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The Guardian

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Caydock

Caydock

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Chapter One Cont.

Rowan jumped in surprise and whirled around, confronting the unexpected visitor. The man before him was wearing a brown, homespun cloak, dark trousers and mud-encrusted boots, clearly a forester. As Rowan took this in, he also realized that every part of the stranger’s person—clothes, boots and his shoulder-length brown hair—was damp with water.

As Rowan’s eyebrows started to rise up in surprise, the man sighed. “I was caught in the storm, alright?”

“The storm was hours ago.”

“These clothes take a long time to dry! Anyway, the name’s Orothian. Are you Rowan?”

Rowan was thoroughly surprised. It wasn’t often—make that never—that a stranger approached someone in Aridy. And a stranger who knew his name? Today was shaping up to be interesting.

“Yes, I’m called that.”

“Good,” Orothian said abruptly. He reached into his cloak pocket and took out a piece of folded paper. He opened it gently and Rowan saw that it, too, was damp with rainwater.
The man cleared his throat again, this time to read, but then stopped before saying the first word. “Where’s your sword?”

Rowan was growing perturbed. This man knew a little too much about him for his liking. On his guard now, Rowan answered, “In the hut. What’s it to you?”

“Just making sure I have the right person.”

“Have?”

Orothian groaned, “Found the right person, found! Will you stop acting so uneasy? Look at your horse.”

Rowan glanced at his horse quickly and whirled back, hands held protectively in front of his face, certain that the strange visitor was trying to catch him off his guard.

Orothian stared levelly at him, unblinking. Feeling rather foolish, Rowan turned back and studied Victory. The horse was munching on a patch of thin grass, looking completely at ease.

“See?”

Rowan nodded, “Alright. So what is it you want?”

24-Jan-2011 19:39:11

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Orothian looked back at his paper and read, “‘Swordsmanship and Archery Tournament, a fortnight from the feast. The tournament will consist of a series of battles and tests to discern who the greatest warriors in the land are. Tournament is open to all of Adakea; no previous army experience required. Reward for the top three warriors is placement in the Royal Guard of the King. Two silver pieces to enter. Registration is at dawn in Stalwart.’”

Rowan’s eyes widened. “Let me see that,” he said, reaching for the paper.

Orothian pulled it out of his reach, “Oh no, you don’t want to touch this. It’s been in a few interesting places.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

Orothian shrugged and proffered the sheet. “Suit yourself.”

Rowan scanned the paper, a smile breaking forth and growing wider as he confirmed everything Orothian had said. “The Royal Guard? Only two silver pieces? This is amazing!” The Royal Guard was an elite group of men that were handpicked from the army by the king himself to serve as his personal force. The purpose and missions of the Guard was unknown to most. But while this was exciting, it was not the part that interested Rowan; the thought of entering a tournament and getting to put his swordsmanship to use was most appealing.

Orothian nodded, “I thought you would think so.”

Something occurred to Rowan, and he looked at Orothian suspiciously, “Why would you think that? How would you know I might be interested in this?”

“Life gets pretty boring when you live in the woods by yourself, doing nothing more than hunting and sleeping. I tend to watch people for something to do. This village in particular has caught my attention because it’s so secretive and mysterious.” Orothian shrugged innocently, “I like discovering secrets.”

“Every now and again. You seem to have an amount of skill with that stick you call a sword, so common sense said you’d be interested in the tournament.”

24-Jan-2011 19:42:25

Caydock

Caydock

Posts: 6,279 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Rowan was unsure of what to make of that, but he decided to hold his tongue. Orothian seemed to be a secretive man himself, and come to think of it, there appeared to be something a little strange about him. His hair, for one. Rowan hadn’t seen many foresters, but the ones he had seen did*’t have long hair that could be snagged by tree branches and vines in the forest.

Orothian, seemingly realizing that the young man was examining him, decided it was time to go. “I must be off,” he said, rounding on one heel and marching swiftly away, heading to the forest.

“Thank you,” Rowan called after him, “I’ll make sure to look into this.”

“You do that,” the forester replied over his shoulder.

“Wait! You forgot the paper!”

“Keep it,” Orothian said. He then disappeared into the trees, leaving Rowan alone with his horse. Not a soul stirred in the entire village, and Rowan was sure that it would stay that way for at least a couple of days. An unexpected visit by a mysterious forester, no less, was a sure-fire way to make Aridians keep their heads down. Rowan snorted derisively and, giving Victory a quick pat on his way, strode into the hut.

24-Jan-2011 19:43:44 - Last edited on 24-Jan-2011 21:23:02 by Caydock

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