2024 NanoWrimo Story

going for the second locket piece

"Simply a coinsidence I'm sure, or just plain bad luck depending on how you look at it" Jacob returned.

Why don't you come into my office one day and we can talk more in depth in private about it? The man said, hoping he could catch him there.

"Maybe next week. This week seems to be quite busy with tying up the afairs of the 3 men who died." Jacob offered.

"you had better show up or I will come looking for you and will drag you into that office myself to question you." he threatened.

"Jacob acted relaxed. "If you had anything on me, you would arrest me right now, but you don't. I'll be seeing you." Then he walked away.

Once he met with his friends, they agreed they should leave quietly over night. This way, by the time anyone knew they were missing, they would have a head start to their next location. Goodbyes were said in advance and they met on the edge of town seperately to avoid bringing attention to themselves. The left in the middle of the night and no one saw them. They left as quietly as they could. It would be a 2 day ride to get to the town of Hocket. They rode hard that first day to get as far away from Havensville as quickly as they could in case a search party went out after them.

Jacob knew from this point on, he would have to try to avoid the authorities as much as possible. Word would travel fast that he had not allowed himself to be questioned by the official back in Havenstown. He felt full of uncertainty as he rode towards the next piece of locket. He hoped his friends would not be killed. He would hire a couple more helpers in Hocket, and hope for the best. He wasn't sure what lied in wait for him there.

The men chatted and enjoyed their time together as they rode along. However, they all knew it was about to get much more dangerous for them. They had just gotten lucky to get past the giant like they did, and life had been lost. They had no idea what was guarding this next item or if they would be able to get past it too. The mood became more serious as they came close to Hocket. They knew it was time to put their game faces on. They all agreed to split up to look for men they could hire to go with them. They portrayed themselves as hunters looking for big game.

Here is a list of what they looked for in potential hires.
-Must have some kind of related skill to hunting.
-Must have a desire to see a better king rule the country.
-Must be brave and strong.
-Must not be afraid to risk their life.

They all went their seperate ways and agreed to meet that evening at the pub.

Later that evening at the pub. Francis couldn't find anyone that met the criteria for what they wanted in hires. However, he did hear some of the town's gosip. James found one man. Jacob had found a father and daughter who were more than capable. They all had a drink together and talked about the town's gossip that had been heard. It had been said that the authorities thought they were closing in on a suspect for the library break in a few years ago. They were going to be questioning them soon. The king wanted to know who this person was as they could have information that would threaten his life and the wellbeing of the kingdom. After they had finished their drinks, they all wanted to go somewhere they could talk more privately.

Jacob had rented a room for the night at boarding house. They all decided to go to the room to talk. Once in the room, Jacob explained that they were hunting some big game and the task could be life threatening as 3 men had already died while they were hunting in a previous trip. He talked to them about their views of the current king casually and asked them some more questions about thier skills and experience and personallity. After questioning them all thoroughly, he decided to hire the 2 men and the woman.

The hired help would be ready to leave town in the morning and James and Francis would stay in the room with Jacob over night. They would all meet up by the stream on the outside of town.

Once they were all at the stream, they decided they would go up stream to hunt for their "big game". Jacob decided to wait to tell them the rest of the truth about who he was and why they were their. A few minutes outside of town, they found the foot tracks that looked like a huge bear. Was this the "big game" they were looking for and the guardian of the next locket piece?

Everyone's nerve were on edge after seeing the size of the animal's foot. Jacob asked the hired hands and even his friends if they wanted to go on after seeing this. They all agreed that they would. They continued to follow the stream. After a few minutes, they all had a sense they were being followed, but could see nothing.

Once there was a sharp bend in the stream, it narrowed, but they continued to follow it. After about a half an hour, they heard a loud roar, but still didn't see any thing. They all froze in their steps looking around all sides. Still, they could see nothing. All at once, out of the trees infront of them, stood a giant bear on his 2 feet, growling and towering above them. It was bigger than any bear they had ever seen. All of them knew this was not a good situation.
The father, Fred, and daughter, Judith, hired hands drew their bows and arrows. The other hired hand was skilled with a spear. His name was Ocean. He jumped off his horse and was ready with his spear. Jacob drew his sword. James grabbed the horses and Francis had a sling shot and rocks.

