Trust Is Death

Dust In The Wind
By:Ryan J. Cornelius

I wrote this for the school newspaper back in 8th grade. It's one of the biggest reasons that I'm still writing today- before this all I wrote was a story called The Green Knight... No good. Anyway, this is the first good thing I ever wrote. I still need to take the story and make it a novel some day, but I don't see that happening any time soon. I've explored WAY too many directions with this thing for anything coherent to come out without some major thought. Come back in a few years and we'll talk about a novel.

So the story! Right... All is explained in the story itself, I don't want to give away anything, so no summary this time around.

Dust in the Wind
By Ryan Cornelius
In a dark tent, a man gained consciousness for the first time in hours. He was a very tall man, a little over seven feet tall, although he was only twenty. His dark brown hair covered his brown eyes in some places. His hands and feet were bound with rope.
Next to him was a woman, with light brown hair hanging down to her shoulders. Her dark brown eyes were staring down at the rope binding her hands as strongly as they did the man's.
"Leah? Leah are you alright?" the man whispered. Leah jumped, startled, "Roc, you"re awake. I wasn't sure that you would be alright, that scoundrel nearly cracked your skull." So that was why his head hurt so much, "I'm fine Leah, now quiet down. Where are we? The last thing I remember is talking to that man on the road."
"His friend came up behind you and knocked you out with his cudgel. Then they did the same to me, but not as hard," she sounded more disgusted that they hadn't hit her as hard as him than that they hit her at all. Leah hated it when people thought she was weak.
"How long have you been awake?" Roc asked. "Not too long, only about 10 minutes." She responded. "Have they come since then?" "No. I haven't seen anyone." "That's good. Have you tried to burn off the bonds?" She scowled at him, "A knock to the head didn't make me a fool, Roc. Of course I did."
Leah had a skill which few other shared. Some might call her a witch, but that wouldn't be exactly right. Sometimes, she could control elements, most strongly fire and air. Even she never knew how she did it, only that she could. She would think of lighting a fire, and the wood would begin to burn.
The only real downsides were that she was always exhausted afterwards, and more than some people wanted hear dead. Either because of fear, or because they thought being able to control things is evil. She wasn't evil of course; she never did anything that could even be thought to be evil.
"It's just not working. No matter how hard I try I can't even make them smoke!" She was frustrated, which only made matters worse. Her fire worked most of the time, but never when she was frustrated.
"Where's my sword?" Roc thought. He was going to need that if they were to have even a chance of escaping. He looked around for the first time. The small tent was almost pitch black. Only a few feet from him was his sword in its sheath." I don't think I've ever met thieves this stupid." He thought with a smile. Maybe they had tried to drug him, and left it there thinking he wouldn't wake up until later.
"Don't worry, I think I can get us out." He just had to crawl over there, wait; he was tied to one of the spikes! Maybe these guys weren't so stupid after all. Roc reached down to his boots for one of the knives that he kept there. Those ropes were getting bloody annoying!
"This isn't going to work. Leah, I don't mean to put any pressure on you, but if you can't do something about these ropes, we're as good as dead." She didn't hear him. A smile spread across Roc's face. That was as good a sign of fire as any amount of smoke. He looked down at his bonds, smoke had begun to rise.

