CHAPTER NINE
Dusk swept in and they had managed to elude the Roman trackers all day. Phoenix was conscious that they hadn’t made great time in the forest and was all for pushing on into the night. Since Jade was the only one with decent night vision, however, he finally agreed to stop after twice tripping over branches and roots sticking out onto the path.
They searched for a suitable, hidden campsite. Two huge fallen logs served well, once they’d laid leafy branches between as a makeshift roof. Marcus made a small, hot fire from wood gathered close by. They screened it carefully on all sides with stones and branches so the glow couldn’t be seen at a distance. Brynn and Jade found a few herbs and early forest foods while Phoenix plucked and gutted a pheasant Brynn had brought down with his sling, earlier. He skewered it on a green stick and began to turn the spitted bird above the fire.
After they ate, there wasn’t much left to do except sleep and they were all tired enough to do that easily. Phoenix opted to take first watch. Marcus volunteered to take second, Brynn third and Jade the last. Phoenix resolved to stay awake through Marcus’ watch, just in case. He kind of trusted the young Breton boy not to murder them but trusting a Roman seemed stupid. It wouldn’t hurt to keep a close eye on him for awhile, anyway.
Seeing the others settled, Phoenix wrapped himself in his cloak and sat with his back to the fire. Peering into the chill darkness, he found himself hoping very much that nothing would emerge to attack them. They were deep in the Forest but had yet to see evidence of Brynn’s mysterious Forest Folk. That the feeling of being watched had not gone away, though. He still had the urge to look over his shoulder; still felt the uneasy sensation of being followed.
Marcus’ eyes had not been the only ones on them.
Fortunately, the cool spring night passed without incident. Each watch reported no trouble and the weary travellers rested well. At the first light of pre-dawn, Jade woke them, telling Phoenix she wanted get an early start. He grumbled a little but couldn’t really argue when she pointed out the time-deadline facing them. He ran his fingers through matted hair and watched her touch Marcus on the shoulder. Marcus sat straight up, his eyes wide and a small knife in his hand. He murmured an apology and, without explanation, tucked the knife into a sheath strapped to his calf. Jade stared at him, pale and shaken. Phoenix frowned. What made him so jumpy?
Brynn bounced straight up without complaint. He disappeared for a few minutes, returning with a handful of pheasant eggs and mushrooms. Jade inspected the fungi and pronounced them safe to eat before cooking them in her little pot into a sort of messy scrambled eggs.
With a full stomach and a good night’s sleep, Phoenix hoped they’d cover more ground today. They’d lost a lot of time avoiding the Romans, rescuing Marcus and taking devious paths through the woods yesterday. They still had over a hundred kilometres - forty-five leagues - to cover. Going through the rough paths of the forest and fields would probably take them four more days at least – if they didn’t encounter anything unexpected. The Equinox was only about five days away, by Jade’s Elven calculations. Any delays on the road could be disastrous.
The morning went quite smoothly. So smoothly that even Jade looked more relaxed. The weather held cool and clear. For almost two hours Brynn led them through the Dark Woods without incident. By mutual consent, they worked their way closer to the road again – out of the deepest, creepiest part of the woods. For the most part, their path was easy – almost boring - through the dappled, cool green.
Lacking other distractions, it wasn’t long before Brynn and Marcus began a competition to see who the best marksman was. After Brynn brought down two pigeons and Marcus a hare and a pheasant, Jade called a halt to their fun.
“At this rate, you’ll waste all your ammunition and we’ll have more food than we can possibly carry or eat,” she said. “Have some sense, would you both?”
Brynn grinned and handed Phoenix a bird to carry. “With two big tough Warriors to feed, I don’t think that’s possible.” He ducked when Phoenix reached out to slap him lightly across the head.
Marcus said nothing. He drew himself up and bowed his head in stiff acknowledgement of the reproof. Jade flushed as he turned his back and followed Brynn along the path.
Phoenix tried hard not to feel glad that Jade had criticised the Roman. It bothered him that he was a little jealous of Marcus. The boy had a cool, quietly-confident sort of attitude that irritated Phoenix for no reason he could think of – except that it made him feel somehow inadequate. He hated that. He’d started this game so he could feel better about himself, not worse. Unsettled, Phoenix padded along in the rear, trying to work out what was annoying him. Finally he realised - he wanted some action again, not all this walking.
