Tales from Frostbourne [Cancelled]

Chapter 3 : Put It To The Test

Daryll POV

We've been trying to help Rain to get back to his standard before he was "zombified", but it's quite hard. In Frostbourne, the bandits, mercenaries and knights have to take shifts patrolling the borders. Theo, one of the knights, and I usually take first shift in the early morning, 6 to 7:30 am. That's basically our every morning, get up, get changed into our armour, get our horses and go out. Theo and I always go to the west banks of the Frostbourne River first.

"DARYLL!" I woke to the sound of Theo's voice yelling at me. I opened my eyes, already feeling beat.

"What. Why are you waking me up Theo?" I asked groggily. I didn't like being woken up too early. I looked at my clock. "4:30?! Theo what's wrong with you?!" I exclaimed in shock.

"Ask Patrick that! He came round a few minutes ago, he's gathering everyone up for a meeting." Theo explained.

"At 4:30? Who's going?" I asked.

"Azura, Rain, me, you, and a few other bandits, mercenaries and knights." he replied, as I nodded.

"I'll get into my armour, so go away please!" I told him. He paused for a second, then left. As I changed into my silver armour, I wondered what Patrick had called a meeting this early in the morning for. When I finished, I'd concluded it must be urgent and very important. I walked out my room with my sword in my hand, and saw Theo waiting for me by the door.

"So Theo, do you know what it's going to be about?" I inquired, curiously. He shook his head.

"No, but it must be urgent, it's not like Patrick to call meetings this early." he agreed with my thoughts. I just nodded. We'd walked slowly to Patrick's area of the village, but I saw the blue tips of Azura's hair and the end of her lab coat disappear through the door. She'd obviously woken up late and grumpy too, I guessed, from the way she walked.

---In The Meeting---

"Hello, and welcome everyone. I'm very sorry to have woken you all up at a ridiculous time in the morning, but something's come up that we need to discuss." Patrick started. "You may have heard of a place called The Coven. If you don't know what or where that is, it's basically home to Witches and Enchantresses upstream of the river." he nodded at Rain. "Most of the witches and enchantresses are good, but there are a small amount of them who are not. Earlier, one of the main dams keeping the Coven from flooding with river water, burst. This has completely obliterated all homes and buildings, possibly drowning some of the inhabitants, but there is also the possibility of some of them getting dragged downstream, near Frostbourne."

"So, what are we going to do about it?" asked Azura form the front.

"I was just about to explain. Most of the bandits and that rotate watching the Frostbourne River. Today, and until the dam is rebuilt, the river will be a lot faster and deeper, making it more dangerous. I want extra people keeping an eye on that west bank, to watch for any stragglers." Patrick explained. At this point, Theo and I were exchanging determined looks. Patrick spotted us and said "Theo! Daryll! I want you guys to watch the river first. I'd like Rain and Azura to keep watch after 6. Everyone else, I'll call you when you're needed." he announced. Then, he nodded at everyone, dismissing us. As Theo and I ambled out the room, Patrick trampled over to us.

"Be careful OK? The river's deeper than I expected it to be when I checked this morning. You're some of my best soldiers, and right now, I can't afford to lose any troops." he warned us, though he said it more of a command.