Unexpected ally

Matthias ran like a madman through the forest in order to lose any possible pursuers in the bushes. The cold night air made his breath dance around like a white cloud as he ran, making the surroundings seem even more eerie than they would have done otherwise. But there was no chance of the whole ordeal being a dream, for the cold was biting cold and all too real. Every cut from the branches stung as they left reddened skin behind on his arms as he brushed past the trees in his desperate escape.

He had no idea of where the rest of the villagers were by now, or how many of them had survived and gotten away, if any of them had done so at all. For if there was anybody out there in the forest, he could not hear or see them. Almost all the sounds except for the one he was making himself were absorbed and muffled by the surroundings and drowned by the natural noises of the forest.

Every extra loud rustle of leaves were enough to make him spin around in panic, axe lifted ready for defense, thinking that the sound meant a soldier was about to come rushing at him with deadly intent. But every single time it turned out to be the wind and his mind playing a trick on him and there was never anyone real out there.

But there were moments when he could almost swear that he had seen the flicker of a cloak from someone running past him in a hurry. It happened several times and in frustration he even tried to yell at the silhouette, despite the danger of being discovered by enemies, demanding that whoever it was would stop. But he never received any replies and he realized that what or who he saw was not really there.

He was soon cold and exhausted from running and allowed himself to let his imagination take over more control of his thoughts and made his visions become stronger. The silhouette became clearer than it had before. His face started gaining some distinctive features under the heavy woolen cloak he hid under.

Matthias found it strange how comforting he thought it was to see the shadow take on the appearance of the same stranger from the village and from his dream. Both times it was prior to some bad event, but he felt so lost in those dull blue eyes that stared at him and wordlessly dared him to follow as he lead the way.

And follow Matthias did. It was like he was hypnotized and without a mind of his own, desperate to catch another glimpse of his face. The road below his feet seized to matter, and he stumbled over several roots and rocks spread out on the ground, but he never stopped find an easier road to walk.

Every time the stranger's figure turned around and started heading away further in to the forest he found himself trudging in the same direction. He had no idea of which direction the village of Dalahurst lay in and listening to what the stranger had said had saved his life once already. So he figured it couldn't hurt too much to trust him again, even if he was just a figment of his imagination.

But even so, Matthias was afraid. He was ashamed to have to admit that to himself, but he had lost all sense of direction as soon as he left the village. He had no idea if he was heading the right way or not and every step he were led further out in the wilderness. For all he knew he could be heading right back to the village that was burning and being destroyed without even realizing before it was too late. And the thought of being so utterly lost was terrifying.

His mind was instantly brought back to reality when there was the sharp snap from a twig breaking and the rustling of leaves somewhere in the darkness. This time Matthias was sure that it was not just his imagination going berserk again and he held up the still bloodied axe, his fingers were gripping so hard around the handle that his knuckles turned white and his heart was hammering away in his chest in panic.

But there was no soldier to approach him, for out between the braches stepped Berwald. He used one hand to push aside the twigs and leaves that were in his way and the other was dragging along the decorated sword loosely along the ground, leaving a long groove in the soft dirt.

It took the smith's apprentice a few moments before he noticed Matthias on the path before him, he didn't seem to recognize the other male at first and his eyes widened in shock. Judging from the dark stains on the blade in his hand, Matthias made the assumption that Berwald had had a run in with the soldier at some point. He had splotches of blood on his face and clothing as well, but he was without any injuries of his own.

"Berwald?" Matthias almost dropped the axe right there, just in pure disbelief at meeting his friend all of a sudden when he had thought he was completely lost and alone. "Is that really you?"

The smith's apprentice looked disoriented as he kept staring at Matthias with glassy eyes that didn't seem capable of focusing on anything in particular. "Yes" he finally muttered after a long while and with shaky fingers he tied the sword to his belt.

Matthias breathed a sigh of relief from hearing Berwald speak, proving that he was not completely taken over by a state of shock. "I didn't expect to find any of our own people out there. I have no idea where we are."

Berwald took another look at their surroundings and then pointed towards a slightly different direction than the one Matthias had been headed in already. "I have never been to Dalahurst myself" he muttered. "I only know that it lies somewhere to the north."

"But how do you know that is north?" Matthias asked and stared out in the darkness as if magical portal was about to open right before their feet. "We didn't exactly follow the path when we left Griven behind."

"I don't know for sure" Berwald admitted, "I just overheard some hunters in the shop a couple of weeks ago. One of them said that a sure way to know which way is north is by looking at the trees. They said that moss is more likely to grow on the south sides of trees because they get more sun and therefore north should be on the side where the least moss grows and that would be somewhere in that direction."

Mathias's mouth fell open in disbelief. "You got lost in the woods and decided to navigate it by following moss because you heard some hunters say that was a valid way to tell the direction?"

