Flight
"Who's in danger?" Matthias demands, he is frustrated and desperate for an answer. "What are you talking about? Who's coming? I don't understand."
The stranger appears to take no notice of his confusion and his gaze loses focus again as he stares into the empty air somewhere above Matthias and into the forest. It is almost like he is aware of something else entirely, his head moving as if tracking a sound and his entire body looks taut and alert like a predator ready to strike, putting Matthias on edge.
Tired of waiting for an answer he is not likely to receive, Matthias brushes dirt off himself and moves to stand up, but almost crumbles back to the ground immediately the as pure agony spears though his skull, reminding him of his unfavorable meeting with the forest floor and a tree. It feels as if a heard of wild horses are thundering through his brain, making the world spin, and sending his stomach churning to the borderline of revolt. "Who is coming?" he yells angrily, still clinging desperately to the tree for support, as his body protests his every movement.
The stranger finally seems to take notice of him once more and Matthias finds himself frozen on the spot, staring slack jawed as the stranger walks over, unnaturally graceful until their faces are only a few inches apart and Matthias can feel cool breath ghost over his skin. He feels strangely vulnerable as the strangers' eyes roam over him, all questions silenced on his lips. A shiver runs down his spine and it feels like the temperature drops several degrees in an instant turning his breath into fog in before his face.
The strangers' eyes lock onto his again; piercing and cold, making Matthias want to move back, only to realize his legs refuse to obey him. "You are in danger," the stranger whispers, tilting his head further to the side, following a sound that only he can hear. Then his entire body goes tense and when he speaks again, his voice is sharp and urgent. "They are here. You must run. Now!"
Matthias whirls around, expecting to be surrounded, but seen nothing but trees and mist in every direction. He turns back around, ready to demand answers once again, but without warning, the stranger rushes towards him and Matthias covers his face with his hands and braces for impact.
It never comes.
The stranger evaporates into a dark blue fog and disappears before they collide and Matthias whirls on the spot trying to look for him but sees nothing. The fog grows denser, quickly hiding the trees and the forest floor. He can see nothing but darkness, and the stranger's voice echoes around him, insistent and haunting.
"Danger! Run!"
Out of nowhere, something strikes him in the chest, and he stumbles backwards, loosing balance and the mists swallows him whole.
He falls.
He expects to hit the ground, but it never happens. He keeps on falling through the mist, deeper and deeper into nothing, losing track of time.
He keeps on falling, and then he crashes to the ground, flailing wildly against something that is wrapped tightly around his legs, trapping him. His breath leaves him in harsh pants as he opens his eyes, expecting only darkness, but realizing he is in a small room and on the floor with a blanket tangled around his legs.
A vague memory of his surroundings washes over him, along with massive headache and several waves of nausea and dizziness that serves as a rude reminder of just much ale he drank the night before.
He thanks all the gods he can remember the names of that there is a conveniently placed bucket in one corner of the room and crawls over as fast as his limbs can carry him. He barely makes it before he vomits, clinging on to the edges of the bucket as he heaves over and over until there is nothing left in his stomach to bring up. The vile taste of bile lingers on his tongue, no matter how much he coughs and spits trying to get rid of it and he comes to an easy conclusion that ale does not taste all that great when mixed with stomach acid.
It takes a while for the nausea to fade, but when it does, a feeling of trepidation washes over him instead as the memory of the dream lingers with him. Matthias cannot shake the feeling that something is horribly wrong. He hears the warning from his dream echo through his scull repeatedly and he feels steadily increasing unease that settles within his entire being.
He wonders why his mind got so stuck on the mysterious stranger in the marked that he would show up in his dreams and such a vivid one at that. He only saw him for a short moment, seconds at the most; it should barely be enough to remember him. Then again, he was incredible drunk before he went to sleep and the stranger rather handsome, maybe that is good enough reason, but it is certainly strange that some stranger shows up on the same day the king's soldiers decide to turn violent, only to show up again in Matthias' dreams to warn him of danger.
As soon as his body allows him to stand up without throwing up or crashing back down immediately, he pads over towards the window, seeking some much-needed fresh air and desperately wanting to shake off the dream and clear his head before he attempts sleeping again.