A short while later they stopped for a brief rest. Drinking from waterskins and nibbling journey bread Jade produced from her pack, they ate in silence. A sense of nervous anticipation pervaded the group and discouraged idle conversation. There were few animal noises – as though the weight of expectation muffled all sound. The sensation of being watched grew again. Around them, the forest seemed to close in: trees loomed larger; the canopy denser. Phoenix kept catching flickers of movement at the edge of his vision, only to see nothing when he turned his head.
At last, none of them could stand it any longer. Brynn was the first to jump to his feet, ready to continue. In hushed tones, Jade reminded him to be on the lookout for a stream so they could refill their waterskins. The boy nodded and waved a hand over his shoulder in acknowledgement as they headed off again.
It wasn’t long before, with Brynn and Marcus in the lead, they stepped into a sunny clearing and headed for a small stream meandering through the middle. Phoenix and Jade joined them, blinking and half-blinded in the light after hours in the shade.
“Take them!” A hoarse shout rang out.
All four dropped their waterskins and snatched at weapons. Phoenix stood beside Jade and faced their enemies, his heart racing at the thought of battle. Marcus had an arrow in his bow so fast it looked like magic. Brynn held his sling at the ready, eyes darting around the clearing. Eight Roman soldiers stepped into the sunlight, surrounding them on three sides; swords drawn and faces wary. A ninth man joined them. He wore a short red cloak flung back over one shoulder and carried a staff in his right hand. His armour was of chainmail and his helm bore a crest of stiff red horsehair. An officer.
Phoenix glanced at Marcus, wondering if it was his father but the boy kept his weapon ready and didn’t speak. If anything, his face was even more calm and set. Phoenix tossed up his options and decided to try and settle things peacefully. Action was all well and good but his aikido sensei would be horrified if he didn’t at least try to talk his way out of it.
Raising his left hand, palm open, he tried to sound confident. “We are travellers. We’ve done nothing wrong. You’re making a mistake.”
The Roman leader smiled knowingly. “I think not. Governor Agricola himself is after this lad.” He pointed with his sword at Marcus.
Phoenix suppressed a groan. He knew it had been a mistake to include Marcus.
The officer pointed at him. “You, I believe, are wanted for killing a Roman soldier two days ago and for murdering four villagers that same night. And of course,” the officer added softly, “the Governor will pay handsomely for you.” He indicated Jade and smirked. “A good catch, I’d say. Now put down your weapons and let’s go.”
There was a soft twang. Marcus’ arrow flew from his fingers. It embedded deeply in the right shoulder of the officer, just where the armour was weakest. The officer swore, shouting for his men to advance. Marcus’ hands blurred as he notched and shot arrow after arrow with deadly accuracy. One by one, soldiers fell back, clutching at shafts protruding from their bodies.
A loud clang and a groa
n told Phoenix that Brynn had entered the fray, gleefully slinging rocks. Although every instinct screamed at him to jump into battle, Phoenix had to wait until the soldiers were closer before he could fight. There was no point getting in the way of Marcus’ arrows. The Roman was doing a pretty good job of holding the soldiers back on his own.
Even as that thought crossed his mind, Phoenix spotted movement in the forest. He heard Marcus shout a warning and Brynn groan in despair. Sixteen more soldiers stepped into the clearing. They held up long, curved rectangular shields, making them almost invulnerable to arrows and stones alike. Marcus dropped his bow and yanked out his sword. Brynn pulled out his little knife, looking frightened but determined. Jade held her quarterstaff ready before her, whiteknuckled. Phoenix renewed his grip on his sword and grinned fiercely. Here it came.
With angry mutterings, the Romans advanced step by step toward the four. Several of the soldiers Marcus had injured were back on their feet and had joined their comrades. Four lay sprawled, lifeless on the ground. The officer was no longer smiling. They meant business.
The closest soldier reached Phoenix and jabbed at him with a gladius. Phoenix parried awkwardly and stepped aside. Again, he experienced that frightening moment of total confusion as his two selves tried to react in their own fighting styles. His real-world self reacted with aikido - turning, blocking, redirecting. His warrior-self from this world tried to chop and slice. This time it was worse. It paralysed him; froze his mind and body with conflicting messages. It would get him killed.
