(Part I) The River of Secrets

River of Secrets
Alex galloped forward. She had sensed it before anyone would have heard it. Cobral followed behind on his horse, he was curious about what Alex had felt.

‘What’s all this about?’ Cobral shouted over the sound of galloping horses. Alex did not answer. Cobral thought that she couldn’t hear him. Or was she just ignoring him again?

Finally Alex stopped at an intersection on the dirt road with an old sign in the corner. Ferns and trees surrounded them wherever there was no road. Cobral’s guns had slowed him down; he finally caught up with Alex when she stopped at the intersection.

‘Well, what was that about?’ Cobral asked his companion. But he was quieted.

‘Listen…’ Alex whispered. The sound of a waterfall could be heard. She looked west to an old wooden bridge. Cantering over it and pausing for a moment, she dismounted, Cobral did the same.

‘And what’s so special about a waterfall?’ Cobral asked in a deeper tone, hoping to finally get an answer.

‘I can feel the essence of magic within the waters,’ Alex replied. Her sorceress’ heritage made her very sensitive to these things. Cobral groaned.

‘Magic, magic, magic… is that all you ever think about?’ Cobral complained. Alex turned as she was about to follow the source of the sound.

‘Guns, guns, guns… Is that all YOU ever think about?’ countered Alex. Cobral just laughed. Indeed, he liked the latest in technology, black powder weaponry. After all, he was a human and loved his tools of destruction. It also showed in his dark red eyes and his long pony tailed black hair; as well as the armour he had covered himself with.

The two followed the source of the sound through a thick patch of ferns and many trees. Cobral looked at Alex constantly. She was pretty young and as such; didn’t seem too tough. What he knew however, was that she is a sorceress in training. She had long blonde hair and shining blue eyes; the rest of her body was covered in old robes. He wondered, ‘How did I manage to find this one?’

Continuing through the forest, it wasn’t long before Alex and Cobral discovered a huge pool of water. A waterfall cascaded before them, pouring clear blue water into a pool that streamed down a river to where the bridge was. The sun pierced through the surrounding trees. It was a hidden paradise… but their attention was focused upon something out of place here. A body floated in the water…

‘Well, that has spoiled the whole tranquillity… hasn’t it?’ Cobral said, chuckling to himself.

‘Indeed! Let’s get a closer look,’ Alex replied. She moved to the edge of the pool. The body was only a few metres away. It had something like an arrow protruding from it.

‘Yep, he’s dead… Right in the back of the head’ Cobral confirmed.

Alex reached for the wooden staff on her back, using it to try to fish the body towards them. It was male, dressed in light armour, a sword still unsheathed from his belt, as well as something else.

‘Aha! A container…’ Cobral told Alex, directing his attention to a small metal tube attached to the belt. ‘He’s a messenger of some sort, I’d say,’
‘Poor fellow! He would have stood no chance against those bandits,’ Alex replied.

Cobral turned the head to see the protruding arrow. ‘This is an arrow…’

‘So?’ Alex said.

‘I don’t know too many bandits who use bows, and I certainly wouldn’t know any who could strike someone who was running for his life in the back of the head…’

‘Then who would do this?’

‘We need a bit more knowledge than this, but I’m thinking someone didn’t want this getting to where it was going…’ Cobral replied whilst holding the tube up, prying it open with his hands and tipping out the contents; a piece of folded paper. Alex snatched it, and began to read.

‘Urgent message to the lord of the town of White River… You are in danger of attack for your rebellion against our lord’s best intentions. Cease your actions; I would strongly advise it… Your friend in Graystone…’

They paused for a moment, the sounds of water crashing into the pool behind them.

‘Someone didn’t want them to get that message,’ Cobral replied.

‘And why would you go out of you way just to stop a messenger with a message such as this?’ Alex queried.

‘I think someone might have wanted them to be attacked… but what I want to know is, who killed this man?’