The wood creaks loudly in complaint as he pushes the old window, but with some applied force, it opens and allows a cold breeze to flood in the room making the skin of his arms break out in gooseflesh and he breathes a sigh of relief.
With his bedroom on the second floor of the tavern, the window gives him a view of the largest forest that surrounds their village and Matthias leans against the windowsill, letting his gaze roam over the woods and listens to the sounds of rustling leaves and the occasional howl from a wild animal. He is happy to be far away from any of it with the haunting woods from his nightmare still fresh at the back of his mind. The longer he listens to the nightly sounds of the forest and watches the trees dance in the pale, silvery light of a half-moon hidden partially behind a thin cover of clouds, the more he manages to convince his mind that there is nothing to worry about, that it was all just a vivid dream after too much ale.
Then, when he is just about to head back to bed, he sees a flicker of orange in the forest that makes him feel like the bottom has just fallen out of his stomach and it is lying somewhere below him on the first floor in the mead hall.
At first, he cannot believe his own eyes, he is almost sure he must be imagining the orange glow and that his exhausted mind is playing a cruel trick on him, but it is still there no matter how much he blinks or rubs his eyes. Then, another one appears, just next to the first one and judging from the way the light flicker, there is no denying that they do indeed come from torches, and the warning from his dream returns with a vengeance, because none of the villagers have any reason to wander around in the middle of the night.
When a third light appears close to the other two, there is no longer any doubt in his mind. There is somebody out in the forest who is not supposed to be there, and he knows he needs to warn the others of the danger.
Survival instinct kicks in and he scrambles back towards the bed and reaches underneath it for the axe he stashed there the evening before, feeling comforted by the weight of the weapon in hand and heads out in the hallways ready to wake people.
He hammers on the first door he comes across until it finally opens a minute or two of insistent knocking later and Berwald glares angrily at him from the doorway after throwing the door open. He looks just about as wrecked as Matthias felt when he first woke up. His eyes are bloodshot from a lack of sleep and excessive alcohol consumption and the bags under his eyes are dark enough to show even in the little light available from the moon shining through the window. The total impression is not improved by the shirt hanging askew from his shoulders after being put on in a hurry.
"What?" Berwald demands angrily, wearing a truly murderous expression that would send most people running for their lives.
Matthias ignores it and shoves Berwald aside, forcing his way into the room and over to the window where he pulls the curtains fully aside. "Just look," he says sharply as a way of explanation, pointing outside and giving Berwald his most intense stare, making it obvious he is not intending to move anywhere until Berwald does as he says. "There is somebody in the forest."
"Are you still drunk?" Berwald growls tiredly, followed by a deep yawn as he rubs sleep from his eyes.
"Damn it, just look!" Matthias yells. He steps back to the hallway hand pushes the now very angry smith's apprentice towards the window, forcing him to look out at the orange flickering in the forest. "I'm pretty sure that is not my imagination," Matthias says determinedly. "I am also sure that is not one of our people, and I doubt they have good intentions for any of us."
Berwald's face drains of color and his expression changes from tired to dead serious in an instant and when Matthias peeks out again along with him, another torch flickers to life between the trees. "We need to warn the others," he mutters, grasping hard enough onto the windowsill to make the wood creak in protest. "You go; I'll keep an eye out for more torches."
Within seconds, Matthias is out of the room again and moving down the hallway as fast as he can, knocking frantically on every single door and yelling with a volume that should be enough to wake the dead back to life. "The enemy is upon us! Get up!"
Soon after, the first doors slam open and people swarm out into the hallway in different stages of dress and soberness trying to figure out what is causing such a ruckus, none of them looking at all happy about being called from their warm beds and some much needed sleep.
"What are you talking about boy?" one of them grumbles unenthusiastically. "Did the ale get to your head?" A few of the others chuckle at the remark, but their laughter quickly dies when they realize Matthias shows no signs of amusement at their reaction.
"I thought my yelling made it obvious," Matthias snaps back. "We are about to be attacked, and if you value your lives, then you better grab what you can and start moving. There is no time to lose; we have to get away from here right now."
