2024 NanoWrimo Story

on the way to the 4th locket piece

As the group was riding, Jacob thought to himself. There has got to be a better way. Maybe they could establish a hideout so they wouldn’t have to move around quite as much. It would be harder for anyone with any significant injuries to recover if they had to be constantly on the back of a horse. Judith was doing much better but was still trying to heal from the bear attack. He had been injured too, and there would likely be others before everything was said and done. They needed to get to the ocean on the NW side of the kingdom and they were somewhere in the middle right now. It would take about 3 or for days to get there. Right now they needed to avoid capture. He decided to talk it over with Mike so they could come up with a good plan. He must have hit his head when he fell backwards somehow during the sword fight. His thoughts felt fuzzy and he just didn’t feel like himself.

Jacob also agonized about having to kill the soldier. He had always hoped he wouldn’t have to kill someone so personally like that. It bothered him, but he knew he hadn’t had a choice. He also realized that if he had not also been trained as a soldier, it could have turned out much differently. He had always wanted to grow up and be a good man. He never dreamed he would be a wanted man and outlaw.

As Jacob was contemplating these things, Mike rode back to where he was. “Hey, are you ok? You are kind of quiet.”

“I just have a lot on my mind.. I had to kill a man yesterday.” Jacob said.

Mike asked, “You ever kill anyone before?”

“No that was the first time. I have seen men killed and been accused of being responsible for their death and maybe I am. If I hadn’t chosen to peruse the locket and everything, they might still be alive. However, this is the first time I ever jabbed a sword into a man’s chest and watch the life drain out of him. It made me sick to my stomach.” Jacob told him

That’s a normal response for your first time. I had to kill a man who had resisted arrest and struck me with his knife. I didn’t take pleasure in it, but he would have killed me if I hadn’t killed him. I know how you feel. Did you hit your head during the fight?

“Yeah, I think I did. Between that, the burn from the dragon and the cuts from the soldier’s sword, it kind of kicked my butt. Plus, I haven’t slept very good several nights in a row. I guess I just got a little tired.” Jacob said.

“You need me to take charge a couple of days to give you some time to recover?” Mike asked.

“We have got to get to the ocean for the next piece of locket and clue. It will take about 3 or 4 days to get there. I think it might be a good time to let you take charge for a while. I think we need to think about establishing a hideout if possible so we don’t have to travel quite as much. Do we know if the group of soldiers followed us?”

“I sent a scout to check it out. We should know shortly.”

I really hope hope they aren’t after us, but if they see where we camped, they can track us.

I know. All we can do right now is just keep riding. We have about a day of supplies left. We will need to get some more soon somehow.

We are in quite a possution aren’t we?

Yes,we are, and failure is not an option. I would prefer not to end this thing as an outlaw. What do you think our chances of success are?

It hasn’t been easy. In fact it seems to get harder as we go along. I don’t want to fail either. I’ve already faced death a few times. If we can survive, we might just make it. Jacob said smiling.

In other words, the odds are against us. Mike returned sarcastically.

Yeah Jacob said and they both laughed.

About that time, the scout came to Mike to make his report. “The soldiers are still about a half mile back. It appears they are tracking us.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. Let’s see if we can throw them off by splitting into small groups again. We could reunite at the edge of the woods at the fork of the Snake river. Spread the word to form small groups.” Mike told the scout. Then looked at Jacob and asked, “Will you be ok with a group of 3 or 4?”

“I think so. Send them to me.”

Mike said with a smile, “Ok, just remember you asked for it.” Then he rode away.

It wasn’t long until Fred, Judith, the man that killed the first soldier the day before, and one of the men that had been in the prison wagon with him showed up to ride with him. Jacob asked if anyone knew the terrain they were about to travel. Fred said that he was. Jacob asked him to take the lead.

Fred rode out in front of the small group Then Jacob turned to the other 2 men, “I haven’t caught your names yet.

The one who killed the soldier said, “My name is Timothy.”

The man from the prison wagon introduced himself too. “I’m Daniel.”

Daniel, what were you accused of? Jacob asked.

Daniel replied, I was under the charges of theft.

Are you guilty. Jacob prodded.

Am I on trial? Daniel asked

No, just curious. Jacob answered.

Yes, I tried to rob a store to get some food for my family and they caught me.

Thanks for your honesty. I guess you pretty much know my story by now. Jacob said.

