Here's Chapter one of my first book. It's also available on DA.
“Wha…who’s that?” Legatus queried, seeing a figure, standing beside a horse, off in the distance. As he continued to walk, guiding his horse beside him, he searched through his memories, looking for the face to match that which lay ahead of him. As he slowly moved closer and closer, the list of possibilities grew shorter and shorter. He noticed it was a lynx, mostly grey fur with a white patch under its chin and down its front. He started passing one name, over and over again. Now that he was close enough, he knew only one lynx could hold that bolt upright stance, simulating inquiry and apathy at the same time. At the sudden realisation, Legatus dropped the reins of his horse and broke into a run until he was standing within 5 feet of his old friend.
“Osred? Is that you?”
“Yes, Legatus, it’s me. I’ve come to obtain your assistance with a situation currently developing in the area of–”
Legatus embraced his old friend with the warmth of a lost brother, whilst Osred, although shocked by the sudden embrace, remained perfectly still.
“Ozzy! How have you been! Wait, assistance? What’s going on?”
Osred readjusted his glasses as Legatus stepped back. “In the area of Sefrania, the new King of Wrencin is demanding resources from the people of Forcus, if they don’t oblige I believe he will engage in war.”
“Waitwaitwait,” Legatus interjected with a wave of his hands. “You were just standing here, waiting. How did you know where to find me?”
“It was simple really; I’ve managed to keep an eye on your whereabouts up until two weeks ago. From that data, I was able to estimate the direction you were travelling, the towns you would be passing through and how long you would be likely to spend in each one. Combining that with the speed at which you walk, my distance from every point along this road and my own travelling speed, I was able to calculate the optimum position to intersect with your path. You’re late by the way.”
Legatus was stunned by Osred’s not unusual monologue, just as much from a sense of nostalgia than awe. “Wait, what?”
“I calculated that you would pass this point over an hour ago. I assume you had to stop at some point?”
“Y-yeah, Jessie wanted something to drink so I took a break.” Legatus motioned beside him, whilst keeping his eyes fixed on Osred, just as his horse sauntered up into the position he was motioning to. “You know, I don’t know how you do it Oz but even after all this time, you still have the capacity to amaze me!”
Osred seemed to shrug off his old friend’s compliment for the sake of remaining on topic. “Well, no matter, we still have time, but I’ll have to explain the rest when we get to Forcus.” Osred got on his own horse and waited for Legatus to do the same. Then they began to ride in the direction of Sefrania.
As the two rode, side by side, Legatus felt the need to ask something of Osred.
“I guess I wasn’t doing a very good job of staying in the shadows, huh?”
Osred kept his gaze on their destination as he replied. “I’ve been doing what you’ve been doing, moving from town to town, trying to solve whatever problems I can. My methods are much quicker than yours so I moved through every town you’ve been passing through recently with relative ease. It’s only because I’ve been keeping an eye on them that I had knowledge of your movements at all. No-one else is likely to have known your whereabouts.”
Legatus accepted his friends reassurances with a sigh then let out a little chuckle. “It might have been better for me to work with you then! I might’ve been able to do a lot more by now.”
“Unlikely. You’re more organic in your endeavours. You enjoy the travel, the adventure, the stepping in, doing everything you can to help and stepping out. I believe you would have been tripping over your own sense of empathy, trying to go back and help out more if you were with me.”
“I’m not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not.” Legatus muttered morosely. At this, Osred turned to address his companion more directly.
“It’s always a compliment from me, Legatus. Your methods are different, not worse. You’ve done a lot of good since you’ve been travelling, the kind you wouldn’t have done if you weren’t working alone.” Osred turned again to face their destination, which seemed now to be barrelling towards them. “That’s why I came to find you; with the current situation in Sefrania, your methods are certainly more likely to obtain a resolution than mine.”
Legatus thought on this and remained silent for the rest of the ride. As they entered Forcus, they were greeted as guests by the town guards. As the two walked through the town they were treated with smiles, whispers and pointing fingers from the townspeople.
