The Book of One: A New Age

by Jordan Baker

  Aaron had traded enough blows with his opponents and, remembering Tarnath’s request to try not to kill any of them, he held back several killing cuts. He danced his way out from under the steel being swung at him then, in a quick turn, managed to grab hold of one of the men’s wrist. He pivoted around behind the pulling his sword arm and then he jammed the hilt of his sword into the back of the man’s head, knocking him unconscious. He threw the man forward toward the other soldier then ran forward, dropping low and bringing the hilt of his sword up fast under the man’s jaw. Focused on his comrade hurtling toward him, the second soldier had not been ready for Aaron’s speed and he took the blow hard and immediately crumpled to the ground.

  Aaron looked up and saw Tarnath and Matthius both standing over the unconscious bodies of the rest of the soldiers. Their arms were crossed, weapons at the ready, but they seemed casual, as if they had not even been winded. The official who had accompanied the soldiers was nowhere to be seen. Matthius looked at Brian and Aaron with a nod of approval, then he turned to the old, retired armsmaster.

  “I see you’re still teaching,” Matthius commented dryly. “Let’s get out of here.”

  *****

  Matthius and Ehlena quickly got their horses from the inn’s stable and the group managed to steal their way through town, avoiding several guard patrols. They arrived at Rosa’s house to find it deserted, but they noticed that Jacob’s horses and wagon were gone and hoped that he and his family had made it out of town. If they had managed to escape, Tarnath was hopeful that the farmer and his family would not be followed since the soldiers would likely have their hands full keeping order in the newly occupied town. That was not likely to be the case for this group, who had directly challenged the Baron’s men and he had no doubt they would come looking for them.

  They led their horses down a trail that ran through a stand of trees at the edge of town. The trail took them in a loop around the town and met up with the main road far enough away that they had a good chance of being missed by any patrols that might have been sent out to look for them. Once they were clear of the trees, they rode hard, putting distance between themselves and the Baron’s men. It was not until late in the afternoon that they stopped by a stream to rest their horses and let the animals drink some water.

  Brian wanted to go back to find his family but Tarnath reminded that he had just killed one of Manfred’s soldiers and, if the Baron’s men connected him with his family, it would be all over for the rest of them. Brian insisted that he would wait in the forest near the farm for them to return, just to be sure they were safe, then he would make for Kaleb’s fortress of White Falls, which was two days’ ride. Tarnath did not like the idea but he finally gave up arguing with him. Brian said his goodbyes and promised Aaron he’d come up to the cottage once he knew his parents and brothers were safe. Brian returned Matthius’ large axe and thanked him for its use. The big man shook his hand and thanked him for his bravery and defending Ehlena’s honor. As Brian was about to mount his horse, Aaron walked up to him, holding the sword that Tarnath had given him.

  “Brian, I want you to take this,” Aaron told him.

  “You’re giving me your sword?” Brian asked then looked like he was about to kneel. Aaron shook his head and laughed, then put his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

  “I’m not some lord or king granting you a title,” he told him. “I’m your friend and I want you to have this sword. Take it.”

  “But what about you?” Brian asked.

  “I will be fine when we get home. Tarnath has arms aplenty hidden away. Besides, you’re riding alone. You’ll need a weapon.”

  “Thank you, Aaron,” Brian told him and clasped his hand, then took the sword from him. “I’ll find you, as soon as I take care of my family.”

  “Stick to the back trails and side-roads,” Tarnath told him, “and ride slow for a few stretches, especially near any forks and crossroads. They’ll be tracking anyone riding fast.”

  Aaron nodded and watched as his friend mounted his horse and rode off down the road a distance then disappeared over a rise. They gathered their mounts then headed off up the road, taking a different fork, hoping to draw anyone who might be following away from Brian and his family. It was a longer way to get back to the cottage, but it did not lead past the farm and Tarnath thought it was the least he could do for the family who had been so good to him and Aaron these past many years.

