Squall and Zell had been riding since the first light of the morning. Only stopping once for food, drink and to relieve themselves. It had been at too slow a pace for Squall's liking, but they were riding on cart horses, which were not built for a fast gallop. They were both grateful though, that they had not had to walk and that they had not met any other travellers on the road from Galbadia.
The suns low angle in the sky told them that soon sunset would be upon them and they would do well to be through the Galbadia Wood before nightfall. As they approached the last hill on the Balamb road, they could see the tree tops that belonged to the small woodland. Although it was smaller in size to Balamb the actual wood was denser and the track through gave a slight claustrophobic feel to any rider.
"We should be through the wood before nightfall and we can release the horses before we enter the town, " stated Squall.
Zell acknowledged Squall with a "Yes."
They had entered the wood and after only a few short minutes, Zell had turned to Squall and said with a hushed voice
"I feel uneasy here. I feel as if we are being watched."
Squall replied, "of course we are! They have been following us for a while."
Zell suggested, "should we quicken our pace?"
At that point a man dressed in dark brown pants and a dark green tunic appeared out of the trees in front of them. Brandishing a long bow, with an arrow already poised in their direction.
"It looks like we have ourselves a couple of men with a heavy burden of their purse. Let us relieve you of that burden." Said the man with the long bow.
Squall and Zell looked around to see that they had already been surrounded by a further ten men with longbows at the ready, all equally dressed in similar garments, making escape for them impossible.
"Get them off their horses," said the man on the track in front of them.
As they were pulled to the ground, their hands were tied in front of them with a thin rope. Their swords and money pouches removed.
"So are you the man that 'Beth of Balamb'and the innkeeper calls 'Irvine the Archer?" Asked Squall.
"How do you know Beth?" Asked the man.
"We saved her son Tom from the Sheriff's soldiers," replied Zell.
"Is that so….. We'll let 'The Archer' decide if your story is true. Cover their eyes and bring those horses," said the man.
Small brown sacks were placed over the heads of Squall and Zell. With a man on either side of them, they were then led deeper into the wood, away from the track and towards the outlaw's camp.
After a short walk that seemed to zigzag in direction, the group of outlaws with Squall and Zell reached the camp. They were then placed with their backs against a tree and another rope was looped around their already bound hands. Without warning the force of the rope being pulled upwards, involuntarily forced Squall and Zell's arms upwards, until their feet were both just off the ground. Yet both men remained calm.
Squall was thinking . 'They had been in this type of situation before during King Laguna's campaign in the East. They had intentionally got themselves captured by the Esthar guards, so that they could relay a message to the already captured prisoners. Be ready! At nightfall the prison will be stormed and all the prisoners would be rescued. The Esthar guards had questioned them, while hanging them in a similar way, before locking them up with the other prisoners' He was snapped out of his flashback….
"Let's see who we have caught riding to Galbadia on the Sheriff's horses! Take their hoods off!" Said a man.
As soon as the hoods were removed, Zell and Squall could see a tall thin man dressed in a tan coloured suede tunic and dark green pants. His reddish brown hair reaching his shoulders, but not hiding his longbow that was placed over his head and right shoulder. The feathers of his arrows were also just visible behind his left shoulder.
"You claim to know 'Beth of Balamb' and that you rescued Tom her son. Yet you come through here riding the Sheriff's own horses and your money pouches full of gold and silver. Do you think me a fool?" Asked the man.
Squall answered. "Our story is true. We did indeed rescue her son Tom after he was caught by the Sheriff's soldiers, stealing bread from a fully laden cart. We took the cart and the boy to his mother in Balamb Wood and left this very morning on the horses that were pulling that cart. As to the gold and silver in our pouches, that was earned in the Kings service and not at the hands of a corrupt Sheriff."
"A noble tale indeed. If it is true, then you will know her codename," said the man.
"Codename?" Questioned Zell.
"Yes codename. The name she tells people to say if they have truly met her." Said the man.
He had removed one of the arrows from the leather quiver on his back and placed the arrowhead against Zell's throat. The look in the mans eye hinting that he would pierce his throat with the arrow in his hands.
Then the name clicked and Squall had remembered what Beth had said to say.
"She is known as 'Beth the Balamb Badger', "replied Squall.
The man laughed removing the arrow away from Zell as he said "I do declare that you have indeed met our Beth!"
Zell released the breath that he had been holding.
"As you can see that we do indeed speak truly and that we are not your enemy. Will you now release us from these bindings? Asked Squall.
The man laughed again "Yes indeed!"
With a nod of his head, the rope that was suspending them was cut and the two men fell to the ground. Landing them both ungracefully on their backsides and with a grunt being expressed from Zell. The man that had first stopped them on the track, a small dagger in his hand, approached them. As he cut through the thin rope first around Squall and then Zell's hands. The two men flexed their fingers and shook their hands to get the circulation going again. As they rose to their feet,
Squall asked once again. "So tell me are you 'Irvine the Archer' ?"
"With a graceful bow of his head and flamboyant wave of his right arm, the man said
"At your service. Any friend of 'Beth's' is always welcome here, but tell me what names do you go by?"
Zell was the first one to speak. "My name is Zell Dincht and I would like my sword and money pouch returned."
"Ha of course, we only take from the Sheriff and Prince Norg. Give them back their items," said Irvine.
A gang member stepped forward and passed Squall and Zell their weapons and money. As Squall was re-sheathing his sword, Irvine said to him
"And what name do you go by?"
Squall had looked Irvine straight in the eye and said
"I'm called 'The Hood'."
"Then you are a friend indeed!" Irvine stated as he extended his right arm. Squall accepted this by extending his own right arm, grasping Irvine's just before his elbow. Irvine doing the same. This was the greeting of comrades.
Squall and Zell had joined Irvine and his men around the campfire, for a hearty meal of venison stew.
"So tell me where are you heading?" Asked Irvine.
"Were off to Galbadia Town to seek out the blacksmith and obtain fresh horses for the ride to Deling," said Squall.
The man that had stopped them on the track spoke and said
"I'm the blacksmith of Galbadia, but you don't want to head into town now it's swarming with soldiers. Looking for 'The Archer' and 'The Hood'. I will be able to get you some horses, but it will take maybe a week or more to obtain them without arising suspicion."
"If that is the case, you are most welcome to stay here and perhaps learn the way of the arrow?" asked Irvine.
Squall considered this. It would not hurt to learn another skill and archery would indeed prove useful to him, as he had seen it used first hand in many of his battles.
Squall replied."Thank you for your offer, for that would be good indeed. But, I need to offer something to you in return. Can I ask how many people do you normally ambush at one time?"
Irvine looked at Squall "Never more that four, as we do not have the men to deal with the larger parties that often travel through the wood. Why do you ask for this is a strange question?"
Squall answered. "Because I will teach you how to divide and conquer a large party of men. It will not matter that you are only a band of twelve, for you will be able to take down twenty with ease."
"That would indeed interest me! Let us rest now and we can start at first light,"said Irvine.