THE EAR ARCHER Part 1 (Completed) #wattys2022

THE GREAT GATES OF XAN

SPECIAL THANKS TO @jabberlocksbox for the story cover.

GOB looked upon the Great gate of Xan. For the first time in a long time legend had lived up to expectation.
The monstrous copper gate could easily dwarf a pterodactyl, not like he had ever seen one but no matter how he pictured the extinct flesh-eating bird, the gate would had easily dwarfed it.
He examined the gate for a moment, the new life he wanted, the changed life he hoped for was beyond the gate.
He pushed heels of his boots against the sides of his magnificent Arabian steed.
Contrary to what he expected there weren't millions of people travelling in and out of the city, that worked as an advantage for him, he won't have to wait in a never ending line to be checked.
As expected, there was an outpost before the gate with a lone guard who barked at him.
"Your papers "
Gob alighted from his steed and marched straight to the guard who was still scrutinizing him thoroughly.
Gingerly, Gob handed his papers to the guard, he didn't possess anything to hide, nonetheless, he disliked having the guard's eye on him.
The guard briskly looked at his papers then assessed him, particularly eying the arrow Bag at his rear.
The guard handed back his papers, Gob reached to get it but the guard tugged it and held it for a second.
"Commit a crime here and you can kiss your mama adieu, you will never see her again".
Eventually, he let go of the papers.
Gob tried to suppress the laughter that was welling up inside him.
"kiss your Mama adieu? "
He had heard better threats. He bestrode his steed and rode off.