  After a time on the road, they cut onto a small, rocky trail that Tarnath hoped would obscure their passing. If Manfred’s men were following them, he hoped they would miss the tracks they had left on the road anyway, since they blended in with so many others. As they rode quietly through the trees, it was a long time before any of them spoke. Finally, Matthius was the first to break the silence.

  “Damn,” he cursed. “Kaleb’s gonna be right mad about this! I’ve got to get to the manor. Tarnath, do you know a shortcut down to White Falls?”

  “There’s a back-woods trail beyond our house. It’s an old hunting trail and it was an animal trail before that. Can’t say it’ll do you much good though. From the way those boys in town were carrying on, I’d imagine that Kaleb’s already had a run in with the Baron,” Tarnath said.

  Matthius' brow crinkled with frustration.

  “I’ve got to get there. If Kaleb’s in trouble, then by the gods I’ll help him.” He pounded a fist on his chest.

  “When we get to the house, I’ll get you what supplies you need and you can ride down to Kaleb’s manor and see for yourself but I don’t recommend it,” Tarnath told him.

  “And what do you recommend?” Matthius asked.

  “Get as far away from here as possible and take your god-daughter with you.”

  “And what about you?” Matthius asked. “Kaleb could use a man like you. And your boy there, he fights pretty well.”

  “No,” Tarnath said.

  “No?” Matthius was confounded. “That’s it? No?”

  “I don’t want any part of it,” Tarnath told him. “Those days are over for me, and I’d rather Aaron not get mixed up in any of this business.”

  “It sounds like there’s going to be little choice in the matter. Mafred and Kaleb’s feud will be a minor thing if the Xallan Army comes marching westward.”

  Tarnath said nothing, but he tugged on his beard and Aaron could tell from his expression that his uncle was troubled by his thoughts.

  The sun made its way across the sky as they wended their way through numerous trails in the forest, but it was not long before Aaron recognised the part of the trail they were on. It would be just a few more bends and they would be home. It was then that he heard the pounding of hooves on the trail behind them. Tarnath had been riding in the rear and hollered for their party to move. They galloped through the ever-thinning trail. If they were caught in these small quarters, there wouldn’t be much room to maneuver or fight and it was only moments before a large party of soldiers appeared on the trail behind them, pursuing them fast.

  Crossbow bolts whistled through the air and crashed through the leaves. Aaron heard Tarnath yell behind him. He hoped the old man was not hurt. Matthius was the first into the clearing. By the time Aaron emerged from the trail, the big man had already pulled an arrow tight in his bow and fired back toward the pursuing soldiers. Aaron pounded toward the barn where he had a hunting bow and he yelled for Ehlena to follow him, figuring she would be safe inside until they had a chance to fight off their attackers.

  “You stay here,” Aaron told her as they both dismounted. She followed him inside, and he ran to the bench. Aaron grabbed his hunting bow and a small hatchet that was on the wall and ran back through the door.

  Outside, Aaron saw Tarnath cutting at one of the soldiers with his sword. He had a bolt sticking from his left shoulder. Matthius had turned around his horse and was crashing into the riders, swinging his big axe at them. There were a dozen of them and two were already dead. Aaron flung his hatchet at one of the men, catc
hing him in the face. The man fell from his horse, screaming as blood burst forth and ran over his hands. Aaron dropped low and nocked an arrow in his bow. He pulled the string taut and let it fly. The arrow caught one of the riders in the arm and would have hit him in the neck if his horse had not shifted at the last second. Matthius swung his axe at the man and took his head clean off.

  Aaron did not have time to react. He put another arrow to the string of his bow and let it fly, taking another one of the them down, this time hitting his intended target. He was about to nock another arrow but several of the soldiers came crashing toward him and it was all he could do to avoid being trampled by their horses.

  Matthius yelled something to Aaron but his words were lost in the crash of the battle. Aaron understood what he was trying to say when the big warrior hefted a sword that had belonged to one of the fallen men. Aaron ran through the oncoming soldiers and Matthius threw the blade to Aaron, hilt first. Aaron caught it then rolled to the ground to come up to his feet almost under another one of the soldiers’ horse. He cut at the leather straps that held the saddle, nicking the horse in the process but not truly injuring the animal. The saddle slide and the soldier fell from his mount to the ground. The horse, startled by Aaron’s presence and the pain from the slash of his sword, turned and trampled the fallen man. Aaron ducked out of the way of the beast then turned to see Tarnath pulling his sword from the shoulder of another soldier.