"He is right," Berwald cuts in with a sharp voice as he steps out of his own room, fully dressed and armed with the large, decorated blade he offered Matthias when the collected supplies from the smithy. "There are several torches moving in the forest, and there are more of them appearing as we speak. Whoever is out there is getting close; they are just on the edge of the forest."
Then Torleif appears, elbowing his way through the crowd that is blocking off the entire hallway and makes his way over to Berwald and Matthias. "You heard the men!" he roars over the noise of people still talking amongst themselves in disbelief. "Everybody needs to grab as much equipment as they can carry; clothes, food and weapons, there is no time for valuables and trinkets. Make your way to the other side of the village, we just have to cross the fields and then the forest will give us cover as we make our way north towards the town of Dalahurst."
"How could the King's army be upon us so quickly?" somebody yells out over the terrified whispers between them all. "It's only been a few hours since we killed those soldiers, and the news should have taken days to spread anywhere, and now there are supposed to be soldiers in the forest ready to attack us. I don't believe it! It's impossible!"
"We'll have to speculate later," Torleif hisses back and begin marching down the hallway towards the stairs. "The fact is that they are here right now, and we have to deal with. If you want to find out how they did it, then you are free to stay behind and ask them once they arrive, but I have no intention to do so. When I served in the army last war, we learned not to underestimate the King's insight and his ability to send soldiers where they are needed the most, even without proper scout reports. Now move, and don't light any torches or they will spot us fleeing."
That puts an end to all the questions and the people that stood speechless and listened now scrambles back to their rooms to throw on clothing and grab the few items they kept in their rooms, ready to make a run for their lives.
"You and you," he commands, pointing at two people moving past him already dressed. "Go grab as many weapons from the backroom as you can carry and make a run for Dalahurst." Then he turns towards Berwald and Matthias and places a heavy hand on each of their shoulders giving each of them a serious look. "I will get everyone in the tavern going; you two go and warn the rest of the villagers. Tell them to grab only the essentials and make a run for it and warn as many others as possible on their way."
Both nod in understanding and Torleif sighs and tears a hand through his hair. "The soldiers are probably trying to surround the entire village and use the element of surprise to make sure none of us manage to sneak through the cracks in their defense, but such a maneuver takes time, and you should be able to sneak around the village for a few more minutes before they realize their plan has failed and launch a full assault."
Without hesitation, Matthias rushes off, pushing past the people that are once again flooding the hallways after dressing and gathering their essentials, Berwald close on his trail.
He takes the stairs, four steps at the time and barely makes it down without stumbling and falling over panicked people. Downstairs is just as chaotic, the rest of the villagers spending the night in the tavern are awake now as well and desperately moving around to figure out what is going on and what to do. Matthias rushes past them, knowing that Torleif will make sure they get out alright and find their way to safety.
When the two of them makes their way out the door, the cold air hits them like a punch in the face and Matthias' harsh breaths after his run turns to a cloud of white before his face. The village is dark and almost invisible except for a few darker silhouettes on the edge of his vision, barely lit up by the pale moonlight.
Berwald rushes up beside him, panting as well. "We should separate so we can warn more people," he breathes.
Matthias nods and slaps Berwald on the back before he runs out into the night, heading for the nearest cluster of houses. A quick glance towards the forest as he runs reveals that the torches are just visible on what he guesses must be the very edge of the forest and the soldiers will very soon be out in the open and have a clear view of the village. He can only pray that they will not notice a few shadows running through the streets of Griven just yet.
He runs.
Reaching the first house, he practically throws himself at the door, tearing at the handle.
It turns out to be unlocked and gives way under his weight, sending him stumbling inside, to the understandable surprise and shock of the inhabitants. An elderly woman shrieks and shots up in bed, clutching the blankets to her chest and her husband scrambles towards an axe by the bedside, to defend his family.
Matthias does not make a very good impression them, panting madly and clutching onto a great big battle axe with one hand, flailing wildly with the other. He lowers his hands and holds them out to the sides to appear a little less threatening as he gasps out and explanation of the approaching threat and tells them to spread the word as they make their way to the other forest.
