The Immortal One

Chapter Two - The Gift at the Well

It was nearly dawn by the time Säyä reached the village. She had traveled through the night, carried by the promise that had been made to her. The curiosity lent energy to each of her steps and quickened her pace. There was no hesitation when she made the decision; as if it had ever truly been a question whether or not she would seek out what the Wiseman had left for her at the well. 

A crow cawed as she approached it. Beside the well stood a man who was drawing up water to drink. He was tall, lean, and very muscular. His bare torso revealed a body sculpted over many years of intense training. His jet black hair was cropped short and was as wild as the intensity in his eyes. Yet those same eyes were detached, and felt...weary. They were sharp, like a bird of prey; and his high cheekbones framed his angular features. A single scar marked the left side of his neck; it was shaped like a claw that had seared his flesh to the bone.
Säyä clung to the shadows in silence, an art which she had learned well during her hunts. She watched him drink, and eat from a loaf of day-old bread. His pants were well-worn, and three knives were strapped to his right thigh. When he was done, he sat with his back to the stone and waited for the sun to rise.
"Have you never seen a traveler before, girl?"
His voice caught her off-guard, she was sure that she had made no sound since she caught sight of him, and had remained out of his field of vision. There was no point in concealing herself further.
"Was there...anything beside the well when you arrived here?"
The traveler lifted the bucket and drank, "Besides this?"
"Besides that."
"No."
Säyä, unsure of what to make of this, scanned the area herself, but found no sign of anything left by the Wiseman. The drifter paid her little mind. His left arm rested against the hilt of the sword hanging from his right hip. He closed his eyes, and as his breathing began to slow, she wondered whether or not he had fallen to sleep.
She felt a pang of frustration and she asked herself whether or not she should just go home. She was tired and disappointed. Then she remembered what the Wiseman had said to her.
"The gift that I offer you is not a trinket to hold onto, but an adventure to be experienced, a road to be traveled, a mystery to be unraveled."
I should at least wait and see if anything happens.
She sighed and made a place for herself opposite the traveler. She held the bag containing her things against her chest and folded her arms over it. She closed her eyes so that she could rest a little, but was swiftly carried off into the land of dreams.

