The Lowborn's Rise Ch. 05

Lowborn's Rise

Chapter 5

By Noobwriter96

***(Author's Note): Hello again and thank you for taking the time to read my work. This hobby of mine is something I do after I get home from work. This is just to inform you of a few stuff, just a heads up. This chapter is 3,200 words long. And formally introduces two female characters that appeared somewhat briefly in the previous chapter. No sex scene just yet. I think I've mentioned before that this is a story with sex rather than a sex story. Anyway, enjoy and take care.*-*-*

Maden was awoken by the piercing light of dawn, snuck through the small number of holes that littered the walls of her home, smacking her across her face. The young woman blurted her eyes open, drool dripped at a corner of her lips, still gripping wood-chopper in one hand. Leaf-green eyes darted this way and that, realizing that dawn had finally come. Her back ached, sleeping upright in a sitting position wasn't doing her any favors either, followed by a day of toiling in their field.

The redlocks of her sister Maelle, lay in a red cascade not far from her, sleeping well enshrouded by her goat-wool blanket.

Maden was still annoyed at the brazen stupidity of her sister, peeking her head out like that in the middle of the night. What with the sounds of beasts and the men fighting in the dark, it should have put some sense on the younger woman to take cover. Maden pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breathe, it was far too early to be in a sour mood.

Maden planned to pour her frustration on her sister with chores later on. For now, she must assess the damage done on the fields. She strode over to where Maelle was, still sleeping, an angel without a worry in the world. Her near pale complexion without a trace of worries for the world as she slept well at ease.

She kicked her to wake.

"Sun's up and so should you," Maden declared, not looking to see if her sister rose from her slumber. If she hadn't, then Maelle would be getting more than her foot.

Maelle need no further encouragement, her body reacting in automated response after years of her sister's near-tyrinnical rule since both her parents had passed. Eyes still strongly shut with crusts from her sleep. They were still closed as she rose up and got down towards the brief landing steps to the indoor well her grandfather had dug six decades ago. She scratched her bum, having not the will to open her eyes yet. Still trying to squeeze in some extra seconds nestled in sleepy darkness. Maelle would just stand there in front of the small well, working up the will to start her day.

Outside, Maden tried not to shiver as the highland breeze swooned past her, eyes assessing the damage to their plot of land. Fortunately, the beasts did not concern themselves on ruining her day this time round. Only brushed past and shattered the fence she and Maelle had erected.

Aside from the fences there seemed little to no damage to their crops. Her face remained stoic at that. but she was set at ease. She saw tot eh side and see how well her neighbors fared. She blanched at what he saw. Three times the size of their little land was the damage to their neighbors' but that was actually quite small damage to the overall five hectares of land that they owned. With that kind of yield, Maden and Maelle would be set for two winters with aplenty of spare.

Plenty enough to finance a pilgrimage to the flat lands and resettle there.

They were destitute even by these standards of the reclusive highland folks.

Maden wished to bring her sister to the buster and progress of the lowlands. She had wished to be done so for so long now. Her parents, Gods and goddesses rest their soul, had lived and died tilling this very earth, as poor as the dirt they tilled, to the day each dropped dead on the very field Maden stood on.

She feared of suffering such a fate, having heard of tales of far prosperous places, places which suffered no nightly onslaught of beasts and monsters. Of rich and fertile soil that need no constant backbreaking toil.

And yet she had never made it out of the village in hundred strides elsewhere. Travelling on foot alone was difficult and dangerous. The realm was in turmoil as war was waged from the lowest fiends to the mightiest of lords.

The best thing for common folk like her to do was stay still and wait for things to settle. But for how long she wonders?

They weren't getting any younger. She was to be twenty-eight this year. While her sister was in her twenty fourth summer. No man in the village would ever ask their hand in marriage. Who would do so in the right mind? They were among the poorest in the entire village, surviving only on their meager crops and the generosity of their neighbors. To start a family with such conditions was an absolute nightmare.

Maden shook her self away from her thoughts, took a deep breath, and start working.

Won't be long now, she'd have a fortune enough to buy her and Maelle out of this backwater. Their land might have been small and not as fertile as the rest but in these difficult conditions her family had strived to survive, pursuing different crops and livestock.

Her first and foremost were the hens. So long as the hens could make it, all would be well.

She strode to the makeshift coop; it was a crude contraption but strong enough not to be destroyed by the larger beasts.

It was the putrid stench that caught her attention first. Every native of the highlands knows of that accursed smell. Her blood boiled at scent. Her dreams would not be dashed by some rabid cat from hell!

Maden drew her woodchopper from its wood sheath. First, she checked if the hens were okay, she peeked through the holes. The subdued clucking of the hens and the bobbing of their heads proved they are still alive, afraid but alive.

She checked the dark space beneath the coop and was beholden by the sight of the hellcat's orbs.

Maden threw rocks, pouring her rage into each throw. The coop rumbled beneath but the hellcat did not move.

She'd be damned if she let the damn feline live! If only she had a spear or - -

A spear! She was going to give those soldiers a piece of her mind!

