We have been walking down this path for ages. Well, more like 5 hours. So far on our journey, we got to the end of the path that the gate was on and started walking onto another path. The path goes through a beautiful forest and is covered in all types of tracks. Horse tracks, foot tracks, cart tracks, etc. We've thought more about the prophecy but it doesn't really have any tips or hints to help us. Bummer.
We've run out of things to talk about so have been telling stories for the past hour.
"And that is how the bald frog got a wig and became the smartest man/frog in the country." Clay finishes his story and bows.
"That was an, um.... interesting story Clay," Liam says, laughing.
"Thanks, I made it up on the spot."
We continue walking for a few minutes when there is a noise in the forest brush to my right.
I freeze.
I hear the rustling get closer.
"Uh, guys..."
Liam stops and his eyes narrow in concentration.
"What is it?" Marina asks, almost whispering as she bites her lip nervously.
I hear the rustling in the brush right next to me. I put my knapsack down and summon the courage to walk over and investigate.
whoosh
"Ahhhh!" I scream as I'm lifted off my feet 7 feet into the air.
"Tori!" Marina looks up at me in shock.
I'm caught in a white, scratchy net made of rope. I must've stepped into a netted trap. I'm lying on my back and my feet are bunched above me. I try to move around but the net is too tight. I grab some net above my head and try to pull myself into a sitting position, but the rope rubs against my arm. I start to feel a burning sensation and look down. I have a large red rope burn rash on my arm.
"Argh!" I yell in frustration.
Clay looks around, "How did you-"
"Ah!" Marina shrieks as a man in black emerges from the brush. He has a black beanie and black mask on, so that the only thing we can see are his eyes. He's a Bandit. But bandits never travel alone...
The bandit pulls out a knife and holds it threateningly by his side. Marina and Clay eye the knife and slowly take a step back. Liam, wait- I don't see Liam. Uh oh. I cough loudly and all three look at me. I ignore the bandit's eyes boring into me and I make eye contact with Marina. I then look to her side where Liam had been standing. Getting my message, she glances over. When she notices that he's not there, so looks around frantically and turns pale. This all happens in a matter of seconds and when the Bandit sees me looking at Marina he turns his gaze towards her and she turns her gaze toward the ground.
"Hmmm," The bandit looks suspicious. "Well, if you two want me to let your friend out of that net you better give me all your valuables."
Marina and Clay step away nervously.
The bandit holds his knife in throwing position, aimed at me. "C'mon now."
My friends frantically throw their bags at the bandit's feet and he starts to rummage through them. While he's not looking, Marina whispers something to Clay and he looks around. It looks like he didn't know Liam was gone. Where'd he go?!
Suddenly, two other bandits step out from behind Clay and Marina.
"Guys-" I yell out in warning and hear a whooshing sound right next to my ear. I look to the side and see that a knife is planted into the rope right next to my head. I hold my breath in fear.
"Next time you speak I'll aim it at your head." The bandit threatens. The other two bandits start patting my friends down for any valuables they might have on them. Wow, we're only 5-6 hours into our quest and we're already in danger. Fun.
The two bandits walk over to their leader and huddle in a group. They start whispering to each other. My friends take this opportunity to grab any weapon they can find. Marina finds a large branch on the ground and Clay grabs the nearest rock. I pull the knife next to me out of the rope and hold it close so the bandits won't see me holding it. My friend's exchange looks then look up at me. I nod. Clay smiles mischievously. It's funny how we can communicate that way sometimes. Marina mouths the words, "1, 2, 3..."
The bandits pull apart from their huddled group and turn to face my friends. Clay lets out a war cry and hits a bandit with his rock. Marina whacks the other two with a stick. She pokes their leader in the stomach and he becomes dazed for a few seconds. Clay turns around to fight one of the bandits when another starts to sneak up behind him with a knife. I throw the knife through a hole in the net and hold my breath hoping it doesn't hit Clay.
whoosh
"Agggghh!" The bandit howls in pain as the knife hits him in the arm. He falls to his knees as Clay turns around and hits him over the head with the rock. The bandit falls face-first into the dirt, unconscious. I pump my fist in victory, "Yes!"
