The pain in Richards head beat with a steady pulse that was in tune with the other aches and pains of his body, the screeching that rang through his ears didn't help with the pain. There was another loud squawk; he felt a ripple of discomfort pass through his entire body first from the top of his head down to his toes. Richard opened his eyes wanting to discern the source of the noise, but the light of day only made his eyes water.
He blinked away the tears in his eyes, before they focused, and he was able to see the world around him. The first thing he noticed was that he was looking up at the sky, the second thing that he noticed was that there was a raven looking down on him. Now normally a bird looking down on you wouldn't be unusual, however when said bird was inches away from your face it was odd.
"Hey Edgar," Richard said groggily.
The bird squawked its reply, making him wince before it jumped from his forehead and landed on a nearby rock. Richard sat up feeling the world swirl around him before he quickly turned to his side and emptied the contents of his stomach. Richard tried to remember the cause for his discomfort and after a quick look around; why he was out in the middle of nowhere. The answer to both those question came to him while he was dry heaving his empty stomach, the spasms from such actions left him with a sore stomach.
Richard tried to remember how it was he got, wherever here was and why he was sleeping outside in the forest. He remembered his father's men had taken him out to drink for his birthday; He had become five and twenty. They had taken him to rather expensive tavern, which should have been a warning bell for him, but they made sure never to leave his cup empty and like a fool, he allowed it. This was simply another practical joke by his brothers and their friends. He had always been the butt of his brother's jokes, though he had hoped that their relationship would have changed once they had become men, it seemed some things would never change.
The raven cawed at him. "Alright Edgar I'm up there is no need to yell at me." Richard said as he rubbed his aching temples.
Richard cracked open one of his eyes and looked at the bird dancing on top of the stone; he extended his arm and the bird perched onto it. When he brought the bird closer to him, he retrieved the note attached to the bird's leg. It was from the grand master, his only real friend in the castle no if he was being honest he was his only friend period. It was a sad statement that his only friend was an old man. The note asked if he is all right.
Richard tore a small piece of the paper away before he had Edgar jump back onto the rock, before he began folding the paper into the shape of a bat. It was the simplest folding technique he was able to learn and so it became their sign that told everyone things where all right. Richard reattached the folded paper to Edgar and sent the bird on its way.
He watched the bird as it flew away he kept track of it for a while then he looked toward the sun and then the shadow of a nearby tree, with this bit of information he was able to confirm in which direction Edgar was heading. Richard rose to his feet and began walking toward home.
As he, journeyed Richard found that he had to make frequent stops because how out of breath he became. It wasn't that the terrain was particularly difficult it was that he was fat and not a healthy fat but grotesquely so.
Richard was slightly taller than the average man, but not by much and his body was thick, his waist was wide and his legs were like tree stumps yet despite his body's width it did nothing to hide the big paunch that hung over his belt. Aside from his size and weight there wasn't anything really remarkable about him he had chocolate brown eyes and golden brown hair that started to curl around his forehead. His beard hair was slightly darker, than the hair on his head. He had originally grown the beard in hopes of hiding his double chin. The beard was able to accomplish the task however, it also made his face seem larger and rounder than what it really was.
This trek was forcing him confront something he had not wanted to. He did ride and go out for walks but he spent more times indoor lying about. It was expected of him as the unwanted son. His parents had originally only wanted an heir and a spare but he had come along by accident. His eldest brother was groomed to be a great lord and his other brother was given similar training but had more leeway to indulge in his own pursuits.
He on the other hand was only given the essentials of training, despite the grandmasters protest; he was also made to focus his attention to the church doctrine for his future as a priest. Something he really didn't want to do but really had no choice in the matter as soon as his father stepped down in the next two years they would all have to step into their new roles.
Richard was busy thinking about his future, when he slipped on a rock on the narrow trail. He had the misfortune of falling down the rather hill into the forest below. As his body flung violently down the hill, he also found himself bouncing off the trunk of several trees. This distorted his sense of direction and when at last one the trees had the sufficient breadth to halt his advance down the hill, he found the morning's headache and nausea had returned with vigor. He had also lost any sense of direction, he couldn't reorient himself because he was unable to see the sun and the canopy of the trees made it difficult to rely on the shadow of the trees.
With no other real option, Richard walked hoping he would find the Road once again. However, this endeavor proved counterproductive because he only succeeded in becoming lost. He had no choice but to spend the night in the hollow of a tree cold and miserable all because he lacked the basic survival skills to make a fire or to build himself a shelter.
Richard woke up the next morning after a miserable night because his thirst had gotten to the point, that his tongue felt rough against the roof of his mouth. He knew that he would have to find water soon or there would be the chance of him dying of thirst. He hadn't walked more than a dozen paces, when he heard it. Signing, it was so faint at first that he believed that he was hallucinating due to the lack of water, but as he closed his eyes and walked toward the sound it became louder and louder.
