The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 46

                                                                            Indigo

Lucian, Rachel, and I slowly made our way towards the Northern Mountains. We ambled from village to village, sometimes camping out at the side of the road when two villages were too far apart. Earlier today, we found a merchant who wanted to hire some people to help him transport his fabrics to a town two villages over. Because the town was on the way to the Northern Mountains, we did our best to persuade the merchant to hire us. At first, he thought we were just random teenagers looking to make some money, but after hearing our sob story about our sick grandmother and seeing that we were good with swords, he hired us as "guards" for half of what he was paying his other hired hands. Our job, he told us, was to protect him and his precious cargo.

The other three hired hands were young men. John and Sam were brothers and the sons of a farmer, looking to earn some extra money to support the family. Keith was the son of small shopkeeper, and he wanted to try his luck outside of his small village. The merchant, whom everyone called Nathan, was kind enough to lend us horses. While Lucian trotted ahead every now and then to scout the road ahead, Rachel and I shared a horse and rode on the side of the horse cart full of expensive fabrics. Nathan was riding in front of the horse cart, but he doubled back often to make sure the rest of us weren't slacking off.

Sam sat at the front of the cart, the reins in hand. His brother and Keith shared another horse, keeping an eye on the cargo. We followed the wide dirt road north towards the town that Nathan called Casewick. While John, Sam, and Keith often talked amongst themselves, the rest of us kept to ourselves. Nathan was quite jumpy; he often looked around as if someone was going to emerge and steal his fabrics away.

"Are you sure he's a good person?" Rachel whispered to me. "What if he stole those fabrics or cheated someone out of their money? Why else would he be so jumpy all the time?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure if he's to be trusted, but we need to get to the Northern Mountains. As soon as we get to Casewick, we'll collect our pay and leave." I replied quietly. "Whatever his history may be, we're not going to get tangled up in it."

We passed one village, then stopped in the second for the night. Early next morning, Nathan roused us to continue the journey. "We're almost there," he stated. "Just about twenty miles left, and then we'll be at Casewick." He even promised us an extra gold coin each if we get there before sunset.

Even though we didn't understand what all the rush was, we obliged with Nathan's orders. He probably has to deliver his cargo before a certain time, I thought. We made good time, and were within five miles of the town when the road cut through a forest. "Be careful everyone," Nathan called back. "I've heard of bandits on this road. We must be alert at all times."

Everyone stuck closer to the horse cart. As guards, Rachel, Lucian, and I kept searching the forest for signs of movement. The road narrowed as the forest got denser. I had a flashback to when we were attacked by Evils in the Desederium Forest. "Sam, go faster," I said to Sam quietly. He nodded and shook the reins, urging the horses on. All was quiet in the forest, save for the chirping of birds and the clip-clop of the horses.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the air. In the next moment, a group of bandits poured out of the forest, all dressed in black and with cloth tied over their noses and mouths. Nathan yelled for us to run, but the bandits already had us surrounded. There must have been about fifteen or twenty of them, and most of them were holding weapons. Sam, Keith, and John froze, fear showing on their faces. Nathan paled.

"Leave us your cargo, and we'll let y'all live," one of the bandits stated gruffly. He seemed to be the leader. "Otherwise, this stretch of road is gonna be stained red today."