Ocean lunged toward the massive bear first with his spear and it seemed like nothing had hit the bear even though the spear pierced it in the side. This only served to anger the bear more and it charged towards Judith who imediately released an arrow which struck it in the shoulder, but the bear kept coming and attacked her. Fred had shot an arrow and missed. By this time he had reloaded and released another that hit the bear in the back, Francis was using his sling shot but it seemed to just bounce rocks off the bear's coat. The bear turned to attack Fred. Jacob saw his oportunity. He lunched and jabbed his sword right behid the bear's eyes and watched the life go out of them.

The men all ran to check on Judith who had been injured. Her shoulder and right arm was bleeding where the bear had gotten her. Jacob quickly tore up a blanket and began tying it around her arm to stop the bleeding. He had her dad stay there with her and the horses while he, James, Francis, and Ocean continued walking up stream.

After about a half mile they came to a waterfall. There was the old oak tree near the base of it. By now it was past noon and they would have to wait until tomorrow to look for the clue.
They set up camp. There was still some daylight, so Jacob went back down stream to check on Fred and Judith. "How is she?" He asked fred when he saw him.

She will be ok I think but is going to need some time to recover. I think we will be able to get her back to town if we make a cot to drag her on." He replied.

"I found the place we were looking for but won't be able to finish our task until tomorrow. Do you think you will both be ok here until then?" Jacob aksed.

"I think so. Judith is a tough girl. She always has been. We can bring her to see the doctor in town tomorrow. The bear is dead."

I'm going to head back upstream before it gets dark. We'll be back in the afternoon probably, and then can get back into town. You can work on building the cot until we get back and getting this bear to bring back. We should be able to sell the meat and the fur for a fair price."

Jacob went back up stream with the others. The had some jerky and bedded down for the night. The next morning, they looked around the big oak tree. They didn't see anything. They waited until around noon and re-examined the area. Sure enough, there was a reflection of light near the roots of the tree as they branched out in the ground. They moved the dirt back and there was a tin. Inside the tin was the next piece of locket, the front, and the next clue.

The front of the locket has now been found.
You are not finished looking around.
It's time to go to mountain hights
Beyond the where the river turns right.
Beneath the Rock of fright
it will be a delightful sight.

Jacob said, "We will look at a map when we get back into town. For now, lets get Judith to the doctor and all of us back safely.

Ocean agreed. "With a wound like she has, the doctor may want to check it out. Do you know if the wound ever stopped bleeding?"

Jacob answered, "It had slowed down last night when I checked on them, but it was still oozing. Let's hurry back."

When they got back to where Fred and Judith were, they found judith was resting comfortably on a cot Fred had made for her. The bear had also been place on a wooden pallet, he had made. This way, it could be drug back to town also without overloading the horses. It took some time to make their way back to town. They had to stop frequently to change Judith's bandages as the blood would seep through.

It was late by the time they got to town and to where the doctor lived. He imediately got to work on assessing and reparing Judith's wounds. Around 2 hours later, the doctor informed Fred, her father, that he had sedated her. He sewed a couple of the deeper wounds up and had the bleeding under control. He suggested that she stay there for several days until it was safer for her to travel.

The men all went to the boarding house and got a couple of rooms to stay in for the night. They were all feeling pretty tired from the whole ordeal. They all went to bed and agreed to discuss everything after they had waken up the next morning.

Once they had all woken up, they had talked about staying in this town for a few days to give Judith time to heal. This would also give Jacob time to study a map which he would buy later that day. They decided to just rest and relax this day. Word traveled fast about the size of the bear they had returned with. It was larger than most people had ever seen.

The following day, Jacob visited the library hear just to see if he would see anything different, but the books were pretty much all the same that were in his home town of Havensville. He decided to leave and visit Judith. She was asleep when he got there, so he just sat down and watched her sleep. As he watched her, he took notice of how beautiful she was. She appeared to be right around his age. He felt somewhat attracted to her. To distract himself, he got up and started to leave when he heard her speak. "Hi! How long have I been sleeping?"

