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

Together Tyrius and the King set off through the woods in hopes to find the men who ambushed the soldiers. Something told him that if they found those men, he would also find Erin, and that thought sent a surge of hope through him that fueled his limbs to keep on moving.

They marched until the King couldn’t walk any further and, not wanting to push him too hard, Tyrius began setting up camp for the night near a small stream.

The water was cool and fresh and gave the travelers some well needed drink to cool their parched throats. After quenching his thirst, Tyrius went about gathering berries and leaves that he knew would provide them with enough nourishment to stave off their hunger and last them through the night. Once he had gathered enough, he passed the King a sizeable portion and sat down near the fire to eat.

“How much longer do you think it will be before we catch up to them?” asked the King, rubbing his sore feet.

“They have a good day or two head start on us. And they are trained soldiers. They are probably moving much faster than us, so they certainly could have made much more ground than we have today. I would guess at our pace, if they have reached their destination, we will catch up by nightfall tomorrow. If they are still moving it could be days before we catch up.” answered Tyrius.

“Days? I see…we will do as we must.” said the King, determined.

“Don’t worry, your majesty. Once we reach the soldiers, I am confident your part of the journey will be over until we can find a way to take back the capital from General Krauss. Once we do so, you will be back in your home where you belong.”

“I certainly hope you’re right, my friend.” he sighed. “I never thought the day would come where I would be betrayed by my own men, let alone the man I’ve raised like a son.”

“You couldn’t have known he would betray you. He fooled us all.” replied Tyrius. “You can’t blame yourself for things that are out of your control.”

“I should have seen the signs. He had become more distant over the years, but I thought it was simply because he was growing up, you know, becoming a man…. That, and his increasing duties as General. I should have taken more time with him, to be more present.” said the King.

“It wouldn’t have mattered, I fear. Once the Defiant One had his grip on him, coupled with his lust for power, nothing you said or did would have stopped him from going down this path.” said Tyrius.

Tyrius stirred the fire to bring the flame new life as they sat and let the events of the past few days sink in.

“I suppose you’re right, my friend. I thought I could protect him from the truth and raise him as my own. I thought I could give him all the things he needed to be happy, but I was wrong. I suppose now all that’s left to do is to set the wrong’s right and end his terrible plan before it’s too late.” said the King, determined.

“We will. We must…but first, we must get some rest if we are ever to catch up with the company of soldiers and get some answers! Off to bed now, your majesty.” said Tyrius, eager to get to rest so they could get an early start in the morning.

Tyrius took the first watch so the King could get some rest. It didn’t take long for the King to fall asleep, leaving Tyrius alone in the wilderness with his thoughts and the hope that the next day would bring him closer to finding his dear Erin.

✽✽✽

The next day Tyrius and the King stumbled upon a grisly scene. Hundreds of men lay dead in an open field deep within the forest. Crows and other scavengers littered the field, preying on the open flesh of the deceased. They walked amongst the dead, trying to determine what had happened and which side had won. It was apparent that the encampment had been attacked by General Krauss’ forces, most of which appeared to have been those undead soldiers they had passed while fleeing the Royal palace a few days before. Tyrius could tell that most of the bodies that lay before them were severely decomposed far beyond that of the others and wore the darker colors that they saw within the palace during their escape.

Tyrius and the King inspected the battlefield for any indication that the encampment had been fortunate enough to survive. Finally, Tyrius found what he was looking for: tracks leaving the battlefield and heading deeper into the forest towards the mountain.

“Look!” he said to the King, pointing to the tracks leading way from the battlegrounds. “These tracks are leading deeper into the forest. You can see they must have been pulling wagons too. This is good news, my dear friend! Our friends may still be alive! Let’s go. We have much ground to cover before nightfall.”

He patted the King’s back, reassured by their discovery of the tracks leading into the forest, and together they set off into the woods. They stopped a few hours into the evening to set up camp again, knowing that to continue tonight would do them more harm than good, as the light was too dim now to follow any tracks and they were both growing too weary to continue much further.

The following morning, they got up with the light of the sun just barely shining through the trees and set off immediately in the direction of the tracks. Tyrius couldn’t explain it, but he felt refreshed with a newfound energy and the hope of finding Erin felt more near than ever before. He smiled at the small but intense feeling as they continued their pursuit into the forest.

Chapter XXV