The Wizards betrayal – A Concept Fantasy Story - Part Sixteen

Cont. from Part Fifteen or Story Start/Part One if your just joining

Valar could hear the calming sound of the ocean, the waves rolling in on to the beach, it was peaceful and relaxing but something told him he needed to wake up.   

Opening his eyes, everything hurt but as a trained soldier he would ignore the discomfort and see to the business at hand.

It was morning, the weather was nice, calm after a passing storm, just a gentle breeze. He lifted himself to his feet, his breast plate still attached he slowly loosened the straps removed it and hid it under the plants where he had been hiding the night before.

He wasn’t sure what to do and his makeshift hideout had protected him for one night... it would do for another, at the first sign of danger he would hide back here…he would have to be careful, explore and try not to be seen.   

For a while he cautiously scavenged along the shore line, the bandits had taken nearly everything of worth, he did find a barrel half filled with fresh water a few scraps of food, mainly fruit...at least he would not starve or die of thirst this day.

There were many foot prints in the sand, presumably the bandits. Several prints went from the west to east, the bandits the night before leaving heavy steps taking anything of value with them. 

Walking around he came across the naked body of Jakkar, his eyes glassed over a huge gash in his throat, he was nothing more then a corpse now…the great Jakkar.   

Seeing Jakkar like this made him reflect on his life....what a fool he had been, all he had wanted to do was best Jakkar and be squad sergeant. It occurred to him how naive he had been and all his ambitions for power and glory seemed so insignificant now, all his fellow soldiers were dead..not even a chance to fight.  

He hid anything of use he could find in the make shift hideout and went to work using some drift wood as a shovel...he would do his duty any bodies of fellow soldiers he would give an appropriate burial. He remained careful, staying on the open beach for only as long it took to drag the bodies and bury them.   

Most of his own injuries were superficial a cut here or a bruise there, but when he touched the back of his head it hurt and it hurt allot...there was a huge lump on the back of his head. His task of burying the dead complete, having not seen anyone for hours he stripped down and bathed in the ocean and washed the blood out his hair and off his skin, tending to his own injuries as best he could.

Once clean he sat on the beach in the sun naked next to his spread out clothes on the sand.   

He wondered what to do next, maybe spend one more night here and then move inland?... everything had changed and everything was different here, the plants even the birds looked strange, he was a stranger in a strange land and the welcome had not been inviting.  

Cont. to Part Seventeen here