"You have been asleep quite a while. How are you feeling?" Jacob replied as he walked over to her bedside.

"I feel like I got half eaten by a bear." She said with a half smile and half grimace.

"Do you feel better now that the doctor fixed you up?" Jacob said with a grin.

"I don't know yet. Ask me in a couple of days. I'm sorry I slowed you down." she said.

Jacob laid his hand on hers, "I'm just glad you are going to be ok. You took that bear on like a champ. I am impressed."

"I wanted to show you men how it was done, but he was a bit bigger than I thought."

Jacob laughed, "I'm glad you still have a sense of humor. Go ahead and rest now. I had just wondered how you were doing. Then he left the room.

Jacob went back to his room at the boarding house. He was there only a few minutes when there was a knock on the door. He went to the door and opened it. There stood a messenger boy. "Hello"

"Hi, are you Mr. Jacob?" the boy asked.

"That would me me." Jacob said.

"I have a message that I was supposed to deliver to you." the boy replied.

"And what is that?" Jacob inquired.

"This mesage is from the official, Mr. Tannon, back in Havensville. Please. don't get mad at me as I am only the messenger boy. Mr. Tannon said to tell you that since you didn't come back to answer his questions, he has put your dad in jail where he will stay until you show up in his office to be questioned."

"No, I won't get mad at you. You are only doing the job you are paid to do. Actually, I am glad you told me. Please, tell Mr. Tannon that I will be there in a couple of days. I had some business to attend to and was a bit delayed." Jacob handed the boy some coins.

"I will. Thank you Mr. Jacob." Then he left.

Jacob needed to talk to the other men. He wouldn't leave until the next day, but there was no way he was going to let them keep his dad in jail when their beef was with him. However, he had not completed his quest yet. What would he do now? He was irritated that the man had imprisoned his dad instead of coming to this town and looking for him himself. He felt that was a cowardly thing to do. He would meet with the others and determine what to do with them.

Jacob met with the other men the next morning in the room. He went ahead and informed Fred and Ocean about who he really was and what his real mission was. He wanted to make sure that they knew what they were truly in for. He was about to be considered an enemy of the king. He wanted to know if they wanted to continue with him or if they wanted out. He also told them about the situation with his dad and if they were able to get him out of jail without anyone else getting arrested, then he would have to come with them.

Fred and Ocean agreed to stay on and that Judith had to have time to recover and would make her own decision. They sat discussing different ideas. Either way, it was clear, Jacob would have to go be questioned. He also thought he may need to be broken out of jail too. It was risky no matter what they did or how they looked at it. Fred and Ocean agreed to stay in town and they would make contact with them once they returned from Havensville. James and Francis figured they knew the town best so they would go with Jacob and help get his dad out of jail and him too if necessary. They would leave afternoon.

It took them a couple of days to get back to Havensville. They decided the best approach would be to have Jacob go in and assess the situation. If he was arrested too, they would make contact with him and his dad and try to figure it out from there.

Jacob walked into the official's office. "Mr. Tannon, you can let my dad go now. I am here."

Mr Tannon smiled an evil grin, "I don't think it is going to be that simple, Mr. Jacob. I know that he has helped you on more than one occasion with your, we'll say adventures."

Drudgingly, Jacob asked, "What are you talking about?"

He hasn't helped me with any of my quote unquote adventures. Not once has he gone with me. He has to work to pay the outragious taxes."

"So, you do have a grudge against the king?" Mr. Tannon shot back.

"I never said that, but it is common knowledge that everyone struggles to pay the taxes. You know how many properties I was involve with reposessing when I was serving in the army?" Jacob replied. He needed to steady his nerves, but he was making false accusations against his dad and that angered him.

Mr. Tannon asked, "What were you doing when those 3 men were killed? And how am I to know you didn't kill them yourself?"

"I guess you don't. Is that an accusation?" Jacob said.

"Yes, there were no bodies brought back, and you are just saying they are dead. That seems a little suspect to me."

"They were killed by wild beasts. We couldn't recover the remains because the beast had them."

