David Bishop and the Legend of the Orb by T.C. Crawford (tools of titans ebook .txt) 📕

better view of her surroundings. Erin crouched in the fading darkness just outside the walls of West Post, waiting to make sure there were no soldiers patrolling the outer walls before making her way past the outskirts of the village and taking the road back to Eldergate.

She knew if she followed the main road, she would find her way back to Eldergate faster than trekking her way blindly through the forest, but she also knew it would be littered with soldiers. Her plan was to follow the road just off the path to avoid any patrols while still moving in the right direction.

She started out towards the gate but stopped and crouched into a dark recess behind the wall. She heard the unmistakable sound of iron-clad footsteps and knew that soldiers were patrolling the path ahead and quickly approaching.

“This is going to be harder than I thought” she breathed.

She slowly made her way closer to the gate to get a better look at the soldiers and the direction of their patrol. When she got close enough, she peeked around the wall. There were five soldiers all clad in armor and equipped with long swords, the standard for Royal Guard patrols. They were moving through the town, ensuring no one left their houses except for essential business. The streets were packed with soldiers. She knew she had no chance in a direct attack by herself.

She quietly watched as a few of the soldiers patrolled the grounds to the left and right of the entrance, never straying more than a few feet off the path, and always staying near the entrance to the village. She realized the soldiers weren’t letting anyone in or out of that town, assuming it was because of the recent events surrounding their visit and the commotion they caused with the local soldiers outside of Orin’s cabin.

She decided she would have to go through the woods to get around the village and make her way back to the path if she were to get past without a fight.

The canopy overhead was extremely dense and even worse, the sky was mostly blocked by dark clouds overhead, so she had little to no light to see by except what was emitted by the torches on the outer walls of the town.

This meant that visibility would be limited to her immediate surroundings, and she wouldn’t be able to spot any potential threats until they were right on her.

As she creeped her way through the thick undergrowth, peering through the dim lit forest at the outer walls to make sure she could keep an eye on the soldiers, she suddenly tripped on a fallen branch and crashed through a cluster of dry bushes. She cringed as she hit the ground, twigs and branches scratching her face as she fell, but not from the pain – she had made quite a ruckus and knew she would be attracting the attention of the soldiers patrolling nearby.

She sat frozen in fear for what felt like an eternity as she frantically looked around, trying to see through the thick vegetation. When she felt she had stayed hidden long enough and the coast was clear, she slowly stood up and brushed herself off.

Phew, that was clo-

“Gotcha!” came a voice from behind as a strong grip took hold of her shoulders.

Erin quickly spun in an attempt to brush off her attacker, but his grip held fast, and a powerful kick landed on the back of her knees, knocking her to the ground.

Just as soon as her knees hit the ground, another soldier appeared to her left and wrapped her arms around her back before tightly tying them with a rope.

“Well, well…what do we have here.” said the soldier.

“Let me go!” she screamed, spitting in his face as he inched closer.

He swiftly backhanded her across the face before wiping the spittle from his cheek.

“You better watch your tongue, girl, or I’ll have you hung before you ever reach the dungeons!” he threatened.

As the men stood her up and led her to the gates, a company of soldiers stepped out from their patrol and rested their gaze on the pretty, young girl before them.

She furiously tried to break free, but the soldiers held on to her and kept her in place. She fought them with all the strength she could muster, but quickly discovered it was useless. She didn’t have a chance of escaping now and started to fear what would come next.

“Oh, the things I’d like to do with this one.” said the captain of the soldiers. “She’s a pretty one, isn’t she?” he said, a cacophony of hoots and cheers erupting from the men around her.

“You’re all cowards!” shouted Erin, “You wouldn’t dare face me in a fair fight!” she slammed her heel down on the toes of the man holding her and he grimaced in pain before shoving her down to the ground. She hit her head hard on a stone and immediately her vision began to blur.

“Enough!” cried the Captain. “Take her back to the castle and put her in the dungeons. We will have some use for her yet.”

“Yes, Sir!” came their reply.

The soldiers saluted their captain with a fist to their hearts before dragging Erin through the gates. They carried her up to a wagon that was hitched to a team of horses clad for war. The door to the wagon had iron bars covering a single window on the front and looked big enough to carry several prisoners. One soldier opened the door to the wagon and the other two roughly threw her into the darkness.

She landed hard on her side and, after hearing the door slam and lock behind her, she felt the wagon jump into movement. As she rode alone and in silence, trying to remain conscious through the throbbing in her head, she wondered what would come of her once she reached the palace, but even more so, she wondered if she would ever see her new friends again.