The couple quickly realizes the situation and moves to grab the most important items they can, with the limited time and begins stuffing them into a small backpack. Matthias does not wait for them to finish and rushes back outside to move onto the next house.
He manages to rouse three more household and then throws a quick glance towards the forest to see if the enemy has made any progress, and his heart jumps in his chest, realizing the guards have notices their escape.
The people with torches in the forest has come out from the trees and are running in a large group towards the tavern with vicious cries, demanding blood, death, and destruction. There are still several villagers running away from the building, their arms full of gear and supplies, some desperately deciding to drop a few of their items to just run for their lives.
The flickering lights from the torches and the moon is just strong enough to make metal glint and it is enough to make the conclusion that it is indeed the king's men that are now streaming out of the forest. No common robbers have any money to carry armor, and neither do they have such large numbers or the courage to attack an entire village. The torches are moving in closer, seemingly from every direction and they have circled more than half of the city already, blocking the way.
Matthias sprints towards the next house and starts tearing at the door handle, much like he did with the first house. This one is locked, so he hammers at it with his free hand and kicks at it desperately, all the while screaming at the top of his lungs that they must run.
He throws a quick glance over his shoulder, while still hammering at the door. One of the soldiers has discovered him and changes his direction from the tavern that is already partially engulfed in bright red flames as the soldier has tossed torches onto the roof of the building and set more flame to the base, sending a large column of black smoke, twisting towards the sky like an angry snake.
Just as the soldiers starts making his way towards the house, the door in front of Matthias opens and a terrified woman steps out, grasping onto a tightly wrapped blanket that is snuffling softly. A barely dressed man appears besides her, looking just as horrified and Matthias realizes his options are limited. If any of them runs, the soldier is free to pick which one to pursue and none of the inhabitants of the house will be able to make it far, encumbered with a child in their care, so he clutches on harder to the heavy axe and steps protectively in front of the small family.
The approaching soldier slows down his steps when he gets closer, fully aware that the villagers will not dare to run when he is free to pick and choose who to follow. The light from his torch reveals a malicious smile and dark gleaming eyes, full of cruelty. "You will not get away so easily," he chuckles darkly as he assesses the only one of them who is armed and even close to being a threat and makes a few testing sweeps with his sword.
"If you get a chance, then run," Matthias whispers to the couple. "I will distract him."
Then he steps forward towards the soldier, lifting his axe in front of himself with both hands.
The soldiers' cruel smile widens even further, and he hurls his flickering torch up onto the roof, behind Matthias and the family, where the flames immediately catch on the grass covered roof. In the corner of his eye, Matthias notices the woman curl instinctively around the precious bundle in her arms to protect it and her husband pull her closer to himself as his gaze flickers around trying to find them an escape.
The fire crackles and roars angrily above them as it spreads quickly through the straw and makes it way to the beams holding up the roof and the smell of smoke is starting to spread. The flames also light up the little open area before the house and the soldier lifts his sword, taking swift steps towards them, circling around Matthias, aiming for the family and readies a strike at them.
Matthias leaps forward and blocks the first incoming blow with his axe with a vicious clang of metal against metal. With brute force, he pushes the soldier back, away from the house. He hears crunching gravel and hurried steps behind him, that tells him the family has made their escape behind his back towards safety.
The soldier breaks the stance with a swift step backwards and immediately slashes at Matthias again, this time more carefully, having realized the farmer moves more skilled with a weapon than he first assumed, and Matthias barely manages to sidestep what would surely have been a deadly blow had it struck.
With Matthias clearly on the defense, the soldier aims out a rapid succession of strikes that forces him backwards, so far that he can feel heat against his back from the fire that has grown and started eating at the walls as well as the roof, which is making and ominous creaking sound in warning of imminent collapse.
Matthias lifts his axe, keeping it close to his chest, blocking a series of rapid incoming strikes as the soldier forces him further back. Growing desperate, he flips up the butt end of the axe, and with a stroke of pure luck he manages to catch the soldier in the groin.