"The beast or beasts? Which is it?"

They were killed by one beast ok, one beast!"

And what beast was it?"

Jacob hesitated for a moment. If he told him the giant, he would know he was after the locket. "If you must know it was a lion."

"You expect me to believe that one lion killed all three men?"

Yes, because it is the truth." Jacob lied.

Mr. Tannon stared at him for a moment and Jacob met his glaze. "Tell me how it happed."

Jacob recalled the incident with the giant. "The lion had killed one of them and the other two went to his rescue. They were killed too. My friends and I saw how it occurred and I wanted to get them to safety before the lion turned on us. After we saw the other 2 men killed, we got out of there. No need risking our lives to recover their dead bodies."

"So, you are a coward, leaving other men in your party to die!"

"I am not! I got 2 men that were in danger out of danger and by then it was too late to save the others!" Jacob began to feel sick at his stomach at the thought that he at fault for their death. "I did what I thought was the right thing at the time!"

Changing the subject, "Your dad said it was possible that you could have been involved in the library theft in Townsend, but never admitted to knowing anything about it. I think it might be possible too."

"Do you think I could have spent 2 years in the army serving the king if I had done that?" Jacob countered.

"I think it is possible since no one knew it was you and you haven't been convicted yet. Mr. Tannon said.

"Yeah, cause no one can prove I am guilty!"

You have exactly said you weren't either"

Jacob's heart was starting to race as he felt cornered, but before he could answer, there was a knock at the door.

One of the official's men came in with Jacob's saddle bags. He knew then that the truth would all be out there. He was caught red handed. How could he finish his quest? He felt sick and like a failure and his blood was rushing to his cheeks. He hung his head not in shame but in frustration and disappointment.

"Look what we have here! Mr. Jacob, What is this? I knew you were hiding something." Mr. Tannon said as he pulled out the items one by one. "A forbidden book, perhaps the one taken from the Townsend library? Oh? This is interesting. It looks like part of a locket and chain. And here is King Richard's ring and the family medallion. Just how did you get your hands on all of this? It appears you have been very busy indeed. Would you care to tell me the truth now?"

Jacob raised his head to meet his glaze. He swallowed hard. "Ok, I took the book from the townsend library. I went in search for Queen Ann's locket in hopes I could recover it for the family. Those 3 men were killed exactly as I told you only by a giant. It was not a lion. i found the other items while in search for the locket. My dad had nothing to do with this. I did it all. The hired hands didn't know what we were looking for, only that we were looking for big game."

"And what about your friends?" Mr. Tannon said.

"They were the same as the hired hands. They knew nothing of the book or the locket or any other item in those saddle bags." Jacob replied.

"I asure you that they will be questioned also. As for your dad, I have reason to believe that he is the one who stole you from the castle as a baby. I am holding him for futher investigation!"

Jacob yelled, "No! My dad didn't take me from the castle! Why would he do that? I am no body."

Mr. Tannon returned, "Oh really? That's why you have all of this information on the Townsend family history. You are Jacob Townsend and the son of King Richard and Queen Ann!"

Jacob challenged, "Prove it!"

Mr. Tannon stated, "Oh, I think I can, and I hope know you are in a lot of trouble. Any of these crimes you are accused of could be punished by death. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Jacob wisely replied, "I don't think I have anything else to say to you."

"In that case, I am putting you under arrest and you will be taken to the jail by my friend hear."

Jacob went with the man in silence. He wasn't sure what to expect from here. He knew the situation wasn't good. He was shackled and taken to the jail. As soon as he came in, his dad saw him, "Oh son? Why didn't you just save yourself and forget about me? I so hoped you wouldn't come."

As he was pushed into the cell next to his dad, he said, "I had to try Dad. They know I took the forbidden book from Townsend. It was in my saddlebag."

His dad replied, "Oh son, they are going to kill you!"

Jacob responded with, "I'm not dead yet, but it sure don't look good does it?"

"Son! You should have saved yourself, but I know that isn't you. You have such a good heart. They aren't letting me go either, I don't think."

"I don't think they are either. dad. They may kill you too. I tried so hard to not bring you into this."