Daniel kind of laughed, “who hasn’t by now?”

Timothy piped in and said, “I think that is the question for the day. I think most of the kingdom has heard of Jacob Townsend and his gang. I think we could cause a divide in the kingdom as there are some people who want to see us succeed and for you to take the throne from King Jon, but many of them are too afraid to say it.”

By the way, it’s later. Thanks for being good at throwing that knife. Jacob told Timothy. “Where did you learn a skill like that?”

My daddy was a fir trader. When I went with him, we would take turns throwing a knife at a target to see who could do best in our spare time. It turned out to be a good skill that has come in handy on several occasions. Timothy replied.

“I take it that wasn’t the first man you have killed? Jacob said

“No. It wasn’t.” Timothy shrugged.

“Hey, Judith! How are you doing? Jacob asked.

“I am feeling better, but still sore. I still have to be careful with a couple of cuts on my upper arm as they were the deepest. You’re also feeling better I hope.”

“I feeling some better but I think I may have hit my head during the last fight and am feeling a bit fuzzy and tired. I’ll be glad when I can rest again.” He said.

Judith said, “Me too.”

Jacob couldn’t help but notice the way the sun shone through her long auburn curly hair and how it flowed over her shoulders. She had a fit but thin frame. He was riding slightly behind her and could smell her perfume. He began to be strongly aware of her feminine presence. She was strong, skilled, and surprisingly beautiful. He struggled to pull his eyes away from her, but he forced himself to. Turning to Fred, he asked if they would make it to the fork of river before night fall.

Fred replied, “Everyone should make it right around sun down if we all keep up this steady pace. I believe Francis and his group may arrive a bit later as they will go through a town and get some supplies.”

“I hope we are getting our supplies honestly. I don’t want to steal our supplies even if we are wanted. We are doing this for the greater good and I don’t want that to be a lost cause.” Jacob said.

Fred answered. “Yes, we are coming by them by honest means.”

Jacob said, Good. Then he got a couple pieces of jerky out of his saddle bags to eat. In good humor, he said, “You know? It’s these very saddle bags that held and still holds all the evidence against me the day I was arrested. These saddle bags keep me nurtured and they almost got me killed. Kind of ironic isn’t it?” He took a bite of jerky.

Daniel replied, “It sure is when you think about it.”

They came upon a hill. “Fred, do you think you can get up that hill and get an idea of where everyone is at?”

“Let’s stop here for a minute and I’ll try.” Fred said.

They all stopped and waited for his return. When he came back, he gave his report. “I can’t see everyone one, but from what I can see, our groups are doing ok. It appears the soldiers have stopped following us and our trick has worked.”

“That’s a relief. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t feel like getting into a fight today.” Jacob responded.

They all laughed. Fred said, “I don’t think we want to either.”

Jacob said, “Let’s get going then and find that river.”

The group began riding again. Judith went to the rear of the small group. She admired Jacob for what he was trying to do. He had to be brave to it. She watched him ride ahead of her. She could see his broad shoulders and the muscles on his body. He wasn’t the tallest man but he made up for it with heart. She felt herself becoming attracted to him. She fantasized what it would be like if he were to hold her in his arms and kiss her. She was startled out of her thoughts when Timothy cried out, “Hey, is that a group of soldiers riding towards us back there?”

They all turned to look. Sure enough there were a group of soldiers coming quickly towards them. Jacob yelled, “Let’s go!”

All five of them guided their horses into a gallop! They rode hard for about 15 minutes with the soldiers not far behind them. Fred yelled, “I think I know how we can give them the slip!”

Jacob hollered back, “How?”

Fred said, “If I remember right, just up ahead in those rocks is a cave. If we can all make it there, we can try hiding. If they catch us though, we may have to surrender or fight.”

Jacob said, “Let’s try it unless anyone has a better idea.”

They all agreed that was the best plan and followed Fred to the cave. You had to know the area to know the cave was there. It was hidden among the rocks very well and it was big enough for the horses too. One by one, they made their way into the cave with their horses. It was far enough off the main road that they hoped they wouldn’t hear their horses whinny.

They all stayed in the cave as the soldiers went past. “That was a close call. Do you know any different less traveled routes we can take, Fred? Jacob asked.

Not exactly. Fred replied. There is at least 3 more miles on this road before there is a trail in the woods. It looks like there is a trail on the other side of these rocks, but I have no idea where it leads.