‘Oh… here’s our answer…’ Alex replied. They looked up at the armed warriors who had swords pointed at their necks. ‘I knew we should have looked behind us more often…’

‘You have unfinished business, do you?’ Cobral asked the warriors.

‘Shall we kill them now, Verdich?’ the warrior with his sword at Cobral’s neck asked the other.

‘No. We will take them with us,’ Verdich replied, who had his sword at Alex’s neck.

A third warrior joined the others from behind. ‘Excellent work Morden, Verdich; I am pleased with your progress.’

They all stood over Alex and Cobral in height. Their complete steel armor was dull and featureless; without identity if it were not for horns protruding from the side of their helmets. Morden and Verdich took hold of Alex and Cobral, pushing them along, with swords at the ready in case they tried to escape.


Halfway back to where they had come from, other than the sounds of steel boots crushing grass, Alex and Cobral could hear the sounds of their own horses. Cobral looked at Alex and grinned. Attached to his belt was his second prized possession, his flintlock pistol. He had loaded it before they had left Fernhaven. Alex knew what was going to happen and prepared herself, hand on sword. Cobral stopped and let the warrior behind him walk into him.

‘Keep moving!’ yelled Morden, his voice dark and brooding.

With a hand on the pistol, Cobral quickly pulled the gun out of its holster. He aimed the gun behind him and pressed the trigger, time almost stopping for him.

A massive explosion roared from the pistol along with a blanket of black smoke. Cobral knew that the lead shot would have passed straight through the helmet, the weak point in the warrior’s armour.

Alex darted forward at that moment, sword drawn. She swiped at her enemy but failed to even dent his steel armour. She remembered her staff; it was still by the pool of water. Dodging the slow but lethal swing of the enemy, she ran back for her prized staff.

‘Thanks for your HELP!’ yelled Cobral, who was now facing two angry, steel armoured, sword swinging warriors… He drew out his rapier. The warriors facing him laughed at the slender sword as they lunged forward.

Cobral managed to dodge the first sword swing but that was right into the swing of the second attacker’s sword. He took a blow to the shoulder, where a piece of iron plating stood firm. Dodging to the right, he tried to stab his opponent, without luck. A sword swiped at him and he dodged again within range of the second warrior; making a quick jab, the blade passed into a gap in his second opponent’s armour. A good attack, but it wasn’t enough as he was stuck by the warrior’s retaliation and sent flying a metre or so into a tree.

Alex had found her staff lying on the ground; she rushed back. Cobral was in trouble. Wasting no time, she grabbed a pinch of red powder from a small pouch on her belt. Thrown in the air it suddenly ignited into a ball of fire. With her mystic body energies she transferred the fireball to her staff and flung it in a sweeping arc.

Just as the angry warrior lunged to strike Cobral, the fireball streaked across the trees and struck its target and felled him to the ground. The other turned to face a charging Alex, who attacked him with all her might. Cobral joined her and together they brought him down. The last opponent, hit by the fireball, was easily defeated.

‘Whew, that was good,’ sighed Cobral, also giving a short clap to Alex.

‘I bet you’re glad I saved your life,’ replied Alex.

‘You saved my life? I think it was me who had to take them on while you ran for your piece of wood!’

‘If it weren’t for that piece of wood… you’d have a piece of iron in your chest…’

Cobral paused for a second. ‘Fine, fine…’ he admitted. But he knew inside that he had brought the first one down.

Alex turned to face the defeated warriors. ‘Nice names. You don’t hear Morden and Verdich often’

‘That’s true. By the sound of things someone isn’t going to be too happy about what we’ve done, either,’ Cobral replied. Alex nodded in response.

‘Indeed! Let’s take our leave before any more warriors surprise us. It could happen.’

The pair returned to their horses, who waited for them as if no forest skirmishes ever happened. Alex and Cobral mounted and rode towards White River, with the message they had found…

To be continued…