"I know that. I love you, son."

"I love you too, dad."

they embraced through the bars as best they could and for the first time since all of this began, they wept together. There was just so much weight on Jacob's shoulders, he wasn't sure he could bare it. The released and sat chatting back and forth in their cells.

A few moments later, James was there to visit. "Man! You got yourself in a position now! They aren't holding Francis or I because they don't have any evidence that we knew anything." He added for good measure because the guards were listening. "That's because we didn't know anything and I am surprised to find this stuff out about you. I just had no idea."

Jacob said, "I know. I'm sorry to have gotten you mixed up in all of this. They caught me with the book from Townsend library red handed. It was in my saddle bags. This doesn't look to good for me."

"Why didn't you tell me?" James asked pretending to be shocked.

"It's a good thing I didn't now don't you think?" Jacob asked back.

James smiled, "I guess you are right. I couldn't say I didn't know anything if you had told me about it."

Jacob laughed. "exactly!"

James replied, "Now just how do you expect me to help you out of this one?"

Jacob returned, "I don't know. I guess you really can't."

"I guess about the only thing I can do now is get you some good legal representative." James shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll be back to see you. I'm going to go see if I can get you some help."

Jacob just shrugged, "Ok, thanks man! I could use all the help I could get right now. I am short on friends now as you can see."

James said, "You might be surprised how many friends you have. I'll see you later."

Jacob waved good bye to his friend and was grateful for his visit. He looked over at his dad and said, "I know I am a doomed man. Mr. Tannon as much as told me that. He said they would seek to put me to death. I don't even know what all I am being charged with yet, but I know they got me on the Townsend library theft. That is bad enough."

"I know. It does not look good at all. As long as you are breathing, there is hope. Don't you forget that!"

"I am not feeling too good right now." The weight of everything came crashing down on him. He didn't want to even talk any more. "I think I am just going to bed now."

"Alright, I understand. Good night" his dad replied.

Jacob lay down in his cot just staring at the ceiling trying to calm his nerves and this feeling of doom that was enveloping him. He didn't want to die yet and especially not this way. He wanted to finish his mission of finding the whole locket and removing the curse from his family. How would he be able to do this now? He didn't mind dying so much as having unfinished business. He knew there was a possiblility that he could get caught and arrested and even killed, but he hadn't expected to get caught this soon. He felt defeated and frustrated. How could he sleep at a time like this? Yet, there wasn't much to do in the small jail cell he was locked in and he didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. He was angry that they had arrested his dad and was keeping him even though Jacob had turned himself in and allowed himself to be questioned. This whole thing seemed so unfair. He was willing to pay for his own faults such as steeling the book, but why did they have to drag his dad into it?

Jacob lay there for a few hours. He wasn't sure exactly how long he lay there trying to process all the mixed emotions he was feeling. He must have eventually fallen asleep because he woke up to the guard telling all the prisoners to get out of bed. It was time for some grub.

Each prisoner was given a slice of bread and a cup of water. Jacob kind of played with his bread until finally he just squeezed it as hard as he could and threw it. He drank down the water and then threw the cup as he sulked around his cell. He now knew what a caged animal felt like. He dad had eaten his bread and drank his water as he watched Jacob have his tantrum. "Son! Being angry in here isn't going to help. You may as well sit back and relax until something happens. We will either get out of this alive or we won't. And there isn't much we can do about it. Don't waist what time you do have." He said gently.

"I know dad. I just can't help but feel angry and frustrated." Jacob shot back. "I don't know how to handle this. I have never been in this much trouble before and felt this helpless!. And why did they have to drag you into all of this? Why couldn't they have left you out of it?!"

"You worry about you, and you complete that quest if you get the chance. If not, at least you died trying. That is all you can do. I knew what I was getting into from day 1. I knew this is a risk I was taking. It was bound to eventually happen."

Jacob just shrugged, "I guess so, but it sure is hard to accept."