Dust In The Wind: Part Two
"Keep going," Roc said quietly. The leather was just about burnt through. "Just a little more," the bonds fell to the grass. He threw his arms around Leah, "You've done it again Leah!" "Get off of me Roc! I can't get out if you're on top of me!" Letting go of her, he went for his knife again. After cutting their feet loose, he stood up and went to his sword. "Are you ready?" Leah nodded. He opened the flap of the tent just a hair, and peeked through, no one that he could see. He opened it a little further, enough to look all around. Still no one.
"Alright, this way is...." Roc froze completely. A grim faced man with eyes like a fox, was staring right into his eyes from his spot a few yards away. "They're up! You bloody fools! They're up!"
In half a second Roc's sword was slicing a hole in the other side of the tent. That man was still screaming at the top of his lungs. In a moment he and Leah were both outside.
"Run Leah, I'll hold them off," she didn't move at all, "I"m not going to leave you here to die Roc," Why was she always so stubborn? Roc turned to her, "Just run or we''e both going to die!" she still didn't move.
"Roc, we all took an oath never to leave each other behind. I'm not going to go against my word. I'll run as soon as I see you doing so, and no sooner." There was absolutely no way that he would be able to change her mind, he could tell just by looking at her.
"Fine," he turned and started running nearly as fast as he could, he had to make sure she didn't fall behind. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her. "Just keep going!" In a moment she was at his side. "Now was that so hard Roc?" "Of course it was." She returned with such a scowl he nearly tripped.
The area ahead of them was all trees, if they made it that far they'd be safe from arrows. "We'll skin you yet outlaws!" Twang! A crossbow bold landed a few feet from Roc. They were pretty good considering that they were running. Twang twang! They were getting closer. Twang twang!
*
Ascot stared down into his wine, troubled. Roc and Leah had left hours ago to help that farmer, they should have been back a long time ago. He noticed a lot of noise coming from the counter. Roc was over there, with a dazed expression on his face. Lifting his cup, Roc said, "I propose a toast, to me! The biggest idiot the world has yet to know!" He was drunk. No, really drunk. Roc never drank more than one glass.
Ascot emptied his glass, and walked over to the counter. Taking the glass from Roc's upraised hand, he said, "I think you?ve had enough." He emptied that glass too, the inn had good wine. "Now Roc, what's wrong? Why are you an idiot?"
Roc stared at him for a moment, "What kind of question is that? I'm the biggest idiot there is" Taking a hold of Roc's head, Ascot shook him for a few moments. 'Roc, what is wrong? What happened?' Roc seemed to come back to reality again, "We were jumped by thieves. They were after the prices on our heads. Then when we were
escaping, they... they shot Leah."

Dust In The Wind: Part Three
"You must understand Ascot, she was screaming at me to keep going, and I couldn't help her, and..." Ascot could only stare, and pray that he was wrong. Leah... dead? And Roc left her there? That was nothing like him, no matter what the circumstances were. "Let's go upstairs Roc, we can talk more in the room." Roc looked as though he would die at any moment, Ascot wouldn't be surprised if he did.
Before they reached the top of the steps, the innkeeper called after them. "Ascot? Oh, that is you." She was an old, kind woman, with more gray hair than brown. "There's a letter here sealed to you Mr. Timberwood," Ascot frowned at nothing for a moment. Who would send him a letter? "I'll meet you there Roc, try to calm yourself down." Roc nodded slowly, and walked over to their room, looking down, deep in thought.
Ascot went down the stairs and retrieved the letter. The seal was just a wax oval, that of a beggar... or someone who didn't want to be known. "Thank you mistress, I must go now." She gave him a smile, and went back to supervising the maids.
Back in their room, Roc was sitting in one of their three chairs. It could barely be called a chair really, more like a stool with a board nailed onto the back. "Who's it from?" Roc asked, seeming only half awake. He was gazing off into space now. Ascot was close to knocking some sense into him.
"I'm not sure," he broke the seal, and took the paper out. It was written in rather horrible handwriting, barely legible. He read it once, and then read it again.

She's alive. Have Riley Tymap come to our camp to get her. If he doesn't show up by midday tomorrow, we'll send you her head.

'The... the thieves. They say Leah is alive!" Roc looked as though he had been told that he would be crowned king of Allinton. His smile nearly slit his face in two. Ascot wondered if his own face looked the same. Then he knew it didn't. How could joy have blinded him that much?
"What?" Roc asked, he hadn't realized it yet. "Don't you see it? They asked for Riley Tymap, not Roc Lott. They recocnised you for who you are. I'll bet my last copper that they know Bendect wants you, too. Do you really think these guys would pass up the chance of gold? If you go, they'll kill you both, if Leah isn't dead already. It's useless. She's dead Roc. Accept it." Could he really ask him to do that, when he couldn't himself?
"Until I see a body, I'll assume that she is both alive, and well. She's only there because I was fool enough not to carry her here, and not to stay behind and stall them, and a dozen other things! I'm not going to overlook any chance that she's alive." That sounded more like the Roc Ascot knew. "There's nothing you can do to stop me Ascot, I'm going." The thing was, he was probably right, he wouldn't give in now.
"I guess I can't argue with that." There had to be some way to help him! "I'm going downstairs for some more wine," Ascot said, "I hear about one more drop in your mouth, and I'll see your bed is moved to the stable tonight!"
Ascot maintained his outer calm until the door closed behind him. Keeping calm was one of the first things he had been taught when he was young, nobles couldn't appear to be weak. But how could Leah be dead? "Have to focus on Roc," he thought. That was the one thing the nobles had taught him which was worth something, if you mourn for the dead too long you can't save the living.
Downstairs, Mistress Elza spoke to him. She looked worried, "Excuse me Mr. Timberwood, I don't mean to be nosy, but what's wrong with your friend? In the week you've stayed here he's only had one glass of wine before tonight." Ascot was ready to tell her Roc was trying miserably to break the habit, when he realized she might be able to help.
"Thats not important now." He must have been smiling like a fool, "Are any of the men in the village skilled with a bow? Do you remember the woman that was with us?" She nodded. "She's being held prisoner by some rouges. I need as many men with bows as I can get by tomorrow morning. Can you help?"
She smiled, "Leah... yes, I remember her. She reminds me so much of my daughter. I think I know some men who would be eager to help.

