Fan Fiction ❯ Beogard's Last Hope ❯ The Ninja in the Night ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter Four: The Ninja in the Night

The team of Beogard's fighters had escaped into the mountains. All of them had a bruise or small cut, unfortunately they had nothing to cover up the wounds.

“Who's bright idea was it to travel without any first aid?” Pikaness demanded.

“We were kind of in a hurry,” Halo replied. “Ya know, when you're being run out of your town, you don't really have time to gather up traveling items.”

“So what exactly happened with you three?” Yao asked, directing his question at Halo, Zen, and Gaiden.

“We can tell you once we get a little further away from Delhaft,” Halo said.

“Why aren't their soldiers following us anyway?” Rhys asked.

“They were only Delhaft guards,” Gaiden answered. “They're bound by their land, they aren't allowed to leave no matter what. Delhaft has other soldiers to infest Beogard and deal with trouble makers.”

“Like us,” Zen pointed out.

“And you can expect we'll run into some of those soldiers soon,” Halo finished.

They walked a little while longer until they reached a large crevice in the mountain. “This looks like a good place to sleep for now,” Halo said.

“We have nothing to sleep with though,” Alpha stated.

“That shouldn't matter,” Gaiden said. “We're all tired, we should be able to sleep easily enough.”

“And it's just for tonight,” Halo added. “There's a small village a few miles away, we'll go there tomorrow. We can also buy some things like first aid and sleeping bags at least, for our journey.”

“So are you going to explain why we're even on this journey?” Demial asked.

“Tomorrow,” Halo removed the katana holster from his back and set it on the ground, then laid beside them, using his cape as a pillow. The others did the same, it wasn't easy to get comfortable on the hard ground, but their exhaustion soon caught up with them and they all drifted into sleep.

As the fighters slept, they were unaware of the figure that crept through the night. So silent, each step brought him closer to where the group lay. But he got too close, and the ground sprung up and wrapped around his legs, immobilizing him. He grunted as he withdrew a dagger and slashed at the earth, but to no effect.

“Thief…” A voice spoke from the shadows. There was no way to see who it was, or where it even came from, it was too dark.

“Who's there?” the man said as he still tried to free himself from his bonds.

“You tell me who you are.”

With a slight growl, the man answered, “My name is Susa.”

“And you were going to steal from us?”

“If you had anything of value, then yes.”

“Too bad we have nothing of value,” another voice spoke. “Except our weapons.”

“Why don't you show yourselves?” Susa requested.

“Silence, thief!” the first voice snapped.

“Now wait a minute,” the other voice said. “He might be useful.” The sound of footsteps, and then Halo emerged from the shadows in front of Susa. “Tell me, Susa, can you fight?”

Susa looked as if he took that as an insult at first, then answered, “Yes.”

“So how about you fight with us? We're on a mission to save Beogard, and we need all the help we can get.” Susa didn't reply at once, he started to think over his answer. “Gaiden, let him go.”

“Alright,” Gaiden stepped out from the shadows and stood next to Halo. He lifted his hand and the earth around Susa's legs subsided.

“So how about it Susa?” Halo held out his hand. Susa glanced at the hand, then at Halo, then to Gaiden, then back to Halo's hand to think about it. And he finally made up his decision.

“Yeah alright,” he grasped Halo's hand for a handshake. “I'm in.”