Why don’t we find out where it leads. I don’t feel comfortable on this main road with the soldiers around.

“You’re the boss! Frail exclaimed.

The small group led their horses out of the cave and onto the unknown trail. They climbed into the saddles and began to ride again. The terrain was a little more rough but it was much less traveled. They all felt a little more at ease. The travel was also slower as they were having to be more cautious. They traveled about 6 miles and decided to take a rest. Timothy had grabbed some biscuits for the rode and shared with the rest of them. The son was going down.

Do you think we are anywhere near the river? Jacob asked.

Fred replied, “I don’t think it will be too much further. We will have to do some traveling after dark.

We need to get connected with the rest of the group and see if anyone else ran into any trouble. I guess we better get going and hope for the best. We have a couple of lanterns so we should be able to at least see some. Jacob replied.

They all traveled on. Soon it was dark and they still hadn’t found the river.

It was got so dark, the group could barely see anything around them. They traveled slow and carefully. They had no idea where they were. They just hoped they would find the river soon. Jacob began to feel very tired. He asked, "Fred, how much longer do you think it will take? I am so tired, I can hardly keep my eyes open."

Fred replied, "Hang in there. I hope it won't be much longer, but I told you when we began this trail that I wasn't familiar with it. If you feel like you can't stay awake, maybe one of us can double up with you to make sure you don't fall off your horse."

"I think I am ok for now." Jacob said.

They continued to feel their way around in the dark. Finally, they heard the sound of the river and knew they must be close to it. As they neared the river, they also heard some other riders near by. They couldn't see them, but could only hear them. There was a bunch of trees they decided to hide in and put out their lanterns. Maybe the other people would pass and not notice them.

The other group of people came closer. Jacob thought he recognized one of the voices. The waited until the group came closer. They also had lanterns lit, and Jacob then recognized one of the faces. "James! You got to be quieter. We heard you guys coming a little while ago. We had time to hide and put out our lanterns."

James replied, "Is that you Jacob? Where are you?"

"Yeah, it is me." Jacob replied.

Fred lit a lantern again and they all came out from the cover of the trees. "It sure is good to see a familiar face. We were beginning to wonder if we were lost."

James laughed, "Well, looks like you found the river. Now all we need to do is find the fork."

Timothy added, "And now we at least know we are heading in the right direction."

Daniel asked, "Did you guys run into any soldiers or have any problems?"

"Yeah we saw some soldiers but were able to avoid them." James said.

Jacob added, "We ran into some and they were riding after us so we hid and found this trail. We decided to take it and get off the main road. It through us kind of behind, but it was the safer route."

James said, "I don't want to ruin the reunion, but we need to find the fork of the river and hopefully get a little shut eye before morning. You do especially Jacob and Judith since you both are trying to heal from injuries. Plus, hopefully the other groups will already be there."

They all fell into a line behind James and continued making their way up river beside it. The crunching of the leaves under the horses hooves sounded loud to Jacob in the night. The sound of the crickets seemed almost deafening. The rocking of the horse walking was steady and Jacob began to relax. Soon he was awakened by Fred's voice in the saddle behind him, "Jacob!"

"What?" Jacob jumped.

Fred said, I think it's time I ride with you.'

"Why? What happened?" Jacob asked.

Fred replied, "You were just snoring and if I hadn't called your name, I think you might have fallen off the saddle. You don't want to fall off your horse and into that river."

"No, I don't want to do that. Can you keep me awake? I can hardly keep my eyes open. I am beat." Jacob said.

Fred handed the reigns of his horse to Judith and climbed behind Jacob. "I think you must have taken a hard hit to the head. You haven't been completely acting like yourself today. Its been a long hard ride too and you are barely recovered from your last battle. I will at least keep you on the horse if I can't keep you awake."

"Thanks! I am not usually this week." Jacob showed his appreciation.

They all continued to ride on. It must have been at least 3 hours since they joined the group with James and found the river. It must have been near 1 am. They finally spotted what appeared to be a camp fire up ahead and all agreed to approach it cautiously. Timothy agreed to go scout it out and if it was safe, he would come back and get them.

After a few minutes, Timothy came back and told them they had found the river fork and it was their people in the camp. Jacob must have fallen asleep again because he woke up to Fred telling me they were at the camp and he could finally rest. Normally, Jacob would have been more observent, but he was in no shape to be finicky. Fred helped him make a bed and get into it.

