A Hero's Quest Read online

  Gwynn turned around while her feet still touched the ground and drew the bow back.  She took aim at the Ogre’s head and released.  It stuck the Ogre’s leg.  She quickly drew the bow back again and adjusted her aim.  She hit him in the chest this time.  Throwing the bow back over her head,  Gwynn reached her arm out to steady Mirela’s hold on the branch as she did her best to push out further into the lake.  Once she was out of the reach of the rock attack that the wounded Ogre was still throwing, she stopped kicking.  She didn’t dare push out any farther from shore with all of them incapable of swimming.  She grabbed Mirela’s leg and pushed it over the log.  “Hang in there.”

  Mirela placed her hand over the wound on her shoulder trying to slow the blood.  Her eyes were unfocused but she tried to smile.  “We have to keep going.  We can’t stay in the water all night.  They will wait for us to come out.  We have to cross.”

  Rosina whimpered and reached a hand out towards Mirela.

  “No Rosina, stay there or you’ll fall and drown,” warned Gwynn.  She took a deep breath and began to paddle across the lake.  It probably would take all night to get across and then there would still be the stumbling around to reach the wizards camp. 

  Gwynn kicked her feet all night and occasionally had to help Mirela rebalance on the log.  She was glad Mirela had made her take a nap that day.  It gave her the strength to keep kicking.  She was feeling tired as the sun began to break the horizon.  They had made over half way across the lake and she hadn’t felt a single thing nibble at her legs yet.  She could see grey smoke rising up into the sky and the top of a tent on the other side and smiled.  They were almost there.  She looked back at Mirela and Rosina who had both fallen asleep.  She was relieved to see that the wound on Mirela’s shoulder had crusted over with dry blood. 

  She spotted the perfect place to land hours later and was kicking as hard as she could the promised thought of a nap before they headed to the wizard fresh on her mind.  To her dismay the closer they got to the shore the faster they seemed to be going parallel to the shore.  Gwynn realized they were caught in a currant and if she didn’t want to end up miles down shore then they had better get to shore quickly.   She shook Mirela’s good shoulder.  “Wake up.  I need your help.  You have to help me kick.  We have to get to shore. 

  Mirela took a deep breath and let her legs fall into the water.  She began to feebly kick.  They hit the bank about a mile past where Gwynn had wanted to land, but she was grateful it wasn’t more than that.

  Rosina jumped off the log when they hit shore and splashed in the edges of the water.  The little girl had slept well and was full of energy as she giggled and dug her hands into the wet sand and threw the sand out into the water. 

  Mirela sat on the ground and leaned against the log.  “Are you throwing mud at the bad ogres?”  She tenderly pulled the wallet out of her apron pocket and pulled out a few rolls.

  “Bad Ogres, Bad.”  Rosina threw more mud then ran to get another roll.

  Gwynn tried not to smile, but the corners of her mouth kept flickering up.  She accepted a roll and ate a couple of bites.  “Come on, let’s hurry.  Maybe the wizard will share some of his food with us.”

  Mirela shrugged.  “It’s probably just more bread.”  She laughed when she saw Gwynn’s pained face then whimpered as the sudden movement sent pain through her body.  “I don’t think I can walk that far.”

  “You will because I will help you.  Rosina will just have to walk.” Gwynn stood and helped Mirela to her feet and pulled her good arm around her neck and they began to walk.  “Come on Rosina or we’ll leave you.”

  Rosina began to cry.

  Mirela scowled this time.  “Be nice to her.  We won’t leave you Rosina.  Come on, maybe will find a puppy.”

  Rosina toddled after them sniffing. “Puppy.”

  Gwynn moved slowly holding up and steading Mirela as they walked up the shore line to the wizard’s camp.  A wolf sat quietly by the tent door.  A rabbit was roasting on the spit over the fire. 

  “Puppy!” Rosina went to run to the wolf.

  Mirela panicked.  “Rosina come back.  He might bite.”

  The aging wizard stepped out of his tent and smiled as the girl ran to the wolf and hugged him. The wizard’s beard was trimmed short and his hair was gray and thin. His long robes drug the ground and he leaned heavily on a staff “You all look hungry.  Care to join me?  I have bread and cheese to share and my wolf found a rabbit abandoned on the shore last night.”

  The girls nodded in agreement and moved towards the fire. The wizard studied them closely. “I feel that you are not just three lost young girls are you. You’re looking for me?”

  Mirela nodded and swallowed as she nervously stared at the wizard. “Yes sir,” she finally managed to get out. “Our village was raided by ogres, and the village elders sent us to find you. They also sent us with these.” She pulled the dagger from her belt and the wallet of food.

  The wizard studied the objects closely and the reached out his hand. Mirela placed the knife in his palm. “Young lady, I am impressed. You will never fully understand the danger you were in carrying these weapons across the forest. Come now and rest. I will send my apprentices to rid the region of ogres as soon as they return. You are all welcome to stay as long as you need.”

  Finish …. For now

  #######

  Authors Note:

  We hope that you have enjoyed this short story. More will be coming as we explore this magical land and the heroes and monsters it contains. For now please enjoy our other books and don’t forget to write a review.

  About the Authors:

  Matthew Mangum works in the broadcast and film industry. He writes on the train during his commute to work.

  Melanie Mangum is Matthew’s sister. She works hard and lives on a farm in Utah

  Thank you for reading books on Archive.BookFrom.Net
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