About that time, Mr. Tannon came in and informed Jacob of what he was being charged with. "Mr. Jacob, you are being charged with a theft that compromised the King's safety. That also means that you will be charged with treason, and I am also charging you with the death of those 3 men because they would still be alive if they hadn't gone hunting with you! You will be brought before the king in Townsend because of the severity of your crimes. A wagon will come get you in the morning to transport you and your dad and others to stand before the king in judgement. You Mr. Harold are being charged with stealing Mr. Jacob here from the castle as an infant and hiding his true identity."

Jacob just hung his head. He didn't know how to respond. He wanted to lash out but didn't think it would be wise.

Harold just said, "Ok, thank you for telling us. We will be ready in the morning."

Jacob took his dad's advice, and just kind of relaxed that day. They enjoyed some time together chatting about old times. The next morning the wagon arrived to pick them up as promised. All the prisoners were shackled to be brought before the king. During his time in the army, he had been sent to escort a couple of wagons of prisoners too. He was glad for that because he knew what to expect, but found it ironic that he was now the prisoner.

Once they were brought outside, he saw a familiar face. One of the soldiers he had trained with was sent to exscort this wagon. He wondered if he would be recognized. As he was climbing aboard the wagon, the soldier recognized him. He could tell by the look in his eyes and surprise on his face. They exchanged no words for now. All 8 prisoners, were loaded in the wagon, all with their own unique crimes they had been accused of. He and his dad were the highest profile and priority for security as their crimes were the most notorious. They were part of history, and a legend.

After the wagon had traveled a little ways out of town, Jacob asked the soldier, "Mike? Is that you?"

"Yes, Jacob it is me. You just couldn't keep yourself out of trouble I see. This business. Nothing personal." His friend said.

"Oh! I know! I escorted a couple of these myself when I was in the army. Ironic isn't it?" Jacob said casually.

"I'd say so. I would have never dreamed I would be escorting a prison wagon with an aquaintence in it, especially one I had done training with." Mike said with a smile.

"To be honest, I never thought I'd see you again like this either." Jacob kind of laughed. "It sure puts us in a compromising position though. I'd like to think we are friends."

"Like I said, Jacob, you know it is nothing personal. I am just doing my duty. We might still be friends, but you know as well as I do that I have a job to do. I have nothing against you personally, but those charges against you are very serious and you must be brought before the king to answer to them."

"I know I have to face the King. It will be an interesting meeting I am sure. I don't think he will be too happy to see me though."

"Probably not under the circumstances. He is not to happy about the library incident especially and given your now known true identity, that could be a problem for you.

Jacob replied, "Yeah, I know it looks pretty bad for me. Thanks for talking to me."

"You are welcome" replied Mike.

They rode on and the other prisoners talked amonst themselves. Jacob looked over at his dad, and other than being shackled to all the other prisoners, he seemed to be just enjoying the scenery. "Dad?"

Harold, "Yes, son?"

"Aren't you worried about our fate?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the beauty of nature around me." Harold replied.

"I guess you are right, but sometimes it amazes me how you stay so calm in certain situations." Jacob observed.

"I guess living a hard life just makes you appreciate the little things more. I've tried to teach you that, but you have never been very patient." harold said.

"No, I guess I haven't. I want you to know I admire you though."

"I admire you too."

Again they rode on in silence.

After a while, they came to a stop where they would be allowed to stretch their legs and get a drink of water. All the prisoners were taken out of the wagon and they all had to walk around a little bit all chained together. Then one by one they were given a drink of water and then loaded back in to the wagon. Jacob was wondering if he would see his other friends again. James had said he would be back, but he hadn't seen him. He wandered if they even knew he had been taken out of Havensville. They road several miles until they came to the town of Hocket. They gave them some potatoes to eat and more water to drink and they were made to sleep in the horses stable.

All the prisoners remained chained together, and that made it hard to sleep as their movement was restricted. The following morning as they were being loaded back into the wagon, Jacob saw a familiar face. There stood Fred watching them get into the wagon. "You can't seem to stay out of trouble can you, Jacob?" Fred said with a grin.

"It sure doesn't look like it does it?" Jacob replied.

"I guess I know how your trip to Havensville went." Fred said.

Jacob held up his shackles, "Yeah, As you can see, not so well." He said laughing.