Dust In The Wind: Part Four
The shining steel blade made a wonderful sound as it slid perfectly into its scabbard. The hilt stood above the rim, ready to be grasped and used whenever needed. A few inches down on the hilt, was the sign of Roc's house. A white diamond shape stood out on the light blue color of the sword. Inside the diamond was a leaf, the most important part of the symbol.
Nearly as symbolic as the leaf and diamond, was the emerald halfway into the pommel of the hilt. It shined brilliant green in the late morning sun. It was a shame that this would be the last time his father's sword was used. He'd keep it in the scabbard for now, he was aiming for stealth.
Evermore, he thought it was called. Named after the greatest hero of all time's sword. Roc Lott, with his fabled sword Evermore, had slain more beast, and won more fights, than anyone Roc could think of. He was the man that all kids wanted to be when they grew up. Not be like him, but BE him. The tales exaggerated the actual man of course. Saying that he had mistakenly blown up entire continents with his sword's new found power, and a thousand other outrageous deeds.
"I don't suppose I'll live long enough to do anything which will be remembered." Roc muttered to himself. "Focus on the matters at hand."
Roc stood at the edge of the forest, only a few yards from the nearest thief's tent. He had gone through the forest to get here. Most people would take the road, with all the animals in these woods. Not Roc, he had practically grown up in the woods.
"Nothing to do now but get along with it." He took out one of his three belt knives, and stuck it in the large tree next to him, making sure that most of the blade stuck out. "I hope that works." He thought. Roc ran as fast as he could until he got to a tent. Ducking behind it, he thought for a second. He was taking a huge risk. If he was caught, they'd kill Leah along with him. He had to think, be careful. The sun was shining on the opposite side of the tent. Whoever was inside wouldn't see his shadow. Roc took out another belt knife, and pressed it against the side of the tent. He pushed the knife in, and pulled it down quickly, producing a hole big enough for him to fit through.
Roc jumped inside and put his knife to a theive?s neck, and quickly covered her mouth with his hand so that she couldn't scream. "I don't want to kill you, and you don''t want to die. All you have to do is help me, understood?" Not a word, only a nod.
It was then that Roc realized just how frightened she was. Her eyes, as big as saucers, never left his gleaming knife. " Are you sure you understand this?" He loosened his grip on her mouth enough that she could speak in more than murmers. "Yes, I understand." Roc smiled. "Yesterday two people, a man and a woman, tried to escape from this camp. The woman was captured on the way out. Tell me what you know of her. Is she alive? Where is she?"
"She was alive last I heard, and doing well. In the center of the camp I think." Roc was sure he was beaming now. "Thank you, and don't bother screaming once I'm gone. You'll be dead before you know it." Taking the knife away from her neck, he threw it out the hole he had made. It lay hidden behind some tall grass now. He turned the theive's head so that she could see through the opening. "I'm the best shot with a knife you'll ever meet."
The theive's eyes went even wider. Thank God, it worked! The sun was shining off of Roc's other knife, stuck in the tree. She thought he had hit the tree from 30 yards, something no one could do. "Don't scream." Roc jumped back out of the tent, and was surprised when he heard nothing. "She'll go and tell them quietly," he said to himself. "Have to hurry." He found what seemed to be a path between two rows of tents, and began to follow it.
Roc followed the path for a few minutes without seeing so much as a single person. "I can't beleive no one has noticed me," he thought, "What luck!" As if he had voiced it, someone saw and aproached him.
A man with a look about him which said he was used to being in charge-it must have been his expression, because his clothes made him look like a beggar- eyed him for a moment before speaking, "Who are you?" Roc tried to sound calm, "Jim Smith," his grandfather's name.
"And what exactly are you doing here?" A few men had come from there tents to see what was going on.
"I found this sword," he drew Evermore. Slowly, so that they wouldn't suspect that he was about to attack them. "I thought it might belong to someone here." Roc entered the only offensive stance he knew which wouldn't give him away. One foot a bit in front of the other, knees bent ever so slightly. "Do you recocnise it?" Sword turned a little down and to the left.

