DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
ConfederationOfInrazimad
HTML https://confederationofinrazimad.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Writing & Storytelling
*****************************************************
#Post#: 20458--------------------------------------------------
The Hunting of a Blackbird - Short Story
By: GRACETHEDUCK Date: June 15, 2015, 2:56 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[CENTER][B]The Hunting of a Blackbird[/B][/CENTER]
"Grab the bloody thie- No! Take the left road! No, not you! You!
The manling over ther-" The officer hardly had enough time to
finish expressing his orders before he let out a furious howl as
red liquid exploded in front of him, a glint of silver pressed
into his right eye. And pressed [I]into[/I] his right eye it
was, for the Blackbird had unrivalled aim and was unlikely to
ever miss his mark, which, quite conveniently, was the
officer's right eye. He certainly hadn't begun to.
"GET HIM! GET HIM!" The maimed officer began screeching,
evidently outraged by the 'lack of respect' shown to
'high-ranking soldiers' of the 'Almighty Lord of Banseck, oh how
generous you are, we would never turn from you!'.
[I]Ridiculous[/I], the Blackbird mused, bolting towards the open
gate. [I]More than half of his oh-so-loyal army have sold
themselves as mercenaries already. Pitiful, weak-minded
snouts.[/I]
Without halting, he cut through the lines of confused soldiers
like they were merely vines looped around the giant willows of
the eastern woods; a place he knew rather well, for it was where
he dwelled the most when he wasn't out creating mayhem within
the midst of royal armies who had been responsible for the death
of his parents and caused the ruins of their humble town behind
the hills of Terlay. How he hated them - Their pledges to bring
peace and how they revoked that when they were part of the
biggest army around.
Anguished cries clouded his ears, but he willed them to be
ignorant to those pain-filled sounds, and focused solely on
getting out of the Lord's castle alive; with his 'loot' of
course. Even after four years, his hometown and its habitants
were still rebuilding, and if it wasn't for the Blackbird's
constant thievery and the bringing home of a few silver pieces
every other day, his neighbours would still be laying in the mud
with the chickens and goats like they had to do for several long
months after those bloody royal armies came about. [I]Never
again,[/I] he thought fiercely to himself. [I]I'll never let
those dribbling swine-heads near them again.[/I]
The gate had stayed open, to the Blackbird's delight, though the
soldiers were already working hard to get it closed. There was a
large fraction of the troops standing guard in a line directly
in front of the gate, but he had no doubt that he could get past
them with ease.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A voice screeched the the left of him; a
voice that he paid no heed to. "STOP! GET BACK HERE YOU LUMP OF
MOUSE-GUTS! I SWEAR BY THE LAND OF GAELIAHR, YOUR HEAD
[I]WILL[/I] BE MOUNTED ON A SPIKE OF THE TALLEST TOWER WHETHER
IT BE THIS OR NOT! BAH!"
Still, the Blackbird paid no heed, but instead flew past the
gate with such speed that the soldiers standing guard in the
defensive line didn't even see him squeeze past them and become
a shadow in the twilight, flying away from the small stone
castle that he had thrown into confusion in the dead of night.
The curses shouted by the commanding officer could be heard for
miles around.
- - - - -
It was early in the morning - before dawn it seemed - and the
birds were already chirping far too loudly for Vanice to be able
to sleep. Oh well, she wasn't likely to fall asleep soon anyway.
No, she had stayed awake all throughout the night, worrying
about her brother Lammet and his newest plot to steal some
silver from the treasure coffin of the Lord of Banseck. It was
the smallest walled city in a hundred mile radius, and the
village had been ransacked by thieves three days after winter
had ended. They needed to get money to them immediately, and so
a spontaneous plot to loot silver from the Lord of Banseck
popped into Lammet's head; a plan that he had carried out the
very evening.
[I]Why didn't he allow me to come with him?[/I] Vanice continued
cursing herself and everything, for that was the only question
she had been thinking about all night. They had always done such
things together; the tiny, unnoticeable [I]Hummingbird[/I] who
could worm herself into the most secure of rooms, and the
infamous [I]Blackbird[/I] whose aim and sword-fighting could not
be challenged. They always carried out all of their plans
together. [I]So what was so different about this one?[/I]
"Van?"
Vanice's heart leapt at the sound of her brother's voice quietly
calling for her in the darkness of the leather-roofed tent. She
scrambled up, reaching for their one oil-lamp and lit it,
spreading a faint, flickering glow in the tent. [I]He's
alright![/I] She mentally cheered as she saw him unscathed,
holding up a small bag of silver pieces with a satisfied twinkle
in his eye. His golden-amber eyes; fiery when provoked, but
always had an intelligent look to them. Very much like a
blackbird.
"Lammet!" Vanice cried out to him quietly. "What took you so
long? It's almost dawn!"
It probably [I]was[/I] dawn, but she didn't bother to add that
part. It never took him this long to carry out a mission, alone
or not.