The sunlight was already setting, illuminating the usual colour of red.
Gob had only two copper coins in his purse an amount sufficient for an extra large piece of bread or a night in a lowly inn.
Gob decided food was of more importance than shelter.
With a full stomach Gob trotted around town which was surprisingly deserted.
He was far from being scared but the sudden disappearance of everyone was cause for concern.
He became increasingly paranoid and expected an attack any moment.
He unhinged his bow while regulating the speed of his steed to a fairly slow pace. He maintained the pace for a period of twenty minutes.
Perhaps he was wrong, perhaps it was tradition. He considered hinging his bow, then he heard it, the buzzing sound, from experience, he knew what was coming.
With flair, he pulled himself backwards as an arrow flew past him.
He twirled his head instinctively towards the direction of the shot.
Three more buzzing sounds ensured, he dodged all three arrows flawlessly.
He was in a dilemma over who would attack him.
It then occurred to him.
"robbers ".
He steered his horse towards the direction of the shoots, it was already dark, he couldn't see his attackers because of a certain oak tree which the robbers were obviously hiding within.
To retaliate, he needed their exact location.
He gritted his teeth which pronounced the outline of is jawbone.
His eyes darted at every seemingly possible attack spot on the oak tree.
Quiet, intense, he listened and again he heard it, the buzzing sound.
He caught sight of the arrow and tilted to the right, an almost flawless dodge, the arrow zoomed past his left.
He had spotted the point from which the arrow came from, he retrieved two arrows from his arrow bag and inserted both in his bow.
     He released one of the    arrows and a buzzing sound erupted.
The ear archer listened but heard no cry of pain, he had missed.
With eyes on high alert and an arrow locked in his bow, he waited.
The buzzing sound came again. Immediately, he drew the string to his ear and shot back at the direction the arrow was shot a split second ago, then dodged to the left.
He dodged a bit late as the arrow gave him a light cut on the cheek before zooming past him.
Almost immediately he heard a deep groan., he had hit his target.
It was over, or so he thought, he steered his steed around in a bid to return to his fugitive journey only to find three men on horse backs with swords drawn.
He reached behind his back for his arrows, like a huge dragon fly an arrow flew past him, missing his ears by the barest margin. Someone had made a shot past his ears as a warning.
Surrounded, he surrendered. one of the riders a short, hairy man with a large beard gave his horse reins a tug and the beast took five steps forward.
He spoke to Gob in a harsh, deep baritone voice,
"put it down "
he ordered the ear archer gesturing at the bow, the ear archer let go of the weapon. No sooner did the weapon leave his grasp did he receive what he already anticipated, a blow to the side of the head about three inches above his ear where a cluster of veins met.
His head whirled as he fell off his steed. He fought unconsciousness as much as he could but he knew it was a fight he wouldn't win, voices echoed as he drifted away from consciousness .
When he regained consciousness, he attempted opening his eyes, only to experience extreme heaviness.
With everything he had, he forced it open, his eyes met a small crowd gathered underneath, only then did he realise he was hanging from a height.
He tried to move but found his body was battered.
To worsen the situation, he was stark naked.
The air was cold and the sun was mild an indication it was still morning.
He hung there for what seemed to him eternity, at this time, the sun was directly above him in other words it had reached his highest point in the sky.
"Noon"
he muttered to himself. It was already noon and the city guards had not come to his aid, even the crowd rallied under him had begun to disperse and no one moved a muscle to help him.
He was ashamed but when darkness came, his shame was replaced with hunger.
He swore an oath within himself, should he ever escape, he would hunt down the pack of robbers that did this to him and hang them on gallows for the world to see.
Slowly but steadily, he lost consciousness. He was awoken by hoots, possibly an owl, a clear indication it was night, Meaning people who saw him on their way out had definitely seen him on their way back and did nothing to help him.
His anger turned towards them. It was no wonder why they were being robbed,heartless sods, they deserved it.
He reflected on his stupidity, he never should have left home, he was going to die here on this tree, death not even a chicken deserved.
His left leg felt loose, he moved it around and obviously it wasn't tied,then his right leg felt loose, two daggers flew above his fingers, the next thing he heard was a thud, Sharp pain raced through his spine, as he fell into a wooden cart.
At last the city guards had found and rescued him.
With that he drifted into a dreamless sleep.
"The morning is Good "
A soft, soothing voice observed, the ear archer opened his eyes, the intensity of the light his eyes had not been exposed to for the past fifteen Hours caused him to immediately shut them tight.
He tried again, this time his Iris allowed a little more light but his vision was blurred, he kept blinking several times to correct the disorder, after a while his eyes adjusted and What he Saw was not the city dispensary as he had thought but a small, rickety structure.
He sprang or tried to but stumbled to his previous position. He looked around, smelling salts littered the room.
An old man emerged from the adjoining room, he wore a fleece shirt and black trousers with long black boots which almost reached his knees, his bald head was accentuated by his white beard. His mouth had perfect white teeth, unusual for a man his age.
His wrinkled face smiled at the ear archer, deliberately, he strolled down to the ear archer's bed.
The ear archer looked at him in utter confusion, he tried to speak but couldn't find his voice.
