Death Or Fortune Read Free

each strike he took at me, I became more confident in myself.  I knew
who I was, I knew who he was and on this day I was the better man.  On
this day, he would not take my gold, my horse or my life.  I did not feel
the blood running down my legs but the boots still have stains inside of them
today.  It wasn't before long that the man began to tire, slowing down and
when his breathing became labored, I knew it was my time to strike.  He
took one last lunging attempt; I stepped aside and nearly took his arm off when
I smashed it with my shield.  I felt the bones crush under the impact. His
howls of pain had still not ended when I took his head.  I had my hat back
on my head and was picking up my cloak before his body fell to the road.
         "I told him he couldn't beat you."   I turned towards the
voice and saw three more men, standing on the other side of the road.  Two
of them just looked on in shock as the body of their former companion laid in
the road but the third.  He was dangerous and I knew that if we fought he
would end me.  So I did the only thing I could, I ran.  Before this
dangerous man could push his men into action I was sprinting towards my mount.
 I felt an arrow strike my shield as I climbed into the saddle again, a
second hit the pack with my armor in it.  For all the good it was doing me
in there, it might have saved my horse.  Between that and my urgent
kicking, she bolted down the road and then blindly off into the forest where
not even the light of the moon could be seen.  I don't know when I passed
out but when I woke up the sun was high overhead and I had no clue where I was.
         "If the blade does not kill you, infection can finish the job."
  Another bit of wisdom from my mentor. I spent the remainder of that
day and the following night in that spot.  I treated my wound and even
though the bleeding had stopped, I could tell something wasn’t right.
 During the night I had broken out into a fever.  In the morning I
gave my horse a well needed drink of my water and fed my empty stomach.  I
thought that my illness was only hunger.  Two weeks later, in a haze I
stumbled back on to the road and followed it to one of the few small towns that
litter the country side between Arcadia and Eystlund.  Covered in a mix of
chain and leather armor, I passed out on the steps of the Broken Wheel Inn.

4.  Haz e
     
         The first
time I woke up it was to the sound of an angelic voice and a gentle
touch.  I thought it was nothing more than a dream.  I was seeing the
world through a dream like fog, my arms and legs did not respond at all. 
I thought for sure that I was dead or that I was back home under my mother’s
care.  I remember wanting to speak but before I could form the words I
slipped back under the dark cover of oblivion.  The next time I awoke, the
true panic set in.  I could not tell you where I was.  The last thing
I remembered, outside of my twisted dreams, was being attacked.  I tried to
move my arms and legs again but they were both tied to the bed I was in.
 The only thing more repulsive than not being able to move was the smell
of my own body.  I tried to put it out of my mind before making myself
sick.
         I lifted
my head and looked around the dim room.  My saddle bags were in a corner,
my armor on a stand with my weapon by its side.  When the old woman
returned to me what seemed like days later, it was only an hour, she began to
tell me my own tale.  The inn keeper had found me, near dead in front of
their door.  They took me in, treated my wound and gave me some kind of
medicine for the infected wound.  As she started to untie me she told me
of how I tried to fight them.  I was out of my mind with madness.  Flashes
came to me as she spoke and the dreams seemed a little more real.  She
asked if I would behave before she would untie my arms.  I could only nod.
 I tried to sit up in the bed, put my feet on the floor but the world