A second soldier closed, and a third. Phoenix stopped thinking. He deliberately blocked out his thirteen-year-old mind and let his sword-fighting memories flood in. Those muscle-memories were stronger in this form. It was his only hope. His body, trained and ready, reacted faster than he could think anyway. He spun, lashed out, connected with a sickening sound, danced out of the way, spun again, parried and jumped back. His dagger was now in his left hand, ready to stab or deflect blows. There was no time to unsling the shield from his back. Another clang of sword on sword; a slash underneath, into unprotected ribs. He backed away again, breathing hard, trying to block out the screams of the wounded. Three men down.
Fighting against the Romans was unlike fighting the untrained peasants or the native bandit-warriors of this land. The Romans used a sword designed for both hacking and thrusting. Phoenix’s sword and style were based on chopping. He found it hard to avoid and block the quick, jabbing thrusts.
More soldiers approached. The only thing the Phoenix and his friends had to their advantage was that the men couldn’t come at them in large groups without hitting each other. He risked a quick glance and saw two soldiers at Marcus’ feet, groaning. Three were unconscious near Jade, either from her quarterstaff or from Brynn’s darting knife. It was hard to tell. Her staff dealt multiple resounding blows on any man stupid enough to come within reach.
He’d looked away too long and barely managed to avoid being skewered through the stomach. The blade grazed his hip and he yelled in pain and shock. Anger flowed through him, giving him new power. He was strong. He could beat these idiots easily. There was no way he was going to be defeated on Level One.
Twist, cut; turn; parry; stab, slice.
Two more Romans down but still more came on. Phoenix’s breath rasped fast and hard in his throat. He gave ground under a furious assault by two determined soldiers. His little group was slowly but surely, pushed back until they were almost standing in the small stream. The ground was slippery with mud and moss. It grew harder to keep his footing and there was less room to manoeuvre.
A shrill scream rent the air. Phoenix risked a glance back to see Brynn held tightly by the Roman officer. The boy bit and kicked for all he was worth but Phoenix could see it was no good. The Roman produced a dagger and held it to Brynn’s throat.
“Put down your weapons or I’ll kill him!” The officer shouted above the melee.
Helpless frustration replaced anger in Phoenix’s veins, turning his resolve to despair. They couldn’t lose the game so soon. It just wasn’t fair. For a brief instant, he considered letting the officer simply kill Brynn. After all, Brynn and the officer were both just digital constructs in the game; but he couldn’t. Not only did it go completely against his nature and training but what if the cloaked old woman was right and this world was real in some way? Then wasn’t Brynn real as well?
With a growl of confusion and annoyance, Phoenix lowered his sword. Immediately, three soldiers placed the tips of theirs at his throat. The same happened to Marcus and Jade when they followed his lead. The officer smiled thinly and relaxed his grip on Brynn. Holding the boy by the elbow, he shouldered his way through the soldiers.
Phoenix looked bleakly at him through half-closed eyes, wondering what would happen now. He supposed their group would be split up. Marcus would be dragged back to his father; Brynn sold into slavery; Jade tortured and killed and himself forcibly recruited into the Roman army, at least.
There seemed to be nothing he could do about it. No; there had to be something. The game just couldn’t end here. There had to be a way to win.
At the thought, he noticed warmth on his chest. The amulet. It was heating up again. What could it mean? He couldn’t risk looking down at it. There were still three swords at his throat.
Just beside him, he heard Jade’s voice murmuring something in Elvish. The Roman Officer looked startled then frightened at the sound. He switched his knifepoint from Brynn’s throat to hers.
“Shut up, woman, or I’ll shut you up permanently,” he threatened.
From the corner of his eye, Phoenix saw Jade gulp. She had raised her hands when a soldier had taken her staff. They were held at about shoulder height, palms out to show she was weaponless. She’d stopped speaking but her fingertips seemed to have a faint purplish haze about them. Hope surged. Did she have a trick up her sleeve that could get them out of this helpless situation?
He tensed every muscle, waiting for a chance to act if she did.
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80AD - The Jewel of Asgard (Book 1) Page 10
