nearing the village, Gwen broke the silence that had dominated the air before by asking, "Guys…do you think…maybe…that we're in medieval times? Where knights rode around on horses and stuff?"
Gary replied, "You know what Gwen? That really does sound like what's happened…remember last year we learned about all this in Mr. Bellescig's class? There were knights and peasants…"
Kenneth argued, "But how could the medieval time we learned in Mr. B's class be the same as this? I mean…sure…those guys in armour and swords may have somewhat resembled knights…but knights died out centuries ago…now it's all for ceremony!"
Jessica replied, "Guys…this isn't the time for us to argue about some medieval age. We've got to get to that village and we should tend to Matthew…his fever is getting worse." The group agreed and trudged onward in the morning light.
The sun rising to the peak of the sky, the group finally entered the quaint hamlet. Several townspeople greeted them with smiles and one particularly large man stepped forward to welcome them, "Welcome fair strangers! Your journey has brought you to the fair town of Duloc! The Riders of the Equine Lords have already informed us of your troubles. Allow us to tend to your fallen comrade whilst you rest and relax in our tavern!" The townspeople eased Matthew, still unconscious, off Gary's back, and carried him away.
"What exactly do you plan to do with Matthew?" Jessica asked.
"He's going to rest in the infirmary for a while. Our nurses plan to attend to him until he wakes up," answered one of the nurses.
The gang nodded and thanked the townspeople for their hospitality, "We must thank you kind people of Duloc for your generosity. You see, we are lost," began Gary, "we were at a mall and then all of a sudden, we're here. Come to think of it…where is here?"
The large, jovial man scratched his head then asked, "We can understand that you are lost…but what is a mall? Perchance you are foreigners? After all, I have never seen those strange insignias on any traveller in our land." He then proceeded to point at the Nike symbol on Gary's hoodie. "Speaking of which," the man continued, "I've never quite seen your style of clothing. Would they be some strange form of wool or silk?" He pointed at Kenneth's tearaways.
The group looked at each other apprehensively. Perhaps they really were in the medieval times. After all, the people they were speaking with definitely didn't wear anything that looked remotely modern. Or maybe…they were having a simultaneous dream?
"You know what, sir? I think we actually might be foreigners…" replied Kenneth.