"If you have a better idea I'd love to hear it" Berwald muttered tiredly. He seemed too exhausted to take any offence by the insult in Matthias' question. "If we just continue to walk in one direction and don't steer off somewhere then we will get out of the forest sooner or later and then we should be able to find the way to Dalahurst after that."

That instantly shut Matthias up and he regretted his earlier words. When Berwald started to trudge of in the direction he had pointed out, he jogged so he could catch up with the other and silently followed in his path, determined not to make a bigger gap between the two of them by saying something stupid without thinking.

They alternated between walking and jogged on for several hours without stopping for long at the time. Above them the darkness turned greyer and gave in when the sun came over the horizon and dyed the sky in a bright mix of orange and red before it finally made its way between the branches and all the way to the ground lighting up their way. The birds started waking to life and start their morning song when the two of them finally tired from running.

They were both panting for air and sweat was staining their shirts when they halted by the bank of a great river. "You don't think the soldiers followed after us, do you?" Matthias gasped for air and just to collapse on a patch of soft soil where he spread out to catch his breath again and dumped the axe beside him.

Berwald didn't answer at first; he was too busy gulping down water from the river. "I doubt they would have been able to track us this far" he finally said drying off a few droplets of water escaping down his chin. And besides, it would have been foolish for them to split up and chase us and all of the villagers down separately."

He then glanced down and caught a glimpse of the state of his own clothing and froze. His hands were shaking as he put his arms down in the water all the way up to his elbows and started scrubbing franticly at the fabric until some of the blood started to wash away and swirled down with the current to disappear He brought the sleeve up to his face and started scrubbing away at his skin. The sleeve came down and it was stained red with blood as well and he had to wash that out to.

"If you're right" Matthias said thoughtfully. "Then they must be gathering their forces again somewhere, trying to figure out where we are headed and plan another assault." He then forced himself slightly up from the ground on his hands and knees before crawled over to the river, just upstream of Berwald and drank greedily from the fresh water that had not been tainted by blood.

"I'd say that's a fair assumption" Berwald replied and sank exhausted down on the riverbank sand, his sleeves dripping water down on the ground.

"Then we should get a move on" Matthias said sharply and suddenly full of determination again. "We have to get out of this forest and find the way to Dalahurst as fast as possible. The longer our people stay in that village, the more dangerous it will be for both our people and theirs."

He had been leaning over the streaming water, but now he forced himself to stand up from the comfortable position on the ground and offered Berwald a hand to help him get up as well. "You have the best sense of direction… So which way do we continue in now?" he asked in what he hoped was a cheerful tone, even if he knew it was most likely sounding false and strained.

"I suppose we should continue in the same direction as before" Berwald replied as he accepted the hand offered to him. "If we change direction, we might just end up walking in circles for ages and walk the wrong way." He headed over to a tree a few steps away from the river and ran a hand over the heavy trunk, hoping that he would be able to distinguish which direction was north by the amount of moss growing on it and hope that the hunters had not been telling some false story to impress his friends.

Their rest were cut short when they heard a soft swish from something light making its way through the air at a great speed and then followed by a loud thwack as an arrow imbedded itself in the tree, only centimeters away from Berwald's face and his eyes widened in surprise and his mouth fell open.

"Don't move!"

The voice was commanding and came from somewhere in the forest and out of their line of sight. "That was just a warning shot. The next one goes through your head."

Both of them stood absolutely still, not daring to move a single muscle in fear of the hidden assailant. Berwald kept his eyes fixed on the tree before him, but just in the side of his field of vision he could notice the slim arrow, still swaying back and forth from the impact with the tree. It was a clear reminder of the shooter's skill.

Matthias was carefully trying to turn his head towards the voice in the forest, thinking that he could locate the person and figure out a way for them to overwhelm him. Had it been one of the king's soldiers out there, then they would probably have been dead already and not being threatened, but they were still trapped in the open by the riverbank. The trees were too far away to make a run for shelter.

"I said don't move!" The voice shrieked and Matthias froze dead in his tracks. The voice still held its demanding tone, but it also sounded panicked and just a bit soft, not yet a man's voice. That made it even clearer that it was not a soldier hiding in the bushes, for all of the king's soldiers was way out of adolescence by the time their training was over. "Put your hands up and move over to that guy by the tree."

Matthias did as he was told and lifted his hands above his head before he move with slow steps over to where Berwald was standing and whispered under his breath so only the two of them could hear. "It sounds like there is only one guy out there and he is probably younger than us by the sound of him. We can probably take him down if we want to."

"Don't do anything stupid now" Berwald growled quietly back at him.

But Matthias was too tired and exhausted to pay any mind to his warning. Instead he confidently turned around to face the forest. "Come out!" He demanded. "Come out and face us like a man instead of hiding in the shadows like some coward."

He immediately regretted his action. Another arrow whistled by. It was so close that Matthias could feel the steering feathers caress his cheek as it went by and he flinched involuntarily and was unable to hold back a yelp in surprise.