"There were a few . . . Difficulties." The man replied simply,
carefully removing his mask of blackbird feathers, each and
every one hand-picked from feathers that the blackbirds dropped
in the eastern forest. "They sent the hounds from one of the
doghouses near the border. Thank goodness they don't like
swimming in cold river water."
"Thank goodness indeed." Vanice replied almost absent-mindedly,
placing the feather mask on the log that sat near the entrance
of the tent. "We leave for the Earl of Balmerd's tomorrow, an
hour after sunset. I'm coming with you this time." Balmerd was a
rather formidable empire; one of the biggest in the land of
Gaeliahr. They had only picked at the Earl's silver once, and it
had been difficult getting in and out of the large castle alive.
After that, they chose to stay off their tails for awhile.
Lammet nodded. "Of course. But you have to promise me one
thing."
Vanice nodded, urging him to go on as she took the bag of silver
from him and strode to the entrance, ready to ride to the town
that needed them.
"If I get too injured, something more than a gash in the arm,
you have to leave me."
Vanice halted, and turned with an incredulous expression etched
onto her face. "[I]What?[/I]"
Lammet repeated his words seriously, a very serious expression
on his serious face, letting Vanice know that he was, indeed,
very serious. "Please. If I can't fend for myself, you must let
me go, and run for your life."
Vanice nodded numbly, for she knew what he was implying. He
might be taken away from her in the next two days, and he
wouldn't let her go with him. She hated the idea of that, but
the town needed her, and she had to carry on without her dear
brother who had been with her for so long. But who was to say he
would go the next night? They had done this sort of thing for
two years now, and they hadn't once been captured, nor injured
very seriously.
Vanice left the tent that morning, thoughts jumbling up her mind
and threatening to make her insane as she crossed the east woods
to deliver the stolen money to one of the elders in the town.
She couldn't lose her brother. Not now.
- - - - -
The Hummingbird flew up the wall at an alarming pace, almost
invisible against the dark rock of the battlements. She needed
no hook, only her hands in her bare-fingered gloves and her feet
in her leather boots, both of which found stable nooks and
crannies with ease. She arrived at the top of the battlements
quickly, and immediately knocked out two men who were passing
along that particular section of the wall, using the hilt of her
knife against the base of their neck.
"Idiots." She mumbled under her breath. They hadn't even
bothered to wear a gorget.
She didn't dwell on this long, but made her way to the tower
specifically for the controls of the gate, making sure to keep
out of sight whenever another patrol passed her. They'd find the
two other guards soon enough. The thought brought a faint smile
to her face as she reached the gate tower.
[I]Be ready, Lammet.[/I]
- - - - -
The Blackbird snuck in, as discreet as he could be whilst
sneaking past a gate which had opened for no reason. It wouldn't
matter; the Hummingbird would've taken care of that problem
anyway. He ran towards the Keep, keeping himself hidden from
some of the patrols that strolled about the streets in the
evening. Lights were still on, mostly candlelight by the window
that spread light onto the streets below, making it brighter
than the Blackbird would've liked. Nevertheless, he continued
on, knowing nobody would be able to see him in his black attire,
his hair darker than his dyed clothing and his face covered in
soot.
He reached the Keep without any problems, and waited in the
shadows for the small sally port that led into the courtyard to
open. After a moment or two, the gates made a slight creaking
noise and lifted slightly, giving him enough space to duck under
the metal bars and make his way in.
"Any trouble?" A familiar voice hissed out at him from the
shadows.
"Nay." The Blackbird replied before gesturing for the
Hummingbird to follow him. She complied, and together, they made
their way past the courtyard and to the Balmerdian's treasure
room.
"You know the plan - Get into the room, and I'll keep watch
outside." He whispered as they neared the designated room. The
Hummingbird merely nodded, just as the guards at the door caught
sight of them and hissed to each other in alarm.
"Get them!" One of them cried out after the initial shock. The
others obeyed at once, lunging towards the man with slightly
hesitant footing, their spears and swords pointed towards the
thief.
The Blackbird nodded to the Hummingbird as he unsheathed his
longsword, ready to fend off the soldiers for however long he
needed to. She disappeared just as one guard attempted to
deliver the first blow. The Blackbird parried the strike, and
lashed out with his own sword, the blood already pumping in his
ears. He would attempt to keep from killing them unless
necessary; that was what he had agreed on when discussing plans
with his sister.
The Blackbird parried and dealt blows, none of his opponents'
weapons managing to touch his twisting frame. The Hummingbird
came out at last, but none of the guards noticed her as she
crept up behind them, her knife a blur. Two soldiers slumped
over unconscious, just as the Blackbird hit the third over the
head with the flat of his own sword.
Relieved, he gestured for his sister to follow him, to which she
obeyed without question, and followed him down the hall. They
ran and turned corridors, narrowly dodging unsuspecting patrols
until they found an entrance to the courtyard. Not the same
entrance they left the courtyard, but an entrance nonetheless.