"That's pretty plain to see." Fred laughed back. "You'll be glad to know that Judith is feeling better, but still very sore. She got up and walked around some this morning."

"That's great! Thanks for telling me. She had us all pretty worried." Jacob said as the wagon began pulling away. "Hopefully, I'll see you later."

"I'll be seeing you too hopefully." Fred waved goodbye.

Jacob turned to his dad and explained what had happened with the giant bear, but gave no other information about the hunt for the locket. He wanted to be careful not to get himself into more trouble than he was already in. His dad replied, "When were you going to tell me about the encounter with the bear?"

"I was so overwhelmed with being interigated and then arested and everything, it hadn't crossed my mind until now.

Harold looked over toward his soldier friend that was riding beside the wagon and said, "See? There is proof he doesn't always tell me everything."

Jacob smiled, "Gee! Thanks Dad."

They had ridden a little ways away from town when his friends showed up with some more friends, ones he didn't already know. There was enough of them that they stopped the wagon and all the guards and even the soldiers acompanying it. Mike, looked at jacob and said ,"I really hope I don't regret this."

Jacob watched as Mike and his other friends took control of the group. Weapons were taken and the guards and other soldiers were bound. When Mike came arround to open the door of the prison wagon, Jacob asked him, "Are you insane?" He knew what this meant for Mike. He too would become an enemy of the king and guilty of treason.

Mike laughed, "I must be! But lets not talk now. Let's get out of here!" He released all of the prisoners if they agreed to ride with them to which they all agreed.

Jacob, his dad, the other prisoners, and his friends all rode away from the wagon they had left the guards and soldiers in as quickly as possible. They rode hard the whole day until they came to a small cottage in a wooded area. This would be a good place where they could rest and organize themselves. They would officially be known as a band of outlaws from here on out. When Jacob walked into the cabin, he realized Judith was also there on a cot in the floor. He looked at Fred, "She shouldn't be here should she?"

Fred replied, "I couldn't leave her alone, so I brought her here yesterday. She is tough. She is still healing but I think she can ride."

Jacob looked at her and said, "Hi!"

She said, "Hi! Did I surprise you?"

Jacob smiled, "I've had a lot of surprises over the last couple of days."

Harold looked over toward his soldier friend that was riding beside the wagon and said, "See? There is proof he doesn't always tell me everything."

Jacob smiled, "Gee! Thanks Dad."

They had ridden a little ways away from town when his friends showed up with some more friends, ones he didn't already know. There was enough of them that they stopped the wagon and all the guards and even the soldiers acompanying it. Mike, looked at jacob and said ,"I really hope I don't regret this."

Jacob watched as Mike and his other friends took control of the group. Weapons were taken and the guards and other soldiers were bound. When Mike came arround to open the door of the prison wagon, Jacob asked him, "Are you insane?" He knew what this meant for Mike. He too would become an enemy of the king and guilty of treason.

Mike laughed, "I must be! But lets not talk now. Let's get out of here!" He released all of the prisoners if they agreed to ride with them to which they all agreed.

Jacob, his dad, the other prisoners, and his friends all rode away from the wagon they had left the guards and soldiers in as quickly as possible. They rode hard the whole day until they came to a small cottage in a wooded area. This would be a good place where they could rest and organize themselves. They would officially be known as a band of outlaws from here on out. When Jacob walked into the cabin, he realized Judith was also there on a cot in the floor. He looked at Fred, "She shouldn't be here should she?"

Fred replied, "I couldn't leave her alone, so I brought her here yesterday. She is tough. She is still healing but I think she can ride."

Jacob looked at her and said, "Hi!"

She said, "Hi! Did I surprise you?"

Jacob smiled, "I've had a lot of surprises over the last couple of days."

Mike stepped in and said, "Not to interupt your reunion, but I thought you might want your saddle bags back." He handed them to him.

"Oh! Thank the Heavens! I don't have to try to retrieve those. Thank you" He said in relief. "Why did you decide to help me?"

