Chapter 1: Teddy Bears, Chocolates, and Bandits
Fourteen years have passed since the Balverine invasion of the Barrow Fields. According to filed Guard reports, 21 people were killed that day, including the fallen guards. The Barrow Fields trader outpost had suffered from lack of business, as the population of that area feared of another attack. The Heroes' Guild organized a purge of Darkwood. Many of the Balverines there were either killed or captured, but their threat still existed.
Scarlet Robe was dead, her death hitting the Heroes' Guild very hard. There were already few enough Heroes as it is, with the recent defection of the Hero Twinblade to the Bandits. Thunder, at first devastated by his mentor's death, was only battle-hardened. He felt that was what Scarlet would've wanted him to do. Recently, he had came up victorious in the Arena, which Scarlet had done a year before her death. He now was among the highest Heroes in all of Albion.
Oakvale hadn't changed much in thirteen years. The villagers felt some fear of another attack, but other than that, life was peaceful.
Near the west side of town, there lived a boy and his family. The boy's name was Michael. Together, with his sister Theresa, they enjoyed the simple life that Oakvale had to offer them. Sometimes, he dreamed of being a Hero. In some dreams he was a gallant knight, others he was an evil mage. As much as he dreams, he could not have possibly think of the destiny that awaited him in the future.
Today, it would be Theresa's twelfth birthday. Her father would be getting the party set up, and her mother would return from her recent trip. This would probably have been a nice day in Oakvale. Little did Theresa or her brother know, this would turn out to be one of the town's darkest days.
"Come on, wake up!"
Michael Thatcher woke up with a start. He had been dozing on the steps of his house, until his father woke him up. He drowsily got to his feet, rubbing his eyes.
"Daydreaming again, are you?"
Michael shrugged.
"Hmph. Just like your mother, mind always wandering. Well," he laid his hands on Michael's shoulders, "let it wander off to find your sister then, hmm?"
"Yes, dad." Michael mumbled drowsily. He went into the house and fixed up his hair, braiding a lock of his hair as an afterthought. A Hero that had recently visited had his hair like this, and Michael thought it looked cool. After checking to make sure his clothes were clean, he started off down the road. Then he realized he didn't know where Theresa was.
"Umm, dad…" he started.
"She's playing near the Barrow Fields gate." His father said, smiling.
"Oh, okay." Michael turned around when his father added. "You know, today's her birthday, and you haven't gotten her a birthday present yet."
Michael froze. "Er…"
His father chuckled, "Don't tell me you forgot?"
Michael slowly nodded his head.
"Well, I'm not busting you out of this one, Michael. But tell you what. I'll give you a gold piece for every good deed you do in town. That'll be enough to get Theresa a present."
Michael nodded. That's fair, he thought.
"Okay, dad. I'll be back soon."
"Don't get into any trouble, now!" Michael's father yelled out after him, as he left the house.
Michael walked down the road, passing by villagers and children. They greeted him, commenting on his sister's party. A sinking feeling began to develop in the pit of his stomach. He had to hurry and get Theresa a present. Fast.
He had just passed Mr. Cranston's house when he saw a little girl crying. He approached her and asked. "What's wrong, Emily?"
The girl named Emily sniffed, and said, "I…I lost Rosie, my teddy bear. I don't know what happened to her."
"Okay, calm down." Michael had her sit on her house steps. "Now, where did you last see Rosa?"
"Rosie." She corrected, "Well, I was sharing her with Timmy, my friend. I went in to get a snack, and she and…Hey! Timmy took it! MUM!"
Emily ran inside the house. Michael sighed. Oh well, might as well find Timmy, he thought.
Michael continued down the road, into the main part of town. The stores were still closed, including the tavern. Among the various villagers, Michael noticed a new face. It was a man dressed in brightly colored clothes and sporting a very long and pointy mustache. A trader.
Michael approached the trader. "Uh, excuse me, sir?"
The trader looked down at him. "Yes, lad?"