Dust In The Wind: Part Five
"Get your hand off that sword, Ascot. I'll not be letting you go down there." Ascot hadn't realized that he was running his thumb up and down the hilt. He took the hand off his sword, and knocked an arrow from the quiver on his back.
He and the forty or so men from the village had been watching Roc from their trees near the thieves' camp since he entered it since he entered it what seemed an age ago. "Tell them not to shoot unless the thieves fight. And to come out of hiding when I start talking to them." Barra nodded, "I'll tell them so."
Ascot barely heard him. He was too busy watching Roc. At only seventy paces, Ascot could see everything the boy was doing. Somehow, he had made it to the center of the camp.
"Looks like he might make it," Ascot murmured to himself. "Don't be so sure." "Why do you always have to be so negative Barra? Never mind." Someone had noticed Roc, and was talking to him. "Burn our luck." Roc took his sword out of its scabbard. "Burn him too."
Ascot raised his right hand, and so did every other man in the trees until everyone had a hand in the air and an arrow knocked. The thieves... were still talking to Roc. It looked like they were talking to him about the sword. He was showing it to him! "Aim." The whiper was only loud enough for the man on either side of Ascot to hear. Thirty seconds, and fourty three bows were aimed at the small crowd of thieves gathering around Roc. There was a flash of steel, too fast for Ascot to see, and two men fell to the ground dead. This time Ascot voiced his command loud enough for all to hear, "READY!"
*
A crowd was beginning to form around Roc. He should have just killed that first one. "You know, I think that belongs to Alban." Still, they hadn't decided whose it was. They knew as well as Roc did that it was none of theirs of course, but the thing would fetch a nice price. They were putting on such a show, why hadn't they just killed him for it?
Roc began looking for a way out. He couldn't lose his father's sword to these thieves. He looked at all of them one at a time to see who he should try to escape through. The thieves looked right back at him. Their faces saying kindness, their eyes screaming deceit.
One man seemed to stand out of the crowd. His face was grim. He stared back at Roc with eyes that looked like a fox?s. That face pulled at something in his memory, but what was it?
The man's tricky eyes grew wide, and he started yelling, "You idiots!" Roc's gaze had stuck on him too long. 'It's him!" He was the one that yelled last time. Because of him Leah had been captured.
Roc leaped towards the man and took off his head with one quick swing of Evermore. "Idiot!" Roc thought, "Fighting thirty men?" But it had already begun.
Roc pulled out his last belt knife, and threw it -he was a decemt shot when close- at the man nearest him.
It had only taken a little more than a second, and now the sound of steel sliding out of sheaths filled the air. Someone yelled from the trees, "Ready!" Roc looked behind him for a moment to see Ascot, and at least another twenty more men, in trees no more 60 yards away with arrows knocked and bows drawn.
Roc dove to the ground fearing Ascot might shoot him, the man was horrid with any kind of a bow except a crossbow. Arrows whistled as they shot over his head, and more men fell.
*
"That's enough!" The arrows stopped flying, and new ones were redied. Ascot made his voice loud enough for the theives to hear, "Another one of you moves, and you'll all be pin couchins! Now sheath your weopans and have your prisoner brought out!" Barra said to Ascot in little more than a whisper, "Take the gold too. They stole it anyway." The excuse was clearly an afterthought.

