Dark beginnings

Chapter five

I carried only my father's knife and bow, a water canteen, and a small pouch of dried food in the cloth pack I carried on my back.I needed as much speed as I could get because anything else would have slowed me down.I had a maximum of two days to find a cure.I had to return to camp by the third day.Evan would pass away on that day.

When I emerged onto the plain through the last of the trees, the sky was still dark, but sunrise was not far off.I could have seen Woodford even from the tree line if it had been light out.A short walk away was a large town that was practically a city.It was also my first and probably only stop because it was the only place where people lived for several days.

Between Aurumburg, the capital of the Melior kingdom, and the shores to the east, the exotic southern kingdoms, Woodford was located next to the great Eldin River.Before the plague, the town typically saw at least one trade caravan pass through it every week.I could only hope that the plague would have passed in three years and Woodford would once again be flourishing.If it were, then there would undoubtedly need to be someone who either had the cure or was aware of it.

At least that was the plan.

But I was scared.There were a lot of things that could go wrong, as with everything else in my life.Maybe the clearest issue would be on the off chance that I appeared and everybody was dead.When we left, the plague was still very active after three years.There was a very real possibility that I would only see corpses if the plague had not been eradicated or cured.

Both hope and fear were evoked by the second possible scene.It was that the residents of the town would actually survive.I had not only been the only person to survive the plague, but I had also started it.They believed that the Destroyer's curse, not a miracle, was the reason I survived.I cursed a demon.They had attempted to break into my house to make a sacrifice of me to the gods the last time I saw any of them.

If they saw me, what would they do?I couldn't really understand.Would I stay and search for the cure despite the possibility of death, or would I flee and fail in my mission?The future will tell.

Obviously that was undeniably founded on assuming anybody remembered me.They didn't appear to be expecting me.They might have believed that Evan and I had perished in the forest.I also looked different.In addition to being three years older, I had virtually no body fat and was fit.However, my nearly white, bright blonde hair had always stood out in stark contrast to the majority of people's darker brown hair.It made me unique, which, given the circumstances, was clearly unfavorable.

Regardless, I would remain in the shadows until I assessed the situation.It seemed like the best strategy.

When I arrived in Woodford, the buildings were hidden by the sun as it passed over the horizon.I could just make out the outline of a small house in the distance as I looked out over the fields.Home.

I was able to sneak into the town through some back alleys despite the fact that there was a road leading in from all four directions—north, south, east, and west—and the absence of a wall.I was pleased to discover that I still remembered how to navigate the town's narrow streets between shops and homes.

The good news was that people were still living in the town.I could trust a fix had been found.

I sneaked around in the shadows as the town as a whole was getting ready for the day.I could hear blacksmiths pounding away at their metal and the savory aromas of baking sweet rolls wafting through the air as shops opened and smoke rose from the chimneys.

As I thought back to the times when Evan and I would save our coins and then use them all to buy sweets from bakers, my mouth watered.We always got sick the next day from eating too much.After three years of scrounging for food in the woods, I now wish I could eat until I'm full.Shaking my head, IAfter I saved Evan, I could eat.

It was advantageous to arrive this early in the morning.People were so preoccupied getting ready for the day that they didn't even notice me.I hid behind barrels or around the next corner most of the time and never let them see me, but there were a few times when I didn't hide fast enough.However, people continued to ignore me even when I was unable to conceal myself.They kept their heads down and didn't even say hello to their neighbors, as if they didn't want me to notice them.

That was the first sign that something wasn't right for me.When a town was based on trade, the residents had to be happy and welcoming before the plague.What now?Since I arrived, I do not recall hearing a single smile or laugh.

There was an additional sensation thatoff.Something was bothEvanging me like a persistent itch, but I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

I steadily moved toward the town's center by zipping up and down the back alleys.One of the first structures to be constructed, the inn was designed to accommodate the numerous tourists.I was most likely to hear about a treatment there.I would also meet Wesley, the proprietor of the inn, my dad's best friend.I probably wouldn't find the answers anywhere else if I couldn't find them there.

I looked out from behind a pile of boxes in a small opening between two shops and saw the inn and the town's main road.Almost everything was identical.A baker's and butcher's shop had items on display for purchase, a blacksmith was making horseshoes, and a tanner was making hides.Nobody was grinning.

I was still troubled by something about the town, but I couldn't think of what it was.

Then I got it.Everything was awesome, the structures and individuals.I considered the buildings I had previously passed as I surveyed the area around me;Every sign and building appeared to have been either completely repainted or rebuilt.There was little wear and tear.All of the people wore brand-new clothing with no rips or stains.

There was a problem.

I decided to take the chance of being discovered because I wanted answers, so I crept out from behind the boxes and crouched down at the gap between the two buildings to get closer to the main road.I noticed two things right away.

First, no vendors were present to sell their wares.Typically, they lined up on the street side opposite the inn.However, not now.However, I imagined that trade was still slow after the plague, so I could have readily accepted that.

I was worried about the second thing.The main roads were patrolled by knights wearing white armor from head to toe.They were new.In the past, most of Woodford's men in leather armor dealt with inn fights.Was the town under attack?I had never heard of knights wearing only white armor, and the knights lacked a sigil.

In any case, attack appeared to be conceivable.

Melior had been constantly at war, and it had lost, for decades before I was born.Due to the abundance of metals, wood, and spices in our territory, every other kingdom desired it.We were gone after on each line, losing increasingly more land and men from one year to another.

Prince Marcus changed everything.He had deployed his army to eliminate our adversaries in a variety of conflicts prior to the plague.He was said to be brilliant and blessed by God.As our adversaries came to our aid one by one, our kingdom expanded.

Naturally, there were some armies that resisted, and Prince Marcus was sent to deal with them.However, rumors began to circulate about the terrible things he did on the battlefield.They were horrendous to the point that my father wouldn't talk about them.He started to be criticized as cruel and thirsty for violence.Our adversaries quickly became cowEvang, afraid to fight the dark prince.

Before the plague, there were rumors that Prince Marcus had tried to take the kingdom by force with a small group of loyal soldiers because he was so eager to rule and thought his father was a weak man.He was doomed.He had been killed by the king, his father.

These white knights were now present.I had no idea whether they had invaded us out of retaliation or for our resources, but it was possible.I had even more reason to be cautious and stay in the shadows, whoever they were.

A desperate woman's high, shrill voice came out of nowhere.No!Landon!Don't take him, please!All I have is him!No!”

A group of white knights carrying a young man and a woman traveled the main road.They fought their captors, but there were too many of them to overcome.I perceived the young fellow even with his bloodied lip and enlarged cheek.He was the tailor's son and the woman being dragged with him, and he was two years older than I was.When I went to town, we had played a few times together.

Landon was cut in the throat with a dagger drawn by one of the knights.To Landon's mother, he growled, "Be quiet or he dies."The knights continued on to the road intersection in front of the inn, where she immediately stopped struggling.