"Well, my name's Michael. Michael Thatcher. I was…"
"Ah!" the trader's sudden shout took Michael off guard. "Brom's son. You know, me and your dad were really close once, until your…well, shouldn't go into that."
A look of guilt flashed on the trader's face, but Michael didn't notice it.
"Um, so I've heard that your sister's having a birthday today. I assume you came to me to get her a present."
Michael bowed his head. "Yes, sir."
"Well, I just so happen to have a brand new box of chocolates on me. Last in stock. Tell you what. Just for you, I'll sell it for three gold pieces. How's that?"
Michael felt some of the weight lift off his chest. "That'll be swell, sir! But…I don't have the gold on me. I will get it, though, so can you reserve it for me when I get back."
"Sure, sonny. You better, hurry up, though, or I'll have to eat these!" the trader laughed.
Michael nodded, and said good-bye to the trader. Three deeds, he thought, Just three deeds and I can get the chocolates and be done with this.
First on Michael's list was to find Timmy. He asked around, and one villager told him that he saw Timmy go up the eastern road with an older boy. Michael thanked him for the info, and continued down the east road.
He was halfway up the hill when he saw Timmy, and the older boy, which turned out to be the Emily's brother, Tom. Timmy was laying on the ground in a fetal position, clutching what appeared to be Emily's teddy bear. Tom had been kicking Timmy when Michael showed up.
"Oi! Thatcher! Help me get this girly teddy bear from this kid, so I can rip its head off."
"No!" Timmy yelled out. He had begun to cry. "Please, me and Emily were just playing with Rosie until he showed up and dragged me away."
"Ah, shut up." Tom said, again kicking Timmy. Timmy groaned in pain. "You shouldn't be playing with girls anyway. Especially with my sister."
Michael looked at Timmy with pity. He hadn't stolen the bear at all, and Michael wasn't planning on it falling into Tom's hands either.
"Tom." Michael said menacingly, "Leave him alone."
"What? You trying to stand up to me, Thatcher?" Tom said, approaching Michael. He could see they were both of equal height.
"I'm not trying, I am" Michael retorted.
Tom laughed. "Well, what'cha going to do ab…"
But Michael had already done something: he had landed a strong hook into Tom's face.
Tom stepped back, surprised by the punch. He then tried to respond by throwing a flurry of punches.
Michael could see that Tom had never fought a kid of equal strength before, as his punches were easily avoided. He countered the last punch by grabbing Tom's arm, and raising his knee into Tom's ribs. He finished him off by throwing him to the ground.
"Pl…Please!" Tom begged. His nose had begun to bleed. "Ok, I'll leave him alone, just don't hit me again!"
Now Tom was the one who was crying. He crawled away from Michael and Timmy, heading for the town bridge.
Michael helped Timmy up, who began to thank him
"Thanks a bunch, mister. Here, you can take care of Rosie." He handed Michael the bear. "Don't worry, I'll tell everyone about how you are a good samary…samar…sa…"
"Samaritan?" Michael said, finishing little Timmy's sentence.
"Yeah, there you go." Timmy beamed. "Thanks again, mister. Bye!"
Timmy ran off, towards the town center, leaving Michael with the teddy bear.
Time to head back to Emily's, he thought.
Michael entered the town square yet again. Behind him, the wife of the weapon store owner was shouting out bad things, probably about her husband. Michael made a mental note to approach her later, to see if she needed anything.
Soon, Michael reached Emily's house. He knocked on the door. It opened a crack, Emily behind it. "Oh, hello, Mr. Michael."
"I believe this is yours." Michael revealed the teddy bear.
"Oh! Rosie! You found her!" the eight-year-old squealed, throwing the door wide open. She ran up to Michael and hugged him tightly.
Michael, his face in disgust at the hug, pried Emily from himself. He handed her the bear, saying "Well, here you go."
"Hello Rosie" Emily said to the inanimate bear. "Come on, we've got to change your stuffing." Before going in, Emily turned around, stood on her toes, and gave Michael a kiss on the cheek.
Michael blushed, but tried to hide it with another expression of disgust
Rosie, humming happily, went back inside. Michael turned to leave, when Emily's mom appeared in the doorway.