Clay grabs the unconscious bandit's knife and starts to fight the other one. Marina takes on the leader. I've never seen her so brave. The bandit seems to have gotten another knife since he lost his last one threatening me. Marina dodges as he stabs. It's quite a weird sight: a girl fighting a knife brandishing bandit with a stick. I watch as they fight and Marina gets more confident.
Right under me, Clay knees the other bandit in the stomach and he passes out. Yes! Only one more to go!
As Clay runs over to help Marina, he trips and yells out in pain. He sits up and holds his ankle. After a few seconds, he attempts to stand up, and his face twists in pain as he falls. I risk speaking.
"Clay! What happened!?" I call out.
He looks up at me, "I twisted my ankle." I watch as he crawls over to the side of the path and starts picking up small rocks and throwing them at the bandit. I wish I could somehow help! Agh, this is so frustrating just lying here in this net! I hear a shriek as the bandit disarms Marina.
As her stick goes flying across the path, Marina panics and grabs the bandits knife by the blade. She pulls it out of his hand and chucks it into the forest. I hear a sharp intake of breath as Marina looks down at her bleeding hand. The bandit takes this moment of hesitation to grab Marina by the neck.
"No!" I scream, squirming inside the net.
"Nice try, but children stand no chance against me." He tightens his grip on her throat and she starts to gasp for air. Clay's eyes go wide and he starts to crawl over to the bandit, but once he gets close the bandit kicks him in the stomach. Clay curls into a ball and pukes.
Oh no, oh no, oh no. This is not how I thought this battle would end!
As Marina's face starts to turn purple I scream, "NO! STOP! PLEASE DON'T."
The bandit ignores me and I watch helplessly as Marina struggles to breathe.
When all seems lost, someone comes running onto the path and puts a sword to the bandit's throat. In shock, the bandit lets go of Marina, and she falls to the ground gasping. The person with the sword knocks out the bandit with a rock. As the bandit crumples to the ground, I see who the person is.
"Liam!"
Liam smiles until he sees his other two friends on the ground.
"Marina are you okay?!" He helps her up and the color starts to return to her face.
"Uh, I'm not dead so that's good. Thanks for saving me."
"That's what friends are for," Liam replies. He then goes over and helps Clay up. Clay leans against Liam to support his weight. Liam then throws his sword into the air and it cuts the net I'm in.
"AHHH!" I scream as I fall seven feet to the ground and land on my back.
"Ouch," I mutter. Marina runs over and engulfs me in a hug.
I go over to hug Liam and when I pull away I cross my arms.
"Where'd you go?" I say angrily.
"You scared us to death!" Marina says angrily too. Liam chuckles.
"As we were walking on the path I heard this strange whispering in the distance. My gut told me to check it out. I was going to tell you guys, but you were all too occupied with the weird rustling in the bushes. I assumed the rustling would be a bunny or something so I ran off toward the whispering, thinking it was only a few feet away. But, I was wrong. The whispering got louder and louder until I saw something glinting in the brush. As I picked it up, the whispering stopped. It was this sword."
He holds up the sword for us to see. It's in pretty good condition. The hilt is obsidian, has a single ruby gem on the hilt, and is very pretty. Liam continued,
"As I turned around, I couldn't see you guys. I started freaking out because I hadn't thought I'd wandered that far. Then I heard Tori screaming something like, "No!". So I ran as fast as I could and jumped in just in time."
"Wow," I say. Now that there is no fighting to distract me, my rope burn pain comes back. I clutch my arm in an attempt to stop the pain. It doesn't work.
Clays says loudly, "Guys, I'm starving and Marina's losing quite a lot of blood there." He looks at her hand." We should try to find a village inn or somewhere where we can get help."
We nod in agreement. Marina rips a strip off of her jean jacket and wraps it around her hand to prevent the bleeding. I take our money and valuables back from the bandit's pockets and hand everyone their bags. Marina and I then kick the bandit's unconscious bodies onto the side of the path. I know, I know. That sounds a bit dark, but they tried to kill us. And they aren't dead. We're just clearing the path for travelers.
"Let's get out of this forest before they wake up," Clay says nervously. We start walking down the path.
I wonder what other dangers we'll come across.
ns 15.158.61.21da2