Dust In The Wind: Conclusion
Tod watched in disgust as his men were made helpless by a bunch of villagers. If they could only get a hold of a few bows themselves... No. It was impossible to win this fight, the only way out was to surrender or run. The men began climbing out of their trees one by one and coming closer to his camp.
The one who had revealed himself as the leader of the group let his bowstring relax, but kept his arrow knocked. He looked at Tod and then spoke, "Leader of these thieves I presume?" Tod regretted wearing his good boots that day; they marked him as commander with the blue streaks on the toe. "Yes." He tried to stare back as steadily as he could.
"Get them to stand together so that we can circle you. If you don't, or if you run, the lot of ya will have arrows in you." His tone said that he'd rather if they ran. Tod stared back silently for a few moments before giving the order.
*
Roc used the cloak of one of the fallen thieves to clean the blood from Evermore, and then slid it back into its scabbard. He had been taught since he was ten to do that whenever his sword was dirtied by blood. Best to get it off before the stuff dried.
Now to find Leah. He hadn't taken two steps before he saw her being carried out of a tent by one of the village's men. Roc was about to take her himself, but decided that there were other things to do so long as she was safe. He was sure he'd be mad about the decision later on, even if nothing happened to her. But he had to find out what had made the thieves take them in the first place. And why they thought him an outlaw.
Roc set out to find Ascot instead. He was near the clump of thieves, which were surrounded by men with bows aimed and a quarter way drawn. Ascot looked every inch a noble while staring coldly down at the thieves who were all a few inches shorter than him.
The older man frowned at Roc for a moment before covering it with a small smile, "You came by yourself? What a sheep-headed move!" Roc simply laughed, "And you brought the whole village along to save me?" "I guess that I'm just used to you by now." His smile slowly faded, and he pulled a piece of paper out of his coat pocket.
"I nearly forgot about this, Roc. I know why they recognized you." Ascot handed him the paper, and he unfolded it. "What is it" A wanted poster?" It told everything about him. His description, his name...the name he was going by, even his personality! And at the top was a picture of him. "I'm wanted dead or alive, no surprise there." He looked down the rest of the sheet, "Thirty thousand gold coins? Treason!"
"Calm down Roc, you knew it was coming." He wasn't safe anywhere now. With a price that big on his head, anyone would slit his throat at their first chance. "You and Leah need to get away from me then. I won't have you dangered." Ascot took the paper out of Roc's hands and slipped it back into his pocket. "Won't work. Leah's twenty thousand, and I'm eight thousand. Splitting up will only increase our chance of being outnumbered."
"Then we need to get out of the country as fast as we can. The nobles here won't support us.We'll have to go to the Krozans for help. We'll leave as soon as Leah is well enough to sit on a horse." Ascot almost smiled, it looked like he couldn't decide whether to smile or frown. "There's a problem with that too." Roc looked at him questioningly, "What problem?"
"Anyone who helps you in any way, even giving you board at their inn, has a price of ten silver crowns. The whole village helped you, and the thieves who got away know it. Ten silvers isn't much, but a whole village... There'll be people here to burn the place within the month!"
"What do you suggest we do then?" Apparently, this was why Ascot wanted to smile, because he didn't hold any smile back now. "We need something of an army if we're going to overthrow Bendect. Those men are good archers, and if we get more from every village we pass... We might have enough to be considered by the time we're in Kroz." A big enough force to show Kroz's king they meant business, enough maybe to get some support from him. "Yes, that's a good idea. Now, could you tell them that?"
"They won't listen to me half as well as they will to their King. You need to show everyone that you are King, not just a prince playing games where he dosen't belong." That sounded almost mocking, but Roc knew it was only a joke. If a true one.
Roc raised his voice so that all could hear, and turned towards the men from the village, and the thieves. "If I might have your attention for a moment!" The thieves looked at him with eyes full of anger, but the archers never looked away. They watched Roc through the corner of their eyes, but that was all.
"I am Roc Lott, weilder of Evermore," he took Evermore from its sheath and rose it above his head, "Riley Tymap, heir to the throne of Allinton!" Only a mad man would make such a claim, especially since it was true. "My father King Cavel was assassinated by John Bendect, who now sits on the throne. This is the treason for which I am outlawed. The lot of you have prices on your heads now that you've helped me. Will you help me some more?"

From Dust In The Wind

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