"Hi, Michael." She greeted
"Er, hello, Mrs. Amberden."
"Thank you for finding Emily's teddy bear. I swear, seeing her sulk around the house was about to drive me mad. So, Timmy took the bear, no?"
"No." Michael explained, "It was your son. He took Timmy across town and tried to take the bear from him. I stopped him, though."
"Oh, okay. Thank you again then, for sorting the problem..." She turned around, to see Emily peering from behind her. "What are you doing, dear?"
"Oh!" Emily, surprised, darted back inside the house.
"You know," Mrs. Amberden began, turning back to Michael, "Emily sort of fancies you."
"Yeah, whatever." Michael mumbled.
"Soon, in a couple of years, you're going to start fancying girls too, you know"
"I know." Michael said. He'd heard this about a dozen times.
"Well, I'll be sure to tell your father about what a nice young man you were today."
"Thank you, Miss. I've got to go now."
"Oh, okay. Good-bye Michael" Mrs. Amberden said as she closed the door.
"Good-bye." Michael said.
Michael was about to continue down the road to his house, when he caught motion out of the corner of his eye. He turned around, and saw nothing. He could've sworn he saw someone run behind old Mr. Cranston's house.
Michael walked to the house, then crept alongside the wall. Around the corner, he could hear the voices of a man and a woman.
"Ooo, you're so feisty, woman. I wish my wife was like you."
"Mmm, wait 'till we get in bed…Oooh…"
Michael rounded the corner, and stood there completely frozen, as he saw the weapon shop owner making out with a woman.
The woman saw Michael, and let out a scream. The shop owner, surprised also, told the woman to shut up and, before Michael could say or do anything, grabbed his arm.
"Look," The weapon shop owner looked over Michael's head to see if anyone was approaching, and then continued. "keep your mouth shut of this, okay, sonny?"
Michael still stood there. The only thought seeping into his mind was that the man was holding his arm a bit too tight.
"I'm supposed to be working out of town, while my wife's taking care of the children. Yet, a man should be entitled to do what he wants, don't you agree?"
Regaining the feeling in his body, Michael slowly nodded his head.
"Tell you what, you keep your mouth shut about this, and I'll give you a gold piece. How's that?"
Michael was about to say no, when he remembered the owner's wife.
He could hit two birds with one stone.
"Sure mister, I won't say anything." Michael said, a sly smirk emerging on his face.
"Good, here you go." The man fished inside his pocket for a gold coin, and handed it to Michael. "Now, don't go blabbering about this, you hear, lad?"
"Yes, sir" Michael responded.
"Now," the man said, turning back to the woman and embracing her, "where were we?"
"Oh, you're so naughty!" the woman responded.
Michael left, on the verge of throwing up.
He ran back to the town center, bumping into a few villagers.
"Hey! Watch it!" one shouted, being shoved by Michael.
Michael finally reached the weapon store. The owner's wife was sitting on the steps, apparently not pleased.
""Uh, excuse me…" Michael started."
"WHAT?" the woman shouted. Michael staggered back, surprised by her sudden outburst.
"Oh, I'm sorry dear." The woman apologized. "I'm just frustrated at the fact that I haven't seen him all day. Hmph, with some woman, I don't doubt."
"Well, the thing is…"Michael began.
'I mean," the woman interrupted, "I cook and clean and take care of his children, and what do I get in return? Nothing!"
"I know where he is!" Michael blurted out impatiently.
"What?" Fury was building in the woman's eyes. "Where? With whom?"
"He's behind the Cranston house…with another woman."
The wife stood there, shocked. Then, she said calmly. "Thank you for telling me, dear. I'm sure to say good things about you." She paused, fury returning in her eyes. "If you'll excuse me, I must tend to something."
The wife suddenly broke into a run, heading towards the west side of town.
Michael, happy with his work, began to walk back towards his house. Two deeds, plus my bribe, and I'll have enough to buy the present.