"I looked at the evidence they had against you and realized you really are the son of King Richard and Queen Ann!" At this statement there were many surprised look arround the room. "My father always talked about he wished you could have been king and it was always a discussion around my house. My family isn't a fan of King Jon. It's a small chance that maybe with help you can succeed in finding your mother's locket and take back over the kingdom as the rightful heir. If you had stood before King Jon, he would have had you put to death and any hope of that would be lost. That is what you are trying to do isn't it?"

"Yes! That is what I hope to do. I guess I need to fill in everyone in the room here what this is all about. It is true I am King Richard and Queen Ann's son. Harold just happened to be at the wrong place at the right time and witnessed my parents be killed. My mother's dying words were for him to take me and keep me safe. He did that to the best of his ability until I became old enough to make my own decision to pursue my rightful place on the throne or to remain a commoner and hide my true identity. As you can see, I decided to pursue my rightful place in order to help save this kingdom from King Jon. He was my father's cousin and had a sorcerer place a curse on my family. I must break this curse before I can try to take back the throne. This will be very dangerous and risky. There are no guarentees that I will succeed in this mission.

Jacob continued, "For those of you who will stick with me through all of this, when I become king, I will make sure you all get what is rightfully yours. For now, all I can offer you, is that if you believe in the cause, then join me. We will either succeed or die trying. If you want to know, my charges when I was arrested was treason for being the person responsible for the theft at the Townsend library. I was charged with killing 3 men of which I did not. I am hunting for my mother's locket and have found 2 pieces of it and a clue as to where to look for the next. Each piece of the locket seems to also have a fierce guardian place in front of it. For the first one, we faced a giant. it was the giant that killed the 3 men. The second piece was guarded by a giant bear, and it was massive. Fighting that bear is how Judith here was injured. I don't take this lightly. I do in some ways take responsibility for the deaths and injuries (He looked at Judith) that happen on this adventure, but I can't succeed without help. Are there any questions?"

The room was silent for a moment, then one of the men that was a prisoner with him asked, "How do you know you can trust us?"

Jacob smiled and met his gaze and replied, "I don't."

A round of laughs went around the room. Mike spoke up, "We need to set up a system and a ranking within ourselves. We don't know that we can trust each other and we are just asking that we all band together under a code of honor between men. We may not all be friends, but we can be united for the cause. Do we all agree on that?"

They all cheered and you could hear a bunch of Yes's go around the room. Jacob spoke up, "So, that we are all in the know, why don't we go around the room and introduce ourselves to the group and the reason we believe in this cause."

One by one they all spoke. There were about 21 people in the room. Jacob then continued, "Mike trained with me in the army, so I know what his skills are. Let's go around the room and you can tell me and the rest of the group what your skill is and if you have any. This will give me an idea what your capabilities are and if any training is needed."

Again one by one, they each spoke of their individual skills. Jacob then suggested that He was in charge, Mike was second to him, the ones that have been with him in the previous quests (James, Francis, Fred, Ocean, and Judith), should be next in command because they had an idea of what they were up against. The rest should prove themselves as they went along.

Everyone agreed. A man had stayed with Judith while the rest of the men went to set Jacob and the others free. He had prepared a meal of stew for everyone. They agreed to eat and go to bed. However, Jacob wanted to meet some more after dinner with Mike and the original 5 who would be leaders in the ranks. He was also hoping his army and group would grow. 21 people wasn't very many to take on the current army, but it was a good start.

Jacob did meet outside with his leaders so they could make a plan of action. The all agreed that they should go after the next locket piece as soon as possible. The authorities would be after them and they would follow the clue to the next locket piece too in order to stop the group before they could get started. None of them knew if the men back in the wagon had been rescued yet or not or if they would be. However, they figured someone would eventually come across them where they left them near a main road. They agree to get everyone together and the plan laid out in the morning and then leave as soon as they could.

As soon as the sun come up, everyone was up. They ate a quick breakfast of eggs and bread, and made sure everyone was aware of the plan. They would all head to Stoney Mountain to look for the next locket piece. As a large group they were going to have to be cautious and avoid going through towns. They agreed that even though it would take longer travel time, they would avoid the towns to make sure that they didn't get unwanted attention. Plus, they knew it was a matter of time before they would be hunted for themselves.