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Sixty beats of the heart.

That was all it ever took, thought Will.

Felt almost a lifetime in those sixty beats.

Flailing claw, men fighting for their life. One thing happening on top of another.

Will's spear struck true, but it wasn't enough to kill the beast. Blood and pain erupted through the gashing wound on its neck. It screamed most foul. It sensed something it had not felt for quite a long time, the cold lingering grasp of death. Too long had the beast stood among the top of the food chain. Had forgotten the struggle that every creature in the forest endure on daily basis. The beast grew large, confident and complacent. Even the strongest are not immune to making mistake. All it takes is one small thing and it all comes tumbling down, one thing going after the other.

It swung its claws that would have torn a grown man in half. the flurry of wind after each strike was like the breath of death that missed Will by a hairsbreadth.

The beast had but sixty heartbeats left within it. Each pump of its massive heart bled the creature dry, sloshing the ground into a puddle of dirt and blood. It no longer had the strength to flee. Half a dozen wounds, four of which struck vital veins. All it could do now was fight and take one of the man things with it.

On its twenty third heartbeat, Beard's spear was splintered when he blocked a descending claw upon him.

On its thirty seventh, Skullcap landed a blow that left him open to another passing claw.

By the forty fifth, Will was struck by one of its horns. Fortunately, it was a half-dazed hit and only bruised him.

At last, on the fifty-fourth, the horned beast staggered a step, stumbled and fell to the ground.

The men wasted no time and on the fifty-ninth heartbeat, the last thing the beast saw was a spearhead aimed directly at its eyeball, darkness enveloped everything before that one final thrust.

Hours had passed since then.

The rising light of dawn slowly crept from the east. No further encounters had happened since then. One of the men managed to impale one of the hellcats with a spear and injured the other. Their patrol group have stayed at their post since then, nursing their wounds and wounded.

As Will stared in the unmoving dead eyes of the nightdevil, all he could feel was an exhausting emptiness deep inside of him.

He stared at the still dark irises of the beast the veterans call a nightdevil. Such an apt name.

Will just stood there, gaze transfixed at the irises of the creature, he could feel how easy it was, how almost instantaneous his life would have been expunged in that matter of seconds. It was the fragility of his own life that shook him down to the core, and how little he had achieved in the entirety of his existence. It almost gnawed on him from the inside out

"Didn't I tell you not to do any heroics greenhorn?" slurred Skullcap, propped against a large rock by the side of the path. Exhaustion had taken its toll on him.

"Will, my name's Will." The young man replied, leaning against his spear, tired of referring to his comrades by made up names in his head.

"Dogen," He replied, nodding

"And this nearly dead old sack of meat is Cruller, by the by," Dogen referred to the older veteran who was fighting off sleep.

"You did far well laddie, far well indeed." Cruller told the young man.

"Well gents, here's to living through another night,"

"Let's clean up this mess, we all could use some shut eye."

Was...this it?Will didn't know how long if he could keep doing this, or if even he had the will to dos o, night after night. He does not know how well the other men cope with this. But what else is there for a levied peasant with no family and no home to return to?

A hand on his shoulder shook him away from his melancholy.

"You alright, lad?" Cruller asked him, concern in beneath his bushy, graying brows.

The older soldier recognized the look in the young man's face. He had seen this before. Had it himself decades ago. Still the old man kept his tongue and waited for the young man to speak on his own.

"Heard somewhere that when you die, your life flashes in front of your eyes and at the end of it all was searing white light," Will took a deep but trembling breathe, trying to steady himself. Despite the breaking light of dawn, his hands still shivered as if bitten by the cold night.

"Didn't get one last night."

"Hey, hey now!" The old man shook his shoulder with vigor that belied his age. "It's good. Real good you know how to number your days. I've seen my fair share stupid, young folks, who spend their money on fleeting pleasures."

"Not everything has to be solved today laddie, just take life one step at a time. You just got to remember to put one foot in front of the other yeah? An answer will come to ya,"

Will didn't know what to say to that. There seemed some wisdom in what he said but for now he does what every sane human being do with their woes, push it deep further and ignore it for now.

Will nodded to the old man.

"Now, come. There is still work to be done before we could retire to the bunks," Will followed Cruller to where the rest of the patrol were. He has still yet to know the names of the remaining two of their group. One of whom lay resting but very much alive aside from the numerous gashes across his person. The wounds were dressed with some ragcloth which will do for now. It was clear they would down a man.

"There were two of the infernal buggers. His friend is over there- -" The soldiers looked towards the carcass of one hellcat impaled against the ground with a spear. It was three times larger than that of a normal cat. It was covered in matted wild fur, with a streak of orange that ran across the dark coat, like a blaze of fire. It had an ugly face, a murky protruding snout with whiskers and horrid little orange eyes that seemed like the fires of hell itself. Its death mask was forever stuck in a vicious snarl, showcasing its jagged sharp teeth, making it more repulsive to look at.

"Now we gon' have to look for that other hellcat before it causes anymore trouble. Come on get up men, before the captain'll chew us to bits" chided Cruller in good humor.

