out from the overwhelming pain.
“Good. That will do it. You shouldn’t stop until the person faints otherwise you probably haven’t done it firmly enough,” said Janna.
“Ouch, that looked and smelled horrific. At least he will live, that was too close. The scream we heard, it sounded very near. Almost like it was behind the other side of the trees. In fact, I think it was.”
“It was near, there is no doubt about that but I’ve still got my knife and my bow and arrow. We’re not completely defenceless. Whoever it was knows we’re here now anyway, our presence is no secret. The sun is setting, it will be pitch black soon. I do not think it is wise to proceed until sunrise and besides, Ugg needs time to recover. Let’s rest here.”
“He lost a lot of blood, we should give him more of our food or he will be too weak to continue for some time.”
Janna agreed with Ash and smiled at the knight.
“You two have almost restored my faith in the males of our species.”
“Only almost?”
“Two good men does not make up for a dozen bad. In Harwell women are outnumbered by men with dark hearts and ill minds, but here, in the strangest of places, I am with two of the few good ones. I am a lucky lady.”
“I’m not perfect. I never intended to have a child, but we were both drunk and we just hit it off. I was weak to give in to temptation.”
“You only did what was natural. What happened to your child’s mother?”
“She died during childbirth. I grew up without a father, I was determined my child wouldn’t. I should have left the service, but I needed the money to support my child. I’ve done the same thing for so long I didn’t think I could do anything else. I was more afraid of change than I was of The Gauntlet.”
“Most men would have left after the one-night stand. You are a good man.”
Ash nodded, before replying: “Have you explored what’s beyond the next corner?”
“Not yet. I was too busy watching Ugg, do you think we should we go? Or do you want to go and I’ll stay here with Ugg?”
“No, we should both stay, I was just curious. All will be revealed soon I’m sure. I can take first watch if you are tired?” offered Ash.
“That sounds good, thank you. Ugg will come around soon; he is a strong, determined man and will probably be angry that he passed out. Do your best to assure him it would have been unnatural if he hadn’t passed out.”
“I will. Besides, when it comes to passing out, I’m still beating Ugg two to one. I felt dizzy navigating through those obstacles. Do not try to save me if I faint in the future and it puts you or Ugg in danger. It is my weakness and should not bring down others.”
“I won’t. I’ve always put myself first, but I will help others if the situation allows.”
Typical Janna, Ash thought. They both smiled at each other. Ash had yet to hear Janna laugh and he looked forward to the day that he would.
Chapter 7: The Others
Ugg regained consciousness not long after Janna had fallen asleep. He graciously welcomed the extra food Ash handed to him and quickly finished the portion. The two men sat with their backs to each other, each supporting the other, and facing either end of the path.
“Good job I left my sword because I can hardly move my right arm,” said Ugg, grimacing as he moved his right shoulder in circular motions.
“Give it time and it will heal. Did you never learn to fight with both hands?” replied Ash.
“No. My right was more than sufficient to deal with the bandits and outcasts in the borderlands, still, I can throw a good punch with my left. I used to box a lot when I was younger, well, I say box, more like teenage scraps. I won every brawl I fought in, albeit at the cost of sacrificing my nose, teeth and ears to scars and breakages.”
“That is good to hear, because I have never thrown a punch in my life.”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing, but there is no honour in fighting unless it is defending
“Good. That will do it. You shouldn’t stop until the person faints otherwise you probably haven’t done it firmly enough,” said Janna.
“Ouch, that looked and smelled horrific. At least he will live, that was too close. The scream we heard, it sounded very near. Almost like it was behind the other side of the trees. In fact, I think it was.”
“It was near, there is no doubt about that but I’ve still got my knife and my bow and arrow. We’re not completely defenceless. Whoever it was knows we’re here now anyway, our presence is no secret. The sun is setting, it will be pitch black soon. I do not think it is wise to proceed until sunrise and besides, Ugg needs time to recover. Let’s rest here.”
“He lost a lot of blood, we should give him more of our food or he will be too weak to continue for some time.”
Janna agreed with Ash and smiled at the knight.
“You two have almost restored my faith in the males of our species.”
“Only almost?”
“Two good men does not make up for a dozen bad. In Harwell women are outnumbered by men with dark hearts and ill minds, but here, in the strangest of places, I am with two of the few good ones. I am a lucky lady.”
“I’m not perfect. I never intended to have a child, but we were both drunk and we just hit it off. I was weak to give in to temptation.”
“You only did what was natural. What happened to your child’s mother?”
“She died during childbirth. I grew up without a father, I was determined my child wouldn’t. I should have left the service, but I needed the money to support my child. I’ve done the same thing for so long I didn’t think I could do anything else. I was more afraid of change than I was of The Gauntlet.”
“Most men would have left after the one-night stand. You are a good man.”
Ash nodded, before replying: “Have you explored what’s beyond the next corner?”
“Not yet. I was too busy watching Ugg, do you think we should we go? Or do you want to go and I’ll stay here with Ugg?”
“No, we should both stay, I was just curious. All will be revealed soon I’m sure. I can take first watch if you are tired?” offered Ash.
“That sounds good, thank you. Ugg will come around soon; he is a strong, determined man and will probably be angry that he passed out. Do your best to assure him it would have been unnatural if he hadn’t passed out.”
“I will. Besides, when it comes to passing out, I’m still beating Ugg two to one. I felt dizzy navigating through those obstacles. Do not try to save me if I faint in the future and it puts you or Ugg in danger. It is my weakness and should not bring down others.”
“I won’t. I’ve always put myself first, but I will help others if the situation allows.”
Typical Janna, Ash thought. They both smiled at each other. Ash had yet to hear Janna laugh and he looked forward to the day that he would.
Chapter 7: The Others
Ugg regained consciousness not long after Janna had fallen asleep. He graciously welcomed the extra food Ash handed to him and quickly finished the portion. The two men sat with their backs to each other, each supporting the other, and facing either end of the path.
“Good job I left my sword because I can hardly move my right arm,” said Ugg, grimacing as he moved his right shoulder in circular motions.
“Give it time and it will heal. Did you never learn to fight with both hands?” replied Ash.
“No. My right was more than sufficient to deal with the bandits and outcasts in the borderlands, still, I can throw a good punch with my left. I used to box a lot when I was younger, well, I say box, more like teenage scraps. I won every brawl I fought in, albeit at the cost of sacrificing my nose, teeth and ears to scars and breakages.”
“That is good to hear, because I have never thrown a punch in my life.”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing, but there is no honour in fighting unless it is defending
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