The sound of groaning and something crunching woke her. Her vision cleared as her senses returned from their nightly sojourn, and she saw two men tangled up in one another right in front of her. The traveler had his arm around the neck of a soldier, clad in full plate armor; however, his helm and gorget had been removed. With a final crunch, the soldier's neck snapped and he fell to the ground, limp, dead. Säyä caught sight of the bodies of two other soldiers not far from where she sat. Her breath was caught in her throat, her heart felt as though it had stopped to beating. She remained as still as the trees that she so respected.
An arrow wisped through the air and struck him in the back, just as a second found its way to his shoulder. The traveler made no sound, and showed no response to the pain.
With a swift motion he threw two of the knives from the belt on his leg, and the sound of two grunts confirmed the kills. With a nonchalance that surprised her, the drifter removed the arrows and let them fall to the ground. With his torso exposed, she was free to watch his wounds heal before her eyes. His flesh moved and covered over the injury as if it was living wet clay.
"You...you are the Immortal One."
Her words had come forth of their own accord, she was surprised to have heard herself speak them. His gaze fell upon her for the first time. She felt the force of his attention weigh upon her like gravity, and the seriousness of the situation became realized in that moment.
He is going to kill me...I am going to die here...
He turned to face her. "Just a healing spell." He replied. Säyä could not break eye contact with him, he had locked her in place as if he was physically restraining her. His focus burned through all of her defenses and left her soul naked before him. It was a terrifying feeling, and she was all but overwhelmed by it. Somehow, a part of her mind resisted the fear, and even in the face of his tremendous power, she did not lose herself.
"No. You are him. I know it. The man who knows not death, and fears not spell or blade. You are the Immortal One."
What am I saying? Silence! If he believes that you do not know anything then maybe he will let you live. Tell him that you will betray his presence to no one!
"That is only a legend," he spoke with certainty.
"You once intruded upon the Great Forest, and the people of Avinós struck you down with arrows. Yet you rose again and made your escape, killing one of the men who struck you. See! I have the head of the arrow that pierced your left eye, the arrow that once ended your life."
This is not what I should be doing. This man is dangerous!
He took three steps forward and studied the relic in her hand. The vibration of a struck bowstring caught their attention. Saya barely caught sight of the arrow as it soared toward them, she had no time to react. The drifter moved with blinding speed, he could easily have evaded it, but instead he positioned himself in front of her and took the blow. His hand was raised to intercept it, but the weapon was enchanted and pierced straight through his palm and entered his forehead. Säyä felt a light spray of blood as it broke through the back of his head and stopped just short of flying straight through him.
"Great Mother..." She heard herself say. A knight made his way over to him from the treeline. His face had a cocky smile plastered across it.
"Heal that one ya bastard." He nocked another arrow and fired it into his face at point-blank range. "And one for the road." With that, he fired a third. Satisfied, he turned his attention to Säyä. He looked her over, appreciating her subtle curves and imagined the supple breasts that hid behind her leather vest. He drank in her fair skin, the result of a life lived beneath the sheltering canopy. Her long red hair aroused him, and he found himself wanting to play with the long braid that she had tied it in.
"Well aren't you an enticing little thing?"
Säyä did not need her analytical skills to understand what was on his mind. A shiver raced up her spine and she rose to her feet, slowly.
"T-thank you for saving me," she tried to sound grateful, but she did not mean a word of it. She felt as though, now, she was in danger of a worse kind. "I will just be on my way."
The knight reached out and caught her arm in a vice grip. "Now why would you want to leave so soon? Don't ya know how to express your gratitude?"
"I can provide you with fresh supplies for your travels. I have cured meats that would serve your journey well."
"HA! Cute." A lecherous expression overcame him, "Little lady, I got all the meat I need now."
A surge of disgust propelled her to struggle free, but he was too strong. She unsheathed her hunting knife and lunged at his pelvis near a gap in the plates of his armor. He shifted at the last moment and the blade struck steel. He ripped it from her grip and backhanded her. The force of the blow coupled with his gauntlet nearly knocked her unconscious. Blood trickled down her face and filled her mouth with the tang of iron.
"Bitches need to learn their manners. Soldiers like me are always dyin' for your tight little asses. It's only fair that they belong to us when we get back."
He shoved her to the ground. "Time for my reward."
Effortlessly, he ripped the vest from her and tore into her shirt, freeing her young breasts from their confines. "Not bad, not bad."
He removed the bindings from his belt and used them to retrain her. When he was certain that she would not be able to flee, he began to strip off pieces of his armor in anticipation of the pleasure.
"Please. Do not do this. I do not want this. Show mercy, please." She did her best to remain calm, intuitively she knew that his type would only retaliate with violence if she screamed.
"You don't know what you're missin' girl. You're probably a virgin and haven't known a man yet. You'll love it. I'll show you."
The panic was rising rapidly in her. The desperation built as she searched the reservoirs of her knowledge in order to create a plan of escape. The next thing she knew, he was atop of her, straddling her. He caressed her face and she cringed in disgust.
"Best to know your daddy's name. I'm -"
The edge of a dagger cut his words short, just like it cut open his throat and showered Säyä in his blood.
"You deserve no name." The traveler spoke with a vengeful conviction. "Your life is forfeit, return to the nameless dark from whence you came...and Be no more."
Säyä covered herself and tried to keep her heart from beating right out of her chest. For a long time, the two of them simply stared at one another, wordless. It was he who first broke the silence.
"You are free." His hawk-like eyes connected with her, his tall body loomed over her, and she felt the power of a raptor on high. At any moment he could swoop down and take her, end her, all he had to do was decide that she was prey. But he did not. His eyes showed more besides. They were protective, and filled her with a paradoxical sense of safety and security. His wild hair danced to the wind's tune, as the blood from his previous wounds (Which were now gone without a trace) trickled down his cheeks and neck. He had never drawn his sword, and she somehow knew that when he unsheathes it, there is nothing that can withstand the force of him. Dawn had come, and the sun's rays illuminated the horizon. The light glistened in the droplets of blood, and the sparkle made him seem, to her, to be divine - an avenging angel.
"You are beautiful to me." Her tone was wondrous, enchanted. "Take me with you."
The traveler turned to leave her, but something stopped him. He remembered the words that the Dreamer had spoken to him.
Alone for eternity, and dead all the while.
She wished that she could hear his thoughts, and comprehend what was transpiring within him.
"It will be dangerous. Your life will be threatened. If you wish to brave this path, then - you may walk with me. At least, for a time."
In a trance, she rose to her feet, took her bag in hand, and followed him. In this one night, everything in her life had changed, and she chose without a second thought to leave everything else behind.