The old man noticed his plight, with three long strides strode to a stone jar which lay by the wall.
With a metal cup, he fetched some water for the archer.
The Archer's blistered mouth opened vaguely to accommodate the incoming liquid.
The old man was patient and retrieved the cup with a smile.
Immediately, the ear archer's smell sensors picked up some signals. His nose ignited his entire head to turn to Where the aroma was coming from. A pot cooked on wood fire stood to the far end of the house.
His stomach made a rumbling sound which he had always known to be trouble.
The old man followed his gaze, a little chuckle escaped his lips
"hungry you are "
the ear archer nodded, a knowing smile cut across the old man's face.
"But first"
he continued, tossing the ear archer a garment.
"cover up".
Naked and embarrassed, the ear archer tried to cover his privates. The old man Walked away to the soup pot turning his back to the ear archer to give him some privacy.
The old man filled two metal bowls with soup and retrieved two dry loaves of bread from his shelve then beckoned on The ear archer to follow him, like a little lamb,the ear archer obeyed.
They settled into wooden chairs with a wooden table between them,an arrangement that was supposed to be the dining.
"Let's eat "
the old man beckoned, immediately, the ear archer clawed the bread into his mouth and before he could touch the soup the old man added
"this side of Xan best soup I cook"
the ear archer nodded absentmindedly when he tried the soup, it was almost tasteless. Not withstanding, the ear archer drank the soup with so much vigour, the old man inwardly praised himself for preparing such a fine soup.
After the meal, the old man cleared the plates and took a seat across the archer.
The old man looked sternly at the ear archer, causing him to shuffle uncomfortably in his seat.
The old man's eyes relaxed, a smile cut across his face. Apparently, he was aware of the effect his stare had on the boy who in his opinion was no more than twenty.
"I am Yart "
the old man began
"Gob"
the ear archer replied then added
"thank you for all you've done for me am truly grateful".
Ignoring the archer's appreciation Yart pressed on
"Who are you, and where did you come from? you don't look from around here"
The ear archer tried to answer the questions one at a time.
He cleared his throat to ensure his voice wouldn't fail.
"Am Gob, I come from the Pacific rim, I absconded  home and came here in search of new life''
  "So you are a run away "
   "I guess so "
"Pacific rim, part from Which is?",
"Nepal "
"Oh, the land of the Pike men"
" Yes "
Yart threw the ear archer a knowing look, Gob was well aware the man could deduce he was lying, he attempted to steer the conversation.
"About you, where are you from?".
"What happened "
Yart pressed. Gob offered him a recap of his time in Xan
"terrible Tale it is "
Yart muttered
the ear archer continued
"They disarmed me, stole my horse and weapon, beat me to pulp, stripped me and hung me from an oak tree, all the while, the city guards did nothing".
Yart shook his head grimly
"why did you run away?"
The ear archer cast his head down, and for a moment he didn't speak when he did he said.
"Forgive me, I can't say for now but in time, when I have the courage, I will tell You".
Yart nodded grimly
   "very Well"
"You've not told me about yourself"
the ear archer reminded.
"Oh", Yart uttered and sat back as he had stood half way up.
"Am Yart, from the west precisely from Celt, in the vast kingdom of Wales.
    I am a black Smith, I make crude house utensils and sometimes weapons ".
The ear archer's eyes involuntarily scrutinized the old man. He assessed him head to toe, he looked strong and agile, those were qualities of a blacksmith.
Yart gave off a knowing smile. He called the boy's mind back
"time to sleep ".
He stood up finally, as he walked into the adjoining room, he called back to Gob,
"the bed Is yours for the night ".
The ear archer adjusted his garments and laid back on the bed, it had no pillow but that was a luxury he could do without.
He closed his eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.
The crow of the cock woke the ear archer. He had himself timed so he could handle the chores, a small way of repaying the kindness showered on him.
He sat upright on his bed, and to his utter astonishment the wooden floor was already polished, the eating area was cleaned and the plates all washed.
A line he had heard the day before hit him like huge wave
  "The morning is Good "
"By the spirits" he cursed under his breath, he was beaten, the old man had woken up earlier.
Yart looked up from blowing air into firewood to kindle the flame.
"Unbelievable " Gob thought he had woken up early enough to cook.
"What time Did you wake up" Gob asked. Yart stood from the fire place and turned to face the ear archer
"When the first cock crowed"
"What?"The archer demanded.
"What is the time " the ear archer demanded like a man woken  from trance .
"Judging from the position of the sun and the cock's crow, I believe it's an hour before noon"
"What? "
With long, brisk strides, Yart reached the end of the room and collected his coat from the wooden recliner.
"Now that you are awake, I intend getting to work. There is soup in the pot and some bread in the shelf. You can look around town if you like and needless to add, be careful"
As he walked towards the door, the ear archer called to him
"wait ", the old man paused.
"Let me come with you please, I am certain I can be of help".
Yart shook his head sideways
''no, you know nothing about Smiting"
"I can learn" Gob cut in
"No, you are not fully recovered, you can come with me tomorrow"
The ear archer sighed sadly but wasn't still ready to accept defeat.
Sensing this, Yart quickly added
" And that's final''

'very well, as you wish '

'good boy '

Gob's lips expanded in a smile, so did Yart.

'One more thing '
Yart said as he opened the door ghat led outside
' I would like the house to remain in its state of cleanliness.

' yes my Lord"
mocked Gob with a bow of false courtesy.

Yart laughed heartily and exited finally.

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