The Boy From The Forest

The hamlet of Om

Norman and Vincent were loitering around the outskirts of the hamlet of Om. They were not all that far from the center of the village. Norman had wanted to go hunt for deer, but Vincent did not want to. That was alright; Norman did not want to either.

Ever since the battle with the invaders from the sky, people had been restless. Those who had actually fought the invaders toe-to-toe had these strange burns all over them. There were whispered rumors about the outlandish weapons which the aliens had used.

The adults were standing around saying, “it’s not over yet, not really.” When Vincent had tried to join in an adult conversation, they told him to go play. He was too old to go play, but not quite yet an adult.

“Hey, who is that?”

“Vincent, I don’t know. You are the one who knows everyone here.”

A young man was running into the hamlet. He had never been there before, which was unusual. You could tell he had been running a long time.

“I’ve got to speak to the leader here!! Who is in charge?”

No one spoke. No one was really in charge.

Norman started to go forward and at least greet the man. Vincent grabbed his arm, shaking his head, NO. That would be presumption on Norman’s part, “trying to take over.”

The messenger had an idea. “This message is for every able-bodied man. Any man who is man enough to fight for what he believes in, this is for you. The invaders from the sky did not go far. They landed in the Cultivated Lands, not far from the beginning of the Forest. The kings and knights in the Cultivated Lands are mobilizing. The men from the Forest are to gather at the fork of the River Beaucoup. There we will form an army of Woodlanders, which will then unite with the men from the Cultivated Lands. No matter where these invaders go, the combined army will be there to oppose them. Every human person has a part in this.”

“I would go, but I have too many things going on.” Shouted Old Wayne.

Someone finally offered the messenger a gourd of water. He had a brief conversation with a few people about how far away was the next settlement. Then the man was gone.

There was a hustle and bustle everywhere in the hamlet of Om. Most of the young men were running around trying to get themselves organized. One young man was going around saying, “James borrowed my spear. Now I need it back. Has anyone seen James?”

“Vincent, we need to get in on this. It is the main event for our whole generation. I think there is a group leaving from here later today. Let’s gather our things and get with the bunch that is already gathering.”

“Norman, I have figured out who you are. There was something about a younger Prince who was paying way too much attention to the beautiful Princess Icelandia, who was promised to his brother. Maybe you want to go back to the Castle of The King and join the army there.”

“Vincent, I did think about that. But it would take quite a while to travel back there. By the time I got there, my Father would have his army organized and gone. Father does not waste time when he decides to do something. I would be stuck in a Castle with nobody much around. I will stay here and enlist with the Forest men.”

At the Castle of The King

Princess Icelandia had started a tapestry. It had been decided that she would stay at the Castle of The King and await the return of her intended. She had found an unused loom in a back room, and she decided to put it to use. So she was making a tapestry depicting the struggle of all people against the invaders from the sky. The pictures on the tapestry were kind of fanciful, since her information was vague. But she had good artistic sense, and it was going to be an attractive work of art.

She had thrown her wilted bridal bouquet into the moat. Some creature immediately snapped it up. Icelandia wondered if it liked the bouquet, if the faded flowers tasted good to the creature.

On the road

A great group of young men was on the forest path to the fork of the River Beaucoup. It was a location which all would know.

“Hey, James, that is a nice spear.” Called out Vincent.

“Thanks. It has a steel spearhead and the shaft is oak. Those invaders will be sorry to see me.”

“Vincent, there is a group of married men over there. I am surprised that they would be here. Comforts of home and all that.”

“Hey, kid!! Have you ever been married?”

“Uhhh.. No, I am just a young man.”

“Wait until you have been married for a while. Then you will understand.”

“Look, there are more joining us. Since they are coming from the Northwestern Trail, they must be from Portlandius or Redmonville.” Vincent pointed at a group emerging from the underbrush.

Norman and Vincent passed the place where the group of newcomers had emerged. Norman could not see any kind of trail. For that matter the path they were following looked to him to be the merest deer trail. He was used to actual roads, not faint paths in the Forest. Nonetheless, they were all going to the fork of the River Beaucoup.

Outside the Castle of The King.

The King was assembling his army. In the best of times, this was a massive undertaking. The King himself had to supervise the filling of the barrels on the water wagons. They were bringing lots of water because the blood of the invaders was like acid. It anyone got splattered, he would need to wash himself as quickly as possible.

The King led his army away from the palace. He was riding a magnificent snow-white stallion. Immediately after The King was the Royal Guard, on stately cream-colored horses. The King’s horse was pure white, and these were cream colored.

After this came the units of regular mounted knights. Their horses were various shades of brown. In the Fifth Regiment were Sir Elmer, Sir Bob, and Sir Harold.

“Sir Harold, they gave you a complete new suit of armor. It is a pretty nice suit of armor.”

“Sir Bob, the old one was useless after the blood from that thing touched it. Since it was in the line of duty, it is only right that I got a replacement.”

Sir Elmer was in a dour mood. “We have been given orders to use our lances first and foremost. That is to keep their blood away from us. Of course, after the first charge, our lances will dissolve in the blood of these strange creatures, and we will be back to swords. I wish I was an archer.”

“Did you hear that? That fancy-pancy knight wants to be an archer.” Ron said to Brett as they walked along with the other archers. Archers were foot soldiers, no horses for them.

“I would like to see one of them try to shoot an arrow wearing those iron gloves. Those knights are all muscle, and that includes between their ears.” Casey had little use for those who rode into battle.

“To be an archer of the king, you have to be able to shoot a woolly worm in the eye at fifty paces,” Mark spoke.

“And woolly worms don’t even have eyes.” Ron finished the joke.

The King led his army away from his Kingdom of Narrython. There were a lot of things on his mind. If it rained, the roads would turn to mud and the wagons would get mired down. If it did not rain, they could run out of water. Would the men from the Forest show up as planned? Would everyone remember that they were all on the same side this time? Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.