On his way up the road, the woman who'd been with the weapon shop owner ran pass. She gave Michael a look that could've stopped a Balverine in its tracks.
As he was passing the Cranston house, he could here the wife screaming at her husband.
"YOU FLITHY SWINE!'
"Honey…"
Michael smiled, as he approached his house. His father was sitting on the steps, smoking a pipe.
"Hello, son." Brom greeted Michael. "How was your day?"
"Swell." Michael replied. "I've done some good deeds."
"Ah, so I've heard." Michael's father stood up. "Well, I'm a man of my word. Two good deeds," he revealed two gold coins, glittering in the afternoon sun, "means two gold pieces."
Michael, accepting the reward, said, "Thanks, dad."
His father, however, didn't look pleased. "But don't think I'll turn a blind eye to your mischief. You shouldn't be interfering with people's marriage affairs, Michael. I thought I taught you better.
Michael bowed his head. "I'm sorry."
Brom picked up Michael and lifted him up in the air. "Look, just don't get into any more trouble. For me, please?"
Michael smiled. "Yes, dad." He replied.
"Good," Brom set his son down, "Now, go on now, I'm sure you have enough to buy Theresa a present."
Michael waved good-bye to his father, and continued back down the road.
Entering the town square yet again, Michael approached the trader, who hadn't moved since the last time Michael met him. "Sir," Michael said as he approached the trader, "please tell me you still have the box of chocolates."
"Still do, sonny." The trader replied. Michael sighed in relief. "Do you have the three gold pieces we agreed on?"
Michael handed him the gold.
"Okay then, one box of chocolates. Make sure to tell your sister I wished her a happy birthday."
"Will do, sir." Michael said, holding the box. Without saying good-bye, Michael sprinted down the north road, eager to give his present to Theresa.
Michael found his older sister, Theresa, playing in the tomato field near the Barrow Fields gate. Wearing her party dress, she was skipping along the field, apparently enjoying herself.
"Hello there, little brother." Theresa said, as Michael approached the field. She always knew when her brother was near; Michael had failed in every attempt to sneak up on her.
"Hi, Theresa." Michael replied, hiding the box of sweets in the back of his pants.
Theresa crossed her arms and said accusingly, "I hope you didn't forget what day it is today, like you did last year."
"How could I?" Michael said in defense. "I've been waiting for this day since you mentioned it…when…er…"
"You did forget, didn't you?"
"Actually, Dad reminded me today."
"Oh." Theresa turned around, her back to Michael.
"Are you okay, Theresa? You woke me up last night."
"I'm sorry about that, it was another one of those dreams."
"Oh, I see." Theresa had been experiencing nightmares lately, and they'd been troubling Michael.
"What happened?" Michael asked curiously.
"Well, I was standing here in this field, playing. Then…something bad happened, but I don't remember what."
There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Theresa broke it, saying, "Ah, who cares about that silly dream. I'm still waiting for my present."
"Oh, yeah, the present." Michael reached behind him and pulled out the box of chocolates, handing them to his sister.
"Oh! I knew you were going to give me chocolates. It's just like my dream."
Just like your dream? Michael thought.
"Come on," Theresa said, motioning towards the town. "let's go home. Mother will home any minute for my party."
"Okay." Michael replied and they were about to leave the field, when Theresa stopped Michael.
"Wait, there's something wrong…"
Michael noticed it too. The ambient chirping of the birds had stopped. An eerie silence surrounded them.
"BANDITS!"
Michael whipped around; the scream had come from a man, running down from the Barrow fields. He was heading straight for Michael when he let out a cry of pain, and fell down, an arrow lodged in his back.
"No…it's happening!" Theresa said, wrought in fear. "You've got to hide, hurry!"
Theresa pushed Michael behind the field fencing, then dashed down the road heading towards the town.
Michael, panicking, looked around from under the fence. A mob of about 30 men had emerged from the Barrow fields' gate. One walked up to the dead man, and kicked him. "Got one!" he yelled in triumph.
Michael watched in horror as the bandits marched towards Oakvale. The worst was yet to come.