The next morning, Jacob's head felt kind of foggy and he just didn't feel well. He looked around and couldn't tell if all the groups had arrived or not. He just lay there for a moment.

Finally, Harold came over. "Son? What's wrong? Fred told me about last night and you don't look to well."

"Dad, I don't feel well either." Jacob said.

Fred bent over and felt his forehead. "You are burning up!" He called for Luke who he had gotten to know in his small group. Luke had been a doctor until he had been arrested for killing one of his patients. He had been in the prison wagon with them. "He's running a fever I think."

Luke bent over to check him, "I think you are right. Let's look at the burn you said had gotten a little infected." Luke examined all of Jacob's visible wounds. "When did you start feeling this way, Jacob?

"I started feeling really drained last night. I finally just couldn't hardly keep my eyes open and Fred had to ride with me. I remember getting into camp and I guess I've been sleeping ever since. I still don't feel very good."

"I see that." Luke observed. "I think this infection has gone into your bloodstream. I think I can give you some medicine to make you feel better. I don't know that you should ride today. We've all been pushing it pretty hard. Maybe we should rest. I'll keep check on you."

"Do you think it is safe for us to stay here today, Dad? We really need to keep going." Jacob replied.

"Son! If something happens to you, there is no point continuing to look for the locket. Our cause will be lost. I think we will be okay here for a day. We can always pack up and run if we need to, but for now you should just rest." Harold told him concerned.

Jacob must have fallen back to sleep. Before he knew it, Luke had come back to give him medicine. "This is a special concauction that my Daddy used on me. It's really bitter but it works very well to get rid of any infection."

Jacob choked down the bitter liquid. Luke said, "I'll come back in a while to check on you again."

When Jacob woke up again, Francis was there looking down at him. "Oh, there you are! Where have you been?" Jacob asked.

"We ran into a bit of trouble and had to find an alternate route. Then we got a little lost, back tracked some of our steps, and came upon the river. We decided to get some sleep when we still hadn't found the fork of the river by 3 am, and then we finished riding this morning hoping we found you all. Then your dad told me you were sick when we got here and I just walked over when you woke up. How you doing now?" Fred replied.

"I still don't feel very good. My dad made friends with Luke who used to be a doctor. He says I have an infection and gave me some medicine that tasted horrible. Hopefully, it will work and we can get out of here soon." Jacob said.

About that time, Luke came back over to check on him and give him some soup. "Jacob, Here is some soup for you. You will need to eat it to recover your strength." He felt his head. "Feels like you still have your fever."

Jacob sat up and ate the soup weekly and drank some water. Then he went back to sleep again. This time, he began to dream. He dreamed of fighting the giant that killed those men. He dreamed of killing the dragon before it could have killed Ocean. He dreamed about fighting the soldier and killing him again. It seemed all of his activities since looking for the locket began to revisit him in his dreams. He must have been restless. Luke woke him up. "Jacob, hey, it's just a dream."

Jacob startled, "What was I doing?"

Luke told him he was appearently acting out his dreams. Luke was putting a cold rag on him. "I thought you were going to his me for a minute."

"Oh, sorry!" Jacob said.

"That's ok. Your fever must be kind of high. Here! Take some more of this medicine." Luke gave him more medicine and Jacob complied. He went back to sleep fairly quickly.

Before long, Luke had brought him more soup and the sun went down before he finished eating. He remained restless all through the night with Luke taking care of him.

This time when he awoke, Luke was sitting against a log, sleeping. The sun was beginning to come up, and he was beginning to feel better. This time he sat up. When he did, Luke woke up. Luke asked, "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, thank you. I didn't even feel like sitting up yesterday. Have you been taking care of me all night?"

"Yes, I have. You were running a high fever for a while, but the medicine finally started working. It appears your fever has broken."

"Do you think I will be able to ride today?" Jacob asked.

I think you can as long as you take it easy. I think you may have overdone it a bit day before yesterday. I think the rest did everyone some good though." Luke said.

After they sun rose, they all ate some more of the soup before going on their way. They were past where the soldiers had been looking for them. They were hoping as long as they laid low, they would be safe until they went after the next locket piece. They all left as one large group this time. Mike was still in charge, but was capable.