  He heard a whistling in the air above his head and saw our bolts plant themselves into Tarnath’s chest. Aaron spun around in the direction from which the arrows had come and saw that another, larger group of soldiers had ridden out from the trail. There had to be at least twenty more to add to the others they were already fighting. They were armed with crossbows and Matthius was already running toward them yelling curses, trying to close the gap and force them to draw their swords before they could reload the loathsome weapons. The bows came up and the big man dropped to a roll but it was too late.

  A bolt buried deep in the man’s shoulder then, a moment later, he was struck by a dozen more. As big as Matthius was, there was no way he could survive so many arrows He turned and looked to where Tarnath had fallen and he saw the old armsmaster fighting with three soldiers at once, their swords to his one. He kept them at bay but blood was running freely from the four arrows stuck in his arms and shoulders and Aaron could see that the old man was tiring. He heard the bolts snap from the crossbows and flinched, turning at the sound of them but none of them hit him. He looked back at Tarnath and saw him fall, along with one of the soldiers who had been in the path of the volley of arrows.

  Tarnath looked over at Aaron as he crumpled to the ground, then his eyes shifted to the left. Aaron felt something next to him and instinctively raised his sword to block a blow from one of the soldiers. Aaron felt numb as he turned and looked at the man who stood before him. The man swung again and Aaron deflected his sword, his movement reflexive. He did not swing back, but something told him that it would be only a matter of moments before the men with the crossbows had reloaded. He felt angry at what they had done and then something else burned deep within him, a fire that was stronger than any emotion he had ever felt. The man swung at him again and Aaron felt a twinge of pain shoot up his neck and into his head. All at once, his skull started to pound and Aaron howled at the pain, dropping to his knees. The man in front of him took the opening and raised his sword. Aaron did not care. His head hurt so much. He closed his eyes tightly against the pain. He tried to open his eyes but all he could see was a bluish silver flash, then the world went black.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  A warm wind whispered in through the open window pushing the dark blue heavy drapes into the room. A cradle rocked gently in the breeze underneath the high ceilings that glowed with the dim warmth of a lamp. The smell of the burning oil was mixed with a fragrance like flowers and a voice spoke gently, its sound a soothing murmur of warmth. The night breeze blew a little stronger now and the cradle rocked a little more. The voice spoke again, a woman’s voice, still comforting but there was a note of tension to it. Now the drapes caught a gust of wind, billowing into the room and a peal of thunder rumbled in the distance. The light of the lamp flickered and cast dark shadows throughout the room. The voice spoke again, this time in an urgent tone, fearful, but it was somehow far away, its meaning drowned by the heavy rumbling, which grew louder. The wind blew harder. The cradle shook.

  *****

  Someone was shaking him. He tried to roll over but it hurt too much. He just wanted to sleep. A voice came to him. Someone was telling him to wake up. It was a girl's voice. Aaron opened his eyes to a young woman’s face. A tear dropped from her cheek and splashed onto his own. It was Ehlena, and her deep blue eyes were red rimmed with tears. She was kneeling next to him, her hands on his chest and her body was trembling.

  “They’re dead,” she cried. “They’re all dead.”

  Aaron pushed himself up. His ribs hurt. Ehlena had her face buried in her hands as she sat beside him on the dusty ground. Aaron coughed and rose to his feet. The air was choked with thick black smoke. Somehow the barn had caught fire. Luckily the horses were all outside. The ground around him was black and burnt and tiny flames licked at the patches of dry grass in front of the cottage. Smoke was beginning to rise from the porch of the cottage but Aaron ignored it. He was distracted by the body that lay on the ground before him, scorched in the dirt. He vaguely recognized the man he had been fighting, but he could not remember how the man had died, or how the fire had gotten started. Aaron shook his head, trying to remember. It was all coming back now, the soldiers, the fight, and Tarnath getting shot by arrows, falling to the ground.