The soldier groans in pain and surprise, staggering backward, grimacing at the pain.
Matthias swings his axe sharply while the soldier is momentarily without a proper defense and catches him in the side.
The chainmail breaks from the force and the blade sinks into flesh and a warm droplets spray across his face. The smell of iron invades his senses, and he wants to vomit all over again.
The soldier screams out in pain as he stumbles to the ground. He clutches at his side and stares in disbelief at the blood seeping out between his fingers to run down his uniform.
Matthias watches in horror as the man dies before his eyes until he is torn out of his through by the sounds of a furious cry and he looks up to see two more soldiers storming towards him with their swords raised. Behind them again, the tavern is fully engulfed in flames and a few of the closest houses have flickers of flames as well, lighting up the silhouettes of several more soldiers moving through the village.
Matthias's heart beats a terrified staccato in his chest. There are so many more of them than he initially thought, and this group is much larger than the one they dispatched of in the marked square and now they are sweeping through the town like locust but causing far more damage.
Matthias turns on his heel and makes a run for his life, there is no way he can fight all of them.
The soldiers behind him shout after him, calling him a coward for not facing them, but he ignores it and keeps on running.
There are more villagers running on either side of him, trying to escape and he wishes he could save them all, but there are too many soldiers. He hears some of them scream as soldiers catch up with them and cut them down, sees the flickering lights as more and more houses are put to the torch. The soldiers obviously have no intentions of leaving anyone alive in the village or leave them anything to return to either.
Rushing through the narrow street in between the houses in the densest part of the village, dodging clotheslines, and rubble in his path, he makes his way to the other side of the village, where the buildings become fewer again until there are only scattered houses between the many fields that separate the village from the forest.
He can see the forest as a dark shadow in the distance that he knows hides the common road to the village of Dalahurst where Torleif told them all to meet up once they escaped.
There are about thirty more people running over the field that he can notice, and they are all followed by the king's men.
Matthias catches up with a group that has just grabbed hold of a young girl and are about to cut her throat open right before his eyes and with a roar he rushes forward, lashing out with a long sweep of his axe, sending one of the soldiers to the ground in a puddle of blood and guts from the powerful impact.
Just as Matthias is about to make another swing, the second soldier grabs onto the back end of his axe, pulling him out of balance and cutting his swing short. Matthias yanks on the handle, but the soldiers grip is too tight, and he refuses to let go.
In a panicked glance around the field, he notices another wave of soldiers making their way out in the fields to pursue the escaping villagers. More than half the town appears to be lit in flames and he can hear people screaming in between the buildings along with crashes of doors breaking down and buildings collapsing from the damage of the flames, and it break Matthias' heart.
He yanks on the axe again, pulling back with all his might, wanting to get away but not willing to let go of his weapon unless it is his last resort. The soldier still holds firm and gives him an evil grin. "You have no idea what you have just begun," the soldier yells over the noise. "You have no chance of defeating the King; this little rebellion will gain you nothing but a prolonged death. It would be easier to give in now and be done with it."
The soldier pushes Matthias back, the two of them almost equally matched in strength.
More soldiers are approaching fast, and Matthias knows he needs to get away now or the rest of the fighters will surround him. He kicks at the soldier, catches him in the knee and finally manages to pull the axe to himself and he runs for dear life.
The soldier begins laughing behind him, but apparently decides not to pursue. "You can run boy," he yells mockingly, "but you cannot hide!" The voice grows more distant as Matthias runs. "We will find you soon enough. You do not have training in war, and you do not have the numbers to challenge us. I have seen your face, and soon the rest of the kingdom will see it as well, decorating a spike in the capitol square!"
Matthias runs.
To the sounds of thundering feet and roaring soldiers, he keeps running.
He hurtles in between the trees and the branches close in behind him, muffling the sounds of destruction and cover him in a blanket of darkness.
He breathes hard and panicked, struggling to get enough oxygen to his lungs, but he cannot stop running yet, no matter how exhausted he is. He needs to get further away from the soldiers and the burning village, and he keeps running, letting the forest embrace him from all sides.