The people of Forcus were comprised of members of almost every race – wolves, lynxs, cheetahs, coyotes – and yet the two men who now walked amongst them seemed so different. Legatus turned to Osred to fill the awkward silence he felt.
“So what is this situation you talked about, anyway?”
“The King of Wrencin died a short time ago and his son took his place. Upon his rise to power, the son claimed that the people of Forcus had cheated his father in a deal they made several years ago. He’s demanding what is rightfully his - or rather his father’s - or he will take it by force.”
“Wait, you mean the old King of Wrencin, the town of thieves, was cheated in a deal he made himself?”
“From the historical information I’ve obtained, the old King of Wrencin was a more morally centred man than his predecessors. He did a lot to undo the damage his town had done to its own reputation. I believe the deal with Forcus was a part of that.”
Legatus looked surprised and grinned. “You believe? You mean you’re not sure?”
Osred seemed to recoil from this jab at his skills. “All information pertaining to the deal has seemingly been lost, even to the people of Forcus. It seems the only copy of this “deal” is held by the new King of Wrencin, for whatever reason.”
“Do you think the old King organised it that way?”
“You’d be more equipped to judge that than I. Needless to say, I don’t have all the data and the new King of Wrencin is threatening war more and more every day. He hasn’t yet set an ultimatum but I believe it’s imminent. We are in need of your help in this matter if we are to prevent the decimation of the Forcan people.”
Legatus looked somewhat puzzled. “We?” he queried, to which Osred seemed to grin, a small, sharp and sinister grin, one that looked almost alien on his face. Legatus became more uneasy at this and turned to the now comparatively comforting murmurs of the surrounding townspeople.
Whilst scanning the various townspeople, he saw one whose face was turned down that looked different from the others, but seemed all too familiar. The fox’s head then began to rise, as if in response to Legatus’ thoughts, and he suddenly realised who it was. The female fox looked pleasantly surprised as she stood up to engage in their expected reunion.
“Addy?” Legatus almost whispered as, this time, he was embraced by the strong arms of an old friend.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come.” said Adesha, not letting go of this long lost friend. Osred finally took notice that Legatus was no longer following him and he smiled at the two friends’ long overdue reunion. Adesha saw Osred in the distance and stepped back to give Legatus a playful punch in the arm. “But then you never could deny your best buddy Oz, huh?!” Legatus, forgetting how hard Adesha could punch, rubbed his arm where a bruise was sure to be.
“What are you doing here?” Said Legatus, still shocked to see yet another old friend.
“Well, after the last great war of Prenton, I wanted a break from the fighting of The Three Cities. The King granted me leave, quite readily, and I decided to come here.” Legatus thought this suspicious but let it be for the moment. “The Forcan people are very noble, very wise and above all very passive. I decided to stay here for a while, pass on knowledge and hopefully gain some wisdom in return.”
“Wow, that’s great! So you obviously know what’s going on?” Legatus asked.
“Yes, I do. Unfortunately the deal between the Kings was made some time before my arrival but from what I’ve learnt since being here, these people wouldn’t make such a deal out of malice. It’s no secret there’s been bad blood between the two towns but I don’t feel these people would act so underhandedly as the new King of Wrencin is claiming, when offered the possibility of peace. There’s something I don’t know yet and whether it’s known by the Leader of Forcus or the King of Wrencin remains to be seen.”
“I suppose that’s why I’m here, huh?” Legatus chuckled. “Did you agree to Osred dragging me here?” Adesha grinned and then shrugged.
“I told him he’d never find you, he said he already had. I really had no say in the matter.” The pair gave out a hearty laugh as Osred seemed to grow impatient further down the road.
“I suppose we’d better go, Osred impressed upon me the volatility of the situation.” Legatus turned to walk towards Osred just as Adesha stopped him.
“Hey Legatus? How have you been?”
Legatus’ smile seemed to drop off his face and a less sincere one replaced it.
“Good…since then…”
Adesha nodded slowly and started walking towards Osred. Legatus gave out a long sigh, and then continued to follow.
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