  Aaron ran over to where he had seen the old man go down. He found Tarnath's body lying in the dirt, one of his arms wrenched around behind him. Aaron rolled him onto his back and blood spilled from the arrows in his chest. The old man coughed and blood ran down his chin.

  “Tarnath!” Aaron cried. “Tarnath, wake up.” he begged. He gently shook his mentor, tutor, uncle, the man who had been a father to him his entire life. “Tarnath, wake up. Please wake up.”

  The old man coughed again and his eyes fluttered open. He looked at Aaron for a moment then he glanced down at the many arrows sticking from his body. He knew he did not have much time.

  “Aaron,” he rasped and blood bubbled from his lips. Aaron propped him up. “Listen to me. On the floor in my room, under the trap door, you’ll find everything you need,” he said then was choked off by coughing and more blood.

  “Tarnath, what do I do?” Aaron pleaded. The old man gritted his teeth and his coughing stopped for a moment.

  “Leave this place,” he said. “You have a different path, my boy. I was wrong to keep you here.”

  “What?” Aaron did not understand. “What should I do? Where should I go?” Tarnath’s body spasmed and he coughed again and blood spat from his mouth, reddening his beard. His eyes widened and he tried to say something but the blood got in the way.

  “Coromyr,” the dying man wheezed with his last breath.

  Aaron gritted his teeth. It was wrong. Everything was wrong. Even the sun was too bright and it hurt his eyes as he staggered to his feet. Questions raced through his mind and he had no answers. His first thought was to kill that bastard Manfred who had sent his idiot soldiers to Ashford. Aaron stumbled around, his mind reeling and his body felt weak. He looked around and saw that all of Manfred’s men were dead, their corpses charred heaps on the ground. The men’s horses had run off, but the ones that wandered nearby were mostly unharmed. Ehlena had walked over to Matthius’ body and she sat next to it, staring at the big man who now just lay on the ground, his eyes open to the sky, no expression on his face. Aaron stared at her. What was he supposed to do with this girl? That was when he noticed the flames burning on the porch of the cottage. Aaron swore and ran toward the only home he had ever knows and threw open the front door.

  Black smoke billowed out of t
he burning structure and Aaron took a moment to breathe in some clean air before racing inside. The air was thick and flames were already running up the walls inside the cottage. Aaron ducked low and made his way to Tarnath’s room. He opened the door and found everything just the way the old man had left it. It had not caught fire yet, and if it were not for the smoke that wafted in with him through the open door, it seemed almost as if none of the events of this day had ever happened. A glimpse of a life Aaron knew was gone. The heat from the flames at his back reminded him of that fact as the acrid black smoke curled its way across the ceiling in the room.

  A door, Tarnath had said; a trap door.

  Aaron looked around the room and then pushed the bed aside. Underneath, lay a ring that had been fixed to one of the floorboards. He pulled it and a panel opened. Inside were a number of items. Small bottles, a few rolled parchments, a leather pouch, a canvas sack and a long leather bundle. Aaron gathered everything in his arms and dashed back through the smoke and outside as the fire began to spread, burning more quickly now, its heat rumbling loudly, shaking the air around it as it consumed Aaron’s childhood home.

  He stood for a moment, watching the orange flames and black smoke rising higher against the late afternoon sky. It would be dark soon. He guessed that if the soldiers did not show up sometime that night, their friends would come looking soon enough, and Aaron wanted to be as far away from them as possible when they did. Lost in his thoughts for a moment, he was startled when Ehlena’s cool little fingers clasped onto his arm. Her face was streaked with smoke and tears as she came to stand next to him.

  “Are you ok?” Aaron asked her.

  She nodded and rubbed at the tears and soot on her face.

  “We’ve got to get out of here before more of Manfred’s soldiers come. Do you have any place to go? Do you have family somewhere?”

  “I have an aunt in Maramyr. That’s where Matthius and I were going. Maybe she can help you too.” Ehlena guessed that Aaron had lived in the burning cottage, that his home was now gone.