"Pawl, you feel well staying here for a bit? I'm sure the villagers would check up on you," The folks from the village were slowly coming to rise, not showing any signs of distress or concern. Though only few dare venture into the streets, and most are still within the vicinity of their houses.

"Kill me now, those damn brats are gonna pester me with questions all over again. And don't get me started on the women- -"

"Come on men, we have a hellcat to hunt!"True enough, Cruller didn't let Pawl start on the women. Will felt his eyes dragging him down with their weight as he stifled a yawn.

"Ah shit, belay that, seems one came looking for us." They didn't make ten strides far when Dogen halted the group ahead.

Instinctively, Will was at the ready expecting that horrid feline to come pouncing. But only saw a redheaded woman in impoverished clothing coming through them, A massive chopper, a big crudely smithed piece of metal as long as a man's arm is long. Her brows were furrowed, the shadow struck her face, giving her glare a somewhat storm-cloudish complexion as approached.

"otherway,otherway,otherway!!" hissed Dogen beneath his breathe, as the remainder of the men followed his lead, acting indifferent as if they had remembered something they had forgotten, never making eye contact with the woman.

All except Will, who in his exhausted, addled brain didn't process well what was going on.

"Oy!" The men tried to limp faster the opposite direction.

"OOOYYY!" shouted the woman, Will was nearly knocked down by the force of her shout. Eyes from the villagers glanced towards them. "There's a damn Hellcat stuck in my coop!" The men finally stopped and looked twice more tired as they finally acknowledged the woman. Will stood resolutely some distance apart from his comrades, right in between them and the woman. Truth be told he was just damn tried to move a step further.

"Crap, as if our morning wasn't bad enough, hunting a hellcat. One came up looking for us," muttered Dogen, having resigned to his fate.

"uhh....Morning Maden," Cruller greeted trying to muster the will to smile but failed halfway through.

"So it is, Cruller, so it is." The redhead, Maden, crossed her arms, storm clouds a brewing in those emerald orbs of hers. Cruller moved past Will and conversed with Maden. There wasn't any more screaming but each sentence that came out of Maden's lips reminded Will of the overseer's whip. There was that lashing quality to it that made the young man wince.

How long were they gonna stand here? Will looked about his fellows, seeing their tired but resolute eyes, he came to a decision that was borne both out of camaraderie and frustration. A decision to just get this done and over with.

"Is she a problem?" Will asked Dogen.

"Not really, just difficult. And a pain in the ass." Dogen had his eyes on the woman's chopper and quivered at the sight of it, as if remembering something.

Will strode to where the old soldier and the redhead ahead of them. Cruller seemed to be wanting to deny the request as gently as possible but the woman was having none of it. Will tapped the old man at the shoulder, "I'll take care of this. You go and rest with the others."

"What?" the old man seemed flummoxed by the request and pulled the young soldier aside.

"Look laddie, we don't have many men here, each and every one may not be up to standard to the legions finest but everyone does they part and pull their weight," Cruller lectured.

"Now supposedly, the villagers each must give tributes or tithes and in exchange trade is ensured to come this deep into the highland, along with some extra soldiers for the village's security. But the captain is lenient and knows that Maden and her family don't have the means to offer tributes and still keep themselves fed. So he doesn't force them. But neither does go out of his way to spare men in protecting the poorer parts of the village. He would if he could, but he can't." Cruller ended, hoping to make things clearer for the lad.

"I'll be careful," Will reassured the man, glancing all the while at Maden, whose hands never left once the grip of her brutal looking chopper. Will doubted she was the sort to let things go easy.

"It'll be quick, the hellcat's injured isn't it?"

"Since when does a cornered animal make it easy?" but Cruller's stance indicated he wasn't opposing his offer either. He was tired. And he so wanted to rest his tired back in his cot at the outpost. "Just....don't get yourself killed. Or maimed. Or mauled. Or--"

"Alright, alright. I get it," and thus Will offered to go and deal with the damned hellcat in a chicken coop, Cruller relayed the change of plans to the rest of the men.

"Remember when I said, No heroics? Belay that, you're a hero in my eyes Willibert!" Pulling the young lad in for a hug and giving him a prickly kiss on the cheek.

"GAAH!" Will punched the skullcap wearing hooligan in the shoulder. Dogen merely laughed it off, already heading towards the outpost ahead of the rest.

"She can't be that bad....right?" Will called after the leaving men.

"She nearly got cleaved my head in half some three moons past! Thank the gods that chopper she wields is as dull as her bed is cold and empty!"

"I'm right here shit eater!" Dogen's shrinking figure seemed to be moving faster down the path.

And just like that Will consigned himself to the temporary service under the highland woman, Maden.

"uhm...lead the way madam," Will offered. She merely stared at him in silence.

"You walk ahead, my house is not far. Just straight down this path," She finally said, stepping aside to let Will take the front. He should be worried. He should be regretting his choice. But for the life of him, he was just tired to think such things and just did as was told.

The sooner this was over, the better.

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