Cold chill of the snowy winds bit
hard into the partially clothed figured wandering the shadows of
the street at dusk. The scrawny boy had long lost any feeling in
his cloth wrapped muddied feet but desperately continued through
the abandoned streets of the village spurned on by his hunger and
cold.
The village was not unlike other country
villages he had been through or even the one he had once lived
in many moons ago. He Knew that when came upon a well-lit large
building with laughter and music streaming out into the cold night
air that he had happened on his best chances for cover and/or
food.
Scanning the grounds, keeping to the shadows
he spotted the tavern's barn.
His body called out for him continue in
the form of fiery pains shooting through his stomach. The boy
pressed on creeping silently by the snoring guard at the barn
door and proceeded deeper into the darkness of the barn. Horses
in their stalls for the most part paid him little more then a
snort if he got too close. The boy scanned the darkness of the
barn for where the saddles were kept and more importantly where
the saddlebags were. After a few minutes of searching and rummaging
through the dark the best he could he happened upon a large saddlebag.
Inside the deep saddlebags was empty save a small wedge of cheese
and a half eaten loaf of bread.
The boy greedily wolfed down the stale
hunk of cheese and stale bread but still hungered for more. He
reached into the front pouch of the bag and happened upon some
sort of flask. After all the bread and cheese he was ready for
something to quench his thirst. The smooth dark liquid in the
flask burned as it went down, not a hot burning like fire but
a burning all the same. Soon after finishing the entire flask
the boy grabbed some hey and made bed for the night....
Sometime later the boy was awoken by a
sharp pain in the abdomen. Gasping for breath opening his eyes
to the light the boy began to rise to his feet and was promptly
met by a mailed fist accompanied by a sharp stinging pain across
his face. The boy collapsed to his knees feeling the warm salty
taste of blood in his mouth.
"Good... morning boy." A large dark cloaked
figure bellowed while rising his foot to meet the boy's abdomen.
The boy flipped over to his back reeling
in pain the figure continued, " Where I come from ye earn your
meals..."
Gasping for air the boy drew a rusty whittlers
knife from his belt and charged at the large mailed opponent in
a dark purple cloak.
The mans arm shot out from under his cloak,
grabbing the boys wrist then turning the wrist back until the
boy bellowed in pain dropping the knife. The Cloaked figure then
lashed out with his other hand across the boy's face.
"..I see there is yet fight in you boy",
the large figured chuckled.
Seizing his opportunity the boy lashed
out sinking his teeth into the exposed wrist of his captor with
the ferocity of a corned wolf.
The large figure laughed as he grabbed
a fist full of the boy's hair and jerked the boy's head back while
kneeing the boy in the stomach sending the reeling boy back into
an empty stall landing with a thud. This was the last thing the
he remembered before the darkness enveloped him.
Awaking with a dull pain tied to the back
of a dark brown war horse the boy tried without success to struggle
free from his bonds. The large cloaked man kept ridding on without
a word along the long muddied road leading deeper into the woods.
Finally the man stopped off at a grove on the side of the road
shortly before sun down. Exhausted and in pain the boy was untied
from the horse and tossed down into the snow bank. The boy looked
all around and realizing he was unfamiliar with his surroundings.
He knew that even if he escaped his captor he would surely die
in the woods.
"Ahh I see that you are smart as well
as brave...", the Man commented.
"If you want to eat then you best take that saddle off the Abe,
brush and feed him", the man continued.
Unfamiliar with horses the boy rose and
approaching the horse...
Nervously approaching the large
stead the boy began to unfasten the saddle clasp under the horse.
The large horse shifted and snorted as the boy worked.
"It is ok Abe I will not hurt you..." the
boy said as he rhythmically stroked the horse. After feeding and
brushing the horse the boy came over to the campfire the cloaked
figure had started.
"I am done sir..." the boy nervously remarked.
"So you are boy, here you may now eat what you have earned", the
large man replied with a smile passing over some cooked meat and
cheese. After they finished eating the boy noticed a tattoo of
serpent on the arm where he had previously bitten the man.
"What is that marking on your arm," the
boy asked curiously.
"It is the mark of the Serpent Goddess the mark of the Family
of Silver Serpents", The man replied.
"What is that?" the boy asked.
"That is my family and she our Goddess...," the man continued
detailing a history of the Family of Silver Serpents.
The boy listened attentively to the tale
while staring at the man's tattoo seemingly mesmerized by the
serpent marking. He could have sworn that it slithered around
the man's arm like a live snake as he told the history.
Ending the History of FSS with a statement,
"I serve at the pleasure of the Queen".
The tale of the Family of the Silver Serpents
went well past dusk and into the night. The two figures rolled
out there bedrolls and settled down for the night. As the darkness
of sleep engulfed the boy he was thinking that he can not remember
the last time he had not been hungry or cold.
The boy awoke to the sound of a stick breaking.
Without moving from his sleeping roll the boy scanned the darkness
searching for the cause. The horse snorted in shifted positions.
Again another noise originating just out of the light of the fire.
The boy decided to slowly creep out of his sleeping roll and investigate
the noise.
The boy froze in terror when he realized
there were four brigands closing on the camp. Seconds seemed as
hours as the assailant's weapons drawn made there way within steps
of the boy. The boy could remain hidden and hope that the brigands
miss him or ....
"AHHHHHHHHHH", yelled the boy at the top
of his lungs. Grabbing his whittling knife from his belt he plunged
it deep into the leg of one of the surprised brigands.
The Brigand yelled in pain and brought
down his sword smashing the boy's shoulders.
The boy winced with pain as his left arm
went slack. The boy again grabbed the whittling knife from the
man's leg and stabbed at the brigand. The brigand blocked the
blow with his leather shield plugging his sword deep into the
boy's gut.
The boy feeling the burning sensation in
his abdomen fell to the ground grasping at his wound warm sticky
liquid filling his hands. The fighting seemed to continue but
the noise began to drift like clouds on a summer's day. Slowly
he drifted away as darkness began to flood his senses.
"Wake up boy......", the large figure bellowed,"
You have yet to earn your breakfast".
The disorientated boy felt at his midsection
in disbelief. Ripping up his shirt he looked to see the remains
of a scar that had never been there before. Quickly he checked
his shoulder to find the other new scar.
Smirking a big grin the large figure said,"
You learned an important lesson last night. Loyalty...It is the
cornerstone of our Family."
"Now go collect fire wood or you will have
learned another lesson, no fire wood, no fire, no breakfast,"
the man barked as he kicked the boy in the ass.
After getting firewood and tending to the
horse the two figures ate breakfast in silence.
