Chronicles of Den'dra: A Land Torn: Ancient Powers Awaken Read Free Page B

Skeln and a couple trappers lived beyond the village.
    “That’s the boy.” Skeln recognized one of the traders he had made a deal with at the market the previous day. The carriage rumbled to a halt and a couple men in dark cloaks leapt to the ground.
    “ Seize him.” One of the men’s cloaks was thrown over his shoulders and Skeln could see ring mail armor and a captain’s insignia. He stood rooted to the spot in surprise for a moment before realizing what was happening.
    A couple of the men were slowed momentarily by the gate before Skeln reacted. He heard the gate being smashed down as he vaulted the back fence. He landed on his feet and was off as fast as he could through the safe path he had made earlier through the brambles. Out of the brambles he sprinted up the valley. He hoped to outrun his pursuers and find a hiding spot in one of the many nooks he was familiar with in the woods.
    A quick glance over his shoulder told Skeln that one of them men had hopelessly entangled his cloak in the briar patch and the other was not gaining ground. The heavy armor was handicapping the man. Skeln made good his escape and melted into the woods that were above the garden plot. Traversing the side of the valley he arrived at the thicker woods that extended up the valley. From here it was child’s play to find a hiding spot under the stump of an old fallen tree. Succumbing to a storm the tree had toppled tearing the roots out of the ground. The tree had been cut up for firewood and the stump had settled back into its original position. Still canted to one side it left a nook under the root mass
    Skeln huddled in his hiding spot for what seemed hours before he heard voices. One he recognized as the voice of the captain that had ordered his seizure. The other he recognized as one of the trappers that lived up the valley. Skeln hadn’t counted on them getting a tracker to help them search. It was now only a matter of time before he was found.
    Skeln decided to act preemptively and run before they got too close. He counted on being able to outrun them again and keep running until they gave up the search. Skeln couldn’t think of a reason that they would possibly want him in the first place so it would only be a matter of time before they gave up.
    Skeln squirmed out of his hole and cautiously peeked out of the crater that had been left by the overturned tree. Seeing no one in sight he sprinted away from the voices he had heard. His flight was cut short by a sudden burning pain in his shoulder. The shock caused Skeln to trip and fall. This intensified the pain. He gritted his teeth and tried dragging himself to his feet. One arm hardly worked and caused intense pain with every movement. He had almost regained his feet when an impact in the back of his head caused stars to flash before everything went dark.
    Skeln didn’t know how long he had slept but when he awoke it was pitch dark and he was moving. His shoulder was on fire and his head felt like it was going to explode. After laying still for a time he began investigating his shoulder. The first thing he found was the sharp metal point of a crossbow bolt protruding from his blood soaked shirt. Further investigation told him that he was unbound but that fact made him no less of a prisoner. He was inside the black carriage he had seen with the soldiers. Every window was boarded over and crack plugged so not a chink of light was able to penetrate into the prison cell. Weak with the pain and with his head still like to split open from the impact he lay helplessly.
    Hours passed by before a slot opened and a blinding light along with a piece of stale bread was tossed inside. Skeln dragged himself over to the food and slowly consumed it. Despite the poor fare it helped clear his mind and reintroduce strength to his limbs. Deciding that he was on his own Skeln began thinking about what to do with the bolt in his shoulder. He had done some hunting with homemade arrows and knew that it