Richard was sure of two things about the singing, first that it was a woman singing and secondly was that the woman sang beautifully so beautifully in fact that it made him forget his thirst, the ache of hunger in his belly and the other pains of his body. Richard followed the singing until he reached a patch of woods were the gnarled trees grew so close together that its hanging curtains of leaves have denied the sun any access to the ground below, stepping into those woods would mean stepping into an artificial night.
This patch of gnarled trees and darkened woods projected a rather ominous aura. Yet it was from this place the singing was resonating so strongly. There was some instinct that warned him that he could possibly be stepping into a trap, that the singing was the lure to bring him to his death. He ignored that instinct and continued on into the darkness of the forest, because he could not believe that anything that sounded so beautiful could come from anything nefarious.
Richard soon came across a curtain of moss that hung across the branches of two trees. The menacing sensation was bearing down on him making his heart race even faster, even as he heard the singing was coming from behind the moss curtain. There was a chill of fear running up and down his spine due to the impressions of the forest but he forced himself to move through the curtain. He was more than a little surprised to find himself within a cave, at the far end he could just make out a faint light.
He used the light to guide his way. However, he did make a small detour when he heard the sound of running water. Though it took him a little while because the source of the water was farthest from light, he found a narrow stream with cool water running through it, he drank his fill and was grateful to the singer for having lead him to it.
When he reached the end of the cave Richard found himself in a strange valley. It was like a rock with a giant hole in it and in that hole an entire eco system rose up. People had probably lived in the hole once before because there were the remains of a castle. What remained of the castle were the stumps of a few walls and a decrepit tower. He was surprised that the tower was still standing. Actually, he was surprised no one knew of this place. Then again, its natural defenses made it difficult to find in the first place, he had just found it by chance.
Richard is making his way toward the tower, when he hears a familiar caw he searches for the source of the noise and finds it in a nearby tree surrounded by bushes. Edgar is sitting on of the branches of the tree there is a white clothed bundle sitting next to him. When he gets close the Edgar, pushes cloth bag over the side of the branch with his beak. Richard just managed to catch it within the cloth bag; there was a piece of day old bread within it.
Richard was so hungry that he didn't care how stale the bread was he ate ravenously, he saved the softest piece he could find and waved it in the air, Edgar hoped down from his perch and landed on Richards shoulder. Richard proceeded to feed the bird his share as he petted the top of the birds head.
"Listen to that Edgar isn't it beautiful," The bird made some noise that signaled its agreement.
Richard and Edgar were finishing what was left of the bread, when Richard heard the thunder of hooves; Richard was at first glad for the sound. Then abruptly he felt his hackles rise telling him that there was danger approaching. Though he couldn't really see the source of the danger, Richard followed his instincts and jumped into the nearby bush. Edgar flew and perched back on the branch he had first occupied.
Richard shifted himself around in the bush so that from his hiding spot, he was able to see the entrance of the cave and in the distance, he could see the window in the tower. Richard watched as a rider on a horse move towards the tower. From the size of the rider Richard guessed that the rider was a woman. Though he couldn't be sure of her gender he was sure of one thing the rider was a witch. A few witches and wizards had visited his parent's hall over the years. Whenever they did, he felt their power cling to his skin like the oppressive heat of the sun during a hot summer day.
This witch was no different, he could feel the miasma of power that surrounded him. Except the scope of this power was more oppressive, he couldn't properly catch his breath, It was as though the very air he was trying to breath was wafting from a dead animal. He was grateful that he had followed his instincts, if he hadn't he might end up in the witch's soup for dinner or worse.
The tales the Bards spun about Dark magic users were very creative and could even give some of the bravest men nightmares. This was simply another incentive for Richard not to jump out of his bush and run around as though his skin was crawling with fire ants, even if the witch's presence made him feel that way.
He watched as the witch tied up the animal before she stepped up to the edge of the dried moat that was at the foot of the tower. The witch simply looked up and shouted.
"Repunzel, Repunzel, Let down your hair."
Richard hard to wonder at the witches age for she didn't sound like an old woman so perhaps she was in her middling years. However, even if she was it seemed that the witch had gone mad. For after woman shouted her statement nothing happed, suddenly from the towers only window, a long coil of dark rope flew out.
the rope unfurled as it fell towards the ground, the witch caught the end of the rope, tugging it to make sure it was secure, before swinging across the small chasm and begin scaling up the tower wall. Richard guessed that the tower had to be at least four stories tall, yet the witch was climbing up the rope like a squirrel. It would be impossible for him to climb something like that especially in his current physical state.
Richard waited in the bushes for a while longer before he untangled himself from his hiding spot. He whistled loud enough for only Edgar to hear the bird jumped down from his perch and landed on Richards arm. Richard gently took hold of Edgars head and had him focus on the tower.
"You see this place, remember this place Edgar; you're going to be coming here a lot."
The bird squawked and Richard took this as the creature's ascent before he carefully made his way back to the cave and out of the hidden valley.
