Caden was woken up by a terrible scream, followed by an alarm ring. His father burst into the room.
“Don't you hear what's going on? Get up, we gotta go!” he shouted at him with a sword in his hand and ran out of the cottage.
Caden took his sword from under the bed and followed him out.
Outside in the village, a mixture of screaming, crying, and desperate wailing sprawled all around. Caden turned to the right side, where some barbarians were running with a man in a violet hood and were murdering the fleeing villagers.
"Run you fool!" the old man with a sword in his bony hands yelled at Caden.
Caden's father convened the local militia, Caden run to him.
"Cade, find Amelia and go to the stables, take our horse and run away from here!"
Amelia is the girl Caden grew up with, Caden's father promised her mother on the deathbed that he would take care of her.
"But father, I want to stay here and fight!" Caden said.
"You didn't train for this! Listen, Amelia is here somewhere, dying by fear, the Saints will curse me if something happens to her, go!" he pushed Caden away and ran with several other armed villagers against the barbarians.
Caden knew where Amelia could hide and went there immediately. He ran to the pond and, as he hoped, Amelia crouched behind a large willow and her long, reddish, wavy hair was peeking out.
“Amelia, it's me! You have to go with me, quickly!" Caden took the girl's hand and almost dragged her away.
They ran back to the village. Caden saw a man in a purple hood pierce his father by his sword. He looked at Caden with his deep black eyes. Full of anger, he wanted to fight the man, but Amelia was pulling him away. "Are you insane? They will kill you too, come on!"
They escaped to the stables, took the horse and drove out of sight of the village. Finally, stopped by the road to rest and realize what had happened.
"What are we going to do now?" Amelia said helplessly.
"We have to get to town and tell someone what happened. The man looked like a mage. We have to go to the Wardens." As soon as Caden finished his speech, two men on horses appeared on the road, carrying an eye in the triangle on their shoulders, a sign of the Mage Watch.
"What are you doing here? Don't you know that this far from the city it is dangerous?" one of them asked.
"You... you are the Wardens!" Caden called.
"Haha, smart boy, not everyone recognizes us so fast, who are you?"
"I'm Caden and this is Amelia, our village to the north from here was attacked," Caden told them.
"I'm sorry boy, and by who?"
"A horde of some barbarians and a mage."
"Those damned cultists are bolder every day!" The Warden jumped from his horse and walked over to them. He opened a bottle.
"W-what are you doing?" Caden stammered.
"Calm down, it won't hurt you," the Warden assured them and gave Caden a sniff out of the bottle.
"Do you feel anything?"
„No. Should I?" Caden replied uncomprehendingly.
"Okay, and now the little one." The Warden put the bottle under Amelia's nose. "Also nothing? Great. They're clean!" he called to the other Warden. "Get on your horse and follow us to get to safety."
Caden did not hesitate, jumped on his horse and helped Amelia up. Then they followed the Wardens.
"Welcome to Oakdome, the northernmost city of Green Grove," one of the Wardens greeted them into a small town surrounded by a tall wooden palisade.
"You'll be safe here, get a job. I heard that local baker is looking for help, maybe he would take you," the Warden told them.
"I want to join you!" Caden shouted.
"Oh, boy, do you really think you could fight murderers and sorcerers? Go to the baker, take care of the girl, and the horse... you can sell it to us, he's strong, well built, we'll pay you well for him. Here he just goes off, a horse like him will have royal care in our stables," the Warden said from the back of his horse.
"He is not for sale," Caden said briefly and dismounted.
"Well, if you change your mind, you will find our outpost in the city centre."
"What are we going to do now, you hero?" Amelia asked Caden.
"We'll go to the baker, we have nothing else to do."
"Even with the horse?" Amelia asked.
"I'm not going to leave him here, Amie." Caden grabbed horse's leash, and they walked down the street full of strange faces, their stares were getting in Caden's and Amelia's bones.
"Well, new meat on the market," a small, fat man with several skinny comrades behind him approached.
"How much do you want for that sword, outlander?"
"It's not for sale," Caden replied.
"Hihh, and what about the girl?" the skinny man proclaimed.
"If you touch her, I'll tear you to pieces with my bare hands!" Caden exclaimed while putting his hand on the handle of his sword.
"What's going on here?" a knight in dark silver armour came to them on his horse.
"Well... we ain't doing nothing, captain. We were just trying to establish a business relationship here with the newcomer when he started threatening us with a sword!" the fat man stammered.
"So business relationship? Get out of my sight, Gorej, before I'll let you lock in!" the knight called, and the fat man and his cronies went out of sight. "Hmm, where are you from, kids? I've never seen you here either," he asked thoughtfully.
"We are from a village in the north, it was attacked, and we had to escape here, sir. We came with the Wardens," Amelia replied gratefully.
"Oh, and what do you plan now?"
Caden just looked at him cautiously, not answering a word.
"Caden wants to be a Warden, but we'll probably end up at the baker."
"So the Wardens? You're a brave boy, you haven't run away from them. Gorej is a dog that barks but does not bite if you drew the sword, they would run away like rats. Wouldn't you rather join the city guard? You have a sword, horse, and courage. It's an ungrateful job, but at least you don't have to fight with hordes of barbarians and mages, what do you say?" the knight asked, full of expectations.
"I..." Caden said timidly when Amelia pushed his elbow into his ribs.
"This may be your only chance to use your sword, and if you don't want your father's horse to end up like a sausage, accept it," she whispered to him.
"Oh, is that just a horse and a sword?" Caden asked timidly.
"Haha... yes, the requirements have quite reduced, since no one wants to do the job. So, do you accept? Your sister can work at the baker," the knight smiled.
“She's not my sister. I accept," Caden replied.
"Great, I'd like to escort you to the guardhouse, but I should be elsewhere by now. Escort the girl to the baker, he's a good guy, you don't have to worry about her, and then go to the guardhouse. You can ask anyone where it is. See you soon, Caden!” the knight explained and drove away.
Caden led Amelia to the bakery at the end of the street.
"I can do it from here, someone will steal your horse," Amelia smiled at Caden.
"Really?"
"I am not a child. And, Cade?" she turned in front of the door. "Thank you for everything."
Caden grabbed the horse by the leash and led him down the street, he asked a few people for the location of the guardhouse. When he finally found it, a small building set in between a pub and some kind of store, he walked inside, in anticipation of a new life.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