"No more chances!" the voice yelled at them. "Just stand perfectly still and answer my questions and I might just let you go. First I want to know who you are, where you're from and which direction you were heading in."

"I'm Berwald" The smith's apprentice called back without hesitation, not willing to risk their lives by protesting against a hidden shooter. "The other guy is Matthias. We come from the village of Griven and got lost in the forest on our way for Dalahurst."

"And what is your business there?" The voice asked skeptically. "Dalahurst is a peaceful town, why would you need to carry weapons with you to a place like that?"

"Our village was attacked" Matthias instantly regained his voice and angrily yelled back. "The king's men attacked us and we are trying to get away from them with our lives intact. They killed our people, burned our homes and are now chasing down the rest of us to stop us from spreading the news to the rest of the kingdom. They are probably going to do the same to other towns on the outskirts of the kingdom in order to fund his next war."

"How can I know that you're telling the truth?" the voice asked nervously. "For all I know this could all be some story you are just making up to trick me into letting you go."

Berwald sighed heavily and with a swift movement he flung the sword in his belt to the ground before the shooter had time to make a shot and making himself seem like a lesser threat now that he was unarmed. "There is nothing we can do to convince you, you just have to trust our word. We have been running all night and we're exhausted. We have nothing left but what we carry with us."

They then heard a soft rustling from the forest and Berwald followed in Matthias' example and turned around as well, careful not to make any hasty movements when doing so. The first thing that came into view through the leaves was the sharp point of an arrow aimed straight at them, then came a bow and at last the person wielding the weapon.

It was a young male, shorter than both Berwald and Matthias, probably younger than them as well and with a soft, rounded face, framed by shaggy, blonde hair. The alert eyes he had trained at them were shining in a color of violet as he was searching for any signs of unexpected movements from the two of them. On his back he carried a small backpack and a quiver full of arrows. By his waist in its sheath rested a hunting knife.

The young man eyed them for a moment before he unexpectedly lowered the bow and aimed the arrow towards the ground instead. "I believe you he said uncertainly. "You don't look like bad people, but you don't look like hunters either." He then stared at the axe and sword lying in the sand. "I had not expected to meet anybody else out here and I didn't know if you could be trusted or not."

His first words had been commanding and sharp, but now that he was out in the open, his words were released with the speed of a rushing river and his gaze flickered nervously between the two of them. He seemed to still question his own decision of trusting them.

Matthias gave Berwald a sideways glance with an expression that clearly asked the question of: 'is this guy for real?' But the smith's apprentice didn't answer and merely stared at the nervous male fidgeting before them.

"I'm really sorry I shot at you" the purple eyed male stuttered at them when neither of the two said a single word."If you want, I can show you the quickest way to Dalahurst."

Matthias had no idea how to read the strange young man and was trying to figure out something to say. Berwald kept staring and it looked like he was completely without words and his mouth hung open.

Matthias cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "So…" he began trying to ease some of the tension. "If you are going to be our guide all of a sudden, then I suppose we better get to know your name."

The young male seemed genuinely surprised by the request but then startled as if he realized. "Ah, yes" he laughed nervously and offered Matthias a hand to shake. "My name is Tino." He then smiled brightly at both of them, but the smile faltered when he faced the stone-faced smith's apprentice and more hesitantly offered him a hand as well.

"We should probable get moving" Matthias suggested and went to pick up his axe from the ground and gently brushed of a few grains of sand. Both Berwald and Tino the hunter snapped their heads at him and breaking of their awkward staring.

"Ah, yes off course" Tino said cheerfully, apparently he could not fully grasp what the two of them had escaped from only a couple of hours past. He picked up the sword Berwald had tossed to the ground and handed it over to the much taller male, hesitating a bit when he noticed the darkened stains on the blade and staring wide eyed at the smith's apprentice when he handed it over.

. "It's going to take us a couple of hours to walk there" he muttered shyly. "But I have practically grown up in these woods, I know a few shortcuts." When neither of the two answered him this time either, Tino pressed his lips together shamefully to hold back his constant flood of words

They kept walking under the strong rays of the sun for several more hours. Tino moved easily through the bushes without making a single misstep, when the other two struggled to keep up with him as they grew more and more exhausted by the minute. He only managed to stay silent for a short while before he started telling them stories about the village and people he knew in order to pass the time.

"It just a few moments now and we will be able to see it" he said brightly when the forest became less around them and was replaced by more grass and flowers in place of trees. He pushed aside a few more leaves and stepped out in the open.

Matthias was eager to get out as well and rushed up to join him. But as soon as he did, he realized that the hunters smile had disappeared completely and he was staring wide eyed at something in the distant.

Berwald stepped up beside them as well and used one hand to shade his eyes from the sun and squinted in the same direction, but without seeing something distinctive besides the contours of a town somewhere in the distance. "What is it?" he asked.

"There is something going on in the village" Tino whispered. "There is a crowd of people there."