The Blackbird cautiously crept to the edge of the door,
listening carefully for the soft [I]chink[/I] that the soldiers'
armour made every time they moved. Satisfied that he had heard
nothing, he moved forward with his sister trailing behind him as
silently as he. They edged around the courtyard along the wall
and came to the sally port again; the unguarded sally port, just
as the Hummingbird had left it.
Gratified that his partner-in-crime had knocked the guards out
long enough, the Blackbird entered the room beside it to open up
the gates . . .
. . . Only to find ten soldiers crammed into it, looking
downwards at their unconscious comrades.
Without hesitation, the Blackbird swung at the nearest soldier's
neck, easily lopping his head off with a wet crunch. He had
stabbed another in the stomach by the time the majority had been
alerted by his presence.
"Get him! Get the scoundrel!" The Blackbird heard someone cry.
The call was faint compared to the din of the swords clashing
against one another as the soldiers set to work even before the
order was made.
Dancing about, the Blackbird managed to parry or dodge each blow
directed at himself, and dealt his own blows with a thundering
force. Even after he had felled half of his opponents, he was
still striking and twisting with the same energy and force as
before.
Alas, even though he could strike down any one of these soldiers
alone, he was still outnumbered, and his sister, the
Hummingbird, was a just moment too late.
- - - - -
"Leave!" The Blackbird yelled to her when she appeared at the
doorway, her mouth curled in horror and despair at the sight of
her brother pressing his back into the wall for balance,
attempting to fend off the last two soldiers. He would've easily
defeated them in normal circumstances, but this wasn't a normal
circumstance. He was soaked head to toe in red - that much she
could tell even if he was dressed in black - the beautiful
feather-mask matted down with the thick liquid that dripped off
his nose and chin.
But no, the blood wasn't what horrified her so much.
He had a large tear in his left sleeve, with an equally large
gash underneath it from his elbow to his wrist, glistening red
in the faint light. Didn't he say not to worry about that? No,
that wasn't what horrified her, either. His right leg had been
hacked off his knee, probably why he was leaning against the
wall, his mouth set in a grimace. For some reason, that didn't
make her as fearful as it should've.
"Leave!" He cried out again, this time with a more desperate
tone to it.
That was why. She had to leave him. She couldn't bring him back
home safely; not with an injury so serious. He would fight until
he died, and she couldn't stay with him during his last moments.
The Hummingbird would never rob with the Blackbird again.
She wanted to rush forward and help him, she wanted to lug him
out of the castle and bring him back to the east woods - to
their little leather-roofed tent that had kept them warm and dry
for so long. But that would never happen. She had promised him
that she would turn and leave if he was so badly injured. He
wouldn't make it to the river! She had to keep the promise she
made him. Oh, why did he make her promise him such a thing?
"Goodbye dear Blackbird," She whispered to him ever so silently.
She gave him one last look - a look of remorse and promise -
before turning from the scene. Turning from him for the very
last time. "Goodbye Lammet."
Then she fled. She fled the castle with the ease she entered
with, nobody noticing her as they all rushed to finish off her
brother. She fled to the east woods with a clear vision but a
mourning heart. It would never be the Blackbird and the
Hummingbird again, however much she wanted it to be.
- - - - -
And so the Hummingbird lived on, robbing without her brother,
the Blackbird, and continued to do so after her hometown had
been repaired. She continued robbing rich lords as if she was
trying to reminiscent the years she robbed with her dearest
brother, and as if she could fill the little hole in her heart
with the many silver pieces she stole from the rich. Songs were
written about her by the travelling and court minstrels - even
though the latter had been heavily forbidden to do so - but
they, the songs, were never complete without the Blackbird.
The Blackbird and his sister's longing for him to return.
The Blackbird who was no longer hunted, but had been shot and
killed.
[hr]
Heh heh. I decided to not do my homework and reconfigure a few
things of my story. It's basically the same thing, just with a
few commas taken out and a few more subtle facts thrown in. It
probably still has some grammatical errors because I skimmed
through most of it, but don't explode on me because I can't be
bothered reading through a 2500 word story and fixing every
little mistake I find. And another announcement I decided to
bring to you . . .
I'm going to have a RPG sequel!
I'll put the link below after it's been posted, and this time
I'LL THINK OF A BLOODY PLOT FOR IT, SO BE HAPPY! (It's probably
going to end up like BfG, oh well.)
HTML http://confederationofinrazimad.createaforum.com/roleplaying-interactive-fanfiction/the-vengeance-of-a-hummingbird-(vt)/
HTML http://confederationofinrazimad.createaforum.com/roleplaying-interactive-fanfiction/the-vengeance-of-a-hummingbird-(vt)/
#Post#: 20459--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Hunting of a Blackbird - Short Story
By: Ever.fluff Date: June 15, 2015, 3:04 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Lump of moose-guts
*Ahem* Bibi *ahem*
#Post#: 20464--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Hunting of a Blackbird - Short Story
By: GRACETHEDUCK Date: June 15, 2015, 3:15 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you want me to put in lactating mouse brains?
*****************************************************