Postby Felix » Tue Dec 14, 2004 5:57 pm
A lone man crouched on a hilltop in the rapidly fading light of dusk. His eyes traveled down the strings of his crossbow to come to rest on his target, a single, thickset buck. He chuckled to himself. It had been quite a lucky find. He was running low on food, and it certainly wasn’t easy to find sustenance during such hard times.
He pulled back the springs with a practiced hand, snatched a bolt from his belt, and loaded it into the powerful weapon. He rechecked his sights, being careful not to make a sound. Slowly, he pressed his finger against the cold, metal trigger and nodded as it gave a reassuring click. He placed his sights directly over the buck’s heart, and then quickly snapped his finger down on the release, sending the deadly bolt thudding into its target.
Roam grunted with satisfaction as he watched the creature fall to the ground. He slid his old sword from its sheath, watching with interest as the light from the setting sun glinted off the chipped blade. The weapon really was in poor condition, but Roam would not even think of parting with it. It contained too many memories. Even as he stared at that blade, thoughts of that time, six years ago, came flooding into his mind.
He felt a sudden wave of anger wash over him. Why hadn’t he done better? Why was he so stupid to think that that little imp could handle the job? Yet somehow, by some strange stroke of luck, the whelp had pulled it off. Roam gazed out towards the castle from where he stood on a low hilltop.
He clenched his fist with hatred